Triune Healing from Spiritual Abuse in John’s Gospel
These are some posts that explore the dynamics of healing from spiritual abuse in the Gospel of John, with a focus on the distinct works of Father, Son and Spirit. I’m putting links here all in one post as I work on expanding them into a book. If you take the time to read any of these I would love your feedback!
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Thesis 96
](/blog/the-dynamic-of-spiritual-abuse)[
The Dynamic of Spiritual Abuse
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October 1, 2022
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How can we help survivors of spiritual abuse? I believe it all starts with definitions. We can only help if we understand what spiritual abuse is. Without understanding, we don’t see clearly, we misdiagnose and we misprescribe. I recently came across a perspective on abuse from Christian therapist
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Thesis 96
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Spiritual Abuse Tactics in John’s Gospel
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May 13, 2023
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My family is approaching the one year anniversary of our functional excommunication from the church where my wife worked as Director of Women’s and Children’s Ministries. As I’ve been anticipating that anniversary I’ve also been working on an idea for a book about spiritual abuse recovery through the doctrine of the Trinity
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Thesis 96
](/blog/the-dynamics-of-true-shepherding)[
The Dynamics of True Shepherding
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October 7, 2022
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In walking alongside survivors of religious trauma it is very tempting to focus the light on the darkness. But the darkness of spiritual abuse is first clarified and then outshined by the brightness of the Good Shepherd, and without continually redirecting our gaze to the True Light, our lights grow dim. Diane Langberg does this so well in her book
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Theology & Therapy
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Knowing God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
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December 23, 2022
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Did you know that you have a unique relationship with each person of the Trinity? No theologian has developed this doctrine so completely as John Owen. He devoted 274 pages to helping Christians experience this glorious truth: The saints have distinct communion with the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit (that…
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Theology & Therapy
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The Holy Spirit’s Healing for Spiritual Abuse
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December 30, 2022
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“God intends the believer’s devotional life to be boldly tri-personal in its shape.” So writes Dan Peters in his master’s thesis Communion and the Trinity: distinct relations with Father, Son and Spirit. Paraphrasing a bold statement from Donald Macleod, Peters explores the reality that Christians have “a relationship …
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Theology & Therapy
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How the Son Re-Names and Rights Reality
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January 6, 2023
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Last week we began a three-part series in John 10 looking at the distinct work of the Trinity in healing survivors of spiritual abuse. To quote Dan Peters again, healing for spiritual abuse should be “boldly tri-personal in its shape.” Having focused on the re-knowing work of the Spirit, we will look at the re-naming work of the Son. But first, consider…
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Theology & Therapy
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Safe in the Hands of the Father
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January 13, 2023
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One of the most notable traits of post traumatic stress is hypervigilence and hyperarousal. After being severely wounded, our minds and bodies set to semi-permanent high alert mode. It’s as if Defcon 5, the defense readiness condition in times of peace, is no longer available. A traumatized body might range from Defcon 4, …
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Thesis 96
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Hermeneutics for Spiritual Abuse Healing
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July 8, 2023
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If anything can be said of the New Testament church with confidence, it’s that they interpreted their present experience in the drama of prior revelation. I recently wrote a lengthy newsletter demonstrating this by weaving my own experience of spiritual abuse into the narrative of ch. 9 of the Gospel of John. Such reading…
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Theology & Therapy
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The Light of the World
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June 2, 2023
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Why does John’s Gospel begin the way it does? And how is that relevant for spiritual abuse survivors? This week’s Theology & Therapy post is a meditation on the Trinity for those healing from spiritual abuse. It’s heavy on the theology, but with an aim for therapy. I encourage readers to go slow and take time to let the quotes from the Gospel of John si…
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Thesis 96
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Empire Criticism in the Gospel of John?
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July 18, 2023
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Due to changes in my family’s schedule, including teaching a high school psychology class for the first time this fall, I am experimenting with changing my writing and posting schedule. Hence the delay from my normal Friday posts. I’m going to try Tuesdays for now, but the goal is still “once a week”!
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Thesis 96
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The Good Shepherd Sends Safe Shepherds
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August 1, 2023
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Did you know that the Gospel of John is all about the fulfillment of the OT expectation for the removal of false shepherds and the return of good shepherds? Not just the Good Shepherd, but also under-shepherds called by Jesus to mediate his loving care for his flock. What follows are some exegetical notes establishing the…
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Thesis 96
](/blog/awakened-by-the-father)[
Awakened By The Father
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August 15, 2023
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The daughters and sons of the Triune God have distinct relationships with each person of the Trinity. Eternal life is knowing Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is both a unified knowledge of the one true God, and distinct knowledge of each Person. As I reflected a few months ago, in John 10 Jesus directs us to
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Thesis 96
](/blog/spiritual-despair-the-good-kind)[
Spiritual Despair (The Good Kind)
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August 29, 2023
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Spiritual abuse recovery begins with the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit shining truth in the darkness. This beginning work does not banish the dark. That comes later and gradually. Here, at the beginning, with a crack of the door, a slight twist of the blinds, or a flash of a match strike, the Spirit merely—but oh s…
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Thesis 96
](/blog/the-word-of-god-welcomes-your-words)[
The Word of God Welcomes Your Words of Spiritual Trauma
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September 12, 2023
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Enduring spiritual abuse, like any other form of trauma, creates a tension that Judith Herman describes painfully well: “The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma.”
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Thesis 96
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Thick Clouds, Darkness and Spiritual Abuse
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October 3, 2023
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It is true that those who follow Jesus “will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” because Jesus is “the light of the world” (8:12). At the same time, those who follow Jesus still experience darkness in various forms. In John’s Gospel the stories of the disciples in the dark at sea and Mary Magdalene in the dark at the empty tomb have e…
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Thesis 96
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Let Her Speak
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October 17, 2023
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A book about healing from spiritual abuse in John’s gospel would be incomplete, neglectful, and possibly even harmful if it didn’t pay close attention to the way John portrays Jesus’ interaction with women. So I will be devoting three Substacks to that subject.
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Thesis 96
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Woman Redeemed and Commissioned
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October 24, 2023
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Last week I began a series of reflections on women in the Gospel of John. This continues an ongoing project on how the Trinity heals the trauma of spiritual abuse. This week I planned to write about the Samaritan woman of John 4, which I have been studying for a few weeks. However, as happens from time to time, when I sat down to begin writing I stumble…
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Thesis 96
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Mary Magdalen and the Tears of Renewal and Reformation
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October 31, 2023
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This is part three of a mini-series focusing on the stories of women in the Gospel of John. In case you missed them, see part one regarding the woman of John 8, and part two regarding the Samaritan woman of John 4. Today the focus is on Mary Magdalen in John 20.
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Thesis 96
](/blog/mary-magdalen-the-song-and-john-the)[
Mary Magdalen, the Song, and John the Singer of the Song
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October 31, 2023
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This post, not sent to your email, shares some biblical reflections excised from today’s published newsletter cut to keep down the word count. I believe it is important stuff, but for a Reformation Day post I wanted to focus on the heart of the matter: listening to the voices of women proclaiming that the body of Christ is absent and empty.
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Thesis 96
](/blog/spiritual-boundaries-internalizing)[
Spiritual Boundaries: Internalizing the Trinity
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November 15, 2023
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In previous posts on how the Trinity heals the trauma of spiritual abuse I adapted Shannon Thomas’ stages of healing from psychological abuse (see especially Awakened by the Father, and Spiritual Despair). In this post we will explore the need for the growth of internal boun…
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Thesis 96
](/blog/advent-in-johns-gospel-considering)[
Advent in John’s Gospel: Fearlessly Into the Dark
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December 5, 2023
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Crisis reveals character. That is the message of Advent. What if we considered Advent as an invitation to consider the darkness, to have our character revealed? If we did that voluntarily, in the spirit of semper reformanda, could we avoid the crisis of unwilling exposure that produces so much more trauma and division?
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Thesis 96
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Advent in John’s Gospel: After Silence, Speech
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December 12, 2023
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Silence in the Deadly Dark God is not and has never been silent. The Son is the Word from all eternity. There never was a time when God the Father was not speaking God the Son. In God, there is no such thing as silence. And yet, the children of God endure silence, just as they often endure forms of death and darkness.
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Thesis 96
](/blog/advent-in-johns-gospel-healing-trauma)[
Advent in John’s Gospel: Healing Trauma through Embodied Reading
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December 19, 2023
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Have you ever sat at a table and eaten a meal with a betrayer? Have you ever dined with a close friend who later stabbed you in the back? I have. Many times. Many meals. Over many years. With a shepherd and his family. I remember the evening meals of delicious, mouth-watering steaks, and breakfasts with buttery-sweet p…
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Thesis 96
](/blog/advent-in-johns-gospel-god-among)[
Advent in John’s Gospel: God Among Us In Human Flesh
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December 26, 2023
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Although this will reach you the day after Christmas, this is the fourth and final part in a series of Advent reflections in the Gospel of John.
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Thesis 96
](/blog/religious-trauma-and-the-new-temple)[
Religious Trauma and the New Temple
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Feb 13
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There is faith on the other side of spiritual trauma, because Jesus is building a temple of trusting disciples out of religious trauma survivors. I just discovered that a scholar, Edward Wong, recently completed a doctoral dissertation on trauma in the Gospel of John. For those who have been following along
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Thesis 96
](/blog/when-empire-comes-to-church)[
When Empire Comes to Church
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Feb 27
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It is tempting to adopt an “other” reading of Gospel criticisms against religious authorities. The wolves and heretics are always “out there,” never “in here.” We all want to be the heroes of our own story, and we naturally want to identify with the heroes in written stories.
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Thesis 96
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When Empire Comes to Church, Part 2
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Mar 5
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How does a Christian pastor justify spiritual abuse? By telling himself he is protecting the Lord’s mission and cleansing the Lord’s temple. Thank you for joining me for part two of a series examining Peter’s use of the sword in John 18:10 which I’m calling
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Thesis 96
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When Empire Comes to Church, Part 3
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Mar 12
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This is the third post in a series on empire in the Gospel of John and Peter’s use of violence in John 18:10. If you haven’t read those yet, see part one and part two.
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Thesis 96
](/blog/records-of-the-dangerous-word-of)[
Records of the Dangerous Gospel
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Apr 9
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CW: violence, racism, anti-Semitism
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Thesis 96
](/blog/records-of-the-liberating-gospel)[
Records of the Liberating Gospel
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Apr 23
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In the last Thesis 96 post, Records of the Dangerous Gospel, I showed some history of how the Gospel of John has been misused to justify violence and oppression. My interest in this question is not merely how people have read John, but how people have
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