Carmen J. Bryant, August, 2002
26
finally becomes brave enough to blow the whistle and call the police. Since many
spiritual abusers will not cross that line, their sin goes unheeded.
71
Whereas churches are more likely now to provide safety for the woman whose
life is in danger and to report a brutal husband to the local authorities, they are less likely
to recognize or to interfere in matters of emotional and spiritual abuse. These are not
concerns that call for police intervention, and so the tendency is to regard the situation as
not truly damaging. In fact, wives continue to receive the same advice they have received
for years: "You must be doing something wrong. Just submit, and your marriage will
improve. Your husband is basically a nice guy."
Occasional sermons on a biblical view of marriage cannot undue the damage
created by centuries of wrong teaching, both in society and the church, that a husband's
word is law even when that law results in abuse. Resistance to change is understandable
in a world without Christ. However, it is impossible to justify the church's role in
contributing to beliefs that destroy a woman's good conscience before God and reinforce
sinful pride in her husband.
72
Spiritual leaders often fail to recognize that spiritual abuse constitutes spiritual
evil. Shepherds of the flock allow wolves to influence their congregations, some of whom
are serving as deacons, teachers, and pastors. These men usurp authority by setting
leaders, Johnson and VanVonderen say that "this system does not foster holiness or obedience to God, it
merely accommodates the leaders' sick interpretation of spirituality and their need for control" (66).
71
Verbal and spiritual abuse, however, can escalate into physical violence. "James warns us dramatically
that the tongue is like a fire which consumes the whole person . . . Physical violence is an example of this
desire [to act as judge over another's life] put into motion. It becomes a means of taking another person's
life into one's hands, usurping the divine prerogative of judgment and misusing it. Just as anger begets
anger, so verbal abuse often signals the physical violence that is to come" (Alsdurf and Alsdurf, 56-57).