Spiritual Abuse Survivor from New Zealand

A New Zealander is presently visiting the United States and has encountered the Bible Belt. That's okay, except that this New Zealander, Grace Bridges, has been spiritually abused in the past and sometimes those who have not made room for even the possibility of spiritual abuse, they simply don't understand.

Here is her explanation to her Bible Belt internet friends as to why she behaves the way she does.

My Battered Faith Meets the Bible Belt

And if you follow her links, you will see a bit more of her story and a bit about her book that she wrote in response to the abuse. Grace writes Science Fiction.

Edited to add: Grace's spiritual abuse actually occurred in Germany rather than New Zealand, so I updated the title to reflect this.

WTH on Suffering and New Calvinism

I wanted to add this into the mix before I move on to my own thoughts on suffering.

WTH emailed me his thoughts and apologized that he couldn't do/say more since he's up to his ears in another project.

He said:

"Monergistic soteriology isn't a uniquely Calvinist view as Lutherans also hold to it. Even branches of Christianity with utterly synergistic ideas about soteriology embrace the idea that Christian life will inevitably involve suffering (such as ascetism in Eastern Orthodoxy, which teaches that it is possible to be completely sinless at least in short spurts).

Attempts to define New Calvinism with respect to suffering are missing the forest for a few trees. It still gets back to Edwardsian micromanaging sovereignty, which not all Calvinists affirm. Orthodox Presbyterians I've met have explained that more traditional Reformed thought insists on monergistic soteriology ONLY for salvation itself, not at every point of Christian experience. God can choose to fix certain things and not others. That's about all i'm up to describing at this point."

One of the reasons that I bring up what he says is that when Paul explained how New Calvinists weren't motivated to help an abused woman very quickly because suffering was good, I went to look up Hinduism, Calcutta, and Mother Teresa. I had heard that the Hindus just sort of allowed suffering because of the Karma thing (as I mentioned in a previous post) but that Mother Teresa, motivated by Christian charity and what not, went to Calcutta to minister to the sick and dying. Well, I learned something in my research. I learned that Mother Teresa is also a bit guilty of this monergistic soteriology, at least according to some critics. In her ministries, although she honored the suffering and dying, her ministry didn't go to great lengths to alleviate suffering because she also thought that suffering was a good thing.

So when WTH gave me this info the other day, I knew what he was talking about.

However...

As Paul has noted and others have attested to, New Calvinism has a harsh, withdrawn (from the human condition) side that makes this human tendency... how should we say it? Meaner?

At least this is what I get from it.

Anyone else have anything thoughts?

Paul and Cindy Answer Rachel

Paul and Cindy gave Rachel a responses that wouldn't fit in a comment.

Paul:

The Answer to Rachel's Question

Cindy:

The Virtues of Suffering in Spiritually Abusive Systems

Thanks Paul and Cindy!

And look under Rachel's question to see Brad and Lynne's responses.

Question From Rachel

Rachel asked a question in the comment section, but I want to bring it to the forefront for our New Calvinist experts to answer.

Can someone answer this question for me? (I'm trying to fit some puzzle pieces together about NC)...

I see from the example in the post (that of a woman being abused "partaking in Christ's suffering") that NCs can come off as ambivalent about helping/stopping suffering when it rears its ugly head.

Do they take it a step further and actually emphasize suffering as a goal/way of life?

In other words, it's one thing to tell a suffering person that they shouldn't seek to change their situation. It's another thing to tell a happy person that they should actively aspire to be suffering.

I am starting to see this attitude in my church and it really bothers me. For one thing, I know very few well-adjusted people who actually aspire towards suffering as a way of life (plenty of people who give lip service to that, mind you, but I see them out having fun and smelling the roses just like everyone else). Also, as someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety, I've had to hold onto God's promise of mercy, joy and hope in order to get myself to a place of health and healing...and I see people in my church who have never struggled with these things decreeing quite confidently that trying to escape suffering is not what we want. (I wonder if any of them have ever found themselves truly unable to get out of bed in the morning, and how they justified that this was necessary for them to serve God....don't know about you all, but I always serve God better when I get up, go about my day, and interact with other humans).

Anyway...thoughts?

Anybody want to address this for Rachel? I'd like to know, as well.