Theology & Therapy

Triune Healing from Spiritual Abuse in John’s Gospel

May 08, 2023

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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The Dynamic of Spiritual Abuse

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October 1, 2022

The Dynamic of Spiritual Abuse

How can we help survivors of spiritual abuse? I believe it all starts with definitions.

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Spiritual Abuse Tactics in John’s Gospel

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May 13, 2023

Spiritual Abuse Tactics in John’s Gospel

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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The Dynamics of True Shepherding

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October 7, 2022

The Dynamics of True Shepherding

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

Knowing God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

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December 23, 2022

Knowing God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Did you know that you have a unique relationship with each person of the Trinity?

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Theology & Therapy

The Holy Spirit’s Healing for Spiritual Abuse

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December 30, 2022

The Holy Spirit’s Healing for Spiritual Abuse

“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

How the Son Re-Names and Rights Reality

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January 6, 2023

How the Son Re-Names and Rights Reality

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

Safe in the Hands of the Father

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January 13, 2023

Safe in the Hands of the Father

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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Hermeneutics for Spiritual Abuse Healing

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July 8, 2023

Hermeneutics for Spiritual Abuse Healing

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

The Light of the World

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June 2, 2023

The Light of the World

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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Empire Criticism in the Gospel of John?

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July 18, 2023

Empire Criticism in the Gospel of John?

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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Awakened By The Father

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August 15, 2023

Awakened By The Father

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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The Good Shepherd Sends Safe Shepherds

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August 1, 2023

The Good Shepherd Sends Safe Shepherds

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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Spiritual Despair (The Good Kind)

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August 29, 2023

Spiritual Despair (The Good Kind)

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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The Word of God Welcomes Your Words of Spiritual Trauma

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September 12, 2023

The Word of God Welcomes Your Words of Spiritual Trauma

Enduring spiritual abuse, like any other form of trauma, creates a tension that Judith Herman describes painfully well:

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Thick Clouds, Darkness and Spiritual Abuse

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October 3, 2023

Thick Clouds, Darkness and Spiritual Abuse

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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Let Her Speak

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October 17, 2023

Let Her Speak

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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Woman Redeemed and Commissioned

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October 24, 2023

Woman Redeemed and Commissioned

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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Mary Magdalen and the Tears of Renewal and Reformation

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October 31, 2023

Mary Magdalen and the Tears of Renewal and Reformation

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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Mary Magdalen, the Song, and John the Singer of the Song

October 31, 2023

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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Spiritual Boundaries: Internalizing the Trinity

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November 15, 2023

Spiritual Boundaries: Internalizing the Trinity

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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Advent in John’s Gospel: Fearlessly Into the Dark

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December 5, 2023

Advent in John’s Gospel: Fearlessly Into the Dark

Crisis reveals character. That is the message of Advent.

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Advent in John’s Gospel: After Silence, Speech

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December 12, 2023

Advent in John’s Gospel: After Silence, Speech

Silence in the Deadly Dark

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Advent in John’s Gospel: Healing Trauma through Embodied Reading

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December 19, 2023

Advent in John’s Gospel: Healing Trauma through Embodied Reading

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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Advent in John’s Gospel: God Among Us In Human Flesh

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December 26, 2023

Advent in John’s Gospel: God Among Us In Human Flesh

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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Religious Trauma and the New Temple

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Feb 13

Religious Trauma and the New Temple

There is faith on the other side of spiritual trauma, because Jesus is building a temple of trusting disciples out of religious trauma survivors.

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When Empire Comes to Church

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Feb 27

When Empire Comes to Church

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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When Empire Comes to Church, Part 2

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Mar 5

When Empire Comes to Church, Part 2

How does a Christian pastor justify spiritual abuse? By telling himself he is protecting the Lord’s mission and cleansing the Lord’s temple.

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When Empire Comes to Church, Part 3

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Mar 12

When Empire Comes to Church, Part 3

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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Records of the Dangerous Gospel

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Apr 9

Records of the Dangerous Gospel

CW: violence, racism, anti-Semitism

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Records of the Liberating Gospel

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Apr 23

Records of the Liberating Gospel

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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Womanly Trouble

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Jul 16

Womanly Trouble

After my 6-part, 14,000+ word series on gender in the Gospel of John, it’s time to switch gears. Today’s piece is still somewhat related, but will transition us to some more traditional Thesis 96 topics on doing apologetics for the abused. In future posts I will be taking a look at Os Guinness’ book

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The Truly Reformed Pastor

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Aug 27

The Truly Reformed Pastor

As a Greek professor recently pointed out online, knowing a little Greek can tempt one to make too much out of too little. The example was John 21:15-17 when Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love [agapaō] me?”, and Peter answers, “Yes Lord, you know that I love [

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