Did Voddie Baucham really say that a shy child who refuses to obey a parent and say hello to him is sinning? Cindy of Under Much Grace provides the evidence (in the form of a transcribed audio clip) so that you can decide for yourself.
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RedditIs It Wrong To Speak Out Against Other Christians?
April 11, 2012 Leave a Comment
Cindy of Under Much Grace has posted a sermon by E.L. Bynum called, “IS IT RIGHT: To Judge, To Expose Error, and To Call Names?” I am so glad she did because I, too, have been told that it is wrong of me to speak out against other Christians. When I gently explain that I am only exposing false teachings, they generally have no response. In this sermon, Brother Bynum explains that:
I. It Is Right To Practice Biblical Judgment
II. It Is Right To Expose False Teachers
III. It Is Right To Name Names
Also check out her post about Considering the Biblical Model of Examining Behavior to Identify a Spiritual Abuser .
I would also like to share Paul Proctor’s essay about whether we are required to apply Matthew 18 before exposing false teachers.
Another Abusive School on CNN
March 31, 2012 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace shares the transcripts and video of CNN’s report on Pinehaven Home for Troubled Teens in a 3 part series which starts here.
Christian child abuse: more works-based carnality
March 17, 2012 2 Comments
Churchmouse has posted an extensively researched look at Spiritual and Physical Abuse in Christian child abuse: more works-based carnality. This is a long piece and well worth the time it will take to read it.
The Effects of Spanking Part 6 *Sensitive*
February 21, 2012 4 Comments
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5)
In the last part of this series we saw how teaching children to equate love with pain can cause them to become sadomasochistic. We also saw how spanking children, even when done “lovingly” and the “right way,” causes many children to struggle with depression, guilt, and shame as having pain intentionally inflicted on them by their parents never makes them feel positive about themselves. In this concluding piece of this series, we will see how spanking keeps the vicious cycle of abuse and authoritarian parenting going for generations unless one fights against it. New research shows that children that are physically punished/abused can develop a form of Stockholm Syndrome as they deny and repress their pain. Also, I will be showing that intentionally inflicting pain on children causes brain damage as the brain gets rewired due to experiencing pain and trauma throughout childhood. Many parents do not realize how vulnerable the young, developing brain is. Finally, I will be explaining the Scientific Method of conducting research in order to disprove the claim of a great deal of pro-spankers that all the research proving spanking is harmful is somehow biased. I hope this series further proves that spanking did not come from God otherwise none of these harmful effects would ever occur.
The Cycle of Abuse and Authoritarian Parenting—“My parents spanked me and I survived and so will my children!”
[Read more...]
Does the Bible Tell Us To Bruise Our Children?
February 14, 2012 Leave a Comment
Cindy of Under Much Grace looks at Proverbs 20:30, “The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly” and explores What Jesus Said About the “Blueness of the Wound.”
And on a totally unrelated note, I liked what Bob Bixby said about teachers being held accountable for their teachings and not being able to hide behind Matthew 18 when someone speaks out against their teachings. As far as I know, Michael Pearl has never mentioned Matthew 18 in this context, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone were to read what James MacDonald said and apply it to him.
More from Under Much Grace
February 7, 2012 1 Comment
I would like to draw your attention to some more interesting posts from Under Much Grace.
What It’s Like to Experience Only the Right Side of the Brain in the Way that Children Do (A Neuroscientist Experiences a Stroke on the Left, Analytical Side of the Brain) which debunks the Pearls’ claim that very young children exercise their diabolical wills to dominate their parents.
More from Janet Heimlich on Problematic and Abusive Corporal Punishment within Evangelical Christianity which debunks the common belief that spanking is non-optional for Christians.
And speaking of the science of children’s brains, you might be interested in How Stress Affects Your Child’s Brain.
The Science Behind Happy And Compliant Children
February 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
Cindy of Under Much Grace explains the scientific evidence that shows the damage done to children who suffer harsh punishment from a young age. Parents who follow Pearls’ advice to punish toddlers for age appropriate behaviors may end up with seemingly happy and compliant children, but at what price?
Understanding Brainwashing and How Children Are Primed for Victimization
January 21, 2012 2 Comments
Cindy of Under Much Grace takes informative and very technical looks at abusive behavior, analyzing both the victims and the abusers.
She has a new series about brainwashing. I want to make special note of part 7 in which she ties the information to the Pearls’ teachings. Here is a short summary which she wrote for me:
I think of it in terms of developmental milestones and such, and most all learning is experiential for a child for the first 36 months and is primarily all on the right side of the brain, entirely self-centered and oriented toward felt sense.
Children under the age of two only make Delta waves on EEG, the same brainwave that an adult makes while they sleep. From two to six, they make only theta waves which is what an adult generates just before falling asleep, basically. The plotting that Pearl talks about is a fast brainwave that doesn’t manifest in a child until they approach age twelve.
I would also like to draw your attention to the posts after part X which are about how the mindset of many families prime children for victimization.
Now, on the the entire series:
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Understanding Doctrine Over Person Part I
A Sychophant for a Sociopath Does Damage Control: Understanding Doctrine Over Person Part II
Another Example of Transformed Memory in Response to Psychological Stress and Interpersonal Pressure in a POW Camp: Understanding Doctrine Over Person, Part III
Lifton on Reaffirming the Myth and How Adults and Children Respond: Understanding Doctrine Over Person Part IV
The Effects of Trauma and Abuse at Hephzibah House: Understanding Doctrine Over Person, Part X of X
She follows up this series with a related series about Understanding the Role of Childhood Emotional Development in Spiritual Abuse.
Bill Gothard and His Definition of Grace
December 19, 2011 Leave a Comment
Cindy of Under Much Grace explains more about Bill Gothard and his erroneous definition of grace in Merging Justification and Sanctification: More About Gothard’s Thanksgiving Letter and Concerns About Grace
Another Abusive Church
December 17, 2011 Leave a Comment
Cindy of Under Much Grace reports on a Lutheran church in La Habra, California which reportedly had a man assigned to the task of disciplining teenaged boys with a metal rod. This is the first time I have heard of a church Taking The Rod Verses Literally. Well, maybe not exactly literally, as the rod was too small and made of the wrong substance, but more literal than most. I suppose they perceive that they are being persecuted for the sake of righteousness. I wonder if they also stone adulteresses and blasphemers. I think that they need to focus more on the message of the New Testament.
Biblical Chastisement and Hermeneutics
December 8, 2011 Leave a Comment
The Dangerous Mindset
December 6, 2011 Leave a Comment
Elizabeth Esther explains the mindset which causes a lot of the damage in the Pearl’s teachings in If it feels good, it’s sinful.
Cindy at Under Much Grace reminds us, “Barring some other major news event that bumps the story, Michael Pearl is slated to appear on NBC’s Today Show sometime between 8 and 11 AM tomorrow, December 7th, to discuss the controversial child abuse deaths linked to his book, To Train Up a Child.”
Cindy also discusses the question, Pearl’s Parallels to the Milgram Study.
The Anderson Show has run in all areas of the country and I have yet to find more than clips of it. The entire show is not much more than the clips, but it would be really nice to have it all in one place and in context. If anyone recorded the show, please post it on YouTube and send me the link. I will update this request when I have more info.
Responses to Pearl on Anderson
December 5, 2011 4 Comments
I have yet to watch Michael Pearl and Elizabeth Esther on Anderson other than a few clips. I hope to someday find it online in its entirely at which time I will certainly link. By the way, it will be airing in the Los Angeles Area on FOX 11 at 1pm. Meanwhile, here are some responses from the Blogosphere.
Hannah of Emotional Abuse And Your Faith asks, Do we understand insensitivity?
Cindy of Under Much Grace answers the question, What is Biblical Chastisement?
as well as, Why is the Pearl Method So Insidious and Dangerous?
MamaPsalmist reacts in No More Dead Kids and its followup, And Another Thing.
An Interview with Elizabeth Esther
December 2, 2011 7 Comments
BlogHer Network Interviews Elizabeth Esther about her appearance with Michael Pearl on Anderson Cooper’s daytime Talk Show today (Monday for Los Angeles Viewers).
See a promo here.
Many bloggers are promoting this episode:
Elizabeth Esther Faces Michael Pearl On Anderson by Free By His Grace
The abusive teachings of Michael and Debi Pearl hurt both women and children by Rachel Held Evens.
Keeping Up with Michael Pearl: Interview on Anderson (Cooper’s) Talk Show TODAY (and Pearl’s appearance on Dr. Drew And AC360 and in the NYT….) by Under Much Grace. (I am grateful for her kind words about this site).
Also, Under Much Grace shares about another Anderson 360 episode from CNN which aired on October 25 which I seem to have missed. Anyway, the transcript she shares has things in it I had not seen, namely an update about the Willams.
Here is CNN’s Anderson Cooper’s Interview with Michael Pearl (Part II: August 2011)
and here is Michael Pearl’s Interview with Dr. Drew on CNN October 2011 both by Under Much Grace
Speaking of Under Much Grace, she has posted an index to her Why Good People Make Dangerous Choices (Pondering Michael Pearl and Lydia Schatz) series.
The Nicest People
November 24, 2011 1 Comment
What kind of people start (or join) cults? What is their motivation? Do they do it on purpose or by accident? Do they have any idea that they are involved with a cult? If these questions interest you, you will want to read this post by Cindy of Under Much Grace Hank Hanegraaff and the “Nicest People You Could Ever Hope to Meet” (Understanding Unbalanced and Cultic Christianity and Those Attracted to It) .
Along the same line, Cindy also has a new post discussing Vision Forum.
Meanwhile, I have added the transcript and more info to yesterday’s post.
About Cults
November 18, 2011 2 Comments
The Amish are in the news again and this time not for helping to inspire Michael Pearl’s teachings. I have mentioned before how susceptible people can be to following false teachers and cult leaders. Well, now we find an Amish cult leader. Updated info here.
Cindy of Under Much Grace explains more about how people fall into cult thinking in The Counter-Cult Bias Against the Anti-Cult Perspective: Hank Hanegraaff’s Re-Victimization of Teen Mania Protestors and All Those Who Overcome Spiritual Abuse.
In case you were wondering, Hank Hanegraaff was reacting to a documentary on MSNBC on Nov 6, 2011 about Cult Exit and Cult Recovery.
Speaking of cults, here is another exposure of abuse in the name of God. When will it end? *sigh*
Hephzibah House on CNN
September 3, 2011 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace reports all about CNN’s coverage of Hephzibah House complete with video and links to the transcript. She highlights outtakes from the transcripts on her blog.
The Schatz Story Going Mainstream
August 19, 2011 Leave a Comment
Brad Hirschfield posts in The Washington Post about the Schatz story and To Train Up A Child in a piece called, Beating children in the name of God. He exhorts us Christians, saying:
Tragically, this is going on, it must be stopped, and it is precisely those of us for whom the Bible is a sacred and life-centering text that must take the lead in stopping it.
As is always the case, it is those closest to a tradition that should bear the greatest responsibility for it when it is being abused. We cannot simply distance ourselves from “those crazy people”, because “those crazy people” are using the same books we hold dear to commit atrocities, so who better than those who turn to (some of) the same books, to take on the responsibility of addressing the abuses committed in their name?
Amen
Jo Ashline of The Orange County Register also reports on the Pearls’ teachings and the recent controversy in Couple Claims God Wants us to Beat our Children.
I would like to respond to this quote:
During the CNN interview, Mr. and Mrs. Pearl also maintain their innocence in the beating death of Lydia and assure viewers that their training method does not promote anger or abuse, but rather a calm, methodical and effective method of spanking a child into submission.
What the Pearls and their followers fail to understand is that Lydia refused to or was unable to submit and they calmly and methodically spanked her for 7 hours until her tissues broke down. You know how hitting meat makes it tender, right? Well, if living flesh is hit long enough, even calmly and methodically, it gets tenderized. The tissues break down and tiny particles of muscle tissue block the kidneys causing rhabdomyolosis. Please check that link for a more detailed explanation from Under Much Grace. Rhabdomyolosis was the official cause of her death, by the way.
By the way, I have updated my Quotes from TTUAC page with some quotes from the NGJ website because the quotes were so disturbing to me that I thought they needed to be shared. It is taking a lot of self control to keep myself from ranting and raving about the quotes, so I’m just going to let the quotes speak for themselves.
Transcript of Pearl on CNN including Cut Scenes
August 17, 2011 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace features not only the CNN video about the Pearls but a link to the transcript on the CNN site. As the transcript contains some cut scenes, she highlights those in her post. For anyone who wants to read just the part of the transcript which contains the Pearl/Schatz story, use CTRL F (on a Windows computer) to search the page for the word, “Paradise.”
Elizabeth Esther also posted about the CNN video and got many interesting comments.
Former Pearl Follower, Becky from Created To Be His, also shared the videos and explained why she does not believe that the Schatzes lost control.
Pondering the Pearls’ Teachings – Part 10
June 7, 2011 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace has published part 10 of her series Why Good People Make Dangerous Choices:
In this post she focuses on Philip Greven’s book, Spare the Child: The Religious Roots of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse.
Please be aware that this post is not for the faint of heart and might be triggering.
Pondering the Pearls’ Teachings – Part 9
May 30, 2011 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace has published part 9 of her series Why Good People Make Dangerous Choices:
Ernest Willis Found Guilty
May 28, 2011 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace shares the verdict in the Ernest Willis/Tina Anderson case as well as a summary of the case and some explaination of the teachings which are infused therein.
Also, here is a News Story in the Daily Sentinel about the testimonies in the Tina Anderson rape case.
And there is a follow up news story here.
An Update on the Ernest Willis / Tina Anderson Case
May 26, 2011 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace has posted an in depth explanation of the Ernest Willis / Tina Anderson Case.
More on the Tina Anderson Case
May 19, 2011 Leave a Comment
Cindy Kunsman (UnderMuchGrace) reports the latest on the Tina Anderson case and offers a button for your blog.
News coverage from the Concord Monitor here.
News story from the U.K. here.
New Book About Patriarchy
May 11, 2011 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace discusses Jon Zens’ New Book, No Will of My Own (How Patriarchy Smothers Female Dignity and Personhood).
Old Case of Spanking Caused Renal Failure Discovered
April 26, 2011 Leave a Comment
Under Much Grace has discovered information of a case from 2002 of a boy being “disciplined” into Renal Failure. Disclaimer: this is not the case of parents disciplining their child, this is a case of 22 yr old men disciplining a young boy for way too long and ending up in jail. One later wrote a book about his jail experience and how he continued to serve the Lord in jail. The whole story is very disturbing on many levels.
She also has an article exposing the dangerous teachings of Ron Williams of Hepzibah House. He is very clear in his teachings, actually using the term, “beat,” and advocating starting in infancy. Here is a quote:
As soon as the child begins to express his own self-will (and this occurs early in life) that child needs to receive correction. My wife and I have a general goal of making sure that each of our children has his will broken by the time he reaches the age of one year. To do this, a child must receive correction when he is a small infant.
Wartburg Watch and IFB
April 21, 2011 Leave a Comment
The Wartburg Watch Focuses on Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches this week. So far they have:
The Independent Fundamental Baptist Church Sounds Like Mark Driscoll and The Rest of Them
Who Do The Independent Fundamental Baptists Say They Are?
They will probably add 1 or 2 more posts this week so stay tuned.
Also, don’t miss miss this new post from Under Much Grace:
Redeeming Dinah: The Errors of Ron Williams, the IFB, and Gothard’s Esteem of Rabbinical Writing as Holy Writ
Heartbreaking Abuse
April 20, 2011 Leave a Comment
Warning, the first post should not be read by sensitive people:
Humiliation at Hephzibah House: Restriction and Control over Restroom Breaks
A Former Trinity Baptist Insider and the 20/20 IFB Story
April 15, 2011 1 Comment
Bob Bixby has posted a statement from Laura Moody, Formally from Trinity Baptist Church, about her relationship with those involved with the scandal featured in the 20/20 story about abuse in some IFB churches. Read the comments for more hashing out of details.
Bob Bixby also has a post addressing Brian Fuller’s comments in that episode of 20/20 and his subsequent blog post. Again, more details are hashed out in the comments.
In an effort to be fair, he links to the Other Side of the Story and discusses the hows and whys of Blaming the Victim.
Under Much Grace reminds us that the 20/20 story “failed to make any mention of the abuses that took place at the IFB’s most infamous boarding house for ‘troubled girls,’ the Hephzibah House of Winona Lake, IN.”
And The Wartburg Watch has a list of suggestions for how churches can better protect the children in their congregations from sexual abuse.
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