I’ve been Listening to Dr. Joe Dispenza recently, and his description of what happens to people in his meetings sounds precisely like what I saw happen to others, and experienced myself, in charismatic churches. His explanation, however, is entirely different from the ones given in churches. I’ve also seen footage of similar events in some Muslim sects – like the shaking, bending backwards, and being knocked to the ground by an invisible force. The more I’m seeing, the more I think that different religions and organisations are looking at the same thing and are hanging their own story on it, and then using these seemingly miraculous events as proof that their stories are correct. My experience in church was that leaders asserted their right to control people and interfere with their lives to an extreme degree, justifying their authority to dominate with bible passages, and using the seemingly miraculous as validation of their appointment by God. After all, why would God show up if they were in the wrong? To question their authority, was to question God.
In retrospect, it’s seriously embarrassing that I ever allowed such people to have that much control over me. The reason I let it happen came down to the fact that I’d had incredible experiences myself, and so concluded that if they came as a result of interaction with these leaders, either because they lead a meeting where this was happening, or because I was prayed for by them, then they must be anointed by God. They said as such anyway, usually alongside dire warnings about what happened to people who dared to ‘touch God’s anointed,’ which meant they could get away with anything without being challenged. If you did challenge their behaviour, then you were regarded as rebellious. No one dared stand up for those publicly denounced by leaders for fear of what would happen to themselves, and people accepted that a person must somehow be guilty, simply because a leader said so. Slander against me was accepted at face value by a leader simply because ‘there is no smoke without fire,’ and that I must be guilty for a leader to have made the accusations. The accusation was along the lines of I was subversive, rebellious and trouble. I wasn’t actually, at the time. I sure as hell would be now though – heck yeah! I wouldn’t tolerate that crap anymore.
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