Recovering from Extremism
Often when we leave our former Pentecostal or Charismatic state, we have the initial tendency to reject everything outright that we were taught – and this is a necessary process. Often, in this rejection of everything we were taught in religious extremism, there is the impetus to embrace its exact opposite – and this is often useful in the exploratory phase upon leaving Pentecostalism; we may become extremists of another kind, or of the opposite kind. For example, these extreme religions are often politically neo-conservative, and upon exiting, we may become extreme liberals or radical leftists – for a brief period, possibly. Often these churches are extreme legalists, legislating life down to the details in what one can and cannot do. In leaving, we may take the exact opposite approach and live a carefree life with no plans whatsoever and no structure.
Remember that in this exploratory phase, we will most likely become extremists of the opposite kind. This is not necessarily bad if we know the process beforehand and recognize this as an exploratory phase where we are trying to get our bearings in the range of human possibilities. Often, we cannot know the limits of exploration without consideration of the extremes, coming out of these crazy movements. It is like the mathematical Cartesian plan where we have ranges from positive ten to negative ten. Let us suppose that Pentecostalism puts us at a +10 on the Cartesian plan. Let us further suppose that the extremes of human exploration are between +10 and -10. If Pentecostalism is a +10, when we exit, we will have a tendency to explore things on the other end of the spectrum, -10. Remember that living life is a balance of many things and moderation in all things is probably the best life to live, but as former religious extremists, we will have lived at an unbalanced +10 and to mitigate this extremism often involves exploring the opposite extreme at -10. This is probably healthy in the life of a former religious extremist. However, I think we should keep in mind that our goal is stability and bringing people to emotional, social, mental, and physical health. The period of extremism during the exit should not be a permanent state, but should be a temporary state of exploration.
So, when one is a recently emancipated religious extremist, we will have this tendency toward the opposite extreme. Do not fear this phase, just recognize that it is not permanent, and that exploration will eventually lead us to a more balanced life once we find our place in the world. Do not give up, and keep on exploring.
May you also find peace.
JPI
3 comments:
Very well said. I'm currently attending an AoG church at the moment. Oddly enough the church is actually kind of secular compared to some of the other extremist churches Ive been reading about. Its weird because the services use secular illustrations like illustrated sermons based of teen shows like Glee and whatnot, to make a spiritual point. Then at the alter call they encourage everyone to pray in the "the spirit", which is the term they prefer because it sounds a little less strange i guess. I just feel very confused in this church im in. My mother is a hardcore pentecostal and I started attending church with her 2 years ago...Ive never fully been into all their extremist views and I would actually rate myself as balanced on the scale you were speaking of, however I feel that the longer I attend a pentecostal church, the more im becoming influenced to have unbalanced views in my life. There is just so many contradictions in that religion and such a huge emphasis on money, that Im trying leave and find a more stable church to attend. I want to leave before i become an extremist. I love the Lord with all my heart and I dont think God would be happy with much of the scandal that goes on in this church....Im sure you arr aware of what I mean. I never hear about Lutherans on TV begging for money and scamming people, thats for sure.
I can relate with you...I have been there for 4 years.. Run out..they will confuse you baddddd..look for a normal protestant church...but pentecostal church can ruin your live...they will talk about fake promises...The best think I ever did was to walk out.
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