A young woman named Emanuella posted a YouTube video on February 28, 2012 that grabbed me. Some people are leaving comments there that indicate an ignorance about the message she is conveying in her video. Some will always look for darkness and suspicion in any message, and some just live to be contrary, but I immediately recognized the positive effect this can have on many who have not yet realized that Christianity has two primarily diverse adherents – mainstream and devoutly extreme. I am not re-posting her video to try and sell Christianity. I am posting it because she represents the attitude of most Christians in the United States who have not been steeple-jacked into a Dominionist congregation.
Mainstream Christians are as troubled by the march of the Dominionists as anyone else. They recognize the scripture-twisting and snake oil salesmanship that is flourishing in Dominionist churches and sects – siphoning congregational members from the pews of traditional churches into elaborate mega-church theatres. Mainstream Christians are in the majority, but they are being painted with a very broad brush by the verbose and hateful rhetoric spewed by political Christians and it is imperative that we all understand that there are now multiple definitions of what a Christian ‘is’. This extreme minority is becoming more brazen with each passing year – so much so that there is no denying that they exist. We need only look at the money and organizations behind the push for anti-women legislation in this country, and the impossibility of discussing the GOP 2012 candidates without talking about their religious goals as politicians.
This young woman, Emanuella, exhibits the characteristics of a walkaway. I should know, I grew up with a mother who drank the Dominionist Koolade. On top of that, in my work I have the privilege of meeting increasing numbers of walkaways from Dominionist churches of different sects. Granted, most of these franchises under the umbrella of Dominionism refer to those who leave the flock as “fallen” with a not-so-subtle inference to the fallen angel, Satan. But for those of us on the outside it is abundantly clear that it takes a concerted effort on ones’ own behalf to gather the strength to walk away from these cults of Christianity.
It can be a lonely, lonely road. All too often walkaways live in self-imposed isolation, ashamed and convinced that they are but a sparse few who have “let Satan in ” and that they will burn in eternal damnation. Many of them have no idea the numbers who walk – and run – away from these institutions of indoctrination like themselves. They fight the demons that they were taught as they learn that free will and original thoughts are a positive attribute.
So to see the effort, such as the following video, really makes a powerful statement. The message that this young woman is conveying echoes the voices of tens of thousands of walkaways in America today who cringe at the dark side of Christianity represented by the voices of increasingly visible Dominionist leaders.
Walking away does not instantly translate into swinging to a position of non-belief and self-declarations of new-found Atheism. Many times it means that through a simple moment or an event – a song or a movie – the eyes of the indoctrinated follower can fly open and clarity finally reveals itself. Many remain believers in Jesus Christ, but their understanding can mature into a study of the teachings that are counter to the Old Testament fire and brimstone that they were “born again” into. It is a powerful transformation for walkaways! They are finally able to think for themselves and are free from the shackles of judgement of themselves and others, and are released from being constant messengers and human collection plates for these false prophets.
One of my many walkaway friends was an assistant Minister for a large portion of their 37 years of membership in a Dominionist Assembly of God church before having their own epiphany. This person now works daily to inform people about the dangerous extremism that is infesting Christianity – wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross. After years of bringing people into the fold, this person’s goal now is to alert people to the dangers of succumbing to the lure with promises of eternal salvation and redemption. Hell, it sounds simple enough especially because these zealots require little work of their Sheeples – all you have to do is just sit there and accept. And god forbid – don’t ever question or analyze what you are being told, after all, as soon as they are done editing yet another new revised version of the bible, they will tell you again that it is the inerrant word of God.
Embracing walkaways and their message to their fellow Christians is unbelievably important in stopping the bible-based cult of Dominionism. It is one of the aspects of this fight that I value most, the ability to educate mainstream Christians that the Judas living among them are the Dominionists who are co-opting their faith and turning it into a crusade whose mission is Holy War with Islam in preparation for the way for the 2nd Coming of Christ.
It heartens me to see messages like Emanuella’s because it means people are not only waking up – but they are bravely speaking out. I applaud her for making this video as it may very well become the “event” that awakens another future walkaway.
This video was emotionally hard to watch because it brought me back to my days of walking away from my church and organized religion as a whole.
I watched her fight back the tears in the beginning, felt the shame she felt in being that unbiblical, judgmental, disdainful Christian to smiling as she presented the true teachings of Jesus – Love.
My heart leaps for joy that more and more are abandoning a religion that wraps itself in misogyny, patriarchy, homophobia, Crusader mentality, racism and total disdain for the poor. The christ they worship has no identity with the Christ of the bible and therefore is the anti-Christ.
Thank you for sharing this video and keep up the good work!
I had a dream a month or two ago… where it was like I was being shown the history of the church to long before Jesus. The essence of the dream is that there has been a Church of an “anti-Christ” – not the spiritual man-demon that the fundies so fear, but the inverse of Christ and His teachings since long before Jesus was born (I also know that other people close to the Divine have been teaching very much the same things Jesus taught throughout history). This Church of an Anti-Christ has been a major problem including during the very beginning days of what became Christianity. It was a powerful dream and explained much.
That “Church” is partially why we have the Bible we have today (which tolerates if not encourages things like slavery and denigration of women and changes the focus from what Jesus taught to worshiping Him through a power structure). That “Church” is the one who threw Arian out, rather than being tolerant or acceptive of a (minor) difference of opinion on something that cannot be proved or disproved – and all of the problems that led to. That “Church” is responsible for all of the religious-based conflict since the days that Jesus walked this planet. That “Church” is what led to the reformation, and then not only resisted but stomped on any attempts to make “The Church” more like what Jesus taught. That “Church” is what we fight today… and it’s to be found (to a degree) in all of the mainstream churches and especially strong in the dominionist and fundamentalist ones.
The essence of the “Church of the Anti-Christ” focuses on privilege, on authority, on obedience, on stratification, and on what could be said to be “spiritualizing” rather than living Christianity. It focuses attention on the words of St. Paul (whom I suspect was actually of that ersatz “Church”) and of the portions of the OT that can be misinterpreted and misunderstood (or sometimes clearly understood) to support the very people that Jesus always was against – the rich (in modern vernacular, the 1%). That “Church” is the one that brought about the idea that the Bible is inerrant and must be taken as literal truth. That “Church” is the one which wants women “in their place” just as it does the poor and sick.
The wounds that that church leaves are horrific. I’ve got them. Leah has them. Our mutual friend Alex has them. A LOT of people have them. It doesn’t take long for them to wreck people’s souls and even a short period under their authority (those churches where this ersatz “Church” is magnified – the dominionists and the fundamentalists) can lead to emotional, mental and spiritual (and even physical) wounds that never heal or take years if not decades.
That “Church” is the force behind the idea that Christians must take over the world for Christ – except Jesus never wanted that. It is totalitarian, coercive, and abusive in nature.
I found the video to be triggering too, but because I’d heard much the same from the dominionists (talking about Love and Loving people) and it was only because I knew Leah to a degree that I didn’t stop and turn my back on that video. Once she started getting onto that false “Church” for it’s hatred of people who don’t fit their expectations, then I felt a bit better and realized she was probably for real (a Real Christian rather than a “Good Christian” – the ones that belong to that “Church”). The difference is that the ones I remember emphasized “If you Love and Love God, you’ll get out there and try to convert people so they won’t go to Hell!!!”. In a way, it was refreshing not to get those demands sprung on us at the end.
When it was over, I appreciated it although I still felt discomfort because of how close it came to the sort of things I remember.
Susan, your statement “It took a long time for me to even admit that you can have a spiritual life without the entanglement of organized religion.” really says it clearly. This is a point I try to convey all the time. By that I mean that all too often these discussions are viewed in black and white. If one walks away they are immediately suspect of being an Atheist. Thank you for saying that because many walkaways do find very fulfilling spiritual lives after leaving the bible-based cults.
I can understand, to some degree, the walkaway mental distress. I was raised in an evangelical church. Not to the degree of that which I investigate now but evangelical just the same. We all know the ones, alter calls because if the Lord comes tomorrow your momma may be gone and you will be left with a godless father etc etc. It took a long time for me to even admit that you can have a spiritual life without the entanglement of organized religion. In fact you can go to church without the “scare tactics” these people use to convert people.
I have never been able to attend a church regularly but I do now know it is OK if I want and if I do my “due diligence” in determining what said church teaches. I know people who are still entangled in this “propaganda” and it is funny, when you challenge their interpretation of “the word”, some get very annoyed. Especially when you did deeper than their superficial surface of understanding.
that was “dig” deeper not did
There is no way for me to know the motivation in this young woman’s heart, but her message is a strong one in its appeal to judgmental, hell and damnation Christians. It triggered me as well and took me back to my youth when I struggled to understand why the actions and words of so many who I was surrounded by in the pews did not match the teachings of love, compassion and caring that I was being taught as the foundation of Christ’s message.
I can only hope that it will trigger others to re-think their options.
I found the video to be very triggering, although I eventually realized that her heart was in the right place. (For it to be here and to have your approval, Leah, her heart HAD to be in the right place, although part of what she said did bring back some memories.)
I think Love would suggest silence is better than words any more. If someone is for real about loving people… let that person help those who need it, not because it makes them feel good or because it’s the right thing to do, or because it might get Brownie Points with God… true love is helping people because they need the help and you can give it. True love is considering the needs and desires of the loved one and always taking the Other into account when making decisions. True love balances things out, and never hurts the Other. True Love stands for right, and for justice, and mercy.
True love is to be Christ-like, not in the harsh legalistic sense that is so common, but in kindness, and gentleness, and in listening. It is to try to partake of some of the nature of God. To try to connect yourself to the Divine. To try to speak the truth, no matter how personally painful it might be (and to not speak if the words will cause undue pain in the Other).
Love does no harm (as the Other considers harm). That’s a lesson the anti-Christians have never learned.
I just flat out assert that the Bible is not the Word of God. It has way too many contradictions, is scientifically untenable, and historically inaccurate to be considered truth from an omniscient being. Hence I can dispose of the circular logic, and begin a discussion.
Discussions are essential, particularly analytical ones. Dominionist leaders discourage critical thinking and discussion at all costs. Their control comes from dictating their interpretations of the bible that furthers a goal of domination. I agree with you, as do many mainstream Christians.