Toxic FaithRev. John Glenn

NET Training InstituteFreedom Faith Based Training

Toxic FaithLaw and Grace

Toxic Faith and Religious Addiction The term Toxic Faith is the title of a

book by Steve Arterburn and Jack Felton.

Toxic Faith and Religious Addiction and spiritual abuse are not restricted to any one religion, example September 11, 2001.

Christianity, Islam and Judaism all have examples.

How a Belief System Can Shape and Form Your Life

Refer back to the discussion of cognitive restructuring.

Attitudes are a cluster of at least 7 different beliefs about God.

Beliefs are held together by emotions that existed at the time the beliefs were formed.

21 Beliefs of a Toxic Faith Arterburn and Felton listed 21 beliefs

of a Toxic Faith.1. Conditional Love2. Instant Peace3. Guaranteed Healing4. Irreproachable Clergy5. Monetary Rewards6. Investment Tithing7. Salvation by Works

21 Beliefs of Toxic Faith (cont.)

8. Spiteful God9. Slavery of the Faithful10. Irrational Submission11. Christian Inequality12. Passivity13. Biblical Exclusivity14. Heavenly Matchmaking

21 Beliefs of Toxic Faith (cont.)

15. Pollyanna Perspective16. Bulletproof Faith17. Vindictive God18. Mortal Christ19. Impersonal God20. Divinely Ordained Happiness21. Possibility of Gaining the Divine

Toxic Faith (cont.) This is not an exhaustive list. What makes a belief system toxic?

It contributes to a personal suffering and death even though it is hoped that it will lead to a relief from suffering.

It is always expressed in a form of religious addiction.

It’s goal is to cover and relieve pain through religion and religious activity.

Signs and Symptoms of Religious Addiction Compulsive Religious Activity Laziness Giving to Get Self Obsession Extreme Intolerance Addiction to a Religious High

These symptoms present a picture of religious addiction, but should not be taken out of context.

Example of Toxic Faith

Jim Jones (Jonestown in Guyana) David Koresh (Waco) Andrea Yates (Murdered Her

Children) Evangelical Ministry Scandals Jihad (Holy War)

Examples of Toxic Faith

Mathew 23: Jesus’ Rebuke of Scribes and Pharisees

First Family (Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel) Murder over an offering to God Caused by Toxic Faith and Religious

Addiction

Personal Needs and Religious Addiction

Toxic Faith is based on the lie that God is telling you, “you are no good”

Personal Worth In order to be worthy, you need 2

things: Personal Security Personal Significance

In order to have personal security you need 3 things: Unconditional Love Total Acceptance Complete Forgiveness

Personal Worth In order to have personal significance,

you need to have Sense of importance Meaning / purpose in your life Adequacy, capable and able

The faith factor builds this sense of worth in you.

God has done everything necessary to make you worthy, secure and significant.

Can Also Be Twisted Around In Toxic Faith, religious addiction and

spiritual abuse systems these things can be twisted around and used against you.

The 21 False Beliefs of Toxic Faith can be broken up into 3 Classic False Assumptions. Authority Performance Suffering

False Assumptions vs True Statements

False assumptions are based on the belief that: I will be worthy if.....(meaning that I am

NOT worthy now…I am worthless now). True statement:

The Faith Factor says I am worthy NOW because of what God has already done for me.

True Assumptions The greatest part of therapy, of helping

another person, is to tell them the truth about who they are…about their identity according to God.

The lie always counters the truth. Remember, what you believe

determines how you feel. How you feel determines how you will

act.

The Lies Related to Authority Irreproachable Clergy Irrational Submission Biblical Exclusivity Mortal Christ Impersonal God Gaining the Divine Heavenly Matchmaking

I will be worthy if…I gain the approval of certain others.

The Lies Related to Performance Conditional Love Investment Tithing Salvation by Works Slavery of the Faithful Christian Inequality Passivity Vindictive God

I will be worthy if…I perform up to certain standards.

The Lies Related to Suffering Instant Peace Guaranteed Healing Monetary Rewards Spiteful God Pollyanna Perspective Bulletproof Faith Ordained Happiness

I will be worthy if…I can control / overcome my circumstances in life.

False Assumptions (cont.) We have been conditioned to base

our worth on everything and everyone other than what God has done for us.

There is a battle that we fight with infinite false assumptions.

The Toxic Faith system is a flavor of false assumptions that have to do with God and Religion.

The Key to Recovery

The key to recovery is The Faith Factor.

Counteract Toxic Faith and Religious Addiction with a real plan for recovery based on the Faith Factor.

Spiritual Abuse as a Function of Toxic Faith People don’t believe that they’re

secure, significant and worthy. ‘Needs’ create within us a hunger to

gain approval and to make ourselves worthy.

There is an underlying belief system that lends itself to toxic faith, religious addiction and spiritual abuse. It needs to be exposed and dealt with.

Grace Versus the Law “By grace” is a totally different way to

live compared to “by law”. Under grace we have:

Authentic faith: You live your life based upon a choice that you make. There is a spiritual relationship between you and God alone. Eliminates the approval addiction.

Under law: God is not in the picture…just you and

others.

Grace Versus the Law Law is called “The Letter”

Leads to death Conditional relationship with God Addicts live under this

Grace is called “The Spirit” Leads to life Unconditional promise To get to recovery, addicts must move away

from the law system to the grace system.

The Most Fundamental Flaw of Toxic Faith Illustrated by the Jews in the wilderness

after receiving the 10 Commandments. All of the Old Testament is the history

of the nation of Israel in their effort to keep the 10 Commandments. They blew it over and over again.

God had first made an unconditional promise of grace to Abraham.

God’s Promise with Abraham Abraham was the father of the

Jewish nation, the Islamic nation, and of Christianity.

The covenant God made with Abraham was a covenant of grace.

The failure to understand the covenant of grace made with Abraham has led to religious addiction and spiritual abuse.

The Covenant The covenant of grace between God and

Abraham can be found in Genesis 15 Examples of Covenants

The Salt Covenant The Shoe Covenant The Blood Covenant

God continues to bless the nation of Israel, the Islamic nations, and Christians because of the covenant of grace.

The Unconditional Nature of Grace

The unconditional nature of grace is not understood in Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

The failure to understand this leads to toxic faith, religious addiction, spiritual abuse and war.

Our Worth

When it comes to our worth, the good news is it comes based upon an unconditional promise of grace. God makes us worthy because he does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Under the law, the letter of the law is your understanding of what is required of the law. Ultimately leads to death.

Grace Under grace, the spirit of God

works within us, transforms us, regenerates us and brings forth life.

What God does for us, we can’t do for ourselves.

All Toxic Faith, leading to religious addiction, has at its base a legal methodology.

The Law In the creation story with Adam and

Eve, they were told not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil…it was a tree of the law, and it would kill you.

All addicting faith, toxic faith, has at it’s base a conditional promise of the law. It will ultimately kill you. That’s how you recognize it.

Definition of Grace and Mercy Definition of grace and mercy:

Mercy is when you err and don’t die. Grace is a supernatural working by God’s

divine provision (inside of you) to transform you by God’s spirit into a healthy functional human being.

Grace is what is referred to in the Big Book of AA.

Recovery of all addictions involves the supernatural working of God to transform us.

Contrast Toxic Versus Authentic Faith

Toxic faith: Imposed upon the individual from external sources. Coercion / forced compliance

If you feel compelled to force / compel others to believe in Christianity—that is a form of Toxic Faith.

Focused on self-effortAuthentic faith: Origin is from within the

individual. Allows free choice Focused on divine provision

Toxic Faith Versus Authentic Faith

Toxic Faith: Focused on the Law Expression is intolerance and

manipulation

Authentic Faith: Focus is on Grace Focus on ministry (love and tolerance)

More About the Law

Under a Law System Motives: fear of failure and rejection

and anxiety produces guilt and shame pride covers the guilt and shame

More About Grace Under Grace

Appreciate and celebrate what God has done. Believe and trust in what God has done.

Faith produces within us hope… Hope is a joyful confident expectation

about your future. It comes from faith. This produces love…Once I have faith and

hope, I can then love and care about others.

Love fulfills the law.