I have seen with my own eyes how church hurt has destroyed a great chevalier of the faith, a man who’s voice in prayer shook the room like John The Baptist. I have personally experienced church hurt, where a pastor lied to me about visiting a sick loved one of mine (I have the proof & confronted him), a pastor who promised to Jesus in a recorded public service to help people reach their calling and even though he was my good friend would not respond to my inquiry about who to seek to be trained in the ministry for a year, even promising in person he would, and another who offered me a job at seminary, then as I was executing the office reneged and then expected me to do job later in the semester after reneging, and then added other requirements as he reneged again later, being more like Darth Vader, “I am altering the deal, pray I do not alter it any further.” (Empire Strikes Back). Only recently could I see God was preventing me from becoming a Pharisee, a seminary serpent, who props up legalism, the Mammonist model of the Church System, and who Jesus would say many woes to (Matthew 23) and warn of man made religion, “And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” Mark 7:6-13). God spared me from becoming corrupted by the Neo Pharisees who love their acts of piety and prosperity doctrine, I instead became a volunteer missionary and cyber-servant of Christ.
In regards to church hurt, I recently watched Francis Ford Coppala’s gothic masterpiece Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) and at the beginning Vlad III of Romania, Dracula, Son of the Dragon, Dracul was his father, They were of the Order of the Dragon, a order tasked with defending the church and the cross. Vlad goes to fight The Ottoman Turks in a hopeless battle, leaving his beloved wife Elisabeta, and in battle Vlad not only wins but does his infamous impaling, and kissing a crucifix, he thanks God for the victory. Unfortunately, Elisabeta receives a rumor from The Ottomans that Vlad is dead and castes herself off a cliff into the river. Vlad returns to find his wife laying beneath the altar, a giant cross looking above. Vlad takes his wife in his armor swooning and the ever loving priest tells Vlad, “because she committed suicide she is in hell.” This hurtful statement makes Vlad go into a rage, and he renounces God thrusting his sword into the giant cross that releases a flow of blood that he drinks to become The Vampire Dracula. Some ironies here is Elisabeta wrote a note that she killed herself to be with Vlad in heaven, and now dooming himself to be a nosterafu (vampire) will make that impossible, however, from Vlad’s perspective him renouncing God would allow him to descend to hell to be with her since the priest said she was in hell, instead he is doomed to live forever on earth. What is strange is Vlad become the vampire drinking blood from the cross, which indicates its Eucharist blood of Christ, so he renounces God but become immortal from His blood, ironic. The scene of apostasy highlights that church leaders can hurt people in their grief, that the priest saying Elisabeta was in hell was harsh. We actually have no idea what happens to suicides, Scripture contains no evidence of a suicide in heaven or hell, only that King Saul, Judas Iscariot, and another ruler committed suicide. Both Judas and Saul had demons and the influence of the devil (see my post on suicide). I personally believe God is mercy, and compassionate, and will take into account the despair, grief, and demonic coaxing that led to a person committing suicide.
I use Vlad’s very graphic moment of apostasy to highlight church hurt, that someone can be coaxed towards hating God and his church by the behavior and carless words of people in the church (Christians), “And I say to you that every careless word that they will speak, men will give an account of it in day of judgment.” (Matthew 12:36). That priest telling Vlad that Elisabeta was damned was carless. At the end of Coppola’s Dracula, Vlad now Dracula lays before that same altar cross, in the arms of Mina, a woman who looks like Elisabeta, he speaks of feeling forsaken by his God and says “it is finished,” but Mina’s love restores his faith in God, the cross shines light on Dracula’s face and he stares as if he sees God and Elisabeta in heaven. Then we see a painting of Vlad Dracula and Elisabeta in heaven holding hands. The Love of Mina restored Dracula’s faith in God, which is biblical, for as Christians we are suppose to radiate God is love, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love,” (1 John 4:7-8) and we are to be known as Jesus disciples by our love, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). The Priest who turned Vlad against God with bad doctrine was an accuser of the brethren, voice of Satan, while Mina in contrast became a vessel of grace, and leads Vlad back to God via love. While I cannot recommend Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) due to sexual scenes and demonic moments, the story is beautiful, about the redemption of the most prodigal son ever, Dracula, Son of the Dragon. Mina showed what we Christians are suppose to be, building up one another, “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.” (Jude 1:20-21)
In the same way as Mina we are to lead if we can draculas who are falling away or have fallen away back to Jesus, “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives,” (Jude 1:22-23), and “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.” (James 5:19-20). We do this through the love of God, not by crushing people who are wavering and breaking! We are suppose to imitate our Lord Jesus who leaves the ninety-nine for the one sheep (Luke 15:4-7), in same way we should like Mina go after the apostate or those on the verge of falling and bring them back! It will not be easy, church hurt & abuse has the capacity to warp Christ in their minds, to make people see Jesus as cruel and indifferent to their pain, when the truth is He loves them and feels their pain, and would weep with them! It says God collects our tears, because they are precious to Him, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book,” (Psalm 56:8), He collects them because each tear breaks His heart and He remembers your every heart ache, and offers a loving embrace and weeps with you. The apostle Paul tells us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15). At weddings we rejoice, at births we rejoice, at promotions and birthdays we rejoice, but at tragedies, funerals, and life’s sorrows we are to weep with people! The Priest should have wept with Vlad Dracula as Cardinal Wolsey weeps with Thomas Cromwell in The Wolf Hall series when Thomas tells his friend The Cardinal that his wife and two daughters have died of a “sweating sickness.” The Cardinal begins to recite the line “whom the Lord loveth..” but stops realizing it will not help his friend, so instead he sheds tears with him, something The Priest should have done with Dracula.
The truth is priests like the one who hurt Dracula or any minister who hurt you rather than expressing God’s love is not of God, “Anyone who does not love is not of God.” (1 John 4:8). Love is the bench mark for Christianity! “For God so loved the world He sent His Only Son..” (John 3:16). Those who fail this create princes of darkness, dones, and apostates. Most people who walk away from Christ do so over church hurt and abuse from its leaders. We must stop the surge of apostasy on our end and help those wavering! Amen.
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