In a book called Spiritual Battery, author Candy Lopitz compares spiritually abuse groups to an abusive relationship:
**
The abuser convinces the victim that outsiders simply do not understand their relationship and that they will make various attempts to destroy it.
>>>> The cult convinces its members that outsiders simply do not understand their beliefs and that they will make various attempts to destroy the group and/or lead its members astray.
++
Once the victim comes to accept this theory, it is quite easy for the abuser to convince her that isolating herself from her usual support system is necessary in order to safeguard the relationship.
>>>>Once members come to accept this theory, it is quite easy for the cult to convince them that isolating themselves from their usual support systems is necessary in order to safeguard their relationship with God and their membership in the group.
++
Small random acts of kindness interspersed between abusive episodes reinforce the victim’s choice to remain with the abuser. They are viewed as evidence that the abuser is really not such a bad person. This belief keeps victims in a continued state of denial, which makes the abusive episodes easier to endure emotionally and psychologically.
>>>>By mixing a little truth into their false doctrines, cult leaders encourage acceptance of beliefs that might otherwise be unpalatable. Moreover, they condition their members to focus on the more desirable aspects of their membership and to overlook (leave in Jehovah’s hands) the less desirable aspects. This facilitates members’ denial and enables them to continue their membership.”
gracethoughts 