LongTomH

LongTomH's Journal

February 12, 2015

"If You Have Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome, You Are Not Alone"

I wonder how many people on this forum can relate to this article: Dear Katy Perry: If You Have Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome, You Are Not Alone. Apparently, some Christians are reacting to Perry's half-time performance at the Super Bowl with accusations ranging from lewdness to witchcraft. Patheos blogger Reba Riley empathizes with Katy Perry's journey from evangelical Christianity to......whatever:

Katy: I know you are a former Evangelical Poster Child who, like many of my readers, no longer claims Christianity. I know you’re a pastor’s kid, and that you’ve had to field questions about religion and faith more publically than anyone should. I know you’ve been criticized and damned to hell and felt religious whiplash; I’m pretty darn sure you’ve crashed into religion when you went looking for God, and I know you’ve been judged within an inch of your life.

//..........snip

I’m writing as a friend– a fellow survivor, a wayfarer on the journey, to tell you that you are not alone. There are millions of us suffering from spiritual injuries who are walking our own paths to truth.

Though our stories are different– and only one of us was riding a bad-ass lion in front of the whole world last Sunday!—we have one thing in common: the crashing into religion has left us with spiritual whiplash, broken bones, bruises, welts and lacerations.

I termed these injuries Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome (#PTCS), and I have a teensy, tiny inkling that you know exactly what that phrase means before I even define it.

...........and perhaps some of us have a good idea as well. Here's the video where Reba defines that term with both humor and insight:

Wherever you are on the path today; it is okay. It is enough. You are enough. (Not something we were told very often, right?) Faith is a journey, and the Godiverse will meet you, me—all of us—exactly where we are or aren’t.

I can relate: My grandmother handled my religious upbringing in (shudder!!!!!) the Assembly of God, the same church that Jim and Tammy Bakker belong too. I escaped in my teens, and I've long since forgiven Grandma; but the scars remain. I tell people: "I had my head fucked up by experts!" You would have to have encountered the Assembly of God or similar pentecostal / evangelical churches to understand.

The only time I've attended church in recent decades was with my late sweetheart, Jeanne, who was a devout, if liberal, child of the Catholic church. I actually felt comfortable in church when I was with her; but, I haven't been to church since she died. I really don't think my spiritual path lies with organized religion; although I may accept a friend's invitation to attend a Unitarian / Universalist church.

Profile Information

Member since: Wed Oct 13, 2004, 05:42 PM
Number of posts: 8,636