BRAINWASHING WITHIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES

BRAINWASHING WITHIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES

“If you want to win in life, know that you will upset a lot of people. You’re going to bother people without having done them any harm!” (Bishop Jadson Santos - Universal Church)

 

I wanted to understand why this idea is given to Christians that they will necessarily bother other people for being Christians, for existing. The person can be unbearable, unnecessary, toxic, constantly trying to convert others. But he will upset others for simply being Christians.

 

“The devil uses people you like, he uses people you trust, he uses people close to you, he is always using people to persecute, to talk nonsense, to cast a shadow on your faith, to be able to cast doubt on you. There are people who, if you listen, it’s not good for your faith!” (Bishop Jadson Santos - Universal Church)

 

1. It is a fact that the devil exists. It is a fact that the spiritual world exists. It is a fact that the devil plays dirty and is willing to destroy us. But I try to understand this much power that we put in his hands. Any event that occurs outside the Christian bubble, we soon blame the devil. At the beginning of May, more precisely on 05/04/2024, Madonna's show took place in Copacabana. It began to circulate on social media that as soon as she entered the stage, a portal would open and demons would come out to the city of Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore, it was widely publicized that Rede Globo was offering the dead in the Rio Grande do Sul tragedy to demons and entities and that Madonna's show would be the cult/ritual offering of the dead.

 

2. Yes! There are people who can shake our faith! Yes! There are people who come into our lives and are toxic, they want to destroy us (in any ways). There are people who come into our lives and make unnecessary comments and take actions that leave us feeling 'ungrounded'. But this is not necessarily religious/spiritual. Can you see the brainwashing of some religious leaders on these occasions!? This Bishop simply said that you cannot trust anyone, even if you love them very much. This Bishop is saying that anyone who does not share his faith is a threat to his faith. This Bishop is indirectly saying that you can only trust those who are Christians like you and like him. This Bishop is indirectly saying that you cannot question the wisdom of a religious leader because he is a religious leader. Many Christians have the idea that, because they are Christians, they cannot hang out with ‘heretics’. Many Christians place themselves on an altar because they have the idea that ‘who walks with pigs eats bran’. Many Christians think that they cannot even question the things that happen within the church, since this could be a sin, in fact, how can a sheep question, for example, a message from the pastor, the salary of a pastor/minister and even the balance sheet made by administrators who are guided by God!?

And that happens a lot. I had a friend who came to my house, we watched movies every weekend (horror ones), during the TCC period at college, I helped her, she came to my house two or three times to do the work. At least, on my part there was true friendship. She discovered the RR Soares church and started attending. Out of nowhere, she started ghosting me, avoiding me, no longer wanting to go out to eat, no longer wanting to go out to watch movies, no longer answering my messages. Until one day I sent a message and she responded saying that the problem wasn't me, it was her. In short: I became her 'heretic' friend that she had to avoid. And Christians have this view of ‘who walks with pigs eats bran’. You can only walk with those who share your faith. You can only date and marry someone who is a Christian. If you have ‘heretical’ friends, these can hinder your worship. In 2015 I was excluded from the Praise Ministry of the church I attended (PIBVP – First Baptist Church in Vila da Penha) because I made videos of Madonna singing and dancing. According to the Minister, people from the Ministry came to say that I was practicing lasciviousness and that my presence in the pulpit was being a stumbling block for others.

 

My intention with this text is not to criticize/speak badly about the church! My goal is for you not to be a religious leader's cattle! My goal is for you to know that you can be suspicious, you can have a different opinion, you can question (with respect). My objective is to show that the church is a bureaucratic institution run by men, therefore, there can be flaws (and there are).

 

Raphael Paiva