Woke to da Bougie Church by Distinguishing Tares from Wheat: Disengaging from the Manipulations of the Traditional Church (Article #1)
Article #1:
In light of the current presidential administration, I have realized it is now time. It is time for me to deal with some hard truths in my life. It is time to confront some large Goliaths. It is time for me to speak the difficult words I have hesitated to say.
The current administration won the electoral college and the popular vote, dominating every swing state and seizing majority of the House and Senate. This group proudly dons the badge of the “Moral Majority” while simultaneously violating the moral code held dear by myself and many others.
So, it is time—in fact, it is beyond time. This is the moment for me to come out of my prayer closet and confront what I’ve been seeing. The lie. The manipulation. The Goliath.
The traditional Church has been gaslighting the people of God (His children) with a “fear factor” for generations. Simply put, I am tired of it.
Not only am I tired, but I am also downright angry. My anger is nearly debilitating, the kind of intense emotional overload that can lead to a complete shutdown.
The traditional church has created such a false, flawed, anti-Christ mindset that it has become nearly impossible for people to see and connect with the true nature of God. The only solution I can offer to this dilemma is a loving yet honest voice.
I have a strong distaste for the hypocrisies of the incoming leaders, but I have an even greater disdain for their supporters. While it is true that (in the words of this term’s victor) “there are good people on both sides” of this election, a broad classification of these followers presents three categories:
1. The wealthy.
2. The bigoted.
3. The traditionally religious Christians.
My belief is that the first two categories effectively camouflage themselves into the crowd of the third. Without the cover of the traditionally religious, it would be impossible for the wealthy and the bigoted to thrive. This fact is tried and true throughout history: the church has often been used as a political tool to control, manipulate, and corral the population.
Although I have firm opinions about each of these categories, I feel most led to confront the third group. The tricky aspect of this section is that it is a tangled mess of tares and wheat. Among traditionally religious Christians, there are those who intentionally deceive, and there are those who are the victims of deception—that is, individuals with good intentions who are controlled and manipulated. Distinguishing between the tares and wheat is a tedious process that I am beginning to unravel.
In a conversation about religion, it is believed that Mahatma Gandhi said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Gandhi later remarked that “If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.”
I am grateful that I developed my personal relationship with Christ OUTSIDE of the Church. Had things been different, I question if I would have ever become a Christian. When I finally started engaging with my “fellow Christians,” I became increasingly aware of the tsunami of hypocrisies within the Church.
So, this is what I hate about the situation at hand. I hate that the message of Christ has been polluted by so-called Christians. I hate that the hypocritical behavior of many (if not most) Christians now leads most people to run in the opposite direction of Christ. I hate that Christ’s mission has been co-opted to rob people of their right to make their own choices (“…work out [their] own Salvation” —Philippians 2:12a). I hate that the message of Christ is presented from fear instead of love. I hate that the person of Christ has been overshadowed by the overwhelmingly self-righteous. I hate that so many individuals claim to have received Christ, yet their primary focus is on what’s wrong with everyone OTHER than themselves.
Therefore, this article represents the first in a series called Woke to da Bougie Church, Lit to da Gucci Christ Distinguishing Tares from Wheat: Disengaging from the Manipulations of the Traditional.
Using the following meme as a template, I will address the dysfunction within traditional Church:
10 SNEAKY WAYS PEOPLE WILL MANIPULATE YOU
1. LOVE BOMBING: Flooding with affection to gain control.
2. GASLIGHTING: Making you doubt your reality.
3. SILENT TREATMENT: Ignoring you to make you feel guilty.
4. GUILT TRIPPING: Making you feel responsible for their emotions.
5. PLAYING THE VICTIM: Always being the one who is wronged.
6. FUTURE FAKING: Promising a future that never comes.
7. TRIANGULATION: Using others to make you jealous.
8. BLAME SHIFTING: Turning the table to make you the problem.
9. WITHHOLDING AFFECTION: Using love as a weapon.
10. MINIMIZING FEELINGS: Dismissing your reactions as overreacting.
To conclude this introductory article, I want to share an impactful personal experience. As stated earlier, I established my personal relationship with Christ at a young age, so I knew Christ personally in my heart before I could be manipulated by a fear-based doctrine in the traditional Church.
I was so excited about the Kingdom of God that a friend and I started an early morning Bible study in high school. A group of us would gather to study the scriptures before classes began. Today’s technology makes it quite easy to access the Bible, but perhaps some of my older readers will be familiar with the mini, pocket-sized New Testament Bibles we used in these meetings.
As I was preparing for an upcoming Bible study, I came across a wonderful verse that I wanted to share with my co-leader. While waiting for our next class to begin, I told him about the verse from two seats away. He seemed to be unfamiliar with the section I mentioned, so I pulled out my mini-Bible, marked the verse I was referring to, and tossed it to him.
Instantly, I heard a voice of utter outrage from another row: “How dare you throw the Bible around?! That is the Word of God! You need to be more respectful!”
These words came from a fellow student who never spoke about God our entire time in high school. I only knew her to speak of gossip, manipulation, and aristocracy—being the most popular girl in school had its responsibilities. Never once did this student ever talk with me about Christ. She never quoted a scripture nor attended a Bible study. Yet in that moment, she felt she had the right to reprimand me for tossing my mini-Bible two seats down the row.
This marked the beginning of 50 years of experiences that left me so bewildered I did not know what to do...until now.
At that young age, I did not realize what I was witnessing. However, in my old age, I now understand I saw the difference between a religion and a relationship. The difference between a God and an Idol. The difference between the Bible and the Word of God. The difference between the tares and the wheat.
I want to apologize to my younger self for remaining silent for so long, but I promise you, girrrrrrrl...we ‘bout to handle things now! Let’s go, devil! Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.
We’ve got some work to do!
Joy Johnson
Perspectives of a Christian Black Woman ©
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