Soul Bruises

Send us Fan Mail A religion can look peaceful from the outside while quietly training you to disappear on the inside. My friend Darlene Hegyi joins me to tell the story of growing up in the Two by Two church, a secretive high control religion where meetings happen in homes, rules are enforced through shame, and “faith” can become indistinguishable from loyalty to the system. We talk about what spi...

Send us Fan Mail The Two Books mentioned in the interview: "Preserving the Truth: The Church without a Name and Its Founder, William Irvine"   by Cherie Kropp-Ehrig  "The Truth About The Truth" by Mary Ann Schoeff ********************************************************************************** A church that refuses a name can still demand your whole identity.  Steve Hegyi joi...

Send us Fan Mail FYI: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS A SMALL SECTION OF EXPLICIT CONTENT IN REGARDS TO SEXUAL ABUSE. * FOR VIEWING PODCAST - YOUTUBE VIDEO LINK (Advantages: Artwork is shown when it is being described) https://youtu.be/Etc_Gxr-6IQ DAVID'S WEBSITES www.nakedpastor.com His main site where you can find his cartoons and his blog www.thelastingsupper.com His online community  DAVID'S B...

Send us Fan Mail SHOW NOTES: Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMjsVQIepZw Dark Truth Behind Netflix’s ‘Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story Law & Crime Network https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPipALF5glc Was Ruby Franke Brainwashed? - Jodi Hildebrandt's Tactics Dissected https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvvgHlPZFrM Some stories sho...

Send us Fan Mail FREEZE YouTube Video of Bobi Gephart confronting Pastor John Lowe II   (13:39) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Sh2-Peefo FIGHT YouTube Video of "Remembering Jennifer Lyell" (5:37) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7ekxdMchxA FLIGHT Who are the 2 x 2's? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83DZdzxpR84   (Short Version - 1:58) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o_vTxBShFA (...

Send us Fan Mail In this podcast episode with our guest, Pastor & scholar Kayleigh Clark we  explore how collective trauma reshapes churches, why language and listening matter, how sometimes the first step of finding healing a church is about asking the right questions, and how new shepherds can gather what harm scattered. She shares a path from lament to restoration with trauma-informed minis...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your spirituality becomes a battleground? When your voice, appearance, and very humanity are treated as problems to be fixed rather than gifts to be celebrated? Pastor and Chaplain, Kristy Hodson takes us deep into her journey through high-control religion, revealing the subtle yet devastating ways spiritual abuse can damage our connection to both community and t...

Send us Fan Mail What parts of yourself have you cut off to fit into someone else's spiritual mold? In this raw and revealing conversation, Pastor Kristy Hodson shares her journey through a high-control religious environment where authenticity was often sacrificed on the altar of conformity. Drawing from Brené Brown's powerful distinction—" Fitting in is about becoming who you need...

Send us Fan Mail "Be Human,  Be Kind,  Be Both."

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your loyalty to God becomes twisted into a weapon against your own soul? In this deeply insightful exploration of distorted loyalty, we unravel how spiritual abuse manipulates our noblest virtues into chains of obligation and fear. Distorted loyalty isn't just about misplacing your allegiance—it's about how that loyalty functions internally, creating an...

Send us Fan Mail Misplaced loyalty in religious settings occurs when commitment to institutions trumps truth, justice, and human dignity. This harmful dynamic enables spiritual abuse by silencing those who recognize problems, creating environments where manipulation and control thrive under the guise of faithfulness. • Institutional cover-ups of abuse scandals (Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Co...

Send us Fan Mail Show Note Links: Allender Center: https://theallendercenter.org/ Allender Center Podcast: https://theallendercenter.org/category/podcast/ Restore Conference: https://julieroys.com/restore/ "The Roys Report" Podcast: https://julieroys.com/podcast/ Steven Hassan's Influence Continuum: https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/influence-continuum/ Steven Hassans BITE...

Send us Fan Mail "Be Human,  Be Kind,  Be Both."

Send us Fan Mail This episode explores: * The troubling dynamics of indoctrination, thought suppression, and mind         control within spiritual communities. * We emphasize the importance of nurturing critical thinking and personal           autonomy to foster genuine spiritual growth. *  Analysis of emotional and logical aspects of faith * The role of indoctrination in suppressing individual th...

Send us Fan Mail Wade Mullen's RESTORE 2022 conference talk that mentions DARVO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I-w6rPMy5M&t=1933s Rachel Denhollander's trial transcript  & verbal testimony Transcript:   https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/24/us/rachael-denhollander-full-statement/index.html Testimony:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CjVOLToRJk Spiritual abuse is an insidious force t...

Send us Fan Mail Spiritual abuse can shatter faith and trust in devastating ways. Imagine an environment where authority becomes a tool for manipulation rather than guidance. In this episode of Soul Bruises, we tackle the harrowing reality of spiritual abuse within religious settings, dissecting how authority and distorted loyalty can morph into instruments of harm. Learn how to differentiate betw...

Send us Fan Mail What if the pain you thought was just "church hurt" was actually something much more severe? Today on the Soul Bruises podcast, we return from our hiatus to confront the unsettling reality of spiritual abuse head-on. We explore why it's critical to listen to the voices of those who've endured this trauma, how the term "abuse" carries a weight that &qu...

Send us Fan Mail Ever felt the discomfort of a conversation that doesn't seem right in a spiritual setting?  I, Christie, pull back the curtain on the darker side of faith communities, spotlighting the fine line between spiritual guidance and coercive control. With an eye on those who twist faith for their own benefit, Soul Bruises attempts to peel back the layers to reveal behaviors and tact...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever considered the profound impact of power within your spiritual community? This episode pulls back the curtain on the often-invisible abuse of power, where control and authority can distort faith's nurturing environment. With the wisdom of Diane Langberg guiding us, we dissect the spiritual abuse triad – power, control, and authority – and investigate how these fo...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever navigated a staircase, wary of that one perilous step you know to skip? That's the essence of the 'missing stair', an analogy we explore in a special bonus episode of Soul Bruises, which casts light on the often unseen perils within our spiritual communities. We delve into the metaphor's origin and its startling relevance to spiritual abuse, illum...

Send us Fan Mail Step behind the curtain of spiritual trust with me as we  unearth the dark intricacies of deception that plague the paths of the faithful. This Soul Bruises episode peels back the layers of deceit woven into the fabric of spiritual communities, using the enigmatic life of John Harvey Kellogg as a case study.   As you listen, discover the subtle yet devastating ways that seemingly...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever felt the heavy burden of spiritual abuse within a faith community?   Our journey into the shadows of spiritual manipulation begins here, where I hope to guide you through the often-misunderstood realm of spiritual abuse.  We're not just scratching the surface; we're exposing the deep-rooted patterns of control that have caused generational hurt across all f...

Send us Fan Mail As we start on this journey, I'd like to echo the words of Elie Weisel: "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." With this episode, we're raising our voices against an oppressor that often goes unnoticed - spiritual abuse. Through personal experiences, insights from experts, and stories of those...

Send us Fan Mail This introductory episode of Soul Bruises sets the stage for the podcast's mission—to uncover the reality of spiritual abuse, understand its impact on individuals, and discuss ways to combat it. Your host, Christie emphasizes the importance of listener participation and involvement to this issue. Christie's personal motivation stems from witnessing far too many loved one...

Send us Fan Mail Spiritual abuse can be a very sensitive topic!  I felt it necessary to give a disclaimer, for anyone that might find the information shared on this podcast, to be triggering .  I do not want to cause any further trauma to anyone.  I understand if you are a victim of spiritual abuse that this may be the last thing you want to listen to.  If you can't, please encourage your fri...