The Gaslight Religion uses the language, ritual, and authority of faith not to liberate, but to control. It may not have a formal name or structure. Often, it’s a set of unspoken rules and reactions—a climate of confusion cloaked in sanctity.

There has been much discussion about what a church should do when confronted with an abuser in its midst. Such a question cannot begin to be adequately or wisely answered unless we first grasp the truth of what it means to be an abuser of the vulnerable.

GRACE Board Member, Laura Thien, and Reverend Carrie Walker Nettles explain how the words we use can unintentionally be sources of great injury for the survivors of abuse within our faith communities.

Dr. Diane Langberg explains how trauma affects a victim’s relationship with God.

Victor Vieth examines what happens while investigating child maltreatment sanctioned or condoned by a religious leader.

Author Jonathan Hollingsworth explains the darker side to being “radical for Jesus”.

In this interview with memoirist Trudy Metzger, the truth is revealed about how the deep physical, emotional, and spiritual pains caused by childhood trauma cannot obscure a loving God who crosses the road and gets down into the dirt with the hurting and brutalized.

There is increasing pressure to be “radical” for Jesus, but what does this mean? Is this a good thing? Boz interviews a young man who had bought into this “radical” Christianity to learn more. What is revealed is a cautionary tale that is worth exploring.