We examine a specific kind of toxic environment, termed a "shame-based system" by Jeff VanVonderen in his book Tired of Trying to Measure Up.  We talk about how to recognize whether a church, family, or work environment is based on causing shame, and a little bit of how to deal with it.

Recommended Resource: Tired of Trying to Measure Up  by Jeff VanVonderen: https://amzn.to/2K8aBrj

Book on Anger by Gary Chapman: https://www.amazon.com/Anger-Powerful-Emotion-Gary-Chapman/dp/0802413145/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=anger+chapman&qid=1630271076&sr=8-2

In this episode we discuss why people become legalists, even though it's a miserable way to live. We also talk about how legalism is related to spiritual abuse.

Recommended Resource: Healing Spiritual Abuse by Ken Blue: https://amzn.to/2WbMijt

Other Resources:
Broken Trust by F. Remy Diederich: https://amzn.to/2WqmuiR
Tired of Trying to Measure Up by Jeff VanVonderan: https://amzn.to/2K8aBrj
Podcast by Dr. Michael Heiser on headcoverings in the Bible: https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/podcast/naked-bible-86-the-head-covering-of-1-corinthians-1113-15/

We discuss what Legalism is and how to recognize it. We also look at examples of legalism from the Bible, church history, and modern religious contexts.

Recommended Resource: https://libertyforcaptives.com/2015/03/11/30-signs-of-legalism-a-checklist/

Other Resources mentioned:
Healing from Spiritual Abuse by Ken Blue: https://amzn.to/2WbMijt
Books from Nathaniel Hawthorne dealing with abusive religion: The Scarlet Letter, "Young Goodman Brown", and "The Minister's Black Veil"

What do we mean by "spiritual trauma"? We talk about our background, how we became aware of spiritual abuse, and the basics of how to recognize high control groups and toxic leaders in religious and family settings.

Characteristics of High Control Systems: http://cultresearch.org/help/characteristics-associated-with-cults/
Healing Spiritual Abuse by Ken Blue: https://amzn.to/2WbMijt
Broken Trust by F. Remy Diederich: https://amzn.to/2WqmuiR