I see the ‘idea of god’ as a captor for many people. Believers may not agree
by saying god never “kidnapped” them but in essence, the IDEA of god did.
His message is clear and obvious; you can’t survive without his mercy. You
don’t deserve life; it is a gift he’s giving you for a short time and he will take
it away when he pleases. God also says, “I am all omnipotent (all powerful)
(Genesis 18:14; Luke 18:27; Revelation 19:6) and omniscient” (all knowing)
(Psalm 139:2-6; Isaiah 40:13-14). If you buy into this, there’s only one
chance for your survival. You better be good or else. When he doesn’t hurt
you like you know he’s capable of, it’s him expressing love for you. In turn,
you love him for his great mercy. A ghost has officially captured you. I call
this, “faux-Stockholm syndrome.”
Can You Ever Escape?
Many who are indoctrinated into religion as a child don’t run away. They are
given plenty of opportunities to leave god behind but they don’t. Why not?
Elizabeth Smart was 14 when a man who wanted her for his wife kidnapped
her out of her home. She had several opportunities to run away or get the
attention of the police but she didn’t. When asked why, she explained that
he was always around, she had only seen her captor be successful and he
threatened to kill her and her family if she tried to run. (Golgowski, 2013)
Sounds a lot like the ‘idea of god’. He’s always around, he’s always
successful and he will kill your soul for eternity if you leave him. What
happened to Elizabeth Smart is tragic and is not to be compared to the ‘idea
of god’ and what it does to people. The man who raped and tortured
Elizabeth Smart is a beast of a different color. However, I will mention that
he believed god graced his actions and he was religious.
Can a victim of this faux-Stockholm syndrome (religion) ever escape? Yes
they can, but it takes them asking questions about their indoctrinated
beliefs. Thi s can be quite scary for this particular victim. They will have to
understand the world around them in a different way, see the flaws in the
word of god (the Bible) and accept the fact that the ‘idea of god’ can’t hurt
them. Then, and only then, will they be released from their ghost captor.
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