pastors can threaten to ruin a person’s reputation. Even if they do not involve formal ecclesiastical charges, such threats can effectively control people. In fact, many abusive churches encourage members to openly confess their sins, insisting that they dig down deep and reveal their darkest secrets. Tragically, once these sins are confessed, sometimes under coercion, they are later used against church members who step out of line. As Kenneth Garrett observed, “In the church that abuses, the confession of sin (whether actual or imagined) is wrung out of members as means of gaining emotional
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