Removing The Thin Veil Of Evangelical Eisegesis genre: Hip-Gnosis & Six Degrees of Speculation
Before I begin, let me be clear...I have great sympathy for the immense pain and loss the family of Matthew Murray must be enduring. I don't for a moment question their sincerity and I'm certain they love Matthew, and I wish them well. We will likely never fully understand the dynamics that led to this tragic ordeal. However, it is important to explore all of the mechanisms which may have contributed to this terrible tragedy so that others might be spared the life-shattering agony. Additionally, with measured and objective reflection, perhaps we can uncover the means to save the lives of people like Matthew and his innocent victims. I offer the following with this in mind.
As I read an account of the funeral of Matthew Murray, it crystallized the certainty of my long held concern. There's no better way to state it...Christianity has been hijacked by those who will spare no effort in their goal of coalescing each and every individual within the confines of their beguiling brand of fundamental and fraudulent evangelicalism.
This broad movement, populated by dangerous demagogues, is tireless in its efforts to define God's intentions via literal, though laconic, interpretations of Biblical passages. They set out to instill this canard via a cunning sleight of hand...one that endeavors to package biblical eisegesis as biblical exegesis in an effort to engender irrefutable status and unyielding support.
The end game seeks to insure that every human act can be filtered through this masterfully manipulated prism...regardless of reasonability. Sadly, the efforts to view Matthew's life and death through this narrow purview have already commenced.
Since the tragic events unfolded in Colorado, I've watched as a number of conscripts have sought to sell the theory that the "normality" of Matthew's younger brother precluded the casting of doubt or the shining of a suspicious light upon the environment in which Matthew was raised. This crock block has been expressed as follows:
He (Matthew), in my opinion had the best, most supporting family. The whole family is so nice and giving.
IF his condition was caused by an event in his life, it would have to be something outside the family because his brother is a happy, friendly and a talented piano player. If it were his mum or dad wouldn't his brother also be at least somewhat affected"?
On the surface, one might be inclined to accept this argument...or at least consider its plausibility. Needless to say, even the underlying premise of this statement misses the mark. Clearly the relevant problem exceeds his "mum and dad" and the fact that his brother may have embraced the religious teachings of the higher authority brought into the home via his parents doesn't mean the environment was healthy or connected to rationality.
A siblings acceptance of the prescribed ideology doesn't affirm its validity nor does it necessarily absolve the parents of any potential responsibility. One can just as easily argue that the brother has, in fact, been affected...not only as a result of parental oversight; but also as a product of intense ideological indoctrination. Should there be any doubt as to this likelihood, let the words of Christopher Murray persuade you otherwise:
Even though Satan attacked my brother, I truly feel God is going to save a whole generation of people through this."
I suspect Matthew felt attacked by something other than Satan. I also suspect he would have been overjoyed to simply find the means to save himself...but even Matthew realized that wasn't in keeping with the "master plan" of his "handlers".
Anyone who has read Matthews voluminous writings will immediately know how to draw the necessary connections to, and conclusions from, this telling statement of Matthew's brother.
While one might expect Matthew's tragic death to lead his family to question their fundamental beliefs...as well as the rigid script they pushed upon Matthew suggesting his eventual role as a prophet (even to the extent that it foretold he would first turn away from his faith), it appears that his death has simply been incorporated into an ongoing story line.
The fact that the family would continue to brandish this biblically based biography (adaptations included as needed) with unflinching adherence may surprise or shock the objective observer...but it shouldn't...especially if one remembers the constructs upon which this movement is premised. Nothing, not event the death of a loved one, can force them to deviate from their doctrinal diatribe. If the outside observer can discern that rigidity, is it any wonder Matthew would be tormented by it?
I contend such an environment essentially relegates a child like Matthew to irrelevance...a virtual character in a play whereby the doubts and discomforts of the real person (Matthew) are inconsequential. The ideology, the church, and mom and dad have but one objective...to direct the production of the preordained outcome. As such, understanding Matthew was unnecessary. Instead, they set out to make him understand his role regardless of his protestations. When he failed to comply, they simply wrote his behavior into their script...all the while preserving the integrity of the ending.
I would compare the situation to a father who dabbled in golf as a child, but for whatever reason never succeeded in the sport, who then becomes determined to turn his child into the next Tiger Woods regardless of the child's total lack of athletic ability and an unbridled interest in classical piano.
As this process unfolds, the child will undoubtedly feel inadequate. If the pressure persists or advances, the child's identity will suffer untold damage. In extreme situations, some children will strike out in an effort to be seen as more than an object being utilized to augment the insecurities of the parent(s).
Returning to Matthew's writings, in one of his many entries he states:
As far as dealing with parents....I don't think the woman known as my mother really is my mother. She doesn't act like it. My "mother" is just a brainswashed (sp) church agent cun,t. The only reason she had me was because she wanted a body/soul she could train into being the next Billy Graham, Bill Gothard, or Peter Wagner. [...] She had a "special plan from the Lord" for me. No easy way out for me. Almost every f***ing day and at every church service the pastors and our parents would tell me and the other youth that "God has a very special plan for this generation.....don't break any rules or you'll miss out!!! Honor and OBEY your parents and the pastors ("god's anointed") or your life will be cursed and you'll open a doorway for demons!"
Clearly little interpretational analysis is needed...Matthew, in his own words, vividly supports the argument I've made. One needn't take license to realize that Matthew felt invisible.
We may never know what Matthew sought to impart in his final actions...but I'm willing to surmise that the words his brother spoke at his funeral would serve as one further reminder to Matthew of his inability to be seen outside the constructs of the dogmatic design of those he knew.
Nonetheless, those who contend that looking at Matthew's brother should absolve the family or his faith from any accountability is akin to suggesting that Nazi war criminals were not influenced by the rampant rhetoric and reprehensible rationale of Adolf Hitler's "final solution". Let me be clear, the acts of those who carried out the Holocaust can never be justified and neither can Matthew's. While this is an extreme comparison, even in the resolution of far more innocuous liability cases, the attribution of responsibility is rarely applied solely to one party.
Those who manipulate others in order to execute misguided agendas are sullied by the acts of their minions...even if those injustices are perpetrated by the willful behavior of adults...and those in positions of authority mustn't be allowed to reconstruct reality in order to absolve accountability.
Matthew, unlike these Nazi criminals, was systematically submitted to indoctrination his entire life. If grown men in Germany were susceptible to the suspension of reasonable and long-established mores, what chance did a vulnerable child have to avoid the madness that ensued from his efforts to reject hypocrisy and see life outside of the prison he was forced to endure? If our condemnation of Hitler and his ideology is justified, so too is our questioning of parental propriety.
It should come as no surprise that the world Matthew chose when rejecting his faith was filled with the constructs of his overlords...a world immersed in images of evil and inhumane idols...a world cast by the iron fisted adults in his life as the only alternative available to those who would fall from grace. In limiting Matthew's contact with the outside world...as well as vilifying it...they precluded him from witnessing moderation and escaping the confines of the black and white extremities they promoted.
Now, more than ever, it is time to break the back of religious extremism lest we regress into the throes of a dark ages mentality...a time where the pursuit of objective knowledge is subjugated to the asserted infallibility of religious ideology.
When the following statement can be accepted as a reasonable reaction to Matthew's horrendous final actions, have we not commenced the suspension of our humanity in favor of a contrived denial construct?
just thought I'd let u guys know...i go to new life...and i love it there..God forgives and so do i...i forgave matthew the minute it happened...we are all sinners and capable of making huge mistakes. God loves everyone...i pray for his family...and that somehow through this tradegdy (sp) that God WILL be exhaulted (sp) [...]
The nature of man tells us death is first met by grief and anger and sometime in the future forgiveness will hopefully emerge. When those of faith leap to make statements that deny as much, have we not injected the very ideations that led Matthew to reject the sincerity of religion? Any faith that believes we can or should abandon our basic human traits is suspect.
If I can read the English language...and I believe I can...then aren't those who are leaping to accept and embrace Matthew in death, the same who ignored and rejected him in life? If that is a demonstration of Christianity, then Jesus Christ was a fraud.
On the contrary, I contend those who portray their Christianity through trite statements and symbols, as if it were the equivalent of a badge that can be slapped upon one's lapel, are simply engaged in a never-ending spiral of hypocrisy and self-deception.
While I applaud the sincerity and compassion being exhibited by many people of faith, those easily identified interlopers who wear their faith like a badge, and who seek to usurp Christianity, must be exposed and forced to travel far deeper than the pretty proclamations they've begun to toss upon this terrible tragedy.
Unless and until this happens, we're never going to save the Matthew's of the world...or prevent the needless carnage they inflict.
Tagged as: Bible, Christian, Christopher Murray, Chrstnghtmr, Colorado Shootings, Depression, Eisegesis, Evangelical, Faith, Fundamentalism, God, His Love Fellowship Church, Loretta Murray, Matthew Murray, Mr. Crowley, New Life Church, nghtmrchld26, Occult, Pentecostal, Phil Abeyta, Religion, Ronald Murray, Ted Haggard, Youth With A Mission, YWAM
Daniel DiRito | December 15, 2007 | 2:15 PM |
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