The below 5 tweet thread link is a tale of how a Christian pastor used the deference many give pastors to convince a woman to have sexual relations with him despite her reported lack of desire to do so.
Some “leaders” manipulate their followers all the time. “Leader” is in quotes because this pastor would likely proclaim himself to be a leader that should be listened to but to me, no one deserves anything unless I’m mutually benefiting from his or hers requests.
Be careful of who and what you listen to
Furthermore, it can be risky for ANY human to comply with what another human wants unless one genuinely wants to comply with the request. I encourage this worldview even if the other person making the request is “wiser” or in a position where most people listen to him or her without questioning. This worldview will likely limit one from partaking in activities or committing actions that aren’t in one’s best interest.
It’s pretty crushing that there are some scenarios where people use violence to force people to comply with their requests. It’s also unfortunate when the individual being coerced sees no option but to comply due to imbalanced power dynamics or a belief system that suggests they listen without questioning. Belief systems that discourage questioning and disagreements with authority prompt me to ask, “What or who is upholding this belief system and are they benefiting from it while others aren’t?” Questions have power because they can expose instructions, commands, requests, etc that don’t make sense and when something doesn’t make sense it becomes more difficult to follow.
