Am I a Religious Narcissists?

Anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ but pursues...their own or denominated agendas...fame...money...position...manipulation and control of people...being the spiritual channel from God to the people for spiritual revelation...building themselves up at the expense of demeaning others...denominational division...man-made-doctrine at the expense of loving people...the bible as the loving Word instead of Christ, the Living Word...religion more than relationship...are they true followers of Christ? Or are they Religious Narcissists...by which I mean they have an excessive interest in ones self, are characterized by extreme selfishness with a superior spiritual view of ones own abilities and a craving for recognition and admiration because of their spiritual position, authority or bible knowledge. The religious narcissist is dangerous to saint and sinner alike!

Some characteristics of a religious narcissist are:

An infatuation with their own abilities and achievements. They love to promote themselves...every conversation is an opportunity to share just how superior they are to the nominal believer. They typically go about this by listing off their own achievements. You’ll hear them talk incessantly about their knowledge of the bible and quote it often to prove their man-made doctrine by ignoring the context of its setting, They will promote their upcoming book as being bible based and doctrinal correct. They take pride in their sermon series, missions work, or the number of people they led to Christ. Scripture tells us not seek our own glory and to let our work stand on its own (Proverbs 27:2), but the religious narcissist will flaunt anything they believe might bring them recognition and place them in a good light with people and the hierarchy of their denomination.

A religious narcissist refuses to follow the example of Micah 6:8, live justly, show mercy, and walk humbly with the LORD your God.

The religious narcissist craves authority and control, and their highest authority is always their own self-acclaim. They are known to invade the personal or private conversations of others, troll the internet to hijack someone's blog post to exhibit their perceived superior bible knowledge . They do this under the umbrella of “helping” or “correcting” fellow believers, but they have no real interest in listening, trying to understand the message of the hijacked post. They area monologue-er not a dialogue-er. They also have a way of injecting their own opinions into situations, and are the first to judge, condemn and sentence people for not believing the way they do. The Bible warns that such people create division among believers and serve only their own appetites (Romans 16:17-18, Psalms 36:1-4).

I have come to the understanding that there is no good way to reason with a religious narcissists (Proverbs 26:4-5), the best response believers can make is stand their ground and refuse to be bullied.

The religious narcissist misinterprets, misunderstands, misapplies and twist scripture to validate their man-made doctrines and beliefs. The religious narcissist claim to hear from God as to the doing of what they do and God always seems to agree and coincides with their personal or denominated agendas. God is used as a means of validating their purpose instead of God's purpose for the Community of Humanity. The study the bible with a closed mind interpreting it from already established denominated beliefs rather than allowing the scripture to formulate their beliefs. Because they can quote scripture that they have no contextual understanding of to justify their misunderstanding, and justify their behavior. They will not listen to the contextual setting of scripture that conflicts with their belief and action. Like the men of Jude 1:4, they should not to be trusted.

The best defense believers have against these kinds of false prophets is to read the Bible through the lens of Jesus. The more we understand and become familiar with Jesus, the more correct understanding we will have of God.

The religious narcissists are love professors but are not lovers. Their doing does not match up with their saying. They are noted for claiming they have nothing but love and compassion in their hearts for those they judge, condemn and sentence to hell fire, but their actions prove otherwise. Matthew 7 tells us that we can know a prophet by the fruit of his labors, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” So, what kind of harvest do the religious narcissist bring to the spiritual table for believers to eat?Judgement...Condemnation...Segregation...Man-made doctrine...Shame...Blame...Expectations...Do's and Dont's...etc..

Love is more than words, love is loving. Being a loving lover is what separates the true believer from the religious narcissist.

The religious narcissist talkers but not Listeners. The mark of a true believer is not a doctrine mouth-er-offer...rather...it is in being a good listener. Listening is a powerful tool for building trust, create empathy and fosters understanding to the point of exposing some of the religious deceptions that plague people. James 1:19 even urges believers to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. The religious narcissist, by contrast, is quick to speak, quick to take offense, and incapable of listening. They enjoy being the loudest one in the room sharing there bible quoting ability, and the idea of deferring to someone else is demeaning to their spiritually.

A true believer is a listener to others opinions, even when they might not agree with the opinion. Listening requires that people be selfless, open-minded and trying to understand which are not the characteristics of a religious narcissist.

Listening to understand, not to refute or give a rebuttal is one thing a religious narcissist does not do!

The religious narcissist misinterprets, misunderstands, misapplies and twist scripture to validate their man-made doctrines and beliefs. The religious narcissist claim to hear from God as to the doing of what they do and God always seems to agree and coincides with their personal or denominated agendas. God is used as a means of validating their purpose instead of God's purpose for the Community of Humanity. The study the bible with a closed mind interpreting it from already established denominated beliefs rather than allowing the scripture to formulate their beliefs. Because they can quote scripture that they have no contextual understanding of to justify their misunderstanding, and justify their behavior. They will not listen to the contextual setting of scripture that conflicts with their belief and action. Like the men of Jude 1:4, they should not to be trusted.

The best defense believers have against these kinds of false prophets is to read the Bible through the lens of Jesus. The more we understand and become familiar with Jesus, the more correct understanding we will have of God.

The religious narcissist are love professors but are not lovers. Their doing does not match up with their doing. They are noted for claiming they have nothing but love and compassion in their hearts for those they judge, condemn and sentence to hell fire, but their actions prove otherwise. Matthew 7 tells us that we can know a prophet by the fruit of his labors, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” So, what kind of harvest do the religious narcissist bring to the spiritual table for believers to eat?Judgement...Condemnation...Segregation...Man-made doctrine...Shame...Blame...Expectations...Do's and Dont's...etc..

Love is more than words, love is loving. Being a loving lover is what separates the true believer from the religious narcissist.

The religious narcissist talkers but not Listeners. The mark of a true believer is not a doctrine mouth-er-offer...rather...it is in being a good listener. Listening is a powerful tool for building trust, create empathy and fosters understanding to the point of exposing some of the religious deceptions that plague people. James 1:19 even urges believers to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. The religious narcissist, by contrast, is quick to speak, quick to take offense, and incapable of listening. They enjoy being the loudest one in the room sharing there bible quoting ability, and the idea of deferring to someone else is demeaning to their spiritually.

A true believer is a listener to others opinions, even when they might not agree with the opinion. Listening requires that people be selfless, open-minded and trying to understand which are not the characteristics of a religious narcissist.

Listening to understand not to refute or give a rebuttal is one thing a religious narcissist does not do!

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