Daily Archives: March 5, 2026

Case Study 3: Authority Claims During Personal Disorder: Situations Where Individuals Experiencing Instability Assert Spiritual Authority

Posted on March 5, 2026 by nathanalbright

Introduction Among the most complex and damaging dynamics in faith community life is the pattern in which individuals who are themselves in significant personal, relational, or psychological disorder simultaneously assert — and often escalate — their claims to spiritual authority … Continue reading →

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Case Study 2: Spiritual Language as Self-Defense: Examples Where Religious Language Shields Ego

Posted on March 5, 2026 by nathanalbright

Introduction Among the more subtle and consequential dynamics in religious community life is the deployment of spiritual language not as genuine expression of faith, but as a defensive mechanism protecting the ego from accountability, correction, or honest self-examination. This pattern … Continue reading →

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Case Study 1: Moral Inversion in Conflict: How People Who Cause Harm Often Believe Themselves Victims

Posted on March 5, 2026 by nathanalbright

Introduction One of the most persistent and destructive dynamics in human conflict is the phenomenon of moral inversion — the psychological and social process by which individuals or groups who are the primary agents of harm come to sincerely perceive … Continue reading →

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The Asymmetry of Moral Vision: Why We See Others Clearly but Ourselves Poorly

Posted on March 5, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper investigates the structural asymmetry between human perception of others’ moral failures and human perception of one’s own, drawing upon the biblical anthropology of self-deception developed throughout this series and engaging three interlocking dimensions of the phenomenon: cognitive … Continue reading →

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The Blind Leading the Certain: Spiritual Authority Without Self-Knowledge in Biblical Perspective

Posted on March 5, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper examines the phenomenon of spiritual authority claimed and exercised without the self-knowledge that genuine authority requires, through four extended biblical case studies: the Pharisees as portrayed in Matthew 23, the three friends of Job, the rebellion of … Continue reading →

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The Beam in the Eye: Projection, Status Signaling, and Authority Through Accusation in Matthew 7:3–5

Posted on March 5, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper undertakes a close theological and anthropological examination of Matthew 7:3–5, in which Jesus employs the image of a man with a beam in his eye attempting to remove a speck from his brother’s eye, as a diagnosis … Continue reading →

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