The Cult of Lori Alexander (The Transformed Wife)

By Daniel Schricker, Ph.D - Posted at Revival Reviewed:

"My intention with this article is to detail some of the ways in which Lori’s teaching, behaviour, and the response by her followers are exhibiting cult-like characteristics. I am deeply concerned by the fact that someone with her influence is perpetuating harmful ideology and using Christianity as an excuse to do so. My examination of this topic will not be exhaustive but will highlight some similarities between the ways cults typically operate and the way Lori’s ministry appears to function."

Prologue

I had a Bible study leader who stood out to me for how seriously he took his faith and his responsibilities as a husband and father. He worked hard, his family attended church every Sunday, and his wife seemed to respect him. He had three well-behaved children who were always impeccably dressed. I still recall the amusement with which he told me how the first child had been conceived. Tired of waiting for his wife to be ready to start having children, he had poked a hole in his condom one night and she had fallen pregnant. He gleefully added that it had worked out great as he had been wanting his wife to quit her job anyway and the pregnancy had forced her to do so. I found the story alarming but pushed it to the back of my mind. The family seemed to be doing well so everything must have turned out for the best.

It was not until a conversation about his child’s fifth birthday that I had reason for further concern. He was once again in a rather jovial mood as he told me how he had had to discipline his daughter on her special day. Apparently, she had woken up early and he found her opening her presents before anyone else was awake. He had immediately picked up a slipper and spanked the child before locking her outside the house to think about what she had done. After she was allowed to return inside, it was explained to her that his anger had been like Jesus’ reaction to the moneychangers in the temple and was therefore justified. The child was also told that just like God exiled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after they sinned, her banishment from the house on her birthday morning had been a necessary punishment. I was shocked by this story but decided to keep my thoughts to myself. It was probably just a one-time incident, I reasoned.

One evening, he showed up to lead a Bible study with a distinct limp. Everyone questioned him about what had occurred, and with his usual level of confidence and amusement he told us how his cat had annoyed him earlier that week and he had tried to kick it. Unfortunately, the cat had evaded him and he had made contact with the wall. He went on to explain that the kick had so much force that the resultant injury required ice all week. He must have noticed the horrified looks in response to his story as he told us to lighten up. He even joked about how his wife had forgiven him for the time he lashed out physically at her, so surely the cat would too. I was feeling distinctly uncomfortable at this point, wondering what kind of man had been put in charge of our Bible study. But my thoughts were interrupted by his voice. “We will be continuing in our series on the fruits of the spirit this evening by examining what it means to have self-control and not be ruled by our emotions”…

I hope it is obvious at this point that the story above is about a fictional Bible study leader. Thankfully I have never met such an individual in real life. I hope we would all agree that such a person is disqualified from holding any position of teaching or leadership within the church or any other religious platform. While some of the details have been modified slightly, all the key elements of the story- sabotaging birth control to fall pregnant[1], punishing children for opening gifts early in the morning and using a religious veneer to justify it[2], trying to kick the cat so hard that the injury required ice for a week[3], hitting her husband one time[4]– are anecdotes shared by Lori Alexander (aka The Transformed Wife) about her own life. Which begs the question: is this woman qualified to teach on Biblical womanhood, the value of self-control, not being guided by our emotions, and how to be a Godly wife and mother? And is there perhaps a double standard in how we respond to those incidents when they are committed by a female instead of a male?

Continue here.