The Weight of Darkness: How Silence Became a System That Protected Predators

When a church chooses silence over justice, it doesn’t just fail—it betrays.

The Weight of Darkness

There’s a particular kind of darkness that settles over a community when those entrusted with leadership choose silence instead of justice. When they protect the institution instead of the innocent. When their fear of losing power outweighs their duty to confront evil.

It’s not just about the predators—it’s about everyone who looked the other way. Everyone who refused to acknowledge the truth. Everyone who chose the safety of silence over the courage of righteousness.

In the Two by Two Church, the greatest evil wasn’t just the predators—it was the leadership’s willingness to cover it up. To keep it hidden. To silence those who spoke up. And in doing so, they betrayed not just the victims but the entire fellowship.

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Silence Isn’t Neutral—It’s Cowardice

Silence doesn’t just mean standing by while evil takes place—it means actively choosing to protect the predator rather than the victim.

It’s the belief that the appearance of righteousness matters more than the reality of justice.

For decades, survivors have come forward with their stories—often after years of battling fear, shame, and the crushing weight of silence. They muster the courage to speak, hoping for protection and validation. But instead of being believed, they’re met with doubt, dismissal, or outright hostility.

Those in leadership should have been the first to demand justice. Instead, they circled the wagons, protecting the institution rather than the flock. Even when the truth was undeniable, they whispered behind closed doors, strategizing about how to contain the damage rather than confront the evil.

The failure to act wasn’t a mistake—it was a deliberate choice to preserve power at the cost of the most vulnerable.

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This is the 5th article in a 6-part series on the failure of the 2x2 Church.
If you missed the other articles, you can read them here:

1 - When The Truth Breaks Your Heart

2 - When the Church Protects Power Instead of People

3 - When Form Becomes an Idol: How The 2x2 Institution Became Corrupt

4 - When Leaders Become Wolves: The Reality of Grooming and Ministry Abuse

6 - Reconstructing My Faith: Standing Firm While Exposing Evil

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Godly Men Aren’t Cowards—and Cowards Aren’t Godly Men

Cowardice doesn’t just protect evil—it perpetuates it. When a predator’s crimes are exposed, the instinct of leadership should be righteous indignation—a fierce desire to confront and expel evil from their midst. Yet too often, the instinct is damage control—minimizing public exposure to maintain their reputation.

This fear-driven response allows predators to remain in power, moving from place to place within the fellowship—free to continue their predation. Instead of casting out the wolves, they shuffle them around, hoping that distance will erase the memory of their sins.

And when survivors or advocates speak out, they’re labeled as divisive, bitter, or rebellious. The problem is not just that evil occurred—it’s that the leaders refused to confront it, choosing instead to protect their reputations and maintain their positions.

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Why the Silence? Religious Conditioning and the Culture of Fear

Why did so many remain silent for so long? Why didn’t victims speak up? Why didn’t witnesses demand justice?

The answer is as sinister as it is heartbreaking. The culture within the Two by Two Church conditioned people to stay silent.

• Fear of Eternal Consequence:
  The workers were seen as intermediaries between God and man. To challenge them was to risk eternal damnation. Excommunication wasn’t just rejection—it was spiritual death.

• False Humility and Submission:
  A “quiet and meek spirit” became the gold standard of godliness. Speaking up was labeled as prideful or divisive.

• Guilt and Shame:
  Victims were made to feel responsible for the abuse—taught, implicitly or explicitly, that they had tempted the predator or failed to stop it.

• Blind Loyalty to the Ministry:
  The ministry was viewed as the only path to salvation. Dissent was equated with rebellion against God Himself.

• A Normalized Culture of Silence:
  Questioning leadership was taboo. Speaking about abuse was framed as “bringing shame to the gospel.” Survivors feared being labeled as tools of the devil.

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Silence Wasn’t Just Cultural—It Became Systemic

This wasn’t just passive silence. Over time, silence became a system—an unspoken code, enforced from the top down.

Leaders taught forgiveness not as a path to healing but as a muzzle for the wounded. Survivors were urged to “leave it with the Lord” while their abusers remained in positions of trust.

It was forgiveness without repentance. Silence disguised as spiritual maturity.

And the doctrine of meekness was weaponized to defend power instead of protect the vulnerable.

But you can’t forgive what you’re not allowed to name. And you can’t heal from what you’re forced to pretend never happened.

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The Scale Is Staggering

According to analysis shared by survivor advocates, the prevalence of abuse among workers (ministers) in the Two by Two Church is estimated to be five times higher than that of the Catholic clergy as a conservative estimate.

Let that sink in.

More than 1,000 documented abusers have been named across the global fellowship.

And yet—no full public repentance. No sackcloth. No ashes. Just silence.

There is now an FBI investigation underway. And still, no collective confession. No leadership-wide apology. Just calculated damage control.

Even today, former members who speak up are banned from attending conventions. Not because they’re dangerous. Not because they’re lying. But because they broke the code of silence.

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A Church That Fears Scandal More Than Sin

The most tragic aspect of this crisis is not the sin itself—it’s the fear of being exposed. The leaders fear scandal more than they fear God. They fear headlines more than judgment. And in doing so, they reveal what they truly worship.

They’ve forgotten that the truth always finds a way out. And when it does, it won’t be the victims who are shamed—it will be those who chose cowardice in the face of evil.

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When You Lose Your Soul to Save Your Life

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it.” (Matthew 16:25) But these men have done exactly that. They’ve traded righteousness for reputation. Integrity for influence. Truth for silence.

And in the process, they’ve lost their spiritual authority—not because others took it, but because they forfeited it in their refusal to stand for justice.

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Breaking the Cycle of Fear

This culture of silence isn’t just tragic—it’s evil. It conditions good people to become complicit—not out of malice, but out of fear. And the overseers bear the brunt of that responsibility. They reinforced it. They taught it. They demanded submission.

But it’s not too late.

The shame of past silence doesn’t need to paralyze you.

Even if you stayed quiet when you should have spoken—it’s not too late to stand up now.

We need courageous men and women who will no longer bow to fear. Who will no longer be shamed into silence. Who will say, “I see it now. I will not be silent anymore.”

Don’t let guilt rob you of the chance to do the right thing now. This is a spiritual reckoning—and it’s long overdue.

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What’s Next?

Silence doesn’t protect God—it only protects predators. It doesn’t preserve faith—it poisons it.

But when the institution fails, that doesn’t mean God has.

In the final article of this series, I want to shift from exposing evil to reclaiming what was never theirs to corrupt—my own walk with God.

Article 6 of 6 will be the most personal yet—a reflection on my faith after betrayal, on reclaiming spiritual integrity, and on choosing to walk with God outside the shadow of a failed institution.

Because sometimes, the only way forward is not to rebuild what was—but to begin something new.