Copyright 2023 Theresa Harvard Johnson

Instead of debating soul ties, I believe a better approach is to study enmeshment. Why? Well, we already know the teachings on soul ties, and most of us (in some prophetic communities) were drenched in them. My pattern of leading is “guidance” on topics like this versus telling people what they should or should not believe or trying to prove myself.

No need to re-hash the soul-tie debate here. Instead, let us learn what ENMESHMENT IS and then confront the spiritual side of it as we go further. I will also drop some reading material that has helped me understand this over the years and share some articles that are newer that I have found. (Again, I was introduced to this term over a decade ago. I was deeply enmeshed in a spiritually abusive relationship that almost cost me my right mind. I was under profound control, manipulation, and personal and spiritual obligation. All of these things would be labeled Jezebel and witchcraft–and shuffled right into the soul-tie conversation. Learning about enmeshment was the beginning of my freedom and my breaking away from demonology and deliverance theology as we see it today. I FOUND A BETTER & MORE EFFECTIVE WAY, THANKS TO MY FORMER PASTOR AND MENTOR.)

As we walk through this, please know the concepts here are things that I learned that are written in all the medical and expert texts on this subject. The concept of enmeshment is beyond me. I am simply sharing with you what I learned in the hope that it will help you move forward in your own life.

Instead, I want to talk about enmeshment here and really discuss what it is as it was taught to me AND what I have studied since that time. If you know some parts of my testimony, then this will make sense to some of you here…

Soul Ties: A Candid Discussion

“Soul ties,” in its most straightforward understanding, is a connection or bond between two individuals that goes beyond physical or emotional attachment.

The idea drilled in me, from a Pentecostal perspective, is that when two people engage in certain behaviors, especially sexual activity, they create a spiritual bond or connection that can have long-lasting effects on their emotional and spiritual well-being.

Some people believe that soul ties can be positive or negative, depending on the nature of the connection. Positive soul ties are thought to be formed through healthy, loving relationships, while negative ones result from unhealthy, harmful relationships. In this sense, I believe the term enmeshment gives us a pathway of considering soul ties from a less-narrow perspective than what many of us were taught. We also get to take a look at this -right now – without the mysticism and demonology rhetoric. (We will come back to that later.)

What is next?

In the meantime, you need to know these things about what I’m about to share this week:

1. In The Conservatory, we follow the New Covenant that Jesus Christ was resurrected to present. We believe that in the Old Testament people were waiting for a deliverer. We believe that in the New Testament we are called to recognize and receive that the deliverer has come. We believe that absolutely everything we need is IN CHRIST JESUS. So we look to Him for understanding the better way of truth and life.

2. Why is point one important? Well, because the entire Bible is infallible and authoritative, our role today is to press everything that came before us UNDER THE LIGHT OF CHRIST TODAY. We do not discard what we learned from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses or the prophets, but we learn how Christ elevated us above those places. Hebrews 3 is an excellent place to understand this.

3. Finally, we need a teachable posture. We must be willing to admit that what we learned, have been taught or even believed might be misguided or incorrect. Then, we prepare ourselves for the adjustment at the hand of Holy Spirit.

Finally, I am not trying to convince anyone of anything they do not believe or care to believe by posting this. But it is my prayer that when we hear truth, we will recognize it… and be set free.

We jump concerning enmeshment from this place. Come, let us reason together.