I have some thoughts.
First, it's entirely possible, and I couldn't pass comment on how far up what ideas go.
Second, there's an issue of cultural bias from people outside, they shall find people who consider themselves hurt by one doctrinal issue or another.
On the website there's described an issue of betrayal, but frankly if the teaching hasn't been hidden, I'm skeptical it could be called such.
As for spiritual abuse -- ah, that's a stretch. What qualifies as abuse -- a wrong teaching that people strongly believe in, and base their faith on? What if that strong belief is actually a liberal cultural belief -- and someone who thought differently was marginalized (maybe by calling them a spiritual abuser)? If both would be abuse, then I'd say neither would be.
I understand that peer pressure persuasion can be a tough thing for some people to deal with. But it's not abuse. It's psychological pressure, yes.
I've also some encounters with psychological abuse, too. That normally includes a group pressure that you can't really get away from, but that you didn't know existed before you committed to the group. Again, the stories don't qualify. It does concern me that in the stories there's no trapping. It's quite frank.
Again, I understand the pressures involved. There is sociological pressure here, some of which I think is unsupported by my own views. But that doesn't extend to this being cultish activity. At least not based on these reports.
Would I join this church on the assumption that the reports are factual? No.
Would I join this church on the assumption that the defense is factual? No.
