False Teaching is Itself Spritual Abuse because it Hinders a Person from Fully Flourishing Before God
Abuse comes it all kinds of forms, and the most pernicious type of abuse is spiritual abuse. People who are being spiritually abused often do not realise it, precisely because it is spiritual abuse.
False teaching is itself spiritual abuse. It is spiritual abuse not only because it causes people to be led astray from the truth, leading to their destruction. Spiritual abuse is far more than that. Spiritual abuse, in being for the ultimate destruction of the person, destroys the humanity of a person.
Abuse is not the mere lack of respect for a person, although a person who is abused will certainly be shown no respect towards. Destroying, diminishing, damaging, or distorting the humanity of a person is the essence of what abuse is. By abusing a person, one is treating him or her as one who is not created in the Image of God, or failing to treat him or her as being fully created in the Image of God.
False teaching is of an extremely insidious and pernicious type of abuse. Part of what makes it so pernicious is how easy it is to justify, by simply selecting parts of Scripture, subtly distorting, twisting or modifying its meaning, and then insisting that people follow one's own interpretation of Scripture.
The Word of God serves to teach us to how be righteous, and to correct us:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The purpose of the Word of God in teaching doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness is so that servants of God may be perfect and be thoroughly furnished in good works. Teaching doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness is only the means to the ends. The ends is that servants of God may be perfect and full of good works.
Where true doctrine of the Scripture has been perverted into false teaching, whatever the teaching may be, the person who it serves to make perfect and full of good works cannot do so. As a person cannot flourish as God created him or her to do so, because of the false teachings.
Though he or she may be saved, the result is that he or she cannot find joy, peace and an abundant life as God intended. A person's lack of joy, peace and an abundant life is not necessarily because of sin in his or her own part. Sometimes, a person may lack such joy, peace, and abundance by merely hearing false teaching, even knowing that the false teaching is wrong, by being vexed by the spirit behind the false teaching, not being able to break free from it.
God created all humans live a life of joy, peace and abundance, not in the material sense, but one that is fulfilled and meaningful. So, whenever a person is unable to live such as life, his or her humanity has been broken, damaged, diminished, or destroyed. This will cause vexation, pain and hurt in a person's spirit, and in extreme cases, severe depression and suicidal thoughts.
False teachers of spiritual doctrine have done much more damage to people than those who abuse others physically, emotionally or even sexually. This is not in anyway to downplay such abuse, but rather, to simply to emphasise how serious spiritual abuse is.
Spiritual abuse goes beyond the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, but right to the soul itself. Spiritual abuse distorts a person's soul itself and knowledge of who one is. Physical, emotional, psychological or even sexual abuse does not go that far.
False teaching does exactly just that, to distort a person's understanding of who one is, as God intended. That is why false teaching is far more than a matter of doctrinal error which leads people to become unstable and ignorant. It will, as the end result, destroy, diminish or distort a person's humanity, rendering him or her unable to flourish in joy, peace and an abundant life as God created him or her to live.
False teaching is itself spiritual abuse. It is spiritual abuse not only because it causes people to be led astray from the truth, leading to their destruction. Spiritual abuse is far more than that. Spiritual abuse, in being for the ultimate destruction of the person, destroys the humanity of a person.
Abuse is not the mere lack of respect for a person, although a person who is abused will certainly be shown no respect towards. Destroying, diminishing, damaging, or distorting the humanity of a person is the essence of what abuse is. By abusing a person, one is treating him or her as one who is not created in the Image of God, or failing to treat him or her as being fully created in the Image of God.
False teaching is of an extremely insidious and pernicious type of abuse. Part of what makes it so pernicious is how easy it is to justify, by simply selecting parts of Scripture, subtly distorting, twisting or modifying its meaning, and then insisting that people follow one's own interpretation of Scripture.
The Word of God serves to teach us to how be righteous, and to correct us:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The purpose of the Word of God in teaching doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness is so that servants of God may be perfect and be thoroughly furnished in good works. Teaching doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness is only the means to the ends. The ends is that servants of God may be perfect and full of good works.
Where true doctrine of the Scripture has been perverted into false teaching, whatever the teaching may be, the person who it serves to make perfect and full of good works cannot do so. As a person cannot flourish as God created him or her to do so, because of the false teachings.
Though he or she may be saved, the result is that he or she cannot find joy, peace and an abundant life as God intended. A person's lack of joy, peace and an abundant life is not necessarily because of sin in his or her own part. Sometimes, a person may lack such joy, peace, and abundance by merely hearing false teaching, even knowing that the false teaching is wrong, by being vexed by the spirit behind the false teaching, not being able to break free from it.
God created all humans live a life of joy, peace and abundance, not in the material sense, but one that is fulfilled and meaningful. So, whenever a person is unable to live such as life, his or her humanity has been broken, damaged, diminished, or destroyed. This will cause vexation, pain and hurt in a person's spirit, and in extreme cases, severe depression and suicidal thoughts.
False teachers of spiritual doctrine have done much more damage to people than those who abuse others physically, emotionally or even sexually. This is not in anyway to downplay such abuse, but rather, to simply to emphasise how serious spiritual abuse is.
Spiritual abuse goes beyond the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, but right to the soul itself. Spiritual abuse distorts a person's soul itself and knowledge of who one is. Physical, emotional, psychological or even sexual abuse does not go that far.
False teaching does exactly just that, to distort a person's understanding of who one is, as God intended. That is why false teaching is far more than a matter of doctrinal error which leads people to become unstable and ignorant. It will, as the end result, destroy, diminish or distort a person's humanity, rendering him or her unable to flourish in joy, peace and an abundant life as God created him or her to live.
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