Titus 2 Men And Women

Definition of Spiritual abuse: 

“Spiritual abuse is when religious beliefs or practices are removed from the context they were intended for and used as tools of discrimination or oppression of others.

Bible abuse is a particular form of spiritual abuse. In Bible abuse, select texts, taken out of their historical context, are quoted in order to support the marginalization of individuals, i.e., the divorced, those in an inter-racial marriage, women who wear ‘pants’, men whose hair is over their shirt collar, families who go to the theatre, etc. These verses are used to justify unequal and oppressive church and community structures, to justify discrimination by individuals and families, and end up deeply scarring those in whatever minority in the church is being oppressed.” --author unknown

This is what happened to my dear friend: When her adult daughter gave birth to a baby out of wedlock my friend and her husband were told by their pastor they must scripturally have nothing to do with their daughter and grandchild. He told them they could not send a gift, card, letter nor could they go to the state where she lived to see their daughter and the baby. Although heart-broken they obeyed the pastor because that’s what they had been ‘programmed’ to do.

Thankfully three years later my friend and her husband realized they had received very wrong and ungodly counsel from their pastor and asked for and received forgiveness from their daughter. They were able to then re-establish a wonderful relationship with her and began to enjoy their grandchild. 

This type of family healing is not always the norm in these situations. Often the outcome from Spiritual abuse leaves emotional and spiritual problems for the victims. (And in the case of my friend the victims were mom, dad, their younger son, daughter and granddaughter.) They are often kept away from the mainstream of contacts with people and oppressed. And research shows more often than not these hurting people become spiritually indifferent and walk away from all relationships with any church…and often even from God.

The following paragraph was sent to me by a friend. It is exactly what I felt and went through decades ago.

“There was no one around to help when I had to deal with my church abuse situation. Even worse, some Christians would say insensitive things like "Maybe you were the problem," or "You just need to forgive and get over it." These people had no idea of what I went through or the devastation spiritual abuse brings. For two or three years after I was spiritually abused I could not participate fully in a Sunday morning service, I had no desire to read God's word, I did not want to even be with Christians, and I questioned everyone who was presented as a "leader" in a church or religious setting”

*Please read the article in this section: Is Tyranny the Trademark of the American Church - Land of the Free?

Matthew 23

:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 
:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 
:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 
:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 
:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 
:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

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