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Of course I mean mental/emotional child abuse, but I only have five more characters left up there.
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013
on February 13th, 2012
voted:
No, it is not child abuse.
by Anonymous
on February 13th, 2012
voted:
No, it is not child abuse.
by lindisfarne
on February 13th, 2012
voted:
Yes, it is child abuse.
by wendyx
on February 13th, 2012
voted:
Other
by shellscriptcoder
on March 14th, 2012
voted:
Yes, it is child abuse.
by THE BANNIBAL ONE
on February 18th, 2012
voted:
No, it is not child abuse.
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You're reading Do you consider teaching a child that he or she will suffer in Hell for eternity if he or she is not saved child abuse? Why or why not?
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Comments
No, but that's something completely different...
by A on February 13th, 2012
Is it? How? In both cases you as a parent are protecting your child from danger by warning them of the consequence of their actions.
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on February 14th, 2012
Very different.
Teaching a child that he or she will suffer in Hell for eternity is not the same thing at all... because the effects are much longer. Eternity is a very long time for a supposedly loving God to burn someone forever... alive. That doesn't sound like a loving God to me. That sounds like a God who abuses his own creation and doesn't care about those he chose not to save one bit just because he can't handle someone simply not believing in him.
I did grow up being taught as a young child that if I was not saved, I would suffer in Hell for eternity, that I would be eternally separated from God, that my soul would live on and I'd burn and burn... with no hope of ever escaping this eternal torture.
I defended this belief for several years... but I have come to accept that, yes, it is child abuse to teach a young and vulnerable child this... of the mental variety.
To know this, all I have to do is look to how it affected me. It caused me great fear (for no good reason). I would be afraid of disappointing this God to the point that I would end up being a perfectionist in my habits... and even if I made the littlest mistake, I would punish myself quite severely for it... which was not healthy. I was afraid... afraid of many things I never should have been afraid of. The fear of Hell controlled me, and was one of the strongest grips religion had on me.
Being taught that about Hell as a young child was not healthy for me... at all.
by A on February 15th, 2012
I agree with you that a loving God would not burn anyone alive for eternity. I believe in a much more loving plan that God has for us. It's off topic so I wont go into it unless asked.
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That being said intent really comes into play here. If your parents had told you about Hell with the intent to make you self punish (and over punish as it seems), then yes that would be abusive. But if they told you about it because they loved you and wanted to save you from being burned alive forever then of course this is not abusive.
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Someone looking at this from another perspective might say that it is child abuse to tell a vulnerable child that they were going to completely vanish at death. This may result in the child having unhealthy level of fear, not wanting to take any chances around potentially dangerous, but virtually harmless every day things.
by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on February 15th, 2012
The reason I questioned if it was emotionally abusive is because there are others who have said it is, and in particular, one of my closest friends. He described it as child abuse and it got me thinking. I don't view my parents as abusive in this regard. My Dad was the main person who taught me it, and the rest of my siblings that (before he ended up having a different opinion on the matter). The reason for that is because he truly believed that was what Hell was and he wanted to be a good father to us and lead us to what he viewed as the truth, so in that way, I don't view him as a child abuser. It is the teaching itself that I now view as child abuse.
by A on February 15th, 2012