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Bible: Child Abuse - Page 2

As far as the Bible and spousal abuse...the Bible tells men to love their wives as Christ loved the church and sacrificed himself for it.

That pretty much says it in a nutshell. Christ loved the church more than anything, even himself. He died for it. His every action was to empower and uplift the church, make it better, help it reach its full potential, and be full of joy. Abuse is far from anything Jesus Christ would do to the church.

The Bible also says when a man and woman marry, they unite and become as one.
Not that many people tend to abuse, manipulate, purposefully lower their own self esteem, and other things abusive people do to their spouse, causing them to live a miserable existence. So, when either spouse does this to the other, they are not behaving as the Bible has directed a married couple to act.

They are not behaving as real love acts.

THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE...

Abuse Child Bible

Name: Francis
Country:

Comments: Children inherit the sins of their parents. A child that is part of a home where sin is ripe will of course experience the effects of sin, that is the "why" of it. We have the power to intervene if we know about it, get the authorities involved, etc.

As for spouses, I think it may be easier to get a good wife than a good husband. Men today just aren't as admirable as they once were, maybe we are in the final or last days.

Bible: Child Abuse Revealed Bible The

Something I learned in college that amazed me and proves this scripture Joe Public referred to is true in several ways...I learned that things parents do can change the parents' DNA which is then passed along to the children.

So sins of the parents are passed on to their children.

One Example: They have discovered scientifically thru studies that heavy alcohol drinkers actually have changes in their DNA during their lifetime. Those changes are passed onto their children, making the children more likely or susceptible to becoming drinkers and to becoming alcoholics.
I'm wondering if this isn't also true with drug addiction since they have found what they describe as an 'addictive gene' that makes people more likely to have addictive personalities; it makes people more likely to become addicted to a multiple of things not just drugs or alcohol, but sex addition, gambling addiction, eating addiction, etc.

Children of alcoholics are much more like to be born with bi-polar disease and other maladies such as fetal alcohol syndrome, they have more problems with learning disabilities and conduct disorders.
More payment innocent children suffer because of their parents' sins.

That's another "WHY" question to ask God...Why punish innocent children for their fathers' sins?
Aren't the abuse they suffer, abuse of the mother, lifestyle and atmosphere the grow up in enough?
Being treated differently by the other children at school, unable to have happy childhood enough?


The sins of the fathers (parents) are passed onto the children not only thru role-modeling, but actually thru their very DNA from birth. Behaviors can be unlearned, changed but not DNA. Good news is after a couple of generations, this 'bad DNA' can sometimes revert back to 'normal' DNA, ridding the future child of this curse.

It still amazes me. I don't think it's very fair to the children, whether DNA or atmosphere...but life isn't fair. Sooner we learn that better off we are.
Just makes the innocent child's life a more difficult one when hard enough already, and lucky other kids with decent parents' lives easier.

We are all not born equal - except in God's Love for us. He loves us all equally. Praise Jesus.

We are born with the same rights as human beings
but how can it be said we're born equal when even our DNA makes life easier for some and harder for others from the moment of birth.

As a nurse I helped children (when really it was usually the parents' issues), watched the children we helped improve, only to go back to the same dysfunctional family.... Where I knew they'd probably return to the same dysfuctional behaviors and problems, since they had no one to help them maintain the positive changes we helped them make. Heartbreaking.


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Re: Finding good women and/or men? Unfortunately, women as a whole group, are catching up with men as far as selfishness, infidelity, decency, criminal behavior, etc. Much of this is documented to have begun when women entered the work force, entered 'men's world'....
I think both sexes are being degraded by changes in our society, customs, values, morals, instant gratification and 'anything goes' attitudes, Hollywood has made it seem ok to do evil; people are being formed and indoctrinated by these things.

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Favorite Quote of Mine:

Too many people love the wrong things these days...or don't know how to love at all, even themselves, enough to make good choices.

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I'm a widow. I'd love to have a friend/companion to share life with...but I've gone 10 years without finding a decent, trustworthy man. Better lonely than unequally yoked and miserable.

Don't know which is more difficult to find, good man or woman, Joe Public - seems it's pretty hard to find either. I've heard a lot of stories from men about women who mistreated them. Men or women can choose to be godly people or live for the world. You are in my prayers.

Page 2 Abuse Child Bible

Name: Christina
Country:

Comments: I do not believe children are born with sin or have any sin - they're just innocent of everything. I believe God doesn't intervene to save children from abuse because he is not that kind of God. If you look at what Jesus preached it was pretty much about suffering and taking up your cross. It seems like all of us are to suffer in this life one way or the other for some other special reward when we die. I ponder over it sometimes and ask myself if its worth it.

Abuse Child Bible

Did you know that child abuse changes the structure of a child's brain? It does. Maybe you've heard this. However, more and more is being learned about this subject. A child's brain can be changed by a wide variety of mistreatment. Effects can range from anxiety to suicide. Although most people automatically picture physical or s-xual abuse, even verbal abuse can cause changes in the way an abused child's 'elastic' brain is 'wired'.
New technologies have enabled scientists to identify the chemical and structural differences between the central nervous systems of abused and nonabused individuals. This research shows that many health problems-including panic disorder/post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, some auto-immune disorders, suicidal tendencies, abnormal fear responses, preterm labor, chronic pain syndromes, and ovarian dysfunction-can be understood, in some cases, as manifestations of childhood maltreatment.
SCIENTIFIC FACTS ABOUT WHY THE BRAIN BECOME ALTERED: (and this is a watered down version....)
An infant's brain is equipped with an overabundance of neurons, synaptic potential, and dendrites. DNA is responsible for early brain development. But after birth, experience helps to determine which neurons will persist, which synapses will develop and become permanent, and which connections will take prominence or be subdued.Myelination, formation of the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibers - final permanent linkages within the brain structures are established.
The limbic system is the part of the brain most vulnerable to adverse childhood experiences. The system is made up of the amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and putamen. Related structures include the cerebellar vermis, prefrontal cortex, and visual and parietal cortex.The limbic system is responsible for the generation and control or inhibition of emotions. It is also involved in interpreting facial expressions and evaluating danger, is responsible for the fight-or-flight response to stress, and integrates emotional reactions and connects them with the physical response. Various components are also involved in memory, both implicit and explicit, and in learning.
Stress initiates a series of hormonal responses in the limbic system. Repeated stresses will results in permanent structural changes in this system. The initial response to stress or danger is activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis. This occurs in the locus coeruleus and the sympathetic nervous system, causing a release of the hormones norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. The amygdala causes the hypothalamus to release corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF). CRF acts as both a hormone and a neurotransmitter; it affects areas of the brain's cortex that are involved in executive functioning (eg, motivation, planning, and logic). Increasing ACTH secretion then leads to elevated glucocorticoids (cortisol). High levels of glucocorticoids have been shown to negatively affect the hippocampus, resulting in decreased dendritic branching, changes in synaptic terminal structure, and neuronal loss.
If this process repeatedy occurs, structural changes occur in the brain, abnormal levels of hormones and neurotransmitters remain high and the built-in balancing structures damaged. These structures are very susceptible to the effects of early childhood abuse. For Example: Dopamine, which is released during the stress response, stimulates areas of the prefrontal cortex, probably resulting in heightened attention and improved cognitive capacity. Chronic stress, however, appears to cause an overproduction of dopamine, which can result in reduced attention, increased overall vigilance, as well as a diminished capacity to learn new material and increased paranoid and psychotic behavior. Another Ex:Serotonin stimulates both anxiogenic and anxiolytic circuits, which create and reduce anxiety. Decreased serotonin levels in the prefrontal cortex have been found as a result of chronic stress. Suicidal behavior, depression, and aggression have been shown to result from low serotonin levels.
SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS ABOUT STRUCTURAL CHANGES
Martin Teicher and his colleagues published their studies in Cerebrum in late 2000. The following information summarizes their findings. When abuse occurs, physical structural changes occur within that tiny developing brain significant enough to affect it the rest of that person's life, causing psychological and emotional problems that can never be repaired or 'fixed'....only dealt with.
Studies have shown four different abnormalities in the brain that were much more common in adult survivors of abuse and neglect than in adults who had not been abused.
CHANGES IN THE LEFT HEMISPHERE of the brain (Emotion and Thought/memory)
Abused children develop abnormally in the left hemisphere of the brain. The left brain thinks methodically and likes to organize and categorize information from the environment. It connects new information with old, making sense of our world. Researchers reported that some of problems from an abnormally developed left brain hemisphere may be associated with depression and memory problems.
CHANGES IN THE CORPUS CALLOSUM (Connective tissues between Left and Right Sides of Brain)
The researchers also noted that adults who survived from abused childhoods failed to integrate the functions of the left and right hemispheres as well as those who had not been abused. They noticed a decrease in the size of the corpus callosum (fibers that connect the left and right sides of the brain).
"We believe that a smaller corpus callosum leads to less integration of the two halves of the brain, and that this can result in dramatic shifts in mood and personality," Teicher explains.
One interesting difference between males and females was noticed in the area of the corpus callosum (or connection between left and right brain hemispheres). Neglect was the more likely factor to reduce the size of the corpus callosum in males, while s-xual abuse appeared to have no effect. S-xual abuse was associated with a decrease in the size in females, with neglect having no effect.
CHANGES IN THE CEREBELLAR VERMIS (Emotion and Attention)
Patients with a history of s-xual abuse or intense verbal badgering showed less blood flow to the part of the brain called the cerebellar vermis. The vermis helps healthy people to maintain an emotional balance, but in those with a history of childhood abuse, that stabilizing function may become impaired.
Teicher points out that the vermis is strongly influenced by the environment as opposed to genetic factors. Movement stimulates it, and researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that kids with attention deficits and hyperactivity consistently show smaller than normal sizes'
Movement stimulates it, and researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that kids with attention deficits and hyperactivity consistently show smaller than normal sizes.
There is some speculation by researchers that exercise could increase the size of the Vermis, increasing attention span and reducing hyperactivity. (I find this interesting personally because when my grandson who had been abused/neglected by his mother became a little 'hyper' - we played a game where he saw how many times he could run around the house or we did exercises together if the weather was bad, and it had an immediate effect on his focus when we resumed academic activities, just 10 minutes or so.) If exercise is proven to help (as it did my disabled grandson), it would have an impact on a growing trend to reduce or eliminate recess and physical education in schools. Teicher suspects that children who can burn off excess energy will be better able to sit still and pay attention (which only make common sense to me). Caleb always did better with his academics after a few minutes of exercise - yet we see public schools cutting physical education in favor of indoctrinating them regarding s-xual and social customs which many of us oppose (while complaining about obesity in children)
REWIRING THE BRAIN AND LIMBIC SYSTEM (EEGS, SEIZURES, HORMONES, NEUROTRANSMITTERS)
Teicher concluded that "the trauma of abuse induces a cascade of effects, including changes in hormones and neurotransmitters that mediate development of vulnerable brain regions." Previous research has shown that stress affects that developing brains of several species of animals. It should not surprise us to find that humans respond the same way.Teicher and his colleagues found that abuse survivors were twice as likely as non-abused to have abnormal electroencephalogram readings (EEGs). The type of abnormality found is reported by the authors to be associated with aggression and self-destructive behavior.
Adults who had been abused as children were more likely to experience epileptic seizures caused by changes to the limbic system, a part of the brain that controls emotions. A variety of emotions accompanied these seizures, including sadness, embarrassment, anger, intense laughter without feeling happy, serenity, and fear. The connection between abuse and brain addling apparently involves stress hormones.
Harsh punishment, unwanted s-xual advances, belittling, and neglect are thought to release a cascade of such chemicals, which produces an enduring effect on the signals that brain cells send and receive from each other.As a result the brain becomes molded to over-respond to stress. Experiments at McLean Hospital, for example, show that patients with a history of abuse are twice as likely to show abnormal electrical activity as 'non-abused' people.
Right-handed people tested show abnormalities in the left side of their brain (Tests haven't been done on left-handed people that I could find.) Because the left hemisphere controls emotion and memory, researchers believe that these left-side brain defects contribute to development of depression and memory problems in abused people.Initial research into verbal abuse's effects on EEG's found evidence of anxiety, depression, and brain differences in a study of 554 college students exposed to loud yelling, screaming, and belittling remarks directed at them. If it effects college students in such a short time, imagine the effects on tiny brains subjected to it daily, continuously... how heartbreaking. We should remember that the next time we're tempted to raise our voice to little ones! Teicher concludes that "exposure to verbal aggression may have effects as powerful as physical or nonfamilial s-xual abuse," based upon this study.
Other research has revealed that electrical abnormalities in the brains of abused people are similar to those seen in patients with epilepsy. Some of these abuse victims even experience fake or pseudoseizures, although physical evidence of epilepsy is lacking. "Childhood abuse can produce abnormal electrical brain activity that resembles a seizure state, but does not actually produce epilepsy."
SUICIDE
People who have been abused as children admit to thinking about suicide more often than those who were not abused. And researchers have found a vigorous correlation between epileptic-type brain abnormalities and thoughts of suicide. "This correlation may be stronger than that which ties suicide to depression," Teicher notes.
Depression is generally believed to be the prime instability that pushes people toward taking their own lives. But a study done at the National Institutes of Health found that thoughts of committing suicide actually PRECEDE depression in abused children. (I have had recurring thoughts, images, and urges of suicide since I was 13 years old; they come and go without any apparent reason...God is my shield, my protector and my Saviour. Praise Jesus Christ for saving me from suicide more than once.)
Based upon my own experiences working with abused children (and it can be found in academic literature), a huge percentage of abused/neglected children have voiced to me not only frequent suicidal thoughts/desires, but a sense of impending doom they constantly feel; most of them had a certain age they did not believe they would live past - it was usually around 20, at most before 30. Mine was 30 and I must admit I became nervous, had a "Bucket List" while I was 29 and breathed a sigh of relief when 30 passed by without problems - in fact, one of my happiest years ever. Praise God.
"We see terribly high levels of suicide ideation in patients that show brain abnormalities that mimic epilepsy," Teicher says. "Suicidal thoughts occur four to five times more frequently in patients with these abnormalities than in healthy people." (I've often wondered if what I thought were my "daydreaming petit mal seizures" weren't actually manifestations of this brain abnormality seen on the EEG's of abused kids...)
Teicher believes childhood stress has been part of human history for a very long time, so it's hard to believe that its effects on brain development are all bad. In other words, such stress should have some survival advantage. Researchers are debating ways to test this theory on laboratory animals. He says, "Does abuse modify a brain to cope with what it predicts will be a malevolent world?" He speculates about stimulation of the brain's fight or flight response, about reproduction in a hostile environment. (I would comment to him that suicide is not really helpful to survival or reproduction....) I do pray Teicher and his colleagues find ways to intervene early in this destructive process and prevent/heal damage done to tiny, developing brains to change the harmful effects adults inflict on the innocent.
At this point, however, health-care workers worry more about how to handle about a million cases of childhood abuse that they find each year. Teicher advises the earliest possible assessment, monitoring, treatment, and protection from further abuse. "The younger a child, the more plastic is his or her brain, and the greater the chance of diminishing negative changes in structure or function," he says. Researchers at McLean right at this moment are writing a proposal for a grant to study how reversible the effect of abuse might be.
"Stress-induced cascades of hormones might be eased by new anti-depressant drugs, relaxation exercises, or psychotherapy," Teicher says. There may also turn out to be some less obvious solutions.
At least one study has found that martial-arts training reduces aggression. It compared the effects of table tennis, martial arts, and rugby, and concluded that martial arts squashes aggression more effectively. I have found a significant number of abused children find martial arts training helps them - they say it helps them focus; think positively, goal oriented, helps with confidence and discipline; and many other areas they feel it has helped them. This is anecdotal and, in no way posted as a scientific fact. I just share it as my own experience.

Bible: Child Abuse

I do realize this thread is about God and child abuse. That is a big part of why I'm adding this comment. I may offend some people but keep in mind these are only my opinions.

I think God as we know it is a lie. If you look back in history you'll see Jesus was a copy of a God that existed long before him, sad but true. That said I think his teachings are sound. Whether or not Jesus existed he has teachings that go to the core of humanities morale shortcomings.

To debate and or say God allows such things as child abuse, to me, is nonsensical. Why would an all powerful being allow such things to happen. If your answer is we don't know God's purpose or everything happens for a reason You might be taking the easy way out.

I think horrible things like this happen because humans are weak. We can be very very strong but we can also be very very weak.

Child abuse is something a human being at one point or another decides to undertake. It isn't like an angry spanking. It is a deliberate act of perversion often taking premeditated planning to execute.

So my point is why are we trying to toss God into this mess. Maybe to salvage some dignity or understanding?
That comforts me slightly, but I have a hard time forgiving a God who would stand by and let this happen, I wouldn't allow it. So to me I feel that is no God of mine.

Edited: Oliron on 29th Jul, 2012 - 3:59am

Bible Child Abuse - Page 2

God as we know Him is a man-created entity...often used by rulers or powerful men to control the people and give structure to their society.

Throughout the years people have molded Him in THEIR image more than the other way around.

Take for example the Creed of Nicea - Because there were many different groups of Christians that believed different 'versions' of Christ's initial teachings, mixed in with Jewish beliefs, the Roman Emperor decided a group of men should gather and vote to decide what everyone would believe. Because of this many groups were outlawed, truths were banned (the Dead Sea Scrolls shows attempts to hide what many believed, the Nag Hammadi), Gnostic Christians were outlawed, among others....

This is just one example of where MAN decided what God was and said, for the sake of convenience, for the sake of 'unity' within the church, to control people....so many times people have decided what God is and says that it's even difficult to know how much of what we read and discern is real.

We have been robbed of the truth throughout the ages.

Rulers used God as the entity that gave them the right to be King, Emperor, or Pharoah. King James had changes made to the original scriptures for his own advantage, as an example.

So many examples. I like the International Version of the Bible best since men of different faiths, different backgrounds, and experts in ancient languages worked together to give us the best interpretation possible of ancient scrolls, not what has been perverted through the ages by rulers, priests and men with their own agendas.

I don't think God 'allows' anything or chooses to control people either. He gave us all FREE WILL. He didn't want robots. He wanted people, thinking and feeling people, who choose good because they want to choose good. Some people choose evil and find pleasure in it. They have only themselves to blame for their atrocities. God doesn't choose to break His own rule of Free Will in specific cases. I believe once creation occurred, God provided everything needed for the universe to operate (even evolve) and then He left the rest to us and natural laws.

I agree child abuse occurs because a person chooses to take that action - that's why some abused people don't abuse and why some never abused do abuse others. It's an individual human outrage and violation of another human they decide to perpetrate for their own pleasure.

Doesn't seem right to give credit for everything good to God and then blame Him for everything bad. This world is what it is. It operates under natural laws since its creation, some we don't even know yet but are learning, such as in the area of physics. But this universe has laws and ALL obey them whether they know it or not; I believe God obeys them too.

I don't discuss it much, but I don't believe in miracles...I believe it is natural law we haven't discovered yet. The way we know now through science we can affect the movement of atomic particles by watching them, for example. The things we're learning about meditation, the effects of color and sound upon people. The healing potential of touching people - psychological? electromagnetic? It's been proven people exchange atomic particles just being near each other. As a nurse I've watched positive thinking heal people told they'd die and negative thoughts kill people who were supposed to live. Thoughts are electromagnetic, chemical THINGS in our brains. Unseen, but they exist as things.

I do believe there is a Creator, Higher Power, Great Spirit, Intelligent Source, God or whatever you want to call Him...but to demand he make this world perfect without suffering or evil is demanding too much, in my opinion, when it wasn't created to operate that way. I will say this, I have felt His presence in my life, seen His presence in others' lives. He isn't the one who makes this world what it is though - MAN does that through his choices.

Rather off topic, but...
I believe in the immortality of the soul. In fact I did one of my major college papers on Historical Perceptions of the Soul. Socrates gave a very compelling argument for its immortality. And call me crazy, I don't mind, but I have had experiences that cannot be explained by natural law as we know it now, though someday I believe we will be able to explain dreams that come true, or sensing things we couldn't know consciously yet learning they were true, and similar 'paranormal' things. They aren't supernatural - they are natural laws in this universe we don't know yet. Look at us - people once believed the world was flat, and wanted to execute Galileo and others who learned new truths, such as the earth wasn't the center of the universe.

Perhaps there is reincarnation? Natural law says nothing is created or destroyed, it just changes form. Nothing is wasted in this universe, it recycles, perhaps as something else, but it recycles. All people are is electric, chemical, and magnetic energy - atoms held together by these forces. But I am straying off topic.

I'm not offended.... In fact, I often offend other people with my 'theories' and beliefs. To be honest I ended up here in 'Bible and Child Abuse' because I'm not Mormon, don't think they knew what to do with me. I'm more of a Gnostic Christian - I'm seeking knowledge and often too open-minded for traditional Christians. But I've learned so much since I opened my mind to other beliefs.

So, Oliron, speaking for myself - Please feel to discuss what's on your mind in this space.

Speaking of humans choosing perversion - what about this group advocating pedophilia, calling pedophiles "minor-attracted persons" and trying to normalize sex with children? Google 'minor-attracted persons' and be prepared to vomit at the depths our society is sinking to attempt such an outrageous thing as gain acceptance for child s-xual abusers - it includes clinicians, psychiatrists and other professionals! Not all are even pedophiles. Mind-boggling!
Read their rationalization of how children are 's-xual beings'...capable of wanting and enjoying sex.
Think of how the government wants to teach s-xual matters such as techniques, like 'fisting', to children as young as first grade-second grade, too.

I can see why people would doubt there is a God.
Disgusting what people are capable of doing!

Bible Child Abuse The Bible Revealed - Page 2

That's very true and you are avoiding a whole lot of unhappiness by not committing to anything that you will be sorry for later. I see many battered women that choose to stay in such relationships and think by simply praying everything will be fine. I don't mean to take away from anyone's faith but just sitting there and praying might get you killed while you are waiting for an abusive husband to change. Meanwhile the children (if any) are also going through abuse whether it be mental or physical from their abusive father. My point is that you can sit there and take it or you can help yourself and get out of the situation so your children don't have to wonder "Why god let them be treated this way."