Authoritative parenting has been the order of the day for most evangelical Christians, and the real damage is the conclusion that God uses those same tactics with us. Kyle and Wayne talk about some of the latest concerns about abusive parenting cultures and contemplate how so much of what is unhealthy not only finds its way into our parenting styles but also distorts our view of God's activity in our lives. More transformation occurs through love, rest, and play inside a real relationship with God than can ever happen in fear and conformity.

Podcast Notes:

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Seven Rules of Unhealthy Adult-Child Group Systems, compiled by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.

* Adults are the masters of the dependent child.

* Adults determine in a godlike fashion what is right and wrong.

* The child is held responsible for the anger of adults.

* [Adults] must always be shielded.

* The child's life-affirming feelings pose a threat to the autocratic [adult].

* The child's will must be "broken" as soon as possible.

* All this must happen at a very early age so the child "won't notice" and will not be able to expose the adults.

        From “For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence” by Alice Miller, p 59

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