Part 1 of a 3 part dialogue series. In this editorial, Jay Adams examines the modern idea of emotional abuse, specifically its effect on children and the idea that it can “destroy” the victim. Adams disagrees with any form of determinism or being ‘stuck’ that leaves no room for gospel hope. He continues with a discussion of the question, “Can you so do something to your child verbally that you stick him for life with something that he can never shake off…and that will always affect his life thereafter?” Part 1 (Adams’s original article) is in JPP 8:3; Part 2 (Bettler’s response) in JPP 8:4 and Part 3 (Adams’s reply to Bettler) in JPP 9:1.
