Need help with my Mom following a False Teacher

[Michael Hawk]

2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."


Matthew 7:15-20, 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.


This is a serious thread and I'm looking to help my mom who has been brainwashed by a false teacher. The only way I feel I can get through to her is if I use the bible to convince her that this person is in fact a false teacher. I won't name name's but this current false teacher brags about being a Christian and that their favorite book is the bible, yet they cannot recite one bible verse, this person has had 3 partners and cheated on all of them, this person brags about sexually assaulting people, yet says they were just "joking", the false teacher obviously loves money more than God(2 Masters), the teacher says they love "all" people, yet continues to make racists remarks and support racist groups, and the list goes on and on...

Going forward, I'm looking for a well-thought-out and understanding approach for my mom to see that this person is actually causing harm. Whenever I mention the false teacher's name she automatically puts up a huge defensive wall, then switches the conversation to someone else, usually a person I admire that she hates.

I'm praying for her and have asked her sister to also pray for her, yet I or her cannot get through. Has anyone here ever dealt with a family member who was under the control of a false teacher? How did you convince them that they were following someone who is causing them harm?

Thank you for your help.

 

[eleos1954]

2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."


Matthew 7:15-20, 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.


This is a serious thread and I'm looking to help my mom who has been brainwashed by a false teacher. The only way I feel I can get through to her is if I use the bible to convince her that this person is in fact a false teacher. I won't name name's but this current false teacher brags about being a Christian and that their favorite book is the bible, yet they cannot recite one bible verse, this person has had 3 partners and cheated on all of them, this person brags about sexually assaulting people, yet says they were just "joking", the false teacher obviously loves money more than God(2 Masters), the teacher says they love "all" people, yet continues to make racists remarks and support racist groups, and the list goes on and on...

Going forward, I'm looking for a well-thought-out and understanding approach for my mom to see that this person is actually causing harm. Whenever I mention the false teacher's name she automatically puts up a huge defensive wall, then switches the conversation to someone else, usually a person I admire that she hates.

I'm praying for her and have asked her sister to also pray for her, yet I or her cannot get through. Has anyone here ever dealt with a family member who was under the control of a false teacher? How did you convince them that they were following someone who is causing them harm?

Thank you for your help.

perhaps focus on the teaching(s) and not the person doing the teaching .... pick something that is being taught in error and show in scripture that it is not so.

Instead of saying this person or that person is wrong ... perhaps say ... that is not my understanding of what scripture teaches on this matter .... let's look at it (scripture) together and see what God says in His written word about it.

Perhaps offer to study with her in His Word on various topics.

All of us have the responsibility to compare what is taught (regardless of the source) with scripture to ward off deception.

 

[PloverWing]

I suspect that if you argue with your mom directly about the person she is following, she'll get defensive, and the conversation won't be productive.

I recommend waiting it out, at least for a few years, to see how things go. If the person's teachings really are false, your mom may come to see the bad effects of those teachings on her own, as she watches how those teachings play out in other people's lives and in her own life. Continue to live your life according to your own beliefs, and she may be able to see the contrast.

 

[ToddNotTodd]

2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."


Matthew 7:15-20, 15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.


This is a serious thread and I'm looking to help my mom who has been brainwashed by a false teacher. The only way I feel I can get through to her is if I use the bible to convince her that this person is in fact a false teacher. I won't name name's but this current false teacher brags about being a Christian and that their favorite book is the bible, yet they cannot recite one bible verse, this person has had 3 partners and cheated on all of them, this person brags about sexually assaulting people, yet says they were just "joking", the false teacher obviously loves money more than God(2 Masters), the teacher says they love "all" people, yet continues to make racists remarks and support racist groups, and the list goes on and on...

Going forward, I'm looking for a well-thought-out and understanding approach for my mom to see that this person is actually causing harm. Whenever I mention the false teacher's name she automatically puts up a huge defensive wall, then switches the conversation to someone else, usually a person I admire that she hates.

I'm praying for her and have asked her sister to also pray for her, yet I or her cannot get through. Has anyone here ever dealt with a family member who was under the control of a false teacher? How did you convince them that they were following someone who is causing them harm?

Thank you for your help.

Cute...

 

[com7fy8]

You are right that those things are wrong. And yes people who claim to be Christians can fool themselves into trusting people who are immoral and racist and not humble with hope for any and all wrong people.

So, make sure you stay humble with Jesus, yourself, and how Jesus on the cross suffered and died like that with hope for any evil person, at all . . . including however this person really is evil . . . and however you have been evil.

It is possible for you to fool your own self into looking down on someone else who is false, so you evade looking at yourself. So, first get with how God's word says we in Jesus will be judged > "first" > 1 Peter 4:17.

And if and however you are able to see how you can fool your own self, this can help you understand what makes her able to fool her own self, and not even know it.

"He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness." (Hebrews 5:2)

Concentrate on all God's word has for you, then, and grow as an example of this.

And maybe talk with her about how Jesus has us loving any and all people >

"For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (in Matthew 5:46)

And you could talk with her about all that such a person is not doing . . . such as making a point of having hope for people that the person does not find to be acceptable; does the person make a point of calling for prayer for enemies, like Jesus says to do? But, then - - for that matter, are you praying with hope of love for this person??

Does the person call for prayer with hope > "first of all" > for any and all people? You can feed on 1 Timothy 2:1-4 which says God desires how we > "first of all" > pray for any and all people.

So, have you "first of all" been praying for this person? Or, have you been listening to what people have been feeding you, so you just criticize the person, and feed on this instead of feeding on God's word, yourself?

We're in our "Ethics & Morality" place, here; and one ethical item of God's word is that when we see how someone else is wrong, we need to also see . . . how could that be me? Have I myself been loving any and all people, by having hope for them in prayer, or have I been welcoming an excuse to look down on some other person who is wrong??

So . . . whether you mean a false teacher (or a politician you don't care for) . . . you get into God's way of loving in hope and prayer for wrong people, so that your good example in the sight of God can pass on to help to make that person become the same way. God bless you to ! ! !

 

[essentialsaltes]

It's hard to reason someone out of an irrational cult.

 

[Michael Hawk]

It's hard to reason someone out of an irrational cult.

What options do I have?

 

[Michael Hawk]

Cute...

I dont see how this is cute?

 

[Michael Hawk]

I suspect that if you argue with your mom directly about the person she is following, she'll get defensive, and the conversation won't be productive.

I recommend waiting it out, at least for a few years, to see how things go. If the person's teachings really are false, your mom may come to see the bad effects of those teachings on her own, as she watches how those teachings play out in other people's lives and in her own life. Continue to live your life according to your own beliefs, and she may be able to see the contrast.

I think you are right. Hopefully, she realizes it after some time. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Allandavid]

You see Donald as a teacher...???