"Generational Curses" and "Soul Ties"

[steve]

I received the following email today. I thought I would share the question and my answer with the rest of you. I wasn't sure under which category would be best to post it, but this one seemed to be appropriate.

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Hello Steve,

This is Ingrid Johnston, you spoke in January on the SBS in Kona that I am a student in. I have a question regarding "Spiritual Warfare." The specifics are what do you know or what does the Bible actually teach on Generational Curses affecting believers and what do you know of the term Soul Ties? I have run into some interesting and controversial things on this and am trying to find out more information.
Blessings,
Ingrid

Hello Ingrid,

I have heard much about "generational curses" and a little about "soul ties." The main thing I could say about these subjects is that the Bible does not discuss them.

Generational curses are sometimes supported by appeal to Exodus 20:5; 34:7, and similar passages, which speak of God "visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." This sometimes is mistaken to mean that the actual sins of a father are caused, or determined (by the curse of God), to be repeated by his descendants. However, for God to "visit iniquity" does not mean that He causes or promotes such behavior. It is a Hebrew idiom, meaning He "punishes" iniquity. In this case, God warns Israel that, if they become idolatrous, God will punish their idolatry in a manner that will negatively impact several generations of their descendants. This threat was fulfilled when God sent Judah into the Babylonian captivity, which extended to three or four generations of their offspring before God restored them to their own land.

The threats made by God in these passages are related to His covenant dealings with the nation of Israel. They are not necessarily generic, and should not be seen as applying to all sinners.

While it is sometimes true that the bad behavior of a father (e.g. drunkenness, domestic violence, addictions, etc.) can be found among their sons and grandsons—this is no proof of any supernatural "curse" on the family. It probably is the natural result of bad role-modeling. If there was a general curse on all the children of such fathers, you would not find (as we often do) some children of alcoholics and drug addicts making good of their lives, and never abusing any substance, while others of the children go the ways of their fathers. There is not necessarily anything mystical involved in these cases.

Having said that, I do believe that children in a home can be harassed or afflicted by demons because of their parents' bringing demonic influences into the family. I cannot prove this (so it may not be true), but I have seen cases where this seems to have happened.

I found the following (typical) summary of the subject of "soul ties" on an internet site:

The Bible speaks of what is today known as soul ties. In the Bible, it doesn't use the word soul tie, but it speaks of them when it talks about souls being knit together, becoming one flesh, etc. A soul tie can serve many functions, but in it's simplest form, it ties two souls together in the spiritual realm. Soul ties between married couples draw them together like magnets, while soul ties between fornicators can draw a beaten and abused woman to the man which in the natural realm she would hate and run from, but instead she runs to him even though he doesn't love her, and treats her like dirt. In the demonic world, unholy soul ties can serve as bridges between two people to pass demonic garbage through. I helped a young man not too long ago break free from downright awful visitations from demons, all due to an ungodly soul tie he had with a witch. The man was a Christian, and the only thing that allowed her to send demonic torment his way, is through the soul tie. Other soul ties can do things such as allow one person to manipulate and control another person, and the other person is unaware to what is going on or knows what is going on, but for no real reason, allows it to continue.

I know of nothing in the Bible that speaks to the issue of "soul ties" (of a negative or harmful sort). David and Jonathan were very close friends so that we read that "the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David" (1 Sam.18:1). However, this is merely a Hebrew idiom suggesting strong attachment, without any sinister, nor particularly spiritual, connotations.

It is true, also, that sexual relations can bond people emotionally to an unusual degree. The Bible says that the "two shall become one flesh"—but the Bible never describes this as an emotional bond that must be spiritually broken when a relationship has ended. There may be a need to do so in some cases.

Psychology may have something to say about this subject, though I don't trust every psychological theory that comes along. The Bible definitely says that it is dangerous to associate with (by implication, perhaps, to become emotionally attached to) the wrong kind of company, since this will "corrupt good manners" (Prov.22:24-25/ 1 Cor.15:33). But this is nothing mystical. It is merely the observation that friendships create an environment of mutual influence.

If we are thinking of cases where a woman or man is still being tormented or controlled by an ex-spouse or ex-lover, there does need, perhaps, to be repentance for any wrong done while under this influence, and some discipline of the mind and emotions (coupled with prayer, no doubt) to disconnect from that control. That is Christian common sense, though. I don't know that any special ministry is called for in most cases. Overcoming these things would seem to be more an aspect of personal discipleship, than a specific "spiritual warfare" issue involving demonic bondages.

When it comes to dealing with certain spiritual or demonic problems, we must be led by both the scriptures and the Holy Spirit. I think the renouncing of something that could be labelled a "soul tie" may be an action that the Holy Spirit would lead some people to do, when they have found that there is a special problem in this area. The problem with Christian ministries is often that they tend to institutionalize something that began as a work of the Spirit.

This is how denominations get started: the Holy Spirit does a new thing in the lives of some members of the body of Christ, and they institutionalize that new thing. The Pentecostal movement is a good example of this. In about 1900, the Holy Spirit fell on a group of people praying, and they spoke with tongues. This was so remarkable to them that they made a doctrine out of it: "Speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit." What had been a sovereign move of God became an institutionalized doctrine, to which people (and God!) were expected to conform. What began as a genuinely spiritual phenomenon became, in many cases, something that people felt pressured to manipulate or to fake. The early Quakers and Shakers did the same thing with quaking and shaking. Modern renewal movements have done the same with the phenomena of falling down and of laughing for joy. These are, quite possibly, things which the Holy Spirit really moves certain people to do, sometimes, but then it becomes "standardized" into the expectation that people should regularly be "slain in the Spirit" and should experience "holy laughter."

This tendency can also, no doubt, be seen in the popular teachings on "spiritual warfare." I can imagine a case of the Holy Spirit leading someone to verbally renounce a destructive "soul tie," which, when it works, becomes a precedent for teachers to advocate it as a regular (now institutionalized) practice. The Holy Spirit might lead some group to do a "Jericho March" around their city, which practice then becomes a regular institution in their teaching about spiritual warfare. The same may be said for such things as "spiritual mapping," or "pleading the blood," or rebuking "territorial spirits," etc.

I think Christians are so desperate to find the secret "key" to defeating the devil's works in the lives of individuals, and in their communities, that they seize upon anything that they hear has "worked" for someone else, rather than actually being led by the Holy Spirit in the matter of what to do in their own situation.

I believe that this is the big problem in post-apostolic Christianity, in general. It is how the Roman Catholic institution (and its daughters, the Protestant denominations) changed the original spiritual movement that began at Pentecost. People find it easier to learn "methods" than to follow the Holy Spirit's contemporary direction. That's what I mean by "institutionalizing." I think there seems to be very little real power in the modern, western churches for this very reason. People learn "the ropes." They seldom become acquainted with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

I hope this answers your questions adequately. God bless you, Sister!

In Jesus,

Steve Gregg

[Jess]

Thanks, Steve, for the post. As usual you thoroughly ground your responses in scripture, perhaps the thing I appreciate most about your views on various issues.

Jess

[AaronBDisney]

Excellent job, Steve! I've always been a little at a loss to understand Generational curses, though I've never found much validity to it. I wondered if there was something in the Bible I didn't catch. But, as often is the case, a subject is created out of whole cloth from who knows where. You cleared the matter up, for me, in a matter of 3 or 4 short paragraphs!