Quote from Forum Archives on October 19, 2011, 2:15 pm

Posted by: edwrather <edwrather@...>

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10.19.11

Cutting and other Self-Injuries

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them. - Genesis 1:27.

And the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the priests.he shall not defile
himself.They shall not.make any cuttings in their flesh." - Leviticus
21:1-6.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.
For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. - 1 Corinthians
3:16-17.

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the
Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him
out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among
the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had
often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled
apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame
him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs,
crying out and cutting himself with stones. - Mark 5:1-6.

Alicia Moore and her parents in a 2009 interview on CBS News described her
addiction to cutting, which was how she would injure herself. The cutting of
her flesh began when she was in the fifth grade. Alicia was and is a
beautiful, intelligent, and talented person. Yet, because of this she felt
somehow different and said, "It was devastating. I thought there was
something wrong with me." She says she felt better after she hurt herself
and it was a release. On her online blog which her parent's discovered she
said it relieved her anger and pain. Also in Alicia's video blog she ends at
least one with a short prayer saying "Lord, help me." Alicia is no longer
cutting and appears to be a very emotionally stable individual now.
(02.11.09 CBS News)

As I read on one site about cutting and self-injury, there is a beginning,
and that beginning is an impulse to cut, or to injure. I believe that
beginning impulse comes straight from the pits of hell. Cutting and
self-injury is demonically inspired. The one example that we have in the
Biblical record is the Gadarene demoniac who while demon possessed "was in
the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones."
I am not saying that all who cut and self injure are demon possessed. They
could be, but if they know the Lord as their personal Savior, and they
self-injure it is not demon possession, it is demonic influence by way of
"fiery darts" as mentioned in Ephesians chapter six.

In the Old Testament priests are commanded not to cut themselves, not to
defile themselves by cutting. Now, in the New Testament believers are told
in 1 Peter 2: 9, "you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood." Also in
1 Corinthians 3:16, we are told that the believer's body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 1, we are told that mankind has been created in
man's image. With these things in mind, consider this statement by Karen
Conterio, co-author of "Bodily Harm," who says "self-loathing is typical for
self-injurers. Self-injury can be used as a punishment, it's intentional.
Self-injury can be used as a way to say 'Look at how much I hate myself.'" I
would suggest that self-injury is a demonic way of attacking God Himself. It
is the demonic "fiery dart" of an impulse, of inspiration that the person is
responding to by way of cutting.

Alicia Moore's prayer of "Lord, help me" was exactly what she needed to
pray. As one alcoholic I knew personally, shared how his addiction was
overcome, he said that he prayed the same thing over and over for eight
months, "God, take it away from me." God did take the addiction away from
him, just as he took away Alicia Moore's addiction. He can do the same for
all who turn to Him for help.

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