Generational Curse

[AServantofGod]

What is your take on generational curses?

I see them often as the bad behaviors we possess which we then pass on to our children, children’s children, etc. It takes generations for people to be far removed enough from the original behavior to change. Or, more often, it takes somebody with extreme faith, determination, & faith to try and break old patterns of behavior.

 

[Island_Oak]

I’ve never heard the term used in that way–I would have figured a ‘generational curse’ was getting your grandmother’s varicose veins or your grandfather’s arthritis.

Isn’t bad behavior always just bad behavior–no matter where you learned it? No debate that being raised in a less than ideal manner imparts negative habits that may be very difficult to break. Ultimately it is not the passage of time or distance in generations that breaks the chain–it’s the recognition of the failing + an exercise of will.

 

[jrabs]

I believe there are generational curses - I call them bloodline curses. I also believe that it does take much prayer and strong faith to break them. God is stronger than these curses and can help overcome all, and that is where the intense faith and prayer come in.

 

[Grace_and_Glory]

I see them often as the bad behaviors we possess which we then pass on to our children, children’s children, etc. It takes generations for people to be far removed enough from the original behavior to change. Or, more often, it takes somebody with extreme faith, determination, & faith to try and break old patterns of behavior.

I agree. I know at least in the context of abusive relationships, these behaviors get passed on from generation to generation. The children who have witnessed abuse or have been abused grow up to be victims of their spouses’ abuse or to be abusive themselves. This is especially likely if the child does not see the abuse as wrong and thinks he deserves it. I have seen this cycle of abuse continue for many generations. I don’t think that dooms people, though, because with extreme faith, determination, and help from God and others, it is possible to break the cycle, even though it is difficult.
Sorry if this wasn’t what you meant by “generational curse”, but this is something I’ve thought about quite a bit.

 

[AServantofGod]

Grace and Glory:

I agree. I know at least in the context of abusive relationships, these behaviors get passed on from generation to generation. The children who have witnessed abuse or have been abused grow up to be victims of their spouses’ abuse or to be abusive themselves. This is especially likely if the child does not see the abuse as wrong and thinks he deserves it. I have seen this cycle of abuse continue for many generations. I don’t think that dooms people, though, because with extreme faith, determination, and help from God and others, it is possible to break the cycle, even though it is difficult.
Sorry if this wasn’t what you meant by “generational curse”, but this is something I’ve thought about quite a bit.

Excellent example! This is exactly what I was talking about.

 

[pipoluojo]

The problem with the so-called generational curse is its double-faced nature. While the defect is seen as a form of curse ( to me, it is moral perversion), the victim often sees it as an attribute to be proud of. You see him as an ill-tempered fellow, but he believes he is rather a no-nonsense person. You consider him uncharitable but he sees himself as unmeddling and prudent.

I think this generational curse issue takes us back to what the Holy Father has lamented so much as a general loss of the sense of sin. Those who are docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit do arrive at the realization (like seeing themselves in a mirror) that what they had always believed to be a fanciful hat on their head is actually an unsightly load which makes them appear like lunatics to others.
The antidote to the curse is sincere examination of conscience with a desire to change, knowing that no matter how good we feel we are, we could be better still.

 

[puzzleannie]

if there is a generational “curse” it results from within the family and the actions, choices and behaviors of an earlier generation, not something imposed from without by a witch-doctor or voo-doo queen. It is the unfortunate effect of sin that the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons, not that God assigns guilt to the descendents of the sinner, but that sin carries its own penalties and “side effects”. If my grandfather has a fortune but gambles it away, I inherit his poverty, but not the guilt of gambling.

 

[Veronica_Anne]

It’s superstition.

 

[AServantofGod]

pipoluojo:

I think this generational curse issue takes us back to what the Holy Father has lamented so much as a general loss of the sense of sin. Those who are docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit do arrive at the realization (like seeing themselves in a mirror) that what they had always believed to be a fanciful hat on their head is actually an unsightly load which makes them appear like lunatics to others.
.

Good point!

 

[AServantofGod]

Veronica Anne:

It’s superstition.

I don’t agree! In the Bible God curses families for 7 generations. I believe, however, that it is behavioral and not something which is impossible to free oneself from.

 

[Lisa4Catholics]

AServantofGod:

I don’t agree! In the Bible God curses families for 7 generations. I believe, however, that it is behavioral and not something which is impossible to free oneself from.

This website is obediant to the Pope and the apostalate has his blessing,you can find out more about the subject there.God Bless

saint-mike.org/qa/default.asp

 

[AServantofGod]

Lisa4Catholics:

This website is obediant to the Pope and the apostalate has his blessing,you can find out more about the subject there.God Bless

saint-mike.org/qa/default.asp

Thanks, I’ll have to take a look on that site.