This is not Christian education. It is abuse.   You know it’s abuse in your heart. Because if anyone – a spouse, a partner, a sibling, a friend - ever loved your best friend the way we are told God loves us, you’d tell them to run, and you’d be right.   Spiritually abusive Christianity, however prevalent it may feel in today’s world, is not reflected in the life, words, and ministry of Jesus. If you are a Christian who is being taught you were born dead and undeserving of love, you are in an abusive relationship. If you are someone who has left the church because you could no longer digest such a violent, toxic message about yourself, your leaving was not apostasy: It was an act of love – it was you recognizing something sacred within yourself that deserves to be nourished. That is exactly what Jesus wants for you.