ROTTEN APPLES!            DFO 1023                  6/81

         1. I DON'T THINK A RETARDED CHILD IS A GOOD INFLUENCE ON OTHER KIDS. This particular case sounds demonic to me. They ought to sock it to him every time they ever catch him harming the other children or being rough with them in any way. They ought to really knock that violent spirit out of him! The Bible says, "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."--Pro.22:15.
         2. I'll tell you, as soon as these evil spirits find that crime doesn't pay, even his own little evil spirit, they'll quit! That's why flagellation & electric shock treatments WORK, the evil spirits don't like them! (See "Shock Treatment", No.1008.) So whether it's his evil spirit or a demonic possession, they need to really get tough with him or it, to get rid of it as well as praying definitely & desperately to cast it out. It sure sounds like an evil spirit to me, whether it's his or somebody else's.
         3. There must be something wrong with the mother to begin with, or the Lord wouldn't have allowed it. And if the mother doesn't want to give the discipline or can't, then she should let other people in the Home sock it to him! But if they won't or can't because she won't let them do it, the other mothers with children ought to MOVE! If she won't do it & they can't persuade her to let them do it, they ought to move! I wouldn't care to have my child reared with some kind of weird retarded child with a bad, violent spirit!
         4. I've told you what I think about those cases. I really think if they show a wrong spirit like a violent hurtful spirit, the retarded child ought to be separated from the others, and you can't get them separated in one small Home.--Or get them DELIVERED!
         5. Now there are some retarded children, mongoloids, who are very sweet, who have a very sweet spirit, very childlike, very docile & there is nothing wrong with them spiritually; they literally are just somehow mentally retarded. But with a child that shows a violent Satanic streak & devilish behaviour, I would say there is something wrong with the child spiritually & it's dangerous to have it around other children.
         6. The mother or those in charge ought to really take authority in the Spirit & rebuke the Devil & all of them lay hands on the child & cast the evil spirit out of it. Then just get tough with the child as far as discipline is concerned until he finds that crime does not pay & he's going to get a hard spank himself every time he hurts the other children or is even mean to them--blow for blow!
         7. If they don't get the victory over it & discipline the child & cure him or get the Devil cast out of him or the devilishness, then he should be separated from the other children. He shouldn't be allowed to live in a Home with other children to endanger them.
         8. And we must remember that if there's a retarded or deformed, chronically sick or handicapped child, a queer child or baby born in a family, there is usually something wrong with the mother or father that God is chastening them for & either trying to teach them a lesson or simply punish them for their past sins or present sins. It's certainly not the child's fault.
         9. Problem children are usually the result of problem parents, & the very fact that the mother will not discipline the child severely for serious behaviour shows something is wrong with HER. I think such a child, if not actually dangerous, is a very bad influence on other children & can drag down the whole Home.
         10. If the problem is not cured & the child delivered, & I would say that if the mother will not consent to strict discipline &/or the child does not respond to prayer or firm treatment, then they BOTH should be separated from the Home. They're BOTH a bad influence on the rest of the Home & its kids.
         11. The ideal is for the mother to repent of her sins which have caused it in the first place & to be willing to consent to strict discipline for the child, & if earnest Family prayer for the child's deliverance & healing still does not get results, I think the child should be separated from any Home with children, because it could be a very bad influence on the other children, if not actually DANGEROUS!
         12. As I've said, we cannot allow one handicapped soldier to drag down the whole army, nor one rotten apple to spoil the whole barrelful. The problem has to either be CURED or the Family DELIVERED from it.
         13. There must have been something wrong with her relationship with the Lord or with somebody else or others, or the Lord would not have allowed such a thing to happen as a punishment for her sins or as a chastening to teach her a lesson. But whatever it was, the Scripture says in Hebrews 12, "rather let it be HEALED".--Exorcise it!
         14. So she should confess & repent of her sins which caused it, acknowledge it & ask for deliverance, & then the whole family should pray desperately for the deliverance of the child so that at least its spirit changes from a bad spirit to a good one; OR I would suggest that perhaps BOTH should be separated from the Family & certainly from a family with other children on which the retarded child could be a bad influence or even a danger.
         15. It could be that the whole problem has developed from a lack of discipline in the first place, the mother's own self-discipline for the child. Whatever it is, it should either be corrected or not tolerated in the Family. May the Lord help you in Jesus' name!

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