To Heal or Harm: Scripture’s Use as Poison or Medicine for Abuse Survivors

by Steven R. Tracy

Publisher:

HarperCollins

, 2026

Overview

Learn how key biblical texts have been misused and how (or whether) they are applicable to and helpful for abuse survivors’ protection and healing.

Scripture can play a unique and profound role in the lives of abuse survivors. It can be a powerful instrument for healing or harm. Unfortunately, it is most often a source of great harm. In over two decades of abuse ministry Steve Tracy’s ministry, Mending the Soul, has found that some of the most extensive trauma harm is experienced by survivors who had Scripture misused against them by abusers or the abusers’ collaborators. Sometimes survivors misuse Scripture against themselves. Furthermore, well-meaning family members and pastors are often inadequately equipped to apply relevant biblical texts to abuse survivors’ needs. Even fewer are able to refute the most common, harmful misuses of Scripture. This book is designed to address this glaring need.

The first section lays the foundation for the rest of the book by briefly surveying the complex richness of Scripture and then give basic principles for proper biblical interpretation. The second section of the book surveys key biblical texts most commonly misused against survivors organizing them by topic (the family, church, etc.). Steve Tracy shows how key biblical texts have been misused and then explains what those texts do and do not mean. When possible, he also shows how these texts are applicable to and helpful for survivors. The last section surveys, by category, key biblical texts which are most helpful for abuse survivors’ protection and healing. Finally, the book includes appendices surveying biblical teaching on various abuse-related topics.

Key Features

• Refutes harmful misuses of Scripture commonly used against abuse survivors.
• Explains the proper interpretation of key biblical texts relevant to abuse survivors’ needs.
• Surveys helpful biblical texts that support abuse survivors' protection and healing.

Product Details

• Title: To Heal or Harm: Scripture's Use as Poison or Medicine for Abuse Survivors
• Author: Steven R. Tracy
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Print Publication Date: 2026
• Logos Release Date: 2026
• Pages: 336
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Abuse; Abuse Survivors; Christian counseling
• ISBNs: 9780310121312, 9780310121305, 0310121310, 0310121302, 0310121442, 9780310121442
• Resource ID: LLS:THLSCTRMDCNSRVRS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2026-01-20T18:47:10Z

About Steven R. Tracy

Dr. Steven Tracy, pastored in three different churches for fifteen years before coming on staff full-time at Phoenix Seminary. He taught classes on a part-time basis for six years and served as Vice President of Academic Affairs from 1999 to 2006. Dr. Tracy is an active member of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), having presented a number of papers at ETS meetings in the last several years, and is also a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. His work has been published in the Journal of Psychology and Theology, Calvin Theological Journal, Themelios, The Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and Christianity Today. Dr. Tracy’s research and ministry specialization is in gender, sexuality, and abuse. He is the author of the book Mending the Soul: Understanding and Healing Abuse (Zondervan, 2005). Dr. Tracy also serves the state of Arizona on the Governor’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women, and is also Director of Research and Curriculum for Mending the Soul Ministries, an abuse prevention and education ministry that empowers communities and equips churches for ministry to those impacted by abuse. Foundational to Mending the Soul Ministries is the integration of scientific knowledge and social research on abuse with biblical and theological truth.