Is there any religious basis for "tough love"? [View all]

[grasswire]

A minister in my family has stunned me by being very hard-hearted regarding another family member who is struggling and fighting to regain stability following a bitter divorce and the wallop of recession. The minister falls back on the old model of "tough love", saying that a person often has to hit bottom before they can make decisions that will bring stability.

That old model does not agree with my understanding of moral teachings, and I repudiate it.

Insight: this minister in the family is an authoritarian who was married to an alcoholic.

I asked this minister if any support for "tough love" could be found in religious teachings. I got no reply.