Abuse in the Church

I want to start out this post with a declaration. I was physically abused as a child. My father was a Sunday school teacher, deacon, chairman of the business meeting, Sunday School superintendent, you name it, he did it. He was even an ordained minister. He also had a problem with using foul language and inappropriate conversation with teenagers. He was not disciplined until he clashed with a lady in the church. Even then, he was not fully kicked out of the church until he threatened a lawsuit. They never went to the authorities. This is not an uncommon problem. In both Catholic and Protestant churches children have been abused physically, sexually and emotionally, and the church has done nothing. This has given fuel to people like Bill Mahr who already have an anti Christian bias. We say, "oh, it's rare," but is it?

The church has a problem. Why does abuse happen in the church? Jesus answered that question when he said, "Not everyone that sayeth unto me, 'Lord" shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. but he that doeth the will of him that sent me." It is difficult to spot pretend believers among true believers. That is not my story. My father was a horrible pretender. The clues were there. People refused to see those clues until he crossed the wrong person. She went after him because he would not do what she wanted. In my case, people for whatever reason, just did not care. Usually people think it can't happen here. They bury their heads in the sand. They just don't want to believe it. Sometimes they say the victim is lying. Other times they say, just suck it up.

One of the things that you often hear is that you need to forgive. That's true; Christians need to forgive. Jesus said to forgive seventy ties seven. We are called to forgive. The church has interpreted that to mean that we should not report the offender to the authorities. The victim needs to forgive and forget. The Bible says we need to obey the law as long as it does not interfere with God's law. The government exists to prosecute evil doers. (Romans 13:1-5)Crime should be reported. The church should not participate in cover ups of abuse crimes. Yes, we should forgive. That does not mean to shove it under the rug. Those who fail to report abuse cases are co-conspirators and criminals. They should go to jail as much as the offender.

The church needs to care. They need to take accusations of abuse seriously. I know that there are fake victims, however, it is not for us to decide. We should report it and let the police sort it out. We need to not help those who help the church hurt us more. Let's not legitimize their hatred. We need to be a force for good. We serve the living God, the only way to salvation. We need to act like it. We need to not be a club that protects its own. We need to change.

I write this hoping that people will get serious about this topic. I've heard so many stories of abuse in the church that have not been dealt with. Churches need to examine past actions. Sins of the past need to be confessed. We need to have clear policies of reporting and investigating allegations. We need to have clear checks and balances within the church. I do not support a McCarthyist witch hunt system. I've seen that, too. do want to truth to come out, because after all, that's what we're about, isn't it.