Friday, December 4, 2009

Defiance

A Southern Baptist minister at a prominent Florida mega-church is charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

The first line of the first comment under the December 1st Associated Baptist Press article says this: “It’s unfortunate that the person charged and his love interest couldn’t wait a couple of years.”

“Love interest.”

Such extraordinary ignorance . . . or as another commenter described it, “fundamental cluelessness.”

How do you even begin to address people who think like that?

What was done to the 14-year-old in that Florida mega-church -- and what was also done to me in a Baptist church -- is something that doesn’t deserve the respect of even being considered “sexual,” much less “love.”

It’s not love. It’s hate.

And it doesn’t deserve to be called anything other than what it actually was.

I am not ashamed. I refuse.

If my arm were blown off by a terrorist bomb, the shame would not be mine. Likewise, having my brain blenderized by a clergy terrorist is no shame of mine.

And why do they call it “brainwashing” anyway?

It ought to be called “brain-dirtying.” Or “brain-defiling.” Or “brain-desecrating.”

Then, as if it weren’t enough to be molested and raped in the name of God and with words of God . . . to top it all off, the clergy terrorist’s own filth renders the victim untouchable by others in the faith group.

But I am not ashamed. I refuse.

19 comments:

Jim said...

"Slick" isn't. He's just sick. Pray he never has a 14 year old daughter seduced by a church staff member. I suspect he would sing a different tune. Then again, who knows, in his world perhaps 14 year olds are considered emotionally capable of falling in love...only to have to wait a couple of more years to have sex. What a wonderful world...not!

gmommy said...

I'm sorry Christa.I want to comment but slick and some others infuriate me so much that I wouldn't be able to articulate anything anyone should read.I just don't understand how people are that ignorant.I hate that creep speaks about you the way he does. That whole way of thinking about sin and about sexual abuse of a child just triggers so much in me.
I feel rage. I'm so tired of the ignorance and lies that people like Slick and the leaders of the SBC encourage and must believe.
This is the same sick thinking that was going on 30-40 years ago!!!!! It's wrong. They're wrong.

Jim said...

gmommy, the words you don't write are eloquent, loud and clear. Your restraint is commendable. It does little good to attempt to engage people like "Slick" in meaningful conversation. He lacks the moral compass necessary to know good from evil, right from wrong. His defence of predators and opposition to Christa's God-ordained mission, under the pretense of concern for Bob Allen's journalistic integrity, is disgusting. I believe you are right, he sounds like a "creep" to me too. If you find out where that dude goes to church...stay far, far away.

Anonymous said...

This is a direct link to all the 'men first' teaching in the SBC.

john said...

I do not use the word "sick" as it implies that someone caught something they did not want. These are just plain mean and vicious people. Like a mad dog they need to be caught and put in a cage to protect the trully healthy.

Anonymous said...

Warning, but this was one of the Church's hip promotions in 2007

bare xxxxx truth on xxx

.

Anonymous said...

They simply want to sanctify sin for a select few.

Christa Brown said...

"That whole way of thinking about sin and about sexual abuse of a child just triggers so much in me. I feel rage."

Thank God for people like you, gmommy, who actually feel anger about things like this! I am grateful for your anger, and grateful for people like you who feel anger.

I thought the same thing about the comments of "WoundedbytheChurch" under the news article. You have to wonder why people like "Glenn" and "Pastor Dave" thought it was more important to patronize "WoundedbytheChurch" and to chastise his "unChristian tone" rather than to rebuke the ignorance of sick "Slick" or to voice anger of their own about their denomination's do-nothingness.

john said...

What's the confusioin here? He's just practicing what they preach!

Anonymous said...

I just read all this and since when does sin get called "love interest?" Please! This is so wrong and so sad.

Anonymous said...

One version states "Do not let a member who is young in their discipleship to become an elder" This probably one of the better translation with the dynamic equivalents of this passage rather than the term "new convert". Much of the problems with ethic problems lie with too many men being still young in their discipleship and yet being promoted to ministry.

Christa Brown said...

"...too many men being still young in their discipleship and yet being promoted to ministry."

While this is certainly a problem, it doesn't account for all the older ministers who remain silent and turn a blind eye. It doesn't account for all the older, senior pastors who engage in cover-ups to protect the image of "their" church. And it doesn't account for all the older denominational leaders who bully, intimidate, and shame the victims who try to report abuse, and who do-nothing to protect others.

"The world is too dangerous to live in - not because of the people who do evil but because of the people who sit and let it happen."
-- Albert Einstein

Anonymous said...

While this is certainly a problem, it doesn't account for all the older ministers who remain silent and turn a blind eye. It doesn't account for all the older, senior pastors who engage in cover-ups to protect the image of "their" church. And it doesn't account for all the older denominational leaders who bully, intimidate, and shame the victims who try to report abuse, and who do-nothing to protect others."

This is correct. They are too busy building churches to be bothered with sin at the top levels. That does not attract members who give money. So, they play it down.

And because it is a man with sexual urges, means it is normal to them. They have been taught this indirectly at our SBC seminaries that men are more important than women and especially those with titles are more important. Their sins get a pass.

Women and children are lesser type beings and are there for the express purpose of building up the man and fulfilling HIS needs.

That is what they are taught at our seminaries. That is what your offering dollars go to support.

Renae C said...

Anonymous - it isn't taught indirectly. It is taught DIRECTLY. And it is a huge part of the problem. If they valued the lives of women and children as much as they valued their own - things might be different. But we don't count, so what happens to us does not matter. Look at the complimentarianism theology that is coming out of Southern. That's about as direct as it gets.

Jim said...

I probably sound like a "broken record"...from comments in weeks past, but I am convinced that SBC leadership will not address this issue unless or until it affects their personal and corporate bottom line. Last year, they had an opportunity to develop a plan to identify and track clergy/church staff child sex abusers. The SBC Executive Committee willfully chose not to do that, citing "local church autonomy." We've seen, in the past few years, the actual disdain of SBC leadership toward genuine local church autonomy, so that argument is not at all compelling. As we say in my part of the country, "that dog won't hunt."
My question: if a child has been molested by a SBC pastor or church staff member since June 24, 2009, can SBC leadership be held directly responsible, because they refused to act to institute appropriae safe-guards, as requested by the 2008 Convention? Might they be sued individually and as a group by the parents of any children molested in the past 6months? These guys are so morally calloused that they will not bend on this issue...they must be broken. I believe the law can be used to break them.

Lydia said...

"Look at the complimentarianism theology that is coming out of Southern. That's about as direct as it gets."

Amen Renae!

Bruce Ware, prof at SBTS, teaches that women are made in the 'indirect image' of God. He calls us a 'derivative'.

Russell Moore, the Dean groomed to take over for Mohler, teaches that complimentarian is for wimps. That what we need is more Patriarchy.

And of course, CBMW is located on the SBTS campus. And the teaching on their gender blog reads like a version of the Talmud. There is even an article over there that alludes to husbands will be in authority over their wives in heaven. That is what Mormons teach!

It is also the place where the revived and repackaged hersey of ESS is being taught. A chain of command struture for the Trinity for eternity. They are teaching this chain of command parallels men's authority on earth. (All this does is lessen Jesus Christ)

I am very familiar with what is going on at SBTS and even many comps (Some who work there)are freaking out over what is coming out of SBTS. But they don't dare disagree or they will find themselves out of a job.

Christa Brown said...

"I am convinced that SBC leadership will not address this issue unless or until it affects their personal and corporate bottom line."

I agree. This is corporatized religion. (In fact, it's really worse than that. In a lot of corporations, you would have more systems for accountability than what the SBC has.) It took me a while to see that, but now I do. Moral responsibility doesn't phase them; dollars are what count.

Once upon a time, perhaps some could have reasonably believed that they just didn't realize the extent of the problem. NO MORE! September 2006: the problem was squarely placed in writing before Frank Page, Richard Land and Morris Chapman, with specific requests for action.

Nada.

Spring 2007: High SBC officials are still talking about it as though it were just "a few" isolated cases (even though they had to have known otherwise by then, and if they didn't know, then they certainly should have).

Summer 2007: Messengers to the SBC annual meeting direct the Executive Committee to conduct a study. It was an almost unanimous vote. WHERE'S THE STUDY???? Oh sure, they put out a glossy brochure and said a few words. But where is something that would constitute what most ordinary people would consider "a study"? Heck, they never even established a budget for the study that they were directed to conduct.

Summer 2008: This is when we see their deviousness . . . nothing that even resembles a study . . . and a ruse of simply reciting their usual mantra and telling the people that keeping track of Baptist clergy-predators would interfere with autonomy.

Summer 2009: More of the SBC's do-nothingness, and amazingly it's during an annual meeting when their theme is "Actions speak louder than words."

So Jim, you don't need to worry about being a "broken record" - I myself am a "broken-record-diva". You're absolutely right. SBC leadership knows the problem and they have had ample opportunity to seriously address it. I'm not sure where exactly the point of their absolute recklessness began, but I do believe we're past it. But of course, only time and lots of lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions, filed by lawyers willing to accept risk, will tell whether or not I'm right and will answer your question. Personally, I believe it is inevitable that, sooner or later, the law will hold them to account. But I expect it's going to be later . . . and even when it happens, they'll use Cooperative Program dollars to pay all their public relations people to spin it in the media, and they'll use Cooperative Program dollars for their own self-controlled Baptist Press and all the state Baptist publications to spin it to Baptists. I don't know what the answer is. These guys have too much power, too much money at their easy disposal, and just about zero accountability.

Jim said...

Wonder if age 65 it is too late to go to law school? I surely would like to give a few of my "golden years" to making SBC leadership face-up to shame they have brought upon a once great Christian denomination.  Nothing would give me more satisfaction than helping some child's family win a multi-million dollar judgement against the SBC Executive Committee and it's individual members.  No, actually, I would rather see some of them convicted and thrown in jail for harboring known child sex abusers.  Think of what would happen to them behind bars...that would be justice.

Anonymous said...

What I meant by that is that "young in their discipleship" is irrelevant to their age. Those older who cover it up don't want to expose their ignorance of ignoring such passages in the first place.