People of differing 'power levels' can have consensual sexual relationships: marriages, affairs, fornication, flings, whatever. When a person manipulates, lies, or otherwise exploits a power difference to coerce or force sexual contact, that's sexual abuse. (Thread) Victims are people. They have conflicting motives, and sometimes they even commit sins that lead them to be exploited. That doesn't change the fact that they were exploited! This doesn't change the fact that their abuser exploited them! This doesn't make their abuse their fault.

We keep having this stupid David and Bathsheba discussion because unserious men use it as a red herring. The discussion goes something like this, "Oh, @R_Denhollander said something? Well, you know she can't be trusted because she pushes the idea that Bathsheba was raped." One of the most recent ones was someone calling her a Marxist because of "her interpretation" and stating that she is not a sound teacher of the Bible.

Others have written multiple blog articles about how "her interpretation" is proof she wants to undermine and attack Scripture.

This story is a microcosm of how abuse thrives and goes unaddressed in conservative evangelical churches and institutions.

When people hear "cover-up," they often think of cigar smoking villains plotting to hide what they know to be wrong.
christianitytoday.com/news/2023/febr… But I don't think that's what happened here. The cover up here happened because John MacArthur & his elders are simply unable to conceive of a situation where their judgment and the theology it was based on was mistaken. They are unable to imagine that Eileen Gray was right.

This article is unhelpful because of how it frames the ongoing discussions about abuse. It seems to contemplate a situation where advocates run amuck, destroying churches & institutions willy-nilly while powerless leaders are destroyed without cause. Absurd.

https://twitter.com/RevKevDeYoung/status/1485583561960955910

It presents two "present dangers" we must avoid: On the one hand, abuse is perpetrated and covered up in churches.

On the other hand, "unhealthy correction" can lead to a situation where even the mere accusation of abuse "takes down everyone and everything in its path."

I commend this volume of anti-slavery sermons from Particular Baptists in the late 1700's to you so you can be prepared whenever someone argues that slave holding Christians in the 1800s simply didn't know any better. It's a fascinating insight into abolitionist thought. Read less Doug Wilson, more English Particular Baptists:

It is fascinating to see how people on my TL are interpreting the Rittenhouse as a show trial put on for the benefit of either the left or the right, depending on their perspective. One sees it as obviously biased for him, others see it as obviously biased against him. I haven't seen any of it so I don't have a strong opinion on the proceedings myself; it's just truly fascinating to watch.

"Such a shame, these due-process denying mobs" says the leaders who make sure that there is no recourse or accountability beyond trying to go through their hand-selected peers and friends. "You can't know what is really going on behind the scenes, and we won't let anyone outside have a look, so you're going to just have to trust us that we're really the victims here."

Some churches won't have women pastors, some will. Frankly, I don't care.

What I care about are pastors who have 50 reasons why women can't be pastors because men defend women, but won't get involved in domestic violence situations in their church because "we aren't sure." No one says, "Oh, we love domestic violence." But it's a refusal to believe that it's "actually that bad." It's a reticence to actually get involved financially or to take a side--"If it's that bad she should get a restraining order and hire a lawyer-what can we do?"

An exegesis of "The plain meaning" is how you end up with cults, heresies, and con-men. What we want is careful, accurate exegesis that takes into account the whole counsel of God, humbly carried out in conversation with the our brothers & sisters in the present and in the past. Read the debates with the Arians, or the Socinians, or open the door when the Jehovah's Witnesses come knocking. You'll encounter a common-sense, "plain reading" approach to Scripture in full force.

This man has 6 children, with a 7th on the way. This is as heart-rending as it is unsurprising.

Josh Duggar is in the position he is in because he was enabled and protected from consequences at every step by his revolting parents and their patriarchal, dehumanizing theology. I grew up in the same homeschooled circles as the Duggars. I have 12 siblings. I know what I'm speaking about. This patriarchal theology is toxic beyond belief and leaves a trail of broken children and women in its wake.

The primary realization you should have when abusers are exposed is not, "Wow, he was a good guy who slowly turned bad--that could be me!"

No, the lesson is how abusers subvert and manipulate our expectations of what a good guy looks like & use that against victims. Be on guard. Yes, we are all prone to sin. Yes, we should be on guard against the deceitfulness of sin. But serial abusers choose their course. They know what they are doing. They know they look like a good guy. They know they are harming and manipulating people. They just don't care.

There will always be abusers like Ravi.

The solution is not to worry about preventing leaders from "falling" into abusive behaviours.

The solution is to create cultures where victims feel safe to disclose & don't have to fight the system, & dealing immediately w/ allegations. Any system or set of rules can be co-opted & used by an abuser as a shield for his abuse. Look at the way Ravi used the "Billy Graham rule." He manipulated that like he manipulated everything else. But if Lori Anne had been heard 4 years ago, none of that would have mattered.

Baptist leaders: "Only men can be in leadership positions, so they can use their strength to protect women."

Also Baptist leaders: "I'm sorry, I can't do anything substantial to help sexual abuse victims because other men might say mean things about me."

A plague of cowards. All Baptist leaders? No.

But enough that it's a constant theme for men to hide behind bylaws (that they created) and committees (that they sit on) instead of taking personal risks to actually help the women who are literally begging them to make things right.

It is Un-American to propose a religious test for who should hold an elected office. And it is Un-Christian to propose a vote for an American politician as a test of Christianity. I can not sufficiently express my dissapointment at those who treat politicians as the last hope for preserving Christian values and ideals.

Yes. People have actually been victimized. They've been hurt. Joy is hard to come by. They aren't just making it up to bother you. What are you doing to help them find joy, besides shaming them for their pain & the damage done?

If this is the best you can do, seriously, go home. This sort of rhetoric is so hurtful, not only to actual victims, but also painful for me who feels like I owe so much to the ministry of this man. He's the one who turned me on to expository preaching.

I wish he would stop seeing this issue as a political one and see the people.

I wonder if Roman Soldier Christians and Jewish Christians in the first century AD in Palestine had heated disagreements about the Roman Empire? Did they talk about politics from their radically different perspectives and still treat each other as brothers? There was no "Christian culture" or common "worldview" for them to share yet. They had to do the work of accepting each other on no other basis than Christ. I think I have a tendency to want conformity on secondary cultural issues first before treating others as "mine".

Leaders from SG, an organization that has improperly handled cases of sexual abuse and refuses accountability on that subject, justifies themselves by citing Doug Wilson, a man that has improperly handled cases of sexual abuse and refuses accountability on that subject. 🤔 .@justinsytsma
@bkauflin

I haven't been able to watch #SurvivingRKelly yet, but from what I've heard it confirms something I've been saying for a while - the Nassar case isn't an indication of the fact that we're doing better as a society, but rather, stands as a indication of how far we have to go. 1/ I'm not qualified to speak to the role racial dynamics in particular are at play here - but it's certainly something worth tuning our ears to hear from both experts and especially the victims. Instead, I want to contrast the idea of marginalized women in broader terms. 2/

The reason I am so angry about many of these responses to the Ford/Kavanaugh story is because 15 year old girls who were raped and abused over the weekend will see and read these responses and hear, "Shut up - it's not that big of a deal, and your life will be hell if you talk." It does matter. It wasn't your fault. What happened was wrong and wicked. And while there are idiots out there who won't understand, there are also compassionate, well-trained people out there who care and who will fight for you. Don't ever believe you don't matter.

I want to explain something for all you Christian dudes out there throwing out the 8th commandment and saying that because we don't have more than 1 witness making these accusations against Kavanaugh, we can't accept her accusation. Biblically, there are other ways of being a witness besides being a direct eyewitness:
"Now if a person sins after he hears a public adjuration to testify when he is a witness, whether he has seen or *otherwise known*, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his guilt." Lev 5:1