Editorials & Other Articles

lees1975

(3,859 posts) Mon Mar 25, 2024, 12:07 AM Mar 25

Abuse victims persist, in spite of harassment, opposition within a Christian denomination.

Last edited Mon Mar 25, 2024, 12:49 PM - Edit history (1)

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/03/abuse-victims-still-persist-in-spite-of.html

The false narratives of right wing politics that are aimed at the destruction of constitutional democracy have also brought conflict and controversy to a Christian denomination at the heart of American Evangelicalism, exposing an ugliness that is evidence of growing apostasy and the increasing influence of heresy. The Southern Baptist Convention has had to deal with a sexual abuse scandal, and some gross incompetence in handling revelations of abuse as they were reported to its Executive Committee, revealed by an investigation published by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News in February of 2019.

The investigation, Abuse of Faith, was limited only to sexual abuse cases among Southern Baptist church leaders in 20 states that had already been convicted, or had confessed, to the abuse. The invsetigation only included those who had been convicted, or confessed to their abuse crimes, over 380 church leaders, mostly pastors and church staff, and involved over 700 victims. There are many more cases which have been reported, but in which the perpetrators have not been charged.

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The biggest obstacle to any real, serious consideration or resolution of this issue, though, is that much of the opposition to any resolution at all is based on the belief, by many Southern Baptists, that the victims of abuse are woke liberals bent on using #metoo as a means of attacking the godly, righteous work of the Southern Baptist Convention, and as a way of undermining conservative politics. There are deep seated religious prejudices at work here, among those who see women as subservient, not equal, and concluding that they can't be victims of abuse, because it's not abuse, it's just the natural order of things. Distraction and disversion is always the name of the game. This will help keep people focused on other issues while denominational leadership handles sexual abuse within its ranks from Donald Trump's playbook, shirking responsibility, blaming victims and protecting their assets from lawsuits.

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Abuse victims persist, in spite of harassment, opposition within a Christian denomination. (Original Post) lees1975 Mar 25 OP

Southern Baptists are a dead denomination, nothing more than a dying, right wing political action committee. lees1975 Mar 25 #1

lees1975

(3,859 posts)

1. Southern Baptists are a dead denomination, nothing more than a dying, right wing political action committee.

Reply to lees1975 (Original post)

Mon Mar 25, 2024, 12:51 PM

Mar 25

The manner in which these victims of sexual abuse within Southern Baptist churches are treated when they show up to the annual convention meeting to be advocates for other victims is inexcuseable from any Christian perspective. It is evidence that the Southern Baptist Convention, as a denominational body, is spiritually bankrupt, apostate and dead. The manner in which some of its leaders heap abuse and derision upon victims of sexual abuse and assault at the hands of fellow pastors and church leaders fits the Biblical definition of antichrist. It's not surprising that a denomination founded on one of the most grievous theological and doctrinal errors of Christian history, the belief that black people are inferior to white people and are therefore destined to be slaves, is capable of vicious cruelty prompted by bigotry based on false teaching about women.

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