Houston Chronicle Investigation of Sex Abuse Scandal in the Southern Baptist Convention
Vox Article on Jerry Falwell Jr. Scandal at Liberty University
SBC Executive Director Resigns
Church Discipline Causes Wife of Child-Abusing Husband to be "Shamed" in Front of Congregation
Ravi Zacharias, Hillsong Sex Abuse Scandals
Hillsong Pastor Resigns After Sexual Scandal
This is what a five minute search of the internet produced about all kinds of high profile sex abuse issues and scandal among conservative Christians, some of them very high profile Republican supporters and flag wavers. These are real events, as opposed to what the conspiracy theorists and extremist news media personalities are claiming when they level charges as "grooming," So apparently, being "conservative" does not create some kind of protection, or immunity from sexual abuse. These are crimes that actually were committed, not imagined possibilities of what might happen.
Look, no one is perfect. And these kinds of things seem pretty spectacular because they run so contrary to the moral values that are preached and taught by the Christian church, so they do tend to get a lot of media attention when they happen. But I don't see anyone proposing legislation which would remove the rights and freedoms of all Evangelical Christians or Catholics out of fear of sexual abuse as a result, even though the kind of "grooming" that is being used as a political weapon by the right is happening in their own backyard with relative frequency. Maybe that's where Republicans should focus their attention.
I am a Christian, self-identified by what I believe and by conviction, and in accordance with the words Jesus Christ and at least two of his Apostles used to define the term. I look at these news stories about real sexual abuse that has occurred among Evangelical Christians. It's sickening and disgusting. Most of these incidents occurred as abuses of power in the absence of true Christian faith, or at least, in some kind of facade posing as Christian faith. These acts, every single one of them, were committed by someone who either set aside their convictions, or was faking it and never had any Christian faith or conviction in the first place.
The scandal that has occurred within the Southern Baptist Convention, which is the nation's largest Evangelical denomination, is proportionately deeper and wider than the similar clergy abuse scandal in the Catholic church. And if you look at all of these incidents, which are only a small handful of the more recent ones, or at least, recently reported ones, it would appear that the likelihood of experiencing some kind of sexual abuse in an Evangelical church is much higher than the imagined likelihood of being "groomed" by someone who is transgender, gay or lesbian. These are real cases, not nebulous accusations based on conspiracy theories. They are all evidence which confirms the fact that sexual abuse is a real problem among conservative Christians.
As a Christian, I was taught to value integrity, and to always tell the truth. There were times in my life when I didn't do that and I regretted it, or, at the very least, spent an inordinate amount of time worrying that someone would find out. The conspiracy theories, making accusations that certain groups of people, because of their political affiliation, are therefore child abusers, is ridiculous nonsense, but it goes deeper than that. These are lies, for the most part, unsupported by factual information or data. Are there gay, lesbian or transgendered persons "grooming" others and committing sexual assault? Yes, and those cases disproportionately make the news, but there are far fewer of them than the reported cases among those on the political-religious right. But that doesn't make all transgendered, gay or lesbian persons guilty, any more than the record indicated by the news articles cited at the beginning of this post makes all conservative Christians guilty of sexual harassment and assault, and of "grooming" their victims, either. In fact, there is nothing comparable among them to the clergy sex abuse scandals mentioned above, which has been a chronic problem for decades, or to the Catholic church abuse and "grooming" scandal, but that's the logic being used by those who are making those accusations and citing false, phony conspiracy theories, rather than actual facts, as support for their politics.
They are, apparently, generating some push back.
Mallory McMorrow's Takedown of the "Anti-Woke" GOP Conspiracy Theorists
What Christianity Actually Teaches
In Christian doctrine and theology, sin is sin, and everyone is guilty of it. "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God," says the Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians in Rome in the first century. To the religious leaders who brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in adultery, his response was "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." His response to her was "Has anyone condemned you? Then neither do I condemn you. Go your way and from now on, do not sin again." There's nothing in anything Jesus or the apostles instructed that singles out specific sins or sinners for specific punishment. "For the wages of sin is death," says the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."
Those words, "Go your way, and from now on, do not sin again," apply to every person, and no one, in this life, lives up to them. No one.
Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. Those are the two commandments Jesus said were the most important. His Sermon on the Mount, along with the four gospel accounts of his three-year ministry, puts an emphasis on the belief that the way a Christian treats other people is a testimony to the veracity of their faith. Jesus goes to some dramatic extremes to illustrate the point, using a parable about a Samaritan, a man who was despised by Jews because of his mixed racial and ethnic background, to illustrate it, along with some very pointed, and difficult to follow, instructions, like turning the other cheek, going the extra mile and praying for enemies.
And on this particular subject, pointing fingers at the sins of others, Jesus was very clear.
"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye."
Given the politics of the times, it is more than fair to link these scandals among the Evangelical branch of Christianity to the Republican party. These highly visible scandals among Evangelicals are definitely the log in their eye, while they use people's fears, biases and bigotry to create an enemy in order to motivate someone's vote. There's a boundary line here, between genuine Christian faith and practice, and the phony, counterfeit, politicized "Christianity" used to push partisan politics which demonizes specific sins while ignoring others. Jesus actually had a lot more to say about adultery, fornication and unfaithfulness to a marriage, something many political pseudo-Christians should consider before throwing stones for political purposes.
Nowhere does the Christian faith instruct or promote Christians becoming crusaders against other sinners. Each Christian is called to testify to the grace they have been given by God, through Christ, which is the only way their own sin has been overcome and forgiven. And that's only demonstrated by a show of grace and mercy, gentleness and respect, which follows the example of Jesus, not personal attacks and condemnation.
The political middle-to-left considers its diversity as its major strength. Don't step away from that diversity and acceptance and trash the entire Christian faith because of the right wing political aberrations of it that are happening in American politics. True Christian faith places a high value on integrity, and equality of humans created in the image of God. It is in the business of redemption and restoration, not condemnation and destruction. Distinguish between what is authentic and what is counterfeit, and accept those values as an asset.
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