Exalya Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Now, child abuse is probably one of the least-discussed subjects anyway; most people would like to think that the vast majority of kids grow up with a mother and/or father who love them and treat them well, but in reality, tons of children are abused daily and nothing is done about it. Among the most angering forms that I can think of is when a Christian abuses a child and maybe even thinks that god says it's okay. My fundie mother was mentally unstable, but she used Christianity to appear "normal" and then used it to rationalize all of the awful things she did to me. One of my best friends was beaten with a splintered board by her father, a pastor and school owner, and when I reported the incident he got off because the police chief said, "I know this man, he's a good Christian man..." I haven't spoken to my friend since... I have to wonder--is this some kind of epidemic, or am I (and a number of my friends) just unlucky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Well one of the major functions of the jebus cult morontheism has always been to provide justification for (insert your vice here)... even on a national scale. Misogynism? Call it "purging the world from witches". Want to kill for the sake of killing? Paste a cross on it and call it a crusade. Want to get filthy rich exploiting the works and lives of slaves? Call it "conquering the New World for Kryast". Et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam. Same on a personal level with "...but (s)he's a Good Christian, (s)he can't possibly have done THIS!". Being a Good Christian becomes a blanket justification for everything. Or so they think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Now, child abuse is probably one of the least-discussed subjects anyway; most people would like to think that the vast majority of kids grow up with a mother and/or father who love them and treat them well, but in reality, tons of children are abused daily and nothing is done about it. Among the most angering forms that I can think of is when a Christian abuses a child and maybe even thinks that god says it's okay. My fundie mother was mentally unstable, but she used Christianity to appear "normal" and then used it to rationalize all of the awful things she did to me. One of my best friends was beaten with a splintered board by her father, a pastor and school owner, and when I reported the incident he got off because the police chief said, "I know this man, he's a good Christian man..." I haven't spoken to my friend since... I have to wonder--is this some kind of epidemic, or am I (and a number of my friends) just unlucky? Christians use the church and its teachings to justify everything from murder to rape and incest. It is an epidemic that has been going on for over two thousand years. It is contagious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted January 7, 2009 Super Moderator Share Posted January 7, 2009 Religion is the go-to excuse for any unsavory human behavior. Child abuse is no exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I don't know that it isn't ever discussed, but it is certainly swept under the rug a lot in churches, especially those where it is actively taking place. I saw books in our church library written by those who had been abused by alegedly Christian foster parents. One author (Dorie Van Stone) wrote that her own mother hated her and told her boyfriends that they could take her anytime (she was a child at the time). Foster fathers raped her on more than one occasion. For a while in the news, it seemed like there was a new pastor every week that was being busted for child porn or abuse. One was busted after his images were displayed on the overhead during a morning service. A pastor in my area was arrested and jailed for raping women in "counseling" sessions. So it is certainly in the news a lot more often than it used to be. Kids are also being taught in school about reporting abuse or attempted abductions. But many churches are still very hush-hush about anything sexual. And Thurisaz was right when he said that the church and religion in general has used pleasing God as a justification for all kinds of evil. I think this is aided by the frequent mental dissonance that is required to view God as love itself, but who is also perfectly justified in torturing 99% of all humanity in molten sulfur for all eternity. Thus, it isn't a great leap of dissonance for victims to blame themselves for being abused, and the abusers to justify it because they are in authority over the victims, all the while looking to God for approval and forgiveness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exalya Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 But do kids really know what abuse is? I'm only 18, so I was in school pretty recently, and back when I was in elementary school I was told about the sexual abuse thing, how no one is supposed to "touch you there." What about other kinds of abuse? I'm not saying sexual abuse is not important--it is incredibly important--but no one is teaching children how to recognize psychological and physical torture. And there are a lot of Christians out there committing horrible crimes against their children, crimes their children either see as tolerable or "normal." CPS won't even respond to abuse if it's not proven with overwhelming physical evidence (if you have scars, they have to be recent, if it's psychological torture, well, get over it). It's just... infuriating. Even though it's anecdotal, I've known people who were wiccan, buddhist, or atheistic and none of them were even abused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpheliaGinger Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 When the majority does it, it doesn't raise any ire. It's when a minority/fringe group does it when it raises their ire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PocketAces Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Now, child abuse is probably one of the least-discussed subjects anyway; most people would like to think that the vast majority of kids grow up with a mother and/or father who love them and treat them well, but in reality, tons of children are abused daily and nothing is done about it. Among the most angering forms that I can think of is when a Christian abuses a child and maybe even thinks that god says it's okay. My fundie mother was mentally unstable, but she used Christianity to appear "normal" and then used it to rationalize all of the awful things she did to me. One of my best friends was beaten with a splintered board by her father, a pastor and school owner, and when I reported the incident he got off because the police chief said, "I know this man, he's a good Christian man..." I haven't spoken to my friend since... I have to wonder--is this some kind of epidemic, or am I (and a number of my friends) just unlucky? i wonder if it is because the hold that religion can do to people's perception. one hears, a Christian, so many automatically assume, "a good, upstanding man." plus the Bible says so with specific things, so it must be ok right? that seems to be a lot of people's thoughts. when the reality of it is, to me at least, there are some very good and moral Christians, just as there are some very good and moral non-believers of all sorts, but there are some seriously fucked up Christians who abuse, rape and do all sorts of autrocities. for the Christians that beat, or should i use the more pc expression, spank their kids, i hope someone bends them over, and beats them in the ass with a board. adults are still children of God right, so the rod could still be used on them eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QuidEstCaritas? Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Now, child abuse is probably one of the least-discussed subjects anyway; most people would like to think that the vast majority of kids grow up with a mother and/or father who love them and treat them well, but in reality, tons of children are abused daily and nothing is done about it. Among the most angering forms that I can think of is when a Christian abuses a child and maybe even thinks that god says it's okay. My fundie mother was mentally unstable, but she used Christianity to appear "normal" and then used it to rationalize all of the awful things she did to me. One of my best friends was beaten with a splintered board by her father, a pastor and school owner, and when I reported the incident he got off because the police chief said, "I know this man, he's a good Christian man..." I haven't spoken to my friend since... I have to wonder--is this some kind of epidemic, or am I (and a number of my friends) just unlucky? i wonder if it is because the hold that religion can do to people's perception. one hears, a Christian, so many automatically assume, "a good, upstanding man." plus the Bible says so with specific things, so it must be ok right? that seems to be a lot of people's thoughts. when the reality of it is, to me at least, there are some very good and moral Christians, just as there are some very good and moral non-believers of all sorts, but there are some seriously fucked up Christians who abuse, rape and do all sorts of autrocities. for the Christians that beat, or should i use the more pc expression, spank their kids, i hope someone bends them over, and beats them in the ass with a board. adults are still children of God right, so the rod could still be used on them eh? If they beat their children it's because "God willed it" and if you beat them for beating their children it then becomes "religious persecution of the righteous". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest QuidEstCaritas? Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Now, child abuse is probably one of the least-discussed subjects anyway; most people would like to think that the vast majority of kids grow up with a mother and/or father who love them and treat them well, but in reality, tons of children are abused daily and nothing is done about it. Among the most angering forms that I can think of is when a Christian abuses a child and maybe even thinks that god says it's okay. My fundie mother was mentally unstable, but she used Christianity to appear "normal" and then used it to rationalize all of the awful things she did to me. One of my best friends was beaten with a splintered board by her father, a pastor and school owner, and when I reported the incident he got off because the police chief said, "I know this man, he's a good Christian man..." I haven't spoken to my friend since... I have to wonder--is this some kind of epidemic, or am I (and a number of my friends) just unlucky? i wonder if it is because the hold that religion can do to people's perception. one hears, a Christian, so many automatically assume, "a good, upstanding man." plus the Bible says so with specific things, so it must be ok right? that seems to be a lot of people's thoughts. when the reality of it is, to me at least, there are some very good and moral Christians, just as there are some very good and moral non-believers of all sorts, but there are some seriously fucked up Christians who abuse, rape and do all sorts of autrocities. for the Christians that beat, or should i use the more pc expression, spank their kids, i hope someone bends them over, and beats them in the ass with a board. adults are still children of God right, so the rod could still be used on them eh? If they beat their children it's because "God willed it" and if you (the state) beat them for beating their children it then becomes "religious persecution of the righteous". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixolite Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I think it's the "spare the rod, spoil the child" mentality, i.e. they see nothing wrong with it and therefore there is nothing to discuss. From RDF: My most interesting fact about Jehovah's Witnesses was presented to me during a Parole Hearing of a JW sex offender who was being supported by his elders for refusing any sex offender therapy. I was the Vice Chairman of the New Hampshire Adult Parole Board, and chaired his hearing.We called in the head of our program to confront him, and he brought along a massive study that somebody had done, probably as part of work for an advanced degree, on the religion of Sex Offenders who victimize their own children. I remember that Evangelicals, as a group were about three time more like to appear in prison populations, but that Jehovah's Witnesses were a stunning seven times more likely to molest their own children, based on conviction rates, than the general population. This was back around 1990, before we really began to send former priests to prison, so I don’t know what today’s statistics would show, but it sure is great fun to confront door to door JW’s as proven perverts! http://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic....144257#p1144257 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyMac Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Now, child abuse is probably one of the least-discussed subjects anyway; most people would like to think that the vast majority of kids grow up with a mother and/or father who love them and treat them well, but in reality, tons of children are abused daily and nothing is done about it. Among the most angering forms that I can think of is when a Christian abuses a child and maybe even thinks that god says it's okay. My fundie mother was mentally unstable, but she used Christianity to appear "normal" and then used it to rationalize all of the awful things she did to me. One of my best friends was beaten with a splintered board by her father, a pastor and school owner, and when I reported the incident he got off because the police chief said, "I know this man, he's a good Christian man..." I haven't spoken to my friend since... I have to wonder--is this some kind of epidemic, or am I (and a number of my friends) just unlucky? Hi Exalya, All child abuse is terrible. I didnt know it was hidden in Christianity, I was under the impression that it was exposed more and more by those with Judeo/Christian values? Is there information concerning this you culd point me to, I am WOWed by what you've said and I would like to know moe. Thanks for bringing it to light, its news to me. Sad news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 'Spare the rod, spoil the child,' is the slogan I heard growing up in the church. Some churches teach its members how to spank their children. Several years ago I remember reading a news story about a preacher in Pennsylvania(?) who started off his services by 'beating the devil' out of children by spanking them as part of his church service--until the state stepped in and stopped it, supposedly. Christians have all sorts of ways to justify their actions Biblically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 'Spare the rod, spoil the child,' is the slogan I heard growing up in the church. Some churches teach its members how to spank their children. Several years ago I remember reading a news story about a preacher in Pennsylvania(?) who started off his services by 'beating the devil' out of children by spanking them as part of his church service--until the state stepped in and stopped it, supposedly. Christians have all sorts of ways to justify their actions Biblically. I attended a fundy church in my teen years and also went to their fundy church school from 10-12th grade. I remember hearing about several classmates who received spankings well into their teenage years. Now I have a humorous story that goes along with this. One of my friends, whose father was a teacher at the school, was dating a girl from his class. On thing led to another and he started skipping work and going to his girlfriends house for sex. Eventually his father found out and spanked him with a large board for "getting busy." He was 17 at the time. My wife now attends the same fundy church and our daughters, 5 and 6 years old, attend the same school. The pastor at the church who happened to be the same age as I am, 31, will on occasion work into a sermon about he spanks his daughters with a wooden spoon. His daughters are around the same age as mine. My wife approached me years ago about the topic, and I told her we can provide discipline without causing physical pain. My children have structure and do get punished on occasion but they never get spanked, and you know what? They are still respectful and well behaved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exalya Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Hi Exalya, All child abuse is terrible. I didnt know it was hidden in Christianity, I was under the impression that it was exposed more and more by those with Judeo/Christian values? Is there information concerning this you culd point me to, I am WOWed by what you've said and I would like to know moe. Thanks for bringing it to light, its news to me. Sad news. That's the thing... I would like to find concrete numbers, but I have a very hard time finding them. I've been searching the net for statistics on rates of abuse and religion, but I can't find any. I only have my experiences to go on--they are numerous, but they are only my experiences. Of the friends I have, 8 of them came from strongly religious, abusive environments. I'm not talking spankings, either. I'm talking threats against their lives, beatings, rabid attempts to strip them of all outside contact with any human being, over-working (making your 12-year-old kid work while ill for 12 hours + in a day), medical negligence, sexual abuse... the list is quite long. Everyone's parents hurt them in a different unique way, including mine. All of them "good Christians." None of them were successfully taken to CPS, because either the parents were too well-known and liked, the abuse was psychological (stripping of outside contact, throwing things at but not hitting the child, threats to kill the child or kill themselves which were never acted on) and impossible to document, or the victim was still in denial/would not come forward. I managed to successfully run away in my case, one of my friends tried to but was sent back while yelling at the police "They're going to kill me." When I have tried to report a few of these instances CPS flat-out told me, "If it doesn't leave marks, it's not illegal." To which I responded, "So is it okay if I go waterboard my daughter?" Apparently so. It's just frowned on. The hypocrisy of it and the damage that these "good Christians" causes infuriates me to no end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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