Posted on 09/27/2013 2:58:08 PM PDT by Brian Kopp DPM
AUSTIN, Texas (RNS) The Christian mission field is a magnet for sexual abusers, Boz Tchividjian, a Liberty University law professor who investigates abuse said Thursday (Sept. 26) to a room of journalists.
While comparing evangelicals to Catholics on abuse response, I think we are worse, he said at the Religion Newswriters Association conference, saying too many evangelicals had sacrificed the souls of young victims.
Protestants can be very arrogant when pointing to Catholics, said Tchividjian, a grandson of evangelist Billy Graham and executive director of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), which has investigated sex abuse allegations.
Earlier this summer, GRACE spearheaded an online petition decrying the silence and inattention of evangelical leaders to sexual abuse in their churches.
Mission agencies, where abuse is most prevalent, often dont report abuse because they fear being barred from working in foreign countries, he said. Abusers will get sent home and might join another agency. Of known data from abuse cases, 25 percent are repeat cases, he said.
Still, he says, he sees some positive movements among some Protestants. Bob Jones University has hired GRACE to investigate abuse allegations, a move that encourages Tchividjian, a former Florida prosecutor. Thats like the mothership of fundamentalism, he said. His grandfather split with Bob Jones in a fundamentalist and evangelical division.
The Protestant culture is defined by independence, Tchividjian said. Evangelicals often frown upon transparency and accountability, he said, as many Protestants rely on Scripture more than religious leaders, compared to Catholics.
Abusers discourage whistle-blowing by condemning gossip to try to keep people from reporting abuse, he said. Victims are also told to protect the reputation of Jesus.
Too many Protestant institutions have sacrificed souls in order to protect their institutions, he said. Weve got the Gospels backwards, he said.
Tchividjian said he is speaking with Pepperdine University, a Church of Christ-affiliated school in California, about creating a national GRACE center.
The media knows that people cannot stomach pedophiles. Hardly any of these sex abuse cases have involved children.
The victims are usually sexually-developed adolescent boys.
Finally is right!
Someone who is honest like this is refreshing.
You're right. There is nothing in this article that suggest anything except that someone needs a job promoting to others what he thinks to be a wrong. It's equivalent to the global warming folks.
You don’t like the truth? Why?
Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.
In otherwords homosexuals. The media will never admit this. The reason? Although they hate the Catholic Church, and any other Christian faith, they have a love affair with sodomites, so they cover up for their sex crimes.
“These daily hateful attack articles are making me like Catholics less and less.”
LOL!!! You mean you actually expect us to believe you once did like Catholics????
I do like Catholic people
They will be saved if they have faith in Jesus
First you said, “These daily hateful attack articles are making me like Catholics less and less.”
So, you like Catholics less and less.
Now you say, “I do like Catholic people.”
Sure. Less and less.
I like Catholics, heck I usually love them.
As a group, it gets less sometimes.
lol
I wouldn’t say “worse,” but evangelicals have no room to point fingers. Evangelicals are good at sweeping problems under the rug and blaming the victims OR there are those falsely accused due to jealousy and malice.
As a whole I've noted that the Religion Forum is a lot less malice filled as it was in 2009-2012. It has discussions and debates, but these are well thought and not blanket
Also, i don't see the hateful attack articles against any group recently -- can you point out any in the past week or two weeks?
I would also point out that in this article's case it is talking about Evangelicals being worse than Catholics. It does not exonerate EITHER.
What would be nice is if we acknowledge that we all have the problem and work to solve it instead of just pointing fingers at one group -- you, Geron have not done this, but others have done this in the past.
I see all the Churches as affected by latent homosexuality
Also, there is temptation -- and Satan's influence.
We need to support our pastors/priests -- they are only human after all...
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