Lessons from the Omar tweet controversy: 2-15-19
The radical religious roots of the U.S.: 2-18-19

Now it's a Southern Baptist sex abuse scandal: 2-16/17-19

Pretty much the entire world is aware of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church -- in this country and around the globe. It's why there's an international meeting of bishops coming soon at the Vatican, though it's not clear that we should expect a lot of results from it. (And, by the way, the Vatican on Saturday announced it had defrocked former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick because he committed sex abuse.)

Southern-Baptist-LogoMuch less well-known are sexual abuse scandals in other faith communities, though they've certainly happened.

But perhaps that is changing now thanks to the excellent work of Texas newspapers that have been reporting on the ways in which churches in the Southern Baptist Convention -- and the whole denomination itself -- have badly mishandled decades of reports of sexual abuse.

Now even top Baptist officials are speaking up and demanding change and correction. For example, this column by Keith Whitfield, a Baptist theology teacher and denominational leader, is a plea for Baptists to clean house and make amends.

"The past twelve months," he writes, "have been a heart-rending season, with a handful of dismissals surrounding sexual misconduct and one for the mishandling of cases of sexual misconduct. Now another shoe has dropped: The Houston Chronicle published three articles — 'Abuse of Faith,' 'Offend, Then Repeat' and 'Preying on Teens' — on more than 700 abuse cases that occurred in Southern Baptist churches over the past 20 years."

Worse, he writes, "It is devastating to realize that many of these accounts have been known for years. These survivors and many others have attempted to tell their stories, but their voices have been silenced. At times, their pleas have been ignored. In other instances, the accusations have been handled 'in house' to protect the reputations of churches and leaders. Some survivors were even encouraged to 'forgive and forget' those who victimized them. These responses are unacceptable, reflect complicity in the abuse of the vulnerable and provide a place for predators."

Any faith community facing this issue must ask the difficult question not just of whether it has procedures in place to detect and prevent such abuse but, more to the point, whether there is something about that community's culture and theology that contributes to people committing abuse and getting away with it.

For instance, what role, if any, does a clergy dominated by males play? Or a governance structure dominated by males? Has the community traditionally taught that women are and should be subservient to males? Do such teachings lead to tolerance of sexual abuse?

All such issues must be on the table if any religious group intends to dig out the roots of abuse. It's not an easy conversation to have, but without it nothing will change.

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CURRENT PASTOR LIST INCLUDES CONVICTED OFFENDERS

To stay on the same subject today: Until Religion News Service noticed and asked Southern Baptist Convention officials about it a few days ago, an online list of Southern Baptist pastors included five convicted sex offenders. Clearly the SBC has to do better at keeping track of its pastors. And the SBC response to the RNS inquiry suggests that will happen now. Good.

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P.S.: Don't miss New Testament scholar Warren Carter, who used to teach at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, when he speaks March 1 and 2 at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village. The link I've just given you will take you to a site that will tell you what you need to know to get tickets. Warren is a really smart guy who now teaches New Testament at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth. At Village he intends to focus on God's elusive presence in the gospel of Matthew, God's elusive purposes in the gospel of Luke and God's elusive revelation in the gospel of John.

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