In the introduction to her new book "Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence" , Andersen points out that "The
practice of hiding, ignoring, and even perpetuating the emotional and physical abuse of women is rampant within evangelical
Christian fellowships and as slow as our legal systems have been in dealing with violence against women by their husbands,
the church has been even slower."
"Before turning to authorities or seeking legal help
of any sort, battered women often turn first to their family, friends and spiritual leadership for assistance. Help for
women who are endangered by domestic violence can become more readily accessible to them through enlarging the network of
compassionate and informed individuals within local communities at the grassroots level, and what better place
to start than with the local church?"
As Herb Vander Lugt, longtime church pastor and RBC senior research editor writes in God's Protection Of Women,
"Marriage is meant to protect a lifetime of love. The permanence of a husband-wife relationship rests on a covenant of mutual
commitment that is designed to survive normal and even serious marital conflict. Sometimes, however, verbal and physical abuse
do to a marriage what murder or rape does to a life. What then? What if efforts to save a marriage result in the compounded
loss of peace and trust in the home?"
"Virtually every congregation in North America has victims, survivors, or perpetrators of sexual and domestic
violence in its midst. Pastors and church members unambiguously support marital and family bonds, but many lack the skills
and experience needed to help both the abused and their abusers to recover."
Rev. Al Miles author of Domestic Violence: What Every Pastor Needs to Know writes, "For the most part clergy have
hindered rather than helped women break free from their abusive partners. Our apathy, denial, exhortations, ignorance, and
misinterpretations of the Bible have added to women's pain and suffering and placed them in even greater danger. The time
is long overdue for us pastors to stop turning our backs on domestic violence and begin speaking out against this sin. We
have a responsibility to preach and teach the biblical truths about God's love, which binds women and men together as equals
rather than ordering them in a hierarchy. As long as we refuse to fully carry out our pastoral duties, victims of domestic
violence will continue to crumble emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually underneath the weight of brutality and scriptural
misinterpretations, which no human deserves.
Diane Stelling writes in her book ABUSE: How to Help/A Guide for Pastors "Victims of abuse sometimes seek spiritual
help from their religious leaders, who, in many cases, are not adequately trained to understand victims' spiritual needs.
And too often, abuse victims feel judged and rejected by their clergy and congregations, which increases their feelings of
worthlessness. Yet spiritual help for abuse victims is a vital component in the recovery process."
"What victims need to hear from their religious leaders more than anything else is that they are innocent in the eyes of
God regarding their abuse. Not that they are forgiven, but that they are innocent. When someone is told they are forgiven,
it implies that they had some responsibility for the act and have something for which they need to be forgiven. Victims look
at God and Scripture through the filter of believing that the abuse is their fault. They need to hear of their innocence before
God regarding the acts done to them in order for them to fully heal spiritually and to move from victim to survivor."
"Our religious institutions should be places of sanctuary, safe havens where people suffering from the effects of abuse
in their lives, whether they are victims or perpetrators, can step forward and receive help so that they can heal. Therefore,
we all need to become educated about abuse in order to make the necessary changes in our religious institutions to bring hope
to both victims and abusers and to remove the fear and stigma associated with this issue."
This Project offers the work of these authors along with other valuable resources to equip
Pastoral Staff and Christians to minister to those wounded by the effects of domestic violence in a loving, Christ Centered,
biblically grounded approach.
Our prayer is that through this project and through this site Christians can become first responders
to free the oppressed and raise the standard of Marriage in our congregations and in our community, that "they may know we
are Christains by our love" and through saving lives we may also save souls.
