Biblical Responses to Difficult Questions of Abuse

From the Mennonite Central Committee's Abuse Response and Prevention website: "For people of Christian faith who are going through a difficult experience of abuse, this can be a frightening question. On the one hand, Christians are taught that “God is love,” “God’s mercy endures forever,” and so on—God is full of grace and kindness and healing love. On the other hand, there are parts of the Bible that sound quite different, even harsh, and sometimes that harshness seems aimed right at the place of their pain. What’s worse, sometimes texts are used in ways that are harmful, adding a spiritual dimension of abuse to the other forms of violence experienced. Scriptures can become weapons wielded by perpetrators, and thus it can be frightening for a person who has experienced abuse (and internalized a twisted view of Scripture) to ask, “what does the Bible say?”

This website wants people to realize that the Bible has “words of life,” a message of hope and healing, specifically for people who are dealing with situations of abuse."

Visit this site to learn more.