Tag: spiritual abuse

Love is not an excuse to tolerate and cover up abuse

Yesterday, I wrote about what love is not. This is because sometimes people use the concept of love to manipulate victims to continue living with abuse and without justice. I want to explore that a bit further today because one of the arguments used is that this is part of a wife’s responsibility to submit… Continue reading Love is not an excuse to tolerate and cover up abuse

Love is not

Last week I started writing some articles about what a healthy church looks like and I argued that the one most neglected mark is the one that Jesus and the New Testament argues is of first importance, Love. But there is a risk if we just talk about “love” without thinking carefully about what it… Continue reading Love is not

False teachers, abusers and cults (2 Peter 2:10-16)

I’ve spent some time on Faithroots talking about the problem of abuse and bullying in the Church.  This has been in response to some very public scandals in the last year or two relating to high profile church leaders and organisations. It also relates to things I have observed more widely in church culture. High… Continue reading False teachers, abusers and cults (2 Peter 2:10-16)

Three Types of Depression

In our morning prayer, Psalm reflections, I recently commented that the Psalmists often express experiences that seem to give voice to the experience of those experiencing depression. This can include sadness leading to tears, deep heartache and longing and insomnia. I took  a little bit of time to describe the three types of depression that… Continue reading Three Types of Depression

Bullies – a personal story

a bruised reed he will not break,    and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;    he will faithfully bring forth justice (Isaiah 42:3) I arrived at primary school aged 4, one of the youngest and therefore smallest in my class, to add to that I came with ginger hair and asthma, by aged 10 I had… Continue reading Bullies – a personal story

Law and Legalism, Grace and Wisdom

On Sunday mornings recently we were tackling the middle section of Deuteronomy. It’s a challenging section with at first sight a lot of rules and regulations where it is not always easy to see how they relate to each other and where at times the culture they represent seems alien and even offensive to our… Continue reading Law and Legalism, Grace and Wisdom

A good time to bury bad news?

A New Labour advisor infamously described 911 as “a good day to bury bad news.” It highlighted the impression that Tony Blair’s government were more interested in PR and image than the truth. I thought again about that incident the other day when I read this tweet from Duncan Forbes “Would love to see the… Continue reading A good time to bury bad news?

Abuse and The Church: Changing the Culture

Always Reforming I’ve shared a few articles recently reflecting on the less pleasant side of church life.  It should sadden us that the church (locally, nationally and internationally) often seems to fall short of what it should be as a haven of hope and safety. However, at the same time it should not surprise us. … Continue reading Abuse and The Church: Changing the Culture

Abuse and church – We didn’t mean to be here

In Deuteronomy 19, God provides cities of refuge for Israelites to flee to when they have killed someone. There is a vital qualification, the killing has to have been unintentional. It cannot be for a wilful, malicious attack. The Law made a distinction between two types of sin, the first type were high handed sins,… Continue reading Abuse and church – We didn’t mean to be here