Predators in the Pew: Protecting Against Child Abuse in Your Church

Jonathan was sick to his stomach. No pastor ever wants to see a child hurt. Yet his church was facing a lawsuit over sexual abuse that recently occurred in their children's ministry. He was bogged down with conversations with a lawyer, shepherding the distraught families in his congregation, feeling guilt over his failed leadership, and trying to hold things together. In his own words, Jonathan said, "It felt like a bomb just went off and I'm cleaning up the mess."

"Jimmy" was a friendly man who had joined First Baptist Church about a year ago. He was kind, and the members of First Baptist took a quick liking to him. He volunteered to teach a Sunday school class and got to know "Peter," an 8-year-old boy. Things started innocently. A hug at the end of class. Gifts for Peter. Lots of extra attention.

And then it happened. Jimmy took advantage of Peter. He made Peter keep it a secret. Peter cried a lot over the next few days (which was not like him), and eventually his mother got the secret out of him. She contacted the pastor immediately, but the church made excuses. She was so outraged that she sued the church.

When Churches Fail Our Kids

Sadly this is an all-too-familiar story. If you pay any attention to the news, you know that sexual offenders show up in churches. Like predators hurting defenseless prey, they do unspeakably horrible things to our children. Much could be prevented, but many churches do not know how to protect their children and how to respond when child sex abuse happens. It all adds up to being irresponsible with the littlest ones that God has entrusted to our care.

Why do churches fail our kids?    Continue at Deepak Reju

Teaching on Hell—Worse Than Child Sexual Abuse?

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:4–5)

Well, Richard Dawkins, an atheist and the author of The God Delusion, recently made a controversial statement during an interview that raising your child to believe in hell is worse than sexual abuse. Dawkins tells the interviewer, “It seems to me that telling children such that they really, really believe that people who sin are going to go to hell and roast forever … It seems to me to be intuitively entirely reasonable that that is a worse form of child abuse that will give more nightmares, that will give more genuine distress” than being sexually abused. (You can view the whole video clip on YouTube.)

Now, Dawkins is known for his extreme distaste for Christianity and the God of the Bible. But his outrageous statements in that interview show his open rebellion against God, and they stirred a lot of debate. Even some secularists have been upset with what he had to say.

Really, as I’ve said many times, Dawkins is trying to convince himself. He is, so to speak, putting his hands over his ears and yelling at God, “No, no, no! I refuse to believe.” And so, as Romans 1 tells us, he “suppresses the truth in unrighteousness.” While he is in his earthly body for such a short time (very short—compared to eternity), he wants to yell at God and essentially be his own god! But there will come a time when his earthly body will die (like everyone else), and then he will face his Creator and answer for his outright, willful rebellion. I pray for Richard Dawkins. Unless he repents, his future is one in hell for eternity, but that’s not God’s fault.    Continue at Ken Ham

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