Thanks for your support: 30% off 💙 40% off 💙 50% off 💙 60% off 💙 80% off Whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States of America, malicious forces are quick to turn on the people who call for a change. “Now’s not the time to talk about this!” they say. Or, “How dare you try to politicize a tragedy like this?” In this country, we are indoctrinated both to feel shame and to retreat from shame. We surrender our power and defer to greater authorities. In doing so, we guarantee that further transgressions against the innocent become inevitable. This has to stop. I’m a survivor of Christian abuse. That’s not something I like to say because whenever you try to have an honest discussion about this kind of trauma, Christians can be extremely hurtful. They don’t try to help. Instead, it’s as if they feel compelled to put a finger in your wound. They behave as if they care nothing about the pain of the survivor. Their response will come in the form of deflections and denial. They might say “not all Christians,” or “not at our church.” I need to be clear, both of those comments represent absolutely brutal and anti-humanitarian attacks. Both of those comments represent extreme cruelty. Deflections and denials represent further acts of trauma. Rather than offer aid to the survivor, they join the ranks of the oppressors. It’s nearly impossible to have a discussion about Christian cruelty because the conversation encroaches upon a psychological blind spot. Too often, Christianity teaches a self-righteous identity that compels people to lecture rather than listen. They justify their aggressive stance over and over, and they’ll sprinkle their statements with insults to put you on the defensive. “I’m just saying that instead of taking cheap shots you have to give credit to the people who are actually doing good work.” They want you docile. If you try to speak your truth, they’ll label you as “hysterical.” Their response is never to help, it’s always to attack, attack, attack. We see the same thing in conversations about racism. The white community prefers to deny that racism exists. They’d prefer to burn books and ban history rather than recognize that a humanitarian crisis has been created by our cultural identity. There is a blind spot where people look at you and smile and try to pretend as if they care. But their eyes are vacant, and the words you speak do not penetrate their minds. When you try to talk to a Christian about the topic of Christian abuse, some of them will try to pretend as if they care. They’ll say things like “we’ve all heard of ‘those’ priests.” But that acknowledgment is about as far as they’ll go. They simply do not want to indulge any suggestions that encroach upon their ideology. As far as they are concerned, child rape is just “something that happens.” They insist that it’s no more prevalent among people who hold their ideology than it is among anyone else, even though there is evidence to the contrary. The moment you produce that evidence, they shut off. The blind spot returns. Some psychological break occurs which renders them incapable of seeing or hearing you. Christians desperately want to believe that their ideology does not make them more inclined to rape kids. They’re wrong. But any time you challenge a person’s sense of identity, you’re going to encounter extreme resistance. We see this in regard to discussions about racism. We see this in regard to discussions about child abuse. People don’t want to hear it. We have to make them hear it anyway. I can think of nothing more cruel than to inflict further trauma upon the innocent because their very existence threatens your sense of self. But that’s exactly the hostility we see directed at the survivors of Christian abuse. Christian abuse takes many forms. Currently, in the United States, women are being deprived of access to reproductive healthcare. This is causing women to die in agony from sepsis because doctors are too afraid of legal consequences for performing a life-saving procedure. We’re seeing a rise both in maternal and infant mortality. The church is largely responsible for this. Historically, the church has not been a champion for ensuring reproductive healthcare. They do just the opposite. Yet, faced with the ever increasing mound of bodies that are a direct result of self-righteous Christian behavior, many people revert to denial. “Well, some churches defend reproductive healthcare,” they say, even though that represents a statistically irrelevant sample. Next, they’ll try to claim that pregnancy is inherently dangerous and the loss of life has nothing to do with their activism. They do everything they can to wriggle out of accountability and assess the part they played in contributing to human suffering. This behavior is cowardly and cruel. There are none so blind as those that will not see. What Christians fundamentally cannot accept is that their ideology leads directly to child rape. I call Christian schools “centers for grooming and indoctrination.” As a parent, I don’t want my children going near places like that. It’s my responsibility to protect my kids. But when I speak of my choices, I’m often attacked. “This person shouldn’t let his one bad personal experience make uncharitable accusations against an entire belief system.” That kind of statement represents an attack on my choices as a parent. It’s important to recognize that is where the assaults on our children begin. Abusive people start by planting the seed of self-doubt in the minds of those that should be our protectors. We have to push back against lazy assumptions such as “some child rape is inevitable.” By creating that category, enablers put all transgressions into it by default. That’s why you get that blank stare when you try to discuss trauma with a Christian. They have actually indoctrinated themselves to feel offended at the idea that their ideology is somehow to blame. But what do you think is the consequence of running around calling innocent babies “sinners?” These are human beings that do not have the strength to lift up their own head, yet the entire Christian ideology is committed to categorizing them as guilty of transgressions against a higher authority? Calling babies “sinners” is the first step on the foul path that leads to child rape. As responsible people, we cannot let that transgression go uncontested. Sooner or later, holding that belief in your mind corrupts you. Corrupt men build upon that cracked foundation, and devolve into monsters capable of committing unimaginable crimes against humanity. The entire ideology of white supremacy evolved out of Christian authority. Pope Nicholas V decreed it was acceptable to enslave heretics. When these people realized they could escape slavery by converting to Christianity, the church found a need to protect their profitable enterprise. They retro fitted the Bible to equate sin with race, and white supremacy was born. It has steadily continued to mutate into something horrific, largely due to the reluctance of good people to offer condemnations. Christianity is an ideology of breaking people down, and sexual violence is often deployed as a strategy to crush the psyche of the vulnerable. The betrayal that comes from blaming the victim is probably the most hurtful of all. When you reach out to a decent person to ask for help, only to be scolded, it can absolutely crush what’s left of your spirit. These are the “not all” comments. These are the deflections and denials. They represent the most horrific assaults on basic humanity, and the worst part is that they are deployed with absolute indifference to the pain they create. Imagine the human suffering that could be averted if self-righteous people were compelled to examine how their own beliefs contributed to the crimes of the world? Instead, you hit a wall of stone. Instead of assistance, you get a cold shoulder. The proliferation of evil requires a worldview of blindness. Corrupt people are so committed to their ideology that they disregard the evidence that proves their guilt. They also become compelled to look for scapegoats. Rather than reassess something they’ve been indoctrinated to believe, they’re more content to sacrifice you. “Well, you must have done something to deserve it, you are a sinner after all.” But we are not “sinners.” Nobody is, that whole concept is a lie. It’s a terrible thing to watch people stroll through life within a cloud of delusion. They refuse to even acknowledge the suffering of their fellow human beings because to do so would make them deny their own beliefs. But denial doesn’t make them innocent, it makes them complicit. Denouncing your fellow human beings as “sinners” leads to corruption of the soul and crimes against humanity. However, if you even propose this idea, you’re met with a thunderclap of protest that claims the proposal itself is “inappropriate.” But I believe the urgency of the objection is itself a condemnation. The devil’s advocate knows the devil’s secrets. If the ideology were true, the proponents would welcome examination and transparency. Instead, we are directed and controlled. We’re treated with hostility and even violence for asking questions. Evil flourishes in the shadows where people are conditioned not to look. Christians are hurtful to the survivors of Christian abuse. They claim “God is love” when evidence suggests it’s just the opposite. Rather than provide comfort, they resent us for existing and creating a living record of their crimes. We have to collectively decide to treat survivors with compassion and respect. Innocent people shouldn’t be forced to navigate trauma on their own because the reality of the abuses they endured casts doubts upon the truthfulness of a traditional ideology. Maintaini
