The nature of bullies is to strike fear in the hearts of their targets in order to demand compliance with their own self-aggrandizement. Donald Trump is a classic bully, and he just made ABC News bow down to him on…
Hegseth’s nomination fits the TheoBro pattern creating abuse culture
Given the state of their churches, it makes total sense that conservative evangelicals would elect a president who has a history of bragging about sexual assault. And it also makes sense that this sexually abusive president would nominate five people…
Letter to the Editor: A vote for Trump is a vote for a rapist
Dear Editor: Rape is a crime against a person’s body and soul. And to condone a rape you are condoning and accepting the rapist. Throughout the United States, many men are sitting on Death Row who murdered to cover up…
Hamas’ ‘sexual pogrom’ in Israel
Editor’s note: The following article includes extremely graphic descriptions of sexual assault and war crimes. The subject matter also is controversial in that the leadership of Hamas has denied its agents engaged in sexual assaults and other watchdog groups have…
Progress on sexual abuse in the SBC? Not so fast
As Russian tanks, troops and bombs poured into Ukraine, imagine if President Joe Biden had announced to the world: “This is shocking. We pledge to help Ukrainians save their lives and freedom for one year. Next year, though, we may…
Roe v. Wade in real time
It was very late one night when my phone rang, the caller ID telling me this would be a crisis call. As a victim advocate, I had received hundreds of middle-of-the-night crisis calls over the years. For the sake of…
Judge delays trial date for Jane Roe’s case against Patterson and Southwestern Seminary
Two-and-a-half years after Jane Roe filed suit in federal court against Paige Patterson and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the trial date has been delayed yet again. On Sept. 2, Sean Jordan, U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Texas,…
A cold and broken hallelujah: Learning from the Damaged David
In my seminary days, I was taught that a good sermon or Bible study begins with a provocative question. So, when Nancy and I became pastors 41 years ago, I introduced a Sunday school class with the story about David,…
Global church must confront gender-based violence with honest view of Scripture, BWA told
Christians must join efforts to combat the plague of gender-based violence around the world, but not without the church also repenting for its historic and ongoing role in perpetuating abusive attitudes and behaviors toward women, the Baptist World Alliance was…