I believe that the dominionists may actually tolerate child abuse, because it falls in with their idea about submission to authority and one's place in the "Great Chain of Being" (a failed concept that is centuries old).

A child fits at the bottom of the human hierarchy in their world.  A child is supposed to be obedient, submissive, and not go against what their "superiors" say or do and ALWAYS remember their place (same for anyone in that system).  If an adult decides to use a child for pleasure... the child is not supposed to rebel (which is a gigantic sin in their "church"... higher than anything including sex for pleasure or outside of marriage).  If an adult physically abuses a child because the child isn't obedient, well, the Bible does permit killing of children/youth for being disobedient (that's what they think - remember what Rushdoony advocated).

I was reading something yesterday... an old post I'd saved about a little girl who was beat to death for not being obedient (Riley Ann Sawyers aka "Baby Grace" who was beaten to death for not saying "please" and "yes, SIR" - she was two years old)!  That's an extreme case but not that extreme from the things I've heard and read, but fits in perfectly with this topic.

I've heard many stories of horrific abuse - for instance, with the more fundamental/conservative people down here, a little kid not saying "Yes SIR!" or "Yes, MAM!!!" is almost a terrible crime.  People have reported bad beatings and worse for not (in their parents'/church members' eyes) being properly submissive to adults (representing authority).  I've even experienced it - parents apologizing to me for their son or daughter calling me "Mr. ___" or by my preferred nickname - they were ashamed that the child or youth was making him or herself "your equal", and then promising punishment to their children or punishing them on the spot (both of which I protested against).

When you mix that with the "Good Christian" tendency towards blaming their victims, then the sort of things (horrific to anyone else) make a bit of sense.

Another point is that they used to teach that you never EVER got the police or government involved.  The Bible lays out the way to deal with things... first directly, then involving some significant other person (usually the pastor) if that doesn't work, then involving the whole church if THAT didn't resolve the problem.  Of course, the pastors always go with the hierarchal structure.  I was physically beaten up by a "Good Christian" employer on the job one time about 33 years ago (for interrupting a conversation about angels), and was able to set up a meeting between the pastor, the employer, and myself.  The pastor and the employer weren't concerned about the damage done to me (7 stitches in my lip) - they were more concerned that I wasn't submissive enough to my boss on the job.  How damned submissive are you supposed to be anyway?  Anyway, I was strictly charged "by the Bible" to not report it or do anything about it, and also the scriptural injunction against suing another Christian was invoked.

The "Go to the church first when there are problems" is ground into people from the beginning.   That was one of the results.  I'm sure that is also part of the package... can't have the authorities seeing behind the curtain at the abusive hierarchal structure existing in their midst, after all!

by ArchaeoBob on Sun Apr 01, 2012 at 11:25:39 AM EST

It is possible - just - to put a less malign construction on what was said. It is a well-established bit of psychology that many victims DO feel complicit in the crimes that has been committed against them. It is also well-known that children, with their limited psychological horizons, feel that the way the world is may well be a result of their behaviour. Children have been known to think their parents' divorce is because they have done something wrong. This makes it particularly easy to manipulate children into feeling that a sexual encounter - particularly when incest is involved - is their responsibility. The phrase from the article is, "if you're a victim of child abuse and molestation, you could feel guilty about what happened because you can somehow "consent" to incest or "allow yourself to be molested."" It only takes a little alteration to make this all too plausible - "if you're a victim of child abuse and molestation, you COULD feel guilty about what happened because you MIGHT THINK OR CAN BE MADE TO THINK THAT YOU HAVE somehow "consented" to incest or "allowed yourself to be molested." It is after all a common justification by those guilty of sexual assault that, "the little tart was asking for it." How easy it is with children to convince them of this lie, and even embed it in their minds so that it continues into adulthood. And with children, you educate them about "bad things" and encourage them to go first to a trusted adult. If they are being abused within the family, then a teacher or a pastor might be the natural place for a child to go. Of course, that in no way excuses a pastor - or a Roman Catholic priest - from trying first to protect the institution and not the child.

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