Al jazeera: How the 'fortress of fundamentalism' handles sexual assault

Al-Jazeera? Really?

Hypocrisy at its finest.

[Steve Newman]

Al-Jazeera? Really?

Steve, it’s because Islam has such a fine record when it comes to dealing with sexual abuse and homosexuality…

Many of you have no idea how this issue is being twisted and used against good and faithful people who have done nothing wrong. The whole hobby horse about caring for the abused… The anti-BJU crowd have made it a platform in order to accomplish their own agenda. When they’re done exploiting a person or a cause, they spit them out.

As far as the WORLD article goes, both North Hills Community Church (Taylors, S.C.) and the Julie Valentine Center (Greenville, SC) have been verbally attacked by the same people mentioned in the Aljazeera piece.

I’m hoping the BJU decision to employ G.R.A.C.E., and the issuing of their final report, will put this to rest, but I doubt it.

I’ve read the article several times and have held off commenting until now.

So:

• Lydia (I presume a pseudonym) is raped: not on campus. But while at home.
• Question re Lydia (and unless I missed something I didn’t see this in the article). Did she file a police report. I mean that seems like the most logical thing to do - go to the cops! Right way!!! Have the “rape kit” and collect the DNA.
• Along the way Lydia is dismissed from the school. She doesn’t know why she was expelled but she thinks it has to do with her being raped. Ok … end of story … no facts one way or the other!
• So I don’t see how this is a BJU story.

Good observation Jim. This is a hit piece exploited by the Muslims whose record with women in the middle east is tortuous. This is slander and hypocrisy on steroids.

[Jim]

I’ve read the article several times and have held off commenting until now.

So:

I don’t see how this is a BJU story.

BJU is the target. The ultimate goal being to shut the gates, not to solve a problem.

Then move on to the next college/university/church.

al jazeera is only muslim in the same way that the christian science monitor is following mary baker eddy.

Easton,

I think you misunderstood me. I was not referring to this article. Like you I am not a fan. I was referring to this one. http://www.worldmag.com/2013/10/the_high_cost_of_negligence/page1.

Sorry that I was not clear.

Here is my problem with this issue. We are dismissing this because of Al Jazeera and I don’t have a problem with that per se. But when I started a thread about the World article no one interacted with that. I am not worried about me, but the issue. This is not about blame but about making sure that we treat this horrible issue in a godly way.

Let’s interact with the issue, instead of dismissing it because of Al Jazeera. Any thoughts?

I would perhaps sense some real change toward the treatment of women/victims if there were some type of “we’re so sorry; what we did in the past was so terribly wrong.”

I really don’t sense any admittance of guilt. Am I missing something??

And I’m not even thinking so much of things that happened on campus. But cases that were happening elsewhere, and that the U personnel were made aware of in “counseling” situations, and the victims were not helped. They were given bad, wrong counsel. And all that seemed to happen in the end was to cast aspersions on the preyed-upon, as has happened here again in this thread.

So, I don’t really think the heart of BJU has changed on this issue. Policies, maybe. But if hearts had really changed toward the less powerful ones of life, we would all know it and hear it and see it.

Maybe this is just my perception. Maybe it is a lot of people’s perception.

And maybe there’s a reason for that.

But … ?

Dave,

I hope and pray that you are right. I am an alum and pastor, I have no axe to grind. My concern has been (and I believe the people involved in the World article) is that we do right going forward. When I entered the ministry 20 years ago, the attitude was not to report these things. And according to both articles, that was still the case in recent history. I HOPE that has changed.

I should also say that I have had pastors recently still express this mindset. I can’t stress how bad that is and I think most, if not all, here agree with that. But there are still people that don’t. I know of cases where offenders were simply fired and pastors encouraged no charges filed “for the sake of the ministry.” Then the perp is allowed to go and even be in another ministry. We all railed against the Catholic church and rightfully so. But pastors who have done what I just described handled their inicident worse than the Catholics, but at least they kept tabs on where their monsters went.

Again, I hope this is behind us, and everyone is on board with reporting and not blaming the victim as a default. That was the case even in recent history. I hope that has changed.

Anne does have a point as well. Why have those who have messed up not sought forgiveness? Some of these big accusations against pastors (how they handled these issues) would not have been public, if they would have said, “I messed up, please forgive me, what can I do going forward?”