OT: Thoughtful Denhollander interview on Nassar tragedy

For those readers who believe differently, truly feel free to neg away and mock and ridicule

Readers who believe differently - don't do that.  It just makes you look like a small-minded ass.  And I say that as someone who's agnostic.

sorry for the small squabbles but...
"The average number of victims a pedophile has is about 250."

I just have a really hard time believing that's anywhere remotely true. Which then make me question the validity of anything else being said.

As a fellow Christian, I have known of the situation she addresses in this article and have had personal interaction with some of the people alluded to.  One point of connection between MSU and the church situation she mentions (though Denhollander was not assaulted in the church, nor have the pastors against whom she was speaking been accused of sexual assault) is the calloused treatment of victims in order to protect  leaders who failed.  Her conflict with her church was over its support for a famous pastor who had allegedly failed to respond properly to accusations of sexual abuse (sound familiar?).  Christians around the country were enthralled by Rachael Denhollander's message to Larry Nasser in court, both in its truth and its grace.  This article in Christianity Today is a timely reminder that Christians and churches must also attend to our own sins and failures.  

Just like in the sports world, accomplished church leaders are highly valued, bring in a lot of resources, and warrant a certain measure of protection due to the high demands placed on them.  But just like in the sports world, protecting leaders should never be an excuse for irresponsible handling of sex abuse accusations or neglectful treatment of victims.   The "good old boy" network that protects abusers of all kinds reflects a sinful byproduct of the admiration that leaders acquire.  This tendency needs to be systematically excluded, especially in the church, for the protection of innocents and the accountability of all leaders.  

Both in college athletics and in the church, how we define success makes all the difference.  If we care only for wins and losses (of whatever kind), without considering the victories in the growth and care of precious lives, this kind of failure is bound to continue.  As a Michigan man, I am grateful that Jim Harbaugh has so far held a high standard of this integrity both as a Christian and as a coach.  

"It is with deep regret that I say the church is one of the worst places to go for help."

I spent nearly a decade in the evangelical community, and what saddened me was how much I agree with this statement.

Denhollander discusses something important that is true for any large group. It is something I was trying (perhaps unsuccessfully) to get at with posts like this one during the Sandusky scandal, and an idea that informs a lot of my opinion and commentary about these sorts of issues.

The issue is this: It is really easy to demonize and dehumanize people who inadvertendly or otherwise allow the perpetuation of abuse, but much harder to detect our own vulnerability to such grievous errors.

The Culture of Outrage that inevitably arises when something like this happens has its uses, but it also allows people to become so enraged and so tribal toward those on the wrong side that they imagine the guilty parties to be so unconscionably wicked that no person in their right mind could ever do such a thing.

But the reality is a lot messier than that: Often these abuses are perpetuated, not by people who make a conscious decision to allow someone else's evil to continue, but by people who have never truly considered the danger of the decisions they are making. Perhaps they think they have done "enough." Perhaps they can't believe that someone who they respect would do such a thing. Perhaps the whirlwind of law enforcement and legal issues is so daunting that they convince themselves they probably didn't see anything.

And it's much easier to pass the buck. 

When I assumed my current pastoral role I was already aware of abuses in various secular and religious groups, and I am thankful for mentoring that guided me to have a strong position to protect both vulnerable people and our own people from situations that could be abused or construed as abusive. And I mandatorily report; I have had to call authorities about things on occasion, even things that turned out to be nothing.

It's easy to get angry at someone else that we neither know nor could ever know. It's harder to look at our own situations and explore how we could be exposed to a similar situation, and ensure that we do the right thing. 

No way I could ever believe in a specific religion, scripture, etc., but given the knowledge of my own insignificance, I would never knock others beliefs or ridicule their faith, as I recognize there is far too much we don't know or understand about the universe.

That said, while I can't find a "god", there is plenty of evidence for the existance of devils...IE, Nassar himself.

My takeaway: the church is worse than MSU and still hiding shit.

Religion is the worst, half that article was like another nonsensical language.

that sinful man is reminded that we are 'blind guides who would swallow a camel and strain out a gnat'.  second time today that i have mentioned this under the MSU umbrella.  i appreciate very much your perspective on these topics.  it seems that others have as well.