A Cry For Justice

Awakening the Evangelical Church to Domestic Violence and Abuse in its Midst

Author Archive: Barbara Roberts

Barbara Roberts is giving up writing for the public

I have decided to give up writing for the public. I made this decision about 3 a.m. on Friday 22 April. I had been very depressed and suffering from high anxiety and insomnia for weeks, if not months, before I made the decision. I had also been battling suicide. That night it became really clear …

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John MacArthur’s church Elder & Professor of Biblical Counseling assumes that all Elders will shepherd well

John Street is an Elder at John MacArthur’s church and a professor of biblical counseling at The Master’s University and Seminary. In his sermon The Emotionally Abusive Marriage, he sets up a rigid dichotomy: Fearlessness = godliness. Protecting yourself = worldliness (time mark 1:26:50) The effect God’s grace has in our lives is that of …

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John MacArthur’s bad shepherding and how churches respond to domestic abuse.

Saiko Woods has interviewed me about the church’s responsibility to respond to domestic abuse, and how John MacArthur and Grace Community Church (GCC) treated Eileen Gray and David Gray. In the interview, Saiko asked me six questions. I’ve put time stamps for where each question occurs in the video. What contributing factors were involved in …

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Don Hennessy on systemic abuse in Ireland

This post is about social workers and the justice system taking children of protective mothers. While it focuses on Ireland, we can all learn from it because the Irish Republic is not the only country where the system is set up to favour abusers. The Alliance of Birth Mothers Campaigning for Justice (ABC) is an …

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John MacArthur publicly shamed and excommunicated a mother for refusing to reconcile with her abusive husband

John MacArthur’s sins are in the news again. And he has not repented. This time he has been exposed for how he and Grace Community Church abused a woman for refusing to reconcile with her abusive husband. Note: this post has updated by adding extra links in the Further Reading and Viewing section at the …

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Messages used by psychological abusers — domestic abusers and governments

In psychological abuse, the abuser conveys messages in order to steer and control the feelings, thinking and behaviour of his target. This article compares messages used by domestic abusers with messages used by governments and corporate media. Understanding the similarities and parallels may help you make sense of the confusion that is around you.  We …

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Stockholm Syndrome: isolation, perceived acts of kindness, perceived life threat, perceived inablity to escape.

The Stockholm Syndrome explains why people stay in abusive situations, why people cannot see the evidence that it is an abusive situation, and why victims of abuse can remain irrationally loyal to the abuser. In this article, I have loosely transcribed Meredith Miller’s explanation of the four parameters of Stockholm Syndrome and added a few …

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