Barbara Roberts ♦ 2nd February 2020 ♦ 15 Comments
Evildoers lurk to snatch the poor, seizing and ravishing the people they target. Wolves hunt to catch sheep. Let me show you some words and passages from the Bible which say this. I first published this post at The Mystery Of Iniquity (my blog which deals with extreme abuse) but the post is equally relevant …
Barbara Roberts ♦ 17th January 2020 ♦ 5 Comments
Interview of Barbara Roberts, by Out Of The Gate. If you want to only watch the part where I talk about my work on domestic abuse — i.e. my book Not Under Bondage and the A Cry For Justice blog — go to 24:37 in the video. Who runs Out Of The Gate? Tye is …
Barbara Roberts ♦ 24th November 2019 ♦ 16 Comments
Don’t get too excited if a church apologises to abuse victims and runs an ‘awareness program’ about abuse. This post is a head’s up to those who might be getting hopeful about the churches that are running ‘abuse awareness programs’ these days. It is a re-working of an old post of mine. First I’m going …
Barbara Roberts ♦ 19th July 2019 ♦ 4 Comments
Jenny’s Story: Observations of Life from a Three Year Old ‘Sheltie’ Jenny’s story was written by ‘Kathryn’, who uses a pseudonym because her X gets in stalking mode when the mood strikes him. Kathryn’s blog is Escaping the ‘trap’ of domestic violence. [Re-blogged with Kathryn’s permission.] Possible trigger warning for those who have witnessed animal abuse—but …
Barbara Roberts ♦ 1st July 2019 ♦ 10 Comments
The Church Cares video curriculum produced by the SBC has said something rather stunning about divorce. Near the end of lesson 10, “Pastoral Care and Correction for an Abuser,” Brad Hambrick says: “We do not view prolonged separation or divorce as worse than refusing to change abusive behaviours.” That is good news. But there’s something …
Barbara Roberts ♦ 22nd May 2019 ♦ 15 Comments
Rachael suffered sexual abuse as a child, from two male perpetrators. One was a church leader, the other was Dr Larry Nassar who is now in jail for abusing multiple girls in his role as doctor for high level gymnasts. Rachael’s husband, Jacob, is not a survivor of sexual abuse. Rachael and Jacob describe how …
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The definition of abuse: A pattern of coercive control (ongoing actions or inactions) that proceeds from a mentality of entitlement to power, whereby, through intimidation, manipulation and isolation, the abuser keeps his* target subordinated and under his control. This pattern can be emotional, verbal, psychological, spiritual, sexual, financial, social and physical. Not all these elements need be present, e.g., physical abuse may not be part of it.
The definition of domestic abuser: a family member or dating partner (current or ex) who has a profound mentality of entitlement to the possession of power and control over the one s/he* chooses to mistreat. This mentality of entitlement defines the very essence of the abuser. The abuser believes he is justified in using evil tactics to obtain and maintain that power and control.
* Sometimes the genders are reversed—see our tag for 'male survivors' (tags tab in the top menu).
To say that abusers cannot change removes responsibility for sin. They can change, but the vast majority choose not to, which is what the experts state. When God punishes them, their punishment is just. Abusers have options for treatment and are accountable.
Once the marriage covenant is broken through abuse, the abused partner does not need to stay in the marriage waiting for the abuser to change. The abuser's recovery is a separate issue and his change is his own responsibility, not his wife's. This is the mistake most churches make. These churches have over-sentimentalized marriage and are legalists.
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