This morning I read an article by Albert Mohler on how the #metoo movement has come to the Evangelical movement, specifically the Southern Baptist Convention. He expressed surprised by the emergence of this crisis and responded in humility throughout the article. And as much as I respect his humiliation and call to action, I cannot help but think that it is a privilege to be unaware.
If I were to ask my female friends if they were surprised by the revelation of sexual harassment and assault within the Evangelical church, I suspect their response would be similar to mine – duh, of course this happens in the church. To know women and to be in relationship with women is to know about the prevalence of sexualized abuse in this country, in this world.
This has been no different in the church. It pains me to write this. I wish it wasn’t true, but I know the stories, and the ways that these stories have been ignored and overlooked by church leadership. It’s easy to ignore sexual abuse when our highest goal is to avoid a scandal, rather than to help people pursue holiness. It’s easy to turn the other cheek, when we see women as temptresses, rather than as a co-heirs of the Kingdom of God.
For women, we don’t have the privilege to ignore the abuse. We see the way it destroys our friends lives. We see the way it takes over in flashbacks of terror. We see it in situations that constantly put us on guard.
That’s nice that you just realized the problem right now, but for millions and millions of women, this is old news. This is our reality, every single day.
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