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“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” ― C.S. Lewis

I had a weird problem today with the post. I kept correcting spelling, and the spell check overrode the corrections. I have done my best to correct things, but I wanted to give you all fair warning.

In 2018, I wrote The Day the Vatican Hung a Green Light at St. Peter’s Basilica and How Evangelicals Are Doing the Same Thing. In this post, I observed how the pedophile problem in the Catholic church had roots back to the 1940s. In my opinion, the refusal to deal with the issue then, combined with the belief that they should believe that the pedophiles repented, led to the slow but exponential growth of pedophiles in the RCC. Sadly, the pedophiles did go on to molest untold numbers of RCC children. Like them, the SBC church leaders appear determined to prove there isn’t a problem.

Does the pedophilia problem go all the way to the Pope?

The Weekly Standard recently published a disturbing post The Catholic Church Is Breaking Apart. Here’s Why. In this article, a high ranking archbishop attempted to get Pope Francis to act on credible accusations of abuse by one the Pope’s friends.

Then there are the allegations: On August 25, 2018, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò published a letter in which he claimed that he had been party to several attempts to make the Vatican aware of McCarrick’s abuses over the years; that he had personally discussed them with Wuerl; and that Pope Francis—knowing full well all of the above—rescinded the house-arrest order of his predecessor, made McCarrick his “trusted counselor,” and, at McCarrick’s behest, began elevating certain bishops—such as Blase Cupich and Joseph William Tobin—to positions of power in the American church.

How did the Pope respond? Just like some evangelical hyper-authoritarian pastors who fuss about divisions and claim Satan is behind all of it. The Pope’s bishops were just fine in his opinion. Given my thinking, I would have to say that Pope himself must be suspect or he is ill-informed and simply trying to protect the “reputation of the church.” Apparently Jesus is unable to do that without the help of the Pope or his bishops.

In the weeks after the Viganò letter was published, Francis preached a homily in which he declared, “with people lacking good will, with people who only seek scandal, who seek only division, who seek only destruction” the best response is “silence” and “prayer.” If this sounds like Francis believes the real villains in this mess are Archbishop Viganò and people who want to know what the bishops knew, and when they knew it, well, yes.

In another homily on September 11, Francis went further, saying that not only was Viganò the real villain, but the bishops were the real victims: They were being persecuted by the devil: “In these times, it seems like the Great Accuser has been unchained and is attacking bishops,” Francis preached. And Satan “tries to uncover the sins, so they are visible in order to scandalize the people.” (The Father of Lies—as he is referred to in the Bible—has not traditionally been regarded as the revealer of sins in Catholic thought, but this pope has never been known for having a supple mind.) Francis then offered counsel for his poor, suffering brother bishops: “The Great Accuser, as he himself says to God in the first chapter of the Book of Job, ‘roams the earth looking for someone to accuse.’ A bishop’s strength against the Great Accuser is prayer.”

What is the problem that evangelical face?

As TWW and other abuse advocate document story after story of missteps on the part of evangelical churches, we have become more concerned that these churches are sending out “Pedophile Are Welcome Here” vibes.

The Village Church’ quickly proclaimed the restoration of Jordan Root who used child pornography.

The Village Church claimed that Jordan Root, Karen HInckley’s child porn loving, former husband, was *walking in repentance* while she, who exposed his past and current activities, was subject to church discipline. You can read about the story here. This is like putting a big green light on the front door of TVC. It appears to say that pedophiles/child porn users will be able to successfully play a game of repentance. It also demonstrates a profound lack of understanding. Pedophilia is not just a sin requiring repentance but s a serious psychiatric disorder. I believe that this response put TVC at a high risk of pedophiles seeking out the church.

The Sovereign Grace scandal involved accusations of church hierarchy which covered up child sex abuse claims.

This is the best overview of the problems inherent in the SGM system. The Sex-Abuse Scandal That Devastated a Suburban Megachurch: Inside the rise and fall of Sovereign Grace Ministries.There was a plethora of complaints that CJ Mahaney and his BFF leaders covered up reports of sex abuse. The pedophiles in the area watched the alleged lack of leadership response to abuse concerns. Could it be that SGM unwittingly put a green light in the church windows? Could it be that their alleged lack of action led to greater problems with abuse in the church?

SBC pastor Chuck Hooten gushes over his pastor friend who was convicted for child porn offenses.

TWW posted PCA Worship Leader Sentenced to Prison for Child and Adult Porn. SBC Worship Leader, Chuck Hooten, Along With Friends, Go to Court to Support the Predator, Not the Victims. Hooten demonstrated a disturbing lack of understanding on what was at stake here. His friend has a serious psychiatric problem. Yet, according to Hooten, all is well since his buddy repented. Hooten was sending out a signal that pedophiles and child porn addicts would be safe at his church. All they have to do is repent and look sorry and Hooten, who has not done his homework, will believe all is well.Time for group hugs.

I could list case after case but I think my point is made.

To recap: By *forgiving* the repentant pedophile and pretending all is well, the church is putting their people in danger. Jesus told us to be wise as serpents. It is time to wake up and understand that pedophilia is a profound psychiatric disorder and it is time for us to take the problem seriously. The Catholic Church did not and they are facing the consequences to their actions from decades ago. The sins of the 1940s are more than evident today in 2018.

It’s time to brush off those red lights and say “It stops here and now.”

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Christa Brown recently wrote that SBC leader offers little hope for change in addressing clergy sex abuse for Baptist News Global. An SBC pastor, Paul Watts, hosts SBC Conversation: Questions and Issues in the SBC. I have a critique about the “conversation.” It appears that Philip Robertson was allowed to make all of his statements, followed by Watts’s “Amens” or “Praise the Lords”. In one instance, he made a comment which was not even true, which Robertson jovially accepted. Therefore, this tête-à-tête appeared to be a political, religious kissy kissy for both individuals.

Now, onto the subject at hand. Sadly, it seems the SBC Executive Committee’s Phillip Robertson is spelling out that attention to this problem is a disaster for the SBC. Christa made this observation.

When new leaders express views like those of Philip Robertson, there is little reason to expect any meaningful reform for addressing sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention.

Before I read her post, I listened with frustration to the rah-rah interview.

Here are the points made by Robertson with an occasional “Praise the Lord” from Watts.

• Sex abuse must be addressed.
• We realize we’ve got to be intentional.
• The SBC made some mistakes.
• The issues was hijacked by some leaders who used this because they wer not satisfied with SBC polity and autonomy. This is “rooted in Scripture.” (I guess as opposed to the rest of churches who think that a Christin organiztion whould have some ability to stop sex abuse.)
• Russell Moore made salacious accusations of rape and child molestation in the Executive Committee that we now know is false. (ooo-It’s Moore’s fault.There were far more issues than this.)
• It was outside of the norm to waive attorney/client privilege.
• This was a wave stemming from the “metoo” movement and he mentioned the Kavanugh trial.(Apparently its all a political agenda.)
• Guideposts investigation cost $4-6 million dollars  and they decided to pay for it out of Executive Committee reserves.
• Lawsuits came out because of Guideposts and even though was “no guilt” by the  Executive Committee had to defend themselves and spent $14 million. (Mack was astonished.)
• This money was taken from sacrifical donations to the SBC, (Kind of like the NAMB and trustees money is taken from the sacrifical donations. (Mack was silent.)
• Guideposts finished their investigation and found no abuse in the Executive Committee.. (“Praise the Lord “shouts Mack.)
• There was the Johnny Hunt thing which Hunt denies and Paul Pressler may allgedly have done some things but NOT when he was a member of the Executive Committee. (“Allgedly” repeats Mack, wanting not to be sued by the ghost of Pressler.)
• The Houston Chronicle started this all. (Robetson misqutes the nuber stating they said 700 sexual abusers in the SBC. It was 325 abusers in the SBC and over 700 kids.)
• Robertson said some “individuals proved” that many of those accused were not members of the SBC. (No proof offered and Mack sat on his hands.)
• The database put the SBC in a position of not being covered by liability insurance because they might get someone on the list wrong. (“That’s right “chimes in Mack.)
• Maybe churches can check the registries already out there.
• They must be intentional and diligent in their local churches to provide a safe place. (The autonomy thing again.)
• Mack chimed in here and said “They even did a bakground check on me!”
• The SBC believed in forgiveness and restoration but they must be careful about sending  pedophiles off to another church. (Here is a problem. How far should restoration go? A pedophile must never, ever be allowed to be a pastor but Robertson mentioned the restoration word which worries me.)
• Robertson said “We made mistakes.” Don’t get excited. He meant they need to react better to issues and have no more knee jerk reactions.
• Mack claimed that all pastors are mandatory reproters. (Thhis is not true in 22 states. )

Christa Brown made many significant observations.

Robertson thinks there is no systemic problem and won’t tell us who the geniuses who have proven it are.

And if Robertson won’t even acknowledge the systemic problem — if he thinks it’s “not true” — then it’s highly unlikely he’ll be working toward systemic solutions.

Robertson doesn’t tell us who the “numerous individuals” are that purportedly did “a lot of digging.” Personally, I suspect they aren’t really so “numerous,” and they may be just a “lone ranger” or two.

The Guideposts Report documented far more than Robertson stated. Can I get a “Praise the Lord” from Mack?

The Guidepost report documented SBC officials’ decades-long practice of ignoring sexual abuse reports “even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry.” It also revealed their deceit in claiming an abuser database was impossible to build and maintain, even as, all the while, the Executive Committee was keeping a secret list of its own.

The report also showed SBC officials’ cruel treatment of survivors with stonewalling and hostility. (My own name appears dozens of times in the report precisely because the Executive Committee treated me so terribly. So, I take it personally to hear documented meanness now described in “praise God” terms.)

Many survivors of abuse within the SBC have said what did them even greater harm than the sexual abuse itself was how they were treated within the faith community.

Many survivors of abuse within the SBC have said what did them even greater harm than the sexual abuse itself was how they were treated within the faith community. Yet Robertson completely ignores the Executive Committee’s own documented maltreatment of survivors.

There is a danger lurking for the SBC. It is a problem that afflicted the Catholic church.

I have met many Baptists in my journey through the evangelical wilderness who claim that the reason there is sexual abuse in the Catholic church is because priests cannot marry. Frankly, by this time, the SBC should be a stop to this nonsense. A priest who wants to violate his vows would do so with a consenting adult, not a five-year-old boy. The reason they molest is that they have a profound psychiatric problem, which, even with intense intervention, leads to repeated abuses. Married pastors with children molest. Married pastors with children in the SBC molest.

Here is the real danger of the interview by Robertson and Mack: It seems like the hunting grounds are open for business in the SBC since there is “not an abuse problem.” Those stupid reporters at the Houston Chronicle didn’t know what they were talking about. And this invites trouble. As time passes, I predict we will hear about more and more offenders in the SBC. But that doesn’t worry Robertson. Just call the police and let the churches do what they will. Christa and I’ll be out here, documenting those stories. Parents, be very cautious of your children attending SBC functions. It looks like it’s only up to you. Your pastors, like in a former church of mine, don’t care. They should know better.