A convicted child sexual offender, previously convicted and jailed in the early 1990s for child sexual offences while a member of Wellington Christadelphian Ecclesia has been arrested and will be charged on Monday with other child sexual offences. He had subsequentlyjoined the Christian Reconciliation Centre in Whanganui, a group with historical connections to the Christadelphians. He is well known for attending numerous Bible Schools and his family would often invite themselves to other Christadelphian family's homes across New Zealand. It is widely accepted including from people who were arr ..read more

This is the final blog of a three part series. Image by Matt Hrkac , licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0 Generic license One last issue deserves further consideration and that is the underlying issue of misogyny seen in David’s disrespect of Bathsheba and Amnon’s “hate” of his step-sister Tamar. It is further illuminated by looking at the righteousness of Tamar in the story of Judah and Tamar which serves to starkly highlight how different the divine view is to our human and biased view. Judah’s Misogynistic Family The story in Genesis 38 is an interruption to the story of Jose ..read more

This is the second of three blogs on this subject. LOOKING IN THE MIRROR: MISOGYNY - YOU AND ME IN THE RECORD In our first article we saw how David’s entitlement demonstrated in his sin with Bathsheba found itself perpetuated in Amnon his son and left him unable to perceive the dangers it held for his family and particularly his daughter Tamar. We saw how these missed opportunities to intervene and avoid unsafe environments mirror the opportunities and responsibilities we have to ensure the safety of the young, the vulnerable and the lonely – safety from predatory behaviours that we often have ..read more

This is the first of three blog articles on this subject. LOOKING IN THE MIRROR: REFLECTIONS ON AMNON’S RAPE OF TAMAR Amnon’s rape of his step-sister Tamar and Absalom’s murder of Amnon put a mirror up to what lay behind David’s sin with Bathsheba. The issues of misuse of power and people (usually men) using predatory behaviours to control others and inflict violence and abuse sound loud warnings to us. They serve to teach us about how we should respond to these behaviours in our own community. The consequences of David's adultery and murder. The story of the traumatic rape of Tamar by her br ..read more

Economic Abuse – often a window into a very dark place If a man does not provide for his family we should treat him as an unbeliever (1 Tim 5:8). Many behaviours of domestic violence happen behind closed doors or are protected by shame and fear. Yet often financial (or economic) abuse is exposed to bystanders and thus the ecclesia. The sordid details of rape in marriage or emotional abuse (say) may not come to our notice. Even if we suspect they happen, they are concealed by explicit threats (“you tell anyone and I will kill or injure [you, your children, your pets, your family] or implicit t ..read more

Tamar’s Autonomy and Voice in the face of Judah’s Abuse, and the role of bystanders It may surprise you, but this article about Judah and Tamar is prompted by the eloquent acceptance speech of Grace Tame, the 2021 Australian of the Year. You will need a bit of patience before I reveal how – thanks in advance for hearing me out! Grace is a survivor of child sexual abuse. Her abuser was her teacher. Despite vulnerabilities and trauma that she eloquently describes, she led the “Let her speak” campaign to have laws in Tasmania changed to remove "gag" prohibitions against victims of sexual crimes ..read more

Domestic and Family Violence remains a complex and insidious issue in Australia. It is recognised as a serious and widespread problem within our society. It has been identified as a gendered problem in Australia, with, on average, over one woman being killed, per week, by a current or former male partner. “Between 80 and 100 Australian women die at the hands of their male partners every year – and a woman in Australia is more likely to be killed in her own home by her male partner than anywhere else or by anyone else.” (*The ABS Personal Safety Survey 2006). But what of women who kill their pa ..read more

One of the most consistent questions we get asked, either specifically about a particular situation, or hypothetically about situations that may arise is how we shoud respond and what we can and should do practically. The resource linked above from the Safe & Together Institute is an excellent resource and education piece for all of us. It sets up a framework for understanding family and domestic violence and for helping us understand what we can and should do to help in the circumstance that we are needed as an ally of a loved one, be it family or ecclesial member experiencing domestic v ..read more

This article was prompted by a news article about a conviction of coercive control against a person of another faith who used scriptural abuse to support their broader domestic violence. Coercive Control is a criminal offence in more and more countries and is being considered in a number of states of Australia. Regardless of whether it is criminal in your jurisdiction, it points to the true nature of domestic abuse that seems to escape us at times. The reason it escapes us is because we want to look at the individual indiscretions or individual actions and not the pattern of controlling and c ..read more

Discernment is a concept recognised in scripture. For instance, the Apostle Paul speaks of the natural man not being able to discern spiritual things. He speaks of God's invisible attributes not being perceived by people who are without excuse. Our Lord spoke of those who would not perceive the reality that they never truly knew him, despite believing that they were working in his service - surely a warning to all of us. I remember speaking to one group of ecclesial elders and beginning to explain "the reality" for a person experiencing abuse, only to be interrupted in incredulity by a brothe ..read more