Sunday, January 24, 2010

When Faith Hurts - Part Two

I haven't read 'Part Two' yet, but plan on it. Since I mentioned Part One in the previous article, I want to make sure you see this:

Article: When Faith Hurts, Part 2.

Just a brief glimpse tells me this article is worth reading.

Check out this excerpt:

It is,therefore,not surprising that child abuse often causes lasting damage to a child’s sense of spirituality.Unfortunately,the child protection community has largely focused on addressing only the child’s
physical and emotional damage—leaving many victims to struggle alone with the reality of God and the reality of their abuse.
For these children,and for our profession,we can do better. Though it is unlikely that interviewers would intentionally demean a child’s spirituality,this may be done unwittingly.In one case,for example, the interviewer was closing the interview by giving the child some personal safety messages.

Specifically,the child was asked who she could tell if she was touched inappropriately.The child responded “I can tell Jesus.”An
interviewer searching for a more practical answer might easily ask “who can you tell on Earth?” Such a question might frustrate a child who believes that Jesus is still on the earth.A better response would simply be to ask “who else can you tell?”

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