MK forum

Yes it is good news and it is good to see a man speaking about MK abuse. Boz is to be commended. But Boz is just like any of us, he is human and I'm sure he doesn't mind if sometimes some of us disagree with him. Actually he probably is grateful when people do, because it shows that his words are being read thoroughly, not just treated as some sort of entertainment and possibly getting a quick like comment.

The DNA of international missions must be transformed if the mission field is going to fulfill its God given mandate of sharing and demonstrating the Gospel to all peoples, beginning with missionary children.

Yes I agree that the DNA of international missions must be transformed, but I disagree that these missions who need transforming have a "God given mandate". No! No! No! As another poster wrote, if we accept that we are on the slippery slope of arrogance and exclusion. Osama Bin Laden believed he had a God given mandate too!!!!!! And if missions then say we are right and everyone who disagrees with us is wrong so they don't have a God given mandate, then they end up arrogantly secluding themselves and that is where the problems started!!!!!! If we accept that groups like NTM have an exclusive God given mandate, then we give them to much power and abuse it they will!!!!!

No! I think God speaks to many people, He invites them to follow Him. And it is their choice to accept in whatever way we feel wish to. It is an invitation, not a mandate.

We need to read and then think and then act or react to what we have read when it comes to this massively important issue that has touched our lives so much. This is why I like this post so much from Learning to be a Survivor. "I have read this post several times, a bit at a time. It is hugely triggering for me to think of the missionary world. It just isn’t a time period from my childhood that I am ready to think about or face. Bit by bit, I started writing down my thoughts about the hell of the MK life, the fears, the hopelessness, etc. but something happened today and am just going to share that. I called a mission board . . . "

I think you just got your wish. Refer to "Tom's" post on RNS.

Tom must be reading Fanda Eagles.

Another great blogpost by Boz on RNS.

I would like to emphasize this part:

Step One: (Referring to strategies used to discredit victims.) Minimize the importance of the child’s testimony by claiming that it is not evidence. This is clearly demonstrated by the supporters of Mr. Kelley when they write, “There was no evidence. There were no witnesses. Just the accusation of a young boy.” This argument is absurd to anyone with a little common sense and any knowledge of our judicial system. Assume that I am a victim to a robbery and there are no other witnesses to the crime. My testimony alone about what happened and who committed the robbery is enough for a jury to find the defendant guilty of the crime. If this were not the case, any crime committed outside the presence of additional witnesses would go unpunished. That is a frightening notion. However, offenders and their supporters believe that should be the case when children are the ones victimized. The truth is that the testimony of a child is evidence. The truth is that a victim of sexual assault is a witness to the crime…oftentimes the most reliable witness. The truth is that the testimony of a child whom the jury believes is sufficient evidence to establish an offender’s guilt.

http://boz.religionnews.com/2014/08/22/ ... zvYMk.dpuf

This is an important point, because some people involved in the investigation of sexual abuse of children by NTM missionaries are setting criteria that includes needing some sort of corroboration or eyewitnesses to the sexual abuse. As Boz says, this is absurd. Sexual abuse often occurs in secret, with no eyewitnesses. And there are times when only one victim will name a particular abuser. This does not prove a person only abused one child. It only indicates that there is just one victim who has come forward, or has been found.

But be prepapred to see this tactic used. It has already been used, and I fear it will be used again.

Already been done, Raz. The masters of deception have already branded the abused liars, confused and mentally feeble. Time to fight back!!!!!!

The Religious New Service has quite a few good blogs.

Here is one well worth participating in:

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/08/25/ ... nt-1230303

I see some lapsed Protestant, now an Agnostic, has dared to write to the Pope, wonder if they will get a reply

I hope the Pope reads it and this excellent post:


Judy Jones
August 25, 2014 at 6:15 pm
Thankfully there is a possibility that Josef Wesolowski could be extradited and stand trial for his crimes against innocent children in the Dominican Republic.
This serial child predator can not be allowed to roam the streets freely. Right now he needs to be in a secure treatment center away from kids.

Something to keep in mind-
Child predators are very cunning and manipulative. They know every trick on how to groom, threaten, lie, and put the fear of god into their victims and
sometimes even their family members. They also appear to do a lot of goods things, they can be very charismatic and you may think they would never harm a child. They have to be this way, in order to not get caught and to continue to abuse. They devote lots of time and energy building trust with their victims by giving them money and gifts. They tend to make the child feel that they are special and loved.

Sexual predators are often powerful and well-loved, we must overcome the dangerous myth that because someone is successful or warm or caring, he or she couldn’t have done that! It would be comforting if those who preyed on the vulnerable were obvious social misfits whose appearance would somehow set off alarm bells and give us the willies or the creeps. They rarely do. Usually, predators are among the last people we would suspect of sexually violating others. At a party, the predator isn’t some oddball sitting alone in a corner because others feel uncomfortable with him. Most often, the predator is the guy throwing the party.

And we must stop thinking that because a man is old, that somehow he’s automatically safe. It’s just irresponsible to endanger kids by assuming an adult is harmless simply because he or she may be losing hair, wearing glasses, using hearing aids or walking with a cane. These can be signs of advancing age, but they are not signs that an individual is safe around kids.

It takes a ton of courage to come forward and take action about being sexually abused. This is not an easy thing to do, but it is extremely rare that a child predator has only one victim. Some have many. Child predators need to be kept far away from kids forever, so let’s hope that anyone who may have knowledge or may also have been harmed by Josef Wesolowski, will find the courage to speak up and contact local law enforcement. Your silence only hurts, and by speaking up there is a chance for healing, exposing the truth, and therefore protecting others.
Judy Jones, SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

A very timely guest post on Boz's RNS blog.

This is written to address prevalent attitudes in the Afro-American community, but much of what is said here applies to attitudes in the American Fundamentalist Christian community as well.

Many of us MKs have nightmarish memories of abuse we suffered or witnessed, and of specific missionaries who committed those abusive acts. We do want those stories to be told, and we do want those particular missionaries to be exposed, whether they are still living, whether they are still in the mission or out of it, or are already dead.

But in addition to that, what we also want to raise awareness of is the way that the general culture of the mission allowed -- and even encouraged -- this abuse to occur. NTM never advocated sexual abuse. But it did indeed advocate other abuse of children: physical, emotional and spiritual. This is why I find parts of this blogpost so applicable.

Please take a few minutes to read the post. Here are some thoughts that particular connected with me:

"Many of us normalize abuse because of its prevalence. We think of child abuse as a rare occurrence and therefore if everyone you know experienced it, we assume it must not be that bad."

"The mistaken belief that physical abuse is the only way to raise children who behave correctly promotes the use of physical abuse."

"... some people defend physical abuse because they believe that they are doing what God requires us to do. Proverbs 22: 6 teaches “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it,” God does require us to teach, guide, and correct our children. Instilling discipline and responsibility in children is positive. Terrorizing, bullying, shaming, bruising, and breaking the spirit of children is not godly. Colossians 3:21 says “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.” "

http://boz.religionnews.com/2014/09/19/ ... -children/

Even better, write a post

It's a blog that reaches even more diverse corners of the globe than our own esteemed site manages to do so (and we do manage to go to some interesting places )