CAM Molestation Issue

[RZehr]

Another possibility has occurred to me. Jeriah Mast would hardly be the first man to think/hope/expect that getting married would be the answer for his sexual problems. Marriage is the answer for God given sexual desires, but it is not the answer for sexual perversions that he had and other perversions and/or addictions. Marriage isn’t the answer for sin.

Some understand this. This is why many people believe that in order to qualify for marriage, you should have demonstrated self control and victory over masturbation, pornography and all sexual sin. Otherwise these things just continue.

However there are certainly people who have a different mindset and do promote marriage as a “fix” for these problems. Maybe JMast and his church and family fall into this camp. If so, it might be true that he himself thought this was behind him. He may have headed back to Haiti ignorantly thinking that his perverse desires would not return and if they did, he now had a wife to help him overcome. He himself may have thought this was behind him. And perhaps, he didn’t plunge back into those action for a while after he returned and then eventually he reverted. I have no idea. I do know however with other sins we can repent and genuinely think they are in our past and we have overcome them, only to fail in the same area years later.

Our ignorance on child abuse isn’t only in the leadership, it also may include the abuser. Both the abuser and preacher are typically raised and taught in the same types of churches and schools and have similar peers.

We have learned a bit what it takes to overcome drunkenness. We teach and believe such a person should keep unreserved distance from alcohol forever. But we’ve tended to categorize sexual abuse to be more like fornication instead of more like drug addiction.

[Grace]

Trudy is a friend of my. In her words her mission is to give a voice to the trodden down and abused, who have no voice. And she is accomplishing that.

Is she at times overzealous...... maybe. I tend to think she is at times.

With this case with Jeriah she helped to blow it wide open. In doing that she is protecting young boys from his vile acts. She is also giving him a chance to repent and perhaps helping to change his destiny. The mission boards around Jeriah do not have a good track record of putting accountability in his life.....

Whether you like her methods or not it was high time something was done. Like Jazman said I just can’t believe they sent him back and thought he was fixed....

You have some good points. Thanks.

As I said in the prior post, God is in control. And I sincerely believe God is as fed up as we mere humans are over this horrible situation and He would have dealt with it one way or the other, with or without Trudy's help.

[temporal1]

RZehr:
.. We have learned a bit what it takes to overcome drunkenness.
We teach and believe such a person should keep unreserved distance from alcohol forever.

But we’ve tended to categorize sexual abuse to be more like fornication instead of more like drug addiction.

Sexual abuse, esp of minors, is considered VIOLENT CRIME.

It cannot be consensual, it’s not love, it’s rape, it’s violent. No known cure.
Perhaps like addictions, it does require “forever” accountability, and, forever removal from access to potential victims.

Anyone, including me, who seriously attempts to fight sin in their life, knows very well “the fight” is never over. i am not a sexual predator, nor do i drink alcohol, these battles must be epic!
i can empathize. but, to not fight them is not acceptable. for some, prison can help. some admit to it.

life is hard. battles must be fought. Jesus told His to be vigilant, to not rest.
we like to rest. a lot.
The fear of backsliding should be palpable. It should be fearful.

[RZehr]

That’s what I was suggesting. That our thinking is incorrect and should be changed.

[temporal1]

That’s what I was suggesting.

i thought so.
and, i appreciate your thought process.
i’m a bit wound up over Josh’s and Wade’s points about how emphasis goes to needs of abusers, to the point of victims getting overlooked. and, i don’t know how to respond to that.

often, victims are physically “ok,” so, the emotional damage is ignored.
more is being learned, but, so much more to be learned.

[Josh]

I have no grievance against Trudy. We need to remember that God is in control, and this story would have come out no matter what. Is it the responsibility of an ex-Mennonite to inform the world when practicing Mennonites are involved in misconduct? Possibly. We know she has assumed that role, and sometimes I sense a spirit of glorying in that . If that is the case, God is fully capable of dealing with her heart. God is also fully capable of dealing with Jeriah Mast, His church leaders, and those in CAM who knew, with or without Trudy's help.

I have purchased her life story book, in hopes to understand where she is coming from.

Trudy is not an “ex Mennonite”. She is part of a significant Anabaptist church which is part of the broader Mennonite tradition (BIC).

Perhaps Trudy bringing this story to light is part of God’s plan to bring it to light. Trudy deserves our admiration and respect.

[Grace]

Is it the responsibility of an ex Mennonite to inform the world? She would not have had to take on that responsibility if practicing Mennonites had not covered it over. She stated several times that she gave CAM time to do the right thing but when she saw no action being taken she thought it was best that this be exposed and not swept under the rug like so many other cases.
I'm curious. Do you ever go by the username Marigrace?

[/quote]

So Trudy took on the responsibility of exposing this tragedy. This begs the question, didn't she trust the Lord to take care of the situation? Or wasn't God dealing with the problem according to her time line? Is she appointed by God to expose abuse, or is she self appointed? Was she being used of God or playing God? And under whose authority, the Lord's authority or her own self appointed authority?

I think sometimes all of us, myself included, go before the Lord, and take matters into our own hands. We saw that in the Old Testament when Sarai, gave her Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abraham, to bear a son. Or when Saul didn't wait for the prophet Samuel at Gilgal. Not waiting on the Lord to do His work is something we all need to guard against.

As I said I have no grievances with Trudy as I believe she has helped many women who have suffered from abuse. I wish her the best and hope the motives of her heart are pure and humble. And if her motives aren't the best, God can still use her in a mighty way, as we all are imperfect.

We need to be in prayer for everyone involved, especially the victims in this horrible story.

Marigrace ???

[Jazman]

We have learned a bit what it takes to overcome drunkenness. We teach and believe such a person should keep unreserved distance from alcohol forever. But we’ve tended to categorize sexual abuse to be more like fornication instead of more like drug addiction.

Great point RZehr (and great commentary that preceded these lines) Glad you mentioned drug addiction; I think it's highly relevant to this issue. A church we used to attend worked with a drug/alcohol center (which I didn't entirely agree with their methods) Suffice it to say, our menno/evangelical church was and some may even still be pretty clueless about drug addiction, especially the harder drugs. I did quite a bit of reading and some observations and came to the conclusion pretty quickly that in real life, a) miracles rarely happen... b) you can't just pray/read Bible/sing praise song it away... I think or hope some of us were slowly realizing that, but that magical thinking has a firm grip on many. I imagine some still believe despite the terrible relapse rate of many of the residents, including numerous overdoses leading to death. I well remember the young man, who upon entering the program, gave his zealous, heart-felt testimony of radical change (and this was only a few weeks after getting clean). He went through the 6mo program and may have even done the 6mo half way house. He was outspoken for Jesus/Christianity. Probably a year later, after being out in the real world for not that long, he was dead... overdose. He probably thought; we thought, others probably thought, he was fixed for good. He wasn't.

[Aurien]

Is it the responsibility of an ex Mennonite to inform the world? She would not have had to take on that responsibility if practicing Mennonites had not covered it over. She stated several times that she gave CAM time to do the right thing but when she saw no action being taken she thought it was best that this be exposed and not swept under the rug like so many other cases.
I'm curious. Do you ever go by the username Marigrace?

So Trudy took on the responsibility of exposing this tragedy. This begs the question, didn't she trust the Lord to take care of the situation? Or wasn't God dealing with the problem according to her time line? Is she appointed by God to expose abuse, or is she self appointed? Was she being used of God or playing God? And under whose authority, the Lord's authority or her own self appointed authority?

I think sometimes all of us, myself included, go before the Lord, and take matters into our own hands. We saw that in the Old Testament when Sarai, gave her Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abraham, to bear a son. Or when Saul didn't wait for the prophet Samuel at Gilgal. Not waiting on the Lord to do His work is something we all need to guard against.

As I said I have no grievances with Trudy as I believe she has helped many women who have suffered from abuse. I wish her the best and hope the motives of her heart are pure and humble. And if her motives aren't the best, God can still use her in a mighty way, as we all are imperfect.

We need to be in prayer for everyone involved, especially the victims in this horrible story.

Marigrace ???

How do you think God would have exposed this problem?
Do you think God only uses Mennonites/Anabaptists to do his will? Do you think that the only ones who are true Christians are Mennonites/Anabaptists?
There was a woman on Asher Witmer's blog who went by the username marigrace. She said almost the exact same things about Trudy that you've been saying. After someone called her out for being hypocritical she deleted everything.

[RZehr]

That’s what I was suggesting.

i thought so.
and, i appreciate your thought process.
i’m a bit wound up over Josh’s and Wade’s points about how emphasis goes to needs of abusers, to the point of victims getting overlooked. and, i don’t know how to respond to that.

often, victims are physically “ok,” so, the emotional damage is ignored.
more is being learned, but, so much more to be learned.

This is true in most crimes. The criminals get the attention, and now when there is a shooting we often see a concerted effort by the media to remove the attention from the shooter to the victims. But it seems an uphill battle which goes against our self preservation instincts. We are wired to identify and neutralize the threat first, then deal with the casualties.

I would like to see some discussion on what can and should be done for the victims. CAM has an opportunity with them to do right that will speak louder about the love of Christ to them and their communities, than more medicine and food will at this point.
They ought to consider treating the victims needs as a crisis. I know time has passed for some of them, but if they really weren’t aware of what was happening, they ought not twiddle their thumbs now that they know.