How Should Christians Respond to Sexual Abuse and Scandals in the Church?

It seems difficult to turn a page in a newspaper, scroll through a social media feed, or chat with a stranger without the subject of sexual abuse or scandals in churches popping up. If you are not a Christian, this fact may make the prospect of religion particularly unappealing - or even rage-inducing. If you are a Christian, it seems as though you are overtly or inadvertently being called upon to defend your faith in light of the bad behaviour.

Why does such behaviour seem to emerge from the church? Is such behaviour inevitable, or can it be changed? Let’s consider a few of these questions.

Why do scandals seem to happen in the church?

The worst potential answer to this question is that religious environments turn people into sexual predators. If this were the case, such environments ought to be avoided, and probably should be dismantled stone by stone.

However, upon inspection, one finds a very similar pattern of behaviour emerging from the entertainment industry, big business settings, and, indeed, political settings. What do all of these things have in common? The commonality is that they are settings in which single individuals have the opportunity to rise through a hierarchy of power which allows them to have authority and influence over those beneath them. In fact, a 2020 study in the U.K. indicated that school-aged individuals who rated high in the so-called “dark triad” (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) personality traits were more likely to end up in positions of power within government and business. In other words, positions of influence do not create abusers, but they do attract them.

It is unfortunate that churches create positions of influence which allow abusers access to the victims they desire, just as it is unfortunate that government offices and the entertainment industry do the same thing. One does not, however, dismantle these institutions for the abuses within, rather one finds ways to re-structure the institutions to reduce the possibility of abuse.

Abuses such as these happen under very specific setting conditions. They occur in environments in which one individual has limitless access to the targets of abuse, where the abuser may be alone and uninterrupted with the victim, where the abuser has leverage which may be used to manipulate the victim, and wherein the abuser is in a position where others will defend his reputation against accusations.

Churches, depending on how they are structured and managed, provide all of these features. Ministers, once they have gained the trust of their parishioners, may spend time with them in counselling, prayer, or religious instruction sessions, all of which may serve as a pretext to gain time alone with the person. Due to their spiritual authority, ministers may abuse theology or religious ideas as a method of manipulation. And because ministers are generally seen by their followers as associated with God, and therefore associated with purity and righteousness, they are likely to defend the minister against attacks on his reputation.

Churches so-structured are ripe for abusers to enter, rise to power, and then do those deeds which ought not to be imagined, much less enacted.

Is the Gospel message consistent with/encouraging of abuse?

The next question to answer is: does biblical theology allow for or even encourage the kinds of scandal or abuse?

During their tenure, of course, spiritual leaders who use their power to satisfy their gross desires will find ways to justify them within the doctrine which they teach. One such leader allegedly told the several women he had under his influence that God had granted them as a blessing to him in the way that he granted Old Testament kings, like David or Solomon, multiple wives to serve their needs. Further, this same person allegedly told the women that if they reported his misdeeds, it would destroy the worldwide success he had had with his ministry (and on that point, he was not entirely mistaken).

One of the organisations that the media focuses on is the Catholic church. The Catholic doctrine of confession, absolution of sin, and the confidentiality of the confession booth potentially serve as a way in which individuals within the church may excuse themselves after committing these crimes: they confess, receive forgiveness in God’s eyes, and are protected from any earthly repercussions by the priest taking the confession.

There are any number of biblical principles which speak against this idea that a person may abuse people under his power and get away with it. For instance, Jesus had some fairly severe words to say against those who would abuse children. In Mark 9:42, he says “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” (ESV) This verse does not simply discourage the abuse of children, but promises very harsh consequences for doing so.

In terms of church leaders, James advises his readers to severely restrict the number of leaders because, he says, “…you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1b ESV). Once again, harsh consequences are promised to those who abuse their position as spiritual teachers.

Paul lays out some very specific qualifications that spiritual leaders ought to have. He says, “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” (1 Timothy 3:1-3 ESV).

Note that the above passage is specific enough as to disallow for any of the gross abuses or scandals seen in the church, including the previously mentioned “God blessed me with many wives” excuse.

As for the idea that God permits anyone to sin so long as they confess, it is worth noting that whenever Jesus forgave a person, he followed the forgiveness with the command to “go and sin no more.” Repetition of the victimisation of others is in direct violation of this command to sin no more.

I submit, therefore, that sexual abuse and scandals as seen in the news from a number of churches are not justifiable by the general principles of scriptural morality (do to others as you would have them do to you, and do not do to others those things which you would not wish done to you), as well as very specific commands from scripture regarding the offices of teacher and overseer.

But even further than this, the Bible suggests that church “leaders” are not the heads nor the authorities of the church. That office belongs to Christ alone, and so those who gather for themselves a personal following are in direct violation of scriptural command as follows:

“And he [Christ] is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.” (Colossians 1:18, ESV)

“What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13, ESV)

Any spiritual leader who speaks or acts on his own authority, or suggests that he, rather than Christ, is the leader, is in violation of a very fundamental biblical principle.

Read more:

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Are there contradictions in the Bible?

What would God have Christians respond to abusers?

The Bible is surprisingly amenable to governments and courts doing their job in carrying out the law and policing misbehaviour. Paul says: 

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.” (Romans 13:1-6, ESV)

What this suggests is that churches ought to turn those caught in gross or criminal misbehaviour, including extortion, theft, and any kind of abuse, to the law. No matter how respected or righteous the perpetrator may have been, the rule of law applies equally to pauper, prime minister, or priest.

The above may seem obvious, although difficult when one has had a close and meaningful relationship with the perpetrator. But sadly, abusers tend to be skilled at fostering a web of defence against their misdeeds, and it is the task of the Christian to break that influence and respect justice above all.

Another issue arises when a spiritual leader is revealed to be an abuser: what does one do with that person’s teachings, writings, and other material? Should every word this person spoke or wrote be considered a lie?

This is a point at which a basic logical principle comes in to play: one judges a teaching on its own merits, not on the nature of the person doing the teaching. Very likely, the person said many things which were true, and it would be a mistake to disbelieve all of the words the person said because of their misdeeds.

However, the world is full of Christian teachers and ministers, many of which are not abusers or criminals. It would be unwise to continue to read, listen to, and spread the teachings of the fallen minister, given that that person’s materials are now tainted by the reputation of the man behind them. Even if true, such material will turn away others in disgust, and such a thing is very avoidable.

What the man said may or may not have been true, but continuing to follow his teachings when there are many more options in the world is ultimately unwise.

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Should Christians own the actions of abusers?

It is a sad fact that many people judge a system not by its successes, but by its failures. There are plenty of people the world over who eagerly read the news of every scandal and abuse to emerge from the church, and parade it in the face of the individual Christian, asking the Christian to defend their allegiance to such an abysmal organisation.

This is a tactic in which the Christian may feel required to defend the perpetrator of the crimes for the sake of the reputation of the Church. This would be a mistake and a trap. Sin, injustice, abuse, and evil are not less sinful, unjust, abusive, and evil just because they were performed by someone who claims to be Christian. And this, among other things, is why we do not dismantle governments, businesses, or platforms for entertainment because of the crimes of individuals within those institutions. Individuals are not avatars of the institution. Whereas every Christian is called to be a representative of Christ, some sadly fail at that task, and the individual Christian, when confronted by the scandals within the Church, should tend to his or her own life and condemn the individuals who committed the crimes. The Church is not a criminal organisation, it is an organisation in which criminals sometimes nest. Which brings us to our final point.

How do we prevent abuse?

Abusers who occupy the “dark triad” mentioned earlier in this article are some of the craftiest people on the planet. They tend to be charismatic and cunning such that they can seize the reins of power and install themselves comfortably before they commit their most egregious crimes. With this in mind, how is a church to prevent such people from rising to power?

Many churches are already taking basic precautions in the most vulnerable of groups: the children. As time has revealed the dark deeds done in the corners of the church building, churches have begun carefully vetting anyone they allow to work with children, making certain that no child is ever alone with a single individual at a time, and taking advantage of technology to have a “check-in/check-out” system such that children may not be removed from the premises by anyone who is not verified as a parent or parent-authorised representative.

Such things are a relief to parents across the Western world as they see churches ramp up these very sensible security measures. And those churches who do not have such measures in place would do well to take advantage of these tried-and-true systems.

However, abuses and scandals are not restricted to children’s programs. Among the most vicious threats to churches are charismatic leaders who rise to and then abuse their positions of influence. One of the most sensible checks to this threat is something churches should have been doing all along: bringing their Bibles to church.

What do I mean by that?

Very simply, people who take positions of power as a pathway to self-gratification will misrepresent scripture and use it as a tool to persuade or enforce. Earlier in this article I provided several examples of biblical injunctions which, if observed, would stem or even eliminate abuse of power.

Church leaders should be answerable to church members, not the other way around. If the individual Christian is scripturally informed, it should become obvious when a person in power is manipulating scripture. When that happens, it is the duty of the members to raise these concerns.

In his work on deconversion, Dr. John Marriott noted that one of the drivers of deconversion was abuse by church leadership – after which church members sided with the leadership rather than with the victim of the abuse. In the words of the apostle James: these things ought not be so!

Another sensible precaution is to make certain no church leader is ever alone with someone under their authority or influence. Many sensible ministers will include their spouses in meetings with church members so that there is a witness. Jesus himself recommended that two or more witnesses ought to be present when a leader interacts with a member.

While leaders are certainly subject to false accusations, accusations ought to be taken very seriously. We know that the Bible neither endorses nor creates abuse, but even so, the reputation of the church is on the line, and church members should place their love for justice above all else.

In summary: do not cultivate churches or ministries where one person holds the power. Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be the servant of all,” and this is a very good model for church leadership: the leader ought to be accountable to the body, not the body to the leader. And any leader who places himself as the focus is in violation of the basic law that Christ is the head of the church.

It is also worth noting that in most areas of the world, the individual Christian is not without options when it comes to churches to attend. One is free whenever one wishes to exit one’s current church and find another.

Joel Furches is an apologist, journalist and researcher on conversion and deconversion, based in the USA.