Sexual Abuse
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Dan B. Allender approaches the subject of sexual abuse from two parallel perspectives. He bases his analysis of the adult experience of persons who were abused sexually as children on the fact that he has counseled many victims of sexual abuse as both pastor and clinical psychologist and that he, too, has had to deal with the reality of sexual abuse that he experienced as a child.. His perspective is, accordingly, twofold. Even though he explains that he has taught secular courses in psychology and is a conventionally trained psychotherapist, Allender's principal focus is that of a pastoral counselor, and it is from the standpoint of Christian pastoralism that he elaborates his view of how those who have been sexually abused as children can come to terms with the experience, lay its ghost, and take up life as a fully emotionally integrated human being.The duality of focus--professional psychotherapy and theologically grounded pastoral counseling--sets up a complex mission for Allender's text and requires some elaboration. Allender accepts and articulates the idea that the experience of all persons, including victims of sexual abuse, is part of a divine plan for humanity: "It is God's kindness to orchestrate the events of our life so that our heart will be tested and then humbled, so that our heat will hunger for the kind of bread that comes only from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:2-7,15-18)." It is important to recognize that this does not mean sexual abuse is part of G
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ed mother (since children are designed to learn their earlist lessons about God from their parents). Or, the victim determines that God is someone who looked the other way while a cousin molested her. The conclusion: Trust is foolish; therefore, I am compelled to live my life independent of God's will.
Allender sees such an attitude as a fundamental crisis of faith, or more exactly sees the crisis of faith as the fundamental consequence of sexual abuse of children. To the degree the abuse victim takes a kind of refuge in this God-concept, says Allender, he or she falls into a condition of shame and sin. Indeed, in the author's formulation, into a situation of idolatry, with the abuse experience attaining the stature of a false god, which functions as a rationale for an absence of God in one's life. The purpose of counseling an abuse victim from the standpoint of Christian pastoralism is to deliberately inject God into the victim's consciousness, making the victim aware of God's love and goodness and encouraging the victim to open himself or herself to the experience of God's mercy.
Allender's argument is not meant as a recipe for denial of the reality of the abuse. It is, however, meant to bring to the fore a faith-based approa
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Approximate Word count = 2067
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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