https://churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/346257-isaiah-53-personalized-for-sexual-abuse.html?utm_source=outreach-cl-daily-nl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text-link&utm_campaign=cl-daily-nl&maropost_id=&mpweb=256-7692366-729722000

Isaiah 53 Personalized for Sexual Abuse
By Brad Hambrick
March 12, 2019

In her book On the Threshold of Hope: Opening the Door to Healing for Survivors of Sexual Abuse Diane Langberg advises victims of sexual abuse to rewrite the Isaiah 53 passage of the Suffering Servant as a way to help them see how Christ can identify with their suffering. She says:  “Turn what you read into a prayer. Use the word of Scripture to help you articulate your pain, your questions, your fear, your anger.  Rewrite the Scripture passages as you read. Personalize them. Take Isaiah 53, and write it so it speaks about your life. Then look hard at the similarities in your life and the life of Jesus (p. 182).”

The example below is an attempt to rewrite Isaiah 53 to put the experience of sexual abuse into words. Dr. Langberg provides another example of rewriting Isaiah 53 in her book on pages 182-186.  Here is a printable PDF version of this exercise: Isaiah 53 Personalized for Sexual Abuse

1. I spoke and no one believed what I said. They thought I was a liar or a lunatic. Even when there was great reason to believe me, they refused. The truth was supposed to set me free, but it made me an outcast.

2. I was a young child. He knew and “loved” me. I was weak and vulnerable in his care. Was it my body?

Was there anything about the body of a child that could allure such destructive passion?

If so, I’ll hide my beauty. I’d rather not be seen than attacked. To be known is dangerous.

3. Oh, the way he looks at me now. He hates me. He looks at me, knows what he did, and despises me as his reminder. I feel like others can see it too, and reject me. When I speak people back away from me. I want comfort. I keep getting rejection. I am sadness. Grief is my best/only friend. People find it easier to pretend nothing happened and turn their eyes (literally and figuratively). I represent what people want to forget.

4. Is this worse than the cross?

Is this what made you cry, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” instead of the nails?

I know why people thought God had abandoned you. I have thought the same of myself.

5. You did this voluntarily?

You bore this so we would not be alone in this moment?

I don’t yet know how it is supposed to heal me, but I am amazed. I can’t get anyone to believe me and You would join me. You must want peace for me worse than I do!

6. I have run from my pain in so many directions: people-pleasing, promiscuousness, cutting, thoughts of suicide, perfectionism, denial, withdrawal and more. None of them worked, yet You bore the penalty and walked the journey of each road to buy me back and set me free. That kind of love is so foreign to me it scares me.

7. You too were tortured and silenced. You surrendered Your voice because they took mine. They took Your clothes too and You said nothing. You plunged fully into the depths of my pain to rescue my drowning soul. I was so silenced I could no longer call to You, yet You came.

8. People scorned You because of Your suffering. I too have been judged for my suffering. I judge myself and wonder if it was “my fault.” I want to scream, “No I wasn’t asking for it!”

You were cut off from the “land of the living.” I feel as if I walk though life with a dead soul. I hate being ostracized because of someone else’s sin.

9. I hate being grouped with the “dirty people” hookers and sluts. But that is how I feel, dirty. I did not give myself to another, but I do not get to be “pure” and do not feel I can associate with the “pure.” But I didn’t do anything wrong. I have to believe that. It’s true. Why is it so hard to believe?

10. I don’t know how to talk of Your involvement in my suffering, God. You were not blind. You were not sleeping. Your character does not change? God, be patient with me if I skip this question for a while. I fear I want survival more than redemption right now. Work with me at a pace my soul and mind can bear. I’m trying to pray, “I believe. Help my unbelief.”

11. When/if I find comfort for this pain, I would gladly share it with the world, or at least anyone who would care to listen to me. Help me believe that peace is more than a fairy tale like unicorns. I long to join with Christ in His journey through suffering to life life unshakable and impenetrable.

12. Pray of me, Jesus! Pray for me!  I am beginning to realize if I have held up under this weight for this long, I must be in “the strong.” You identified with me in my suffering. Help me identify with You in your victory over sin, suffering, and death. Instead of losing myself in the crowd, in my numbness, or in the dots on the ceiling (where there is no life). Let me lose myself in You (Life Itself)!

This post is an illustration from the Hope and Restoration After Sexual Abuse seminar.  If this post was beneficial for you, then considering reading other blogs from my “Favorite Posts on Sexual Abuse” post which address other facets of this subject.

https://churchleaders.com/news/346154-346154-new-law-in-the-uk-does-little-to-protect-minors-from-online-porn.html?utm_source=outreach-cl-daily-nl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=text-link&utm_campaign=cl-daily-nl&maropost_id=&mpweb=256-7689966-729722000

New Law in the U.K. Does Little to Protect Minors From Online Porn
By Jessica Mouser
March 11, 2019

The United Kingdom has just passed a law aimed at protecting minors from accessing online pornography. The new law requires visitors to porn sites to verify their ages via credit card, passport, driver’s license or what some are calling a “porn pass.” While no doubt well intentioned, the law has several significant problems.  “Our report notably did not conclude that age verification would have a significant impact on children viewing pornography online,” says Dr. Victoria Nash of the Oxford Internet Institute.

Dr. Nash is the lead author of the report she mentions, which evaluated how to protect children online. The executive director at an organization concerned with protecting digital freedoms also observes, “Age verification risks failure as it attempts to fix a social problem with technology.”

What the New Law Requires

The law will compel websites with more than a third pornographic content to verify users’ ages. AgeID is one of the main systems partnering with porn sites to do so and will be used by Pornhub and YouPorn. Those two websites alone have 2 billion visitors per month worldwide, according to Lad Bible.  Once the law goes into effect (reportedly in April), when users attempt to access, say, Pornhub, they will see a non-pornographic landing page where they will have to create an AgeID account by entering an email address and a password. Once they confirm their email address, users will need to verify their ages by entering their credit card, driver’s license or passport information. After that, people will be able to access any porn site that uses the AgeID system. Some sites, of course, might use other systems.  Those who are concerned about handing out their personal info to a porn site can purchase a “PortesCard,” which will be available at various retailers throughout the U.K. Buyers will verify their ages to the retailer when purchasing a PortesCard and then later use the card to access porn sites anonymously. The cards will cost £4.99 for use on one device and £8.99 for use on multiple devices. Once purchased, people will have to use the PortesCards within 24 hours, a rule in place in order to prevent people from reselling the cards.

What Are Some of the Problems With the Law?

There are several problems with the U.K.’s new law. One is the fact that it does not regulate social media, where it is very easy to find porn. In fact, WIRED author Rowland Manthorpe points out that if kids are going to run across porn by accident, social media is the most likely place for that to happen [warning: the article linked above contains a video with content some may find objectionable].  Another issue is that to get around the new law, all people need to do is use a VPN (virtual private network) when accessing the Internet. One expert says, “I suspect we will see an increase in advertising from VPN providers in the near future.”

While AgeID spokesperson James Clark maintains that users’ personal information will not be stored online, many are concerned that giving out their personal info will make them vulnerable to blackmail and lead to another Ashley Madison situation.  Another major concern with AgeID is the fact that it is owned by a company called MindGeek. This is significant, Manthorpe writes, because “what MindGeek doesn’t mention, literally anywhere on its website, is that it’s the owner of the world’s biggest porn sites, including PornHub, YouPorn and RedTube. Yup: We’re asking pornographers to protect children from porn.”

Again, AgeID is not the only age verification system out there, but it is the one connected with two of the largest porn sites in the world.

The Heart of the Problem

As pointed out earlier, porn is a “social problem.” More specifically, it is a problem with the heart and, as such, will never be solved merely by creating and enforcing rules. Parents must pursue relationships with their kids and have ongoing conversations on these topics as soon as their children have any access to technology. These days, that’s quite young.