LITTLE ROCK (AR)
Bilgrimage blog
August 2, 2019
By William Lindsey
This is the third and final installment of an essay by Ruth Krall entitled “Historical Meandering: Ideologies of Abuse and Exclusion.” The previous two parts of this essay have appeared here and here. This essay is one in a series of essays Ruth is publishing on Bilgrimage under the series title “Recapitulation: Affinity Sexual Violence in a Religious Voice.” The first of the two links above will give you links to each previous essay. In this essay series, Ruth is focusing on the endemic nature of religious and spiritual leader sexual abuse of followers.
The current essay deals with the importance of an historical framework for understanding and dealing with this endemic sexual abuse in religious institutions. Vis-à-vis the Christian churches, Ruth proposes that “if we are to seek to understand or unearth the fundamental pilings (i.e., the deep and pervasive foundations) of this abuse scandal inside Christendom, we must first learn how to work with each other” — to understand the various faith languages of different Christian traditions and the prejudices borne within each stream of Christianity, and to talk together coherently about these faith languages and prejudices as we seek a solution to problem endemic to all of our faith traditions.
Please note that the endnotes begin with xxxvii because this essay is a continuation of an essay previously published in two installments.
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