It’s important that we ask tough questions. In many of our faith traditions questions were not allowed. I mentioned on Sunday that I’ve been called a “daemon,” “untrustworthy,” and “a crazy liberal” all because I asked questions about my faith, questions that scare people.
A question I often asked early on my journey was, “If God can intervene and force God’s plan (will) onto people, why doesn’t God stop rape?”
I asked this question because just a few years ago I read these words in a journal my sister kept in rehab,
They raped me. They raped me by asking me to do things I’d never heard of, forcing things into me, telling me it turned them on. The boys of the neighborhood, every day, for weeks raped me. And Mom, she acted like nothing was happening, but I knew she knew, she had to of known. I’m afraid to tell my closest loved ones that I was raped; because then they will tell me I’m a lesbian because of it. I’m afraid to tell them because when they asked why no-one did anything, I get to tell them my family thought I was just a slut.
With tears rolling down my cheeks I found out for the first time ever that she was raped from the pages of her journal. I found out she couldn’t tell people of her own sexual identity without being blamed for being raped as a “promiscuous” teenager. My beautiful, smart, loving sister was so hurt by these experiences she ultimately took her life.
In the popular version of Christianity this was all apart of God’s plan. In Rick Warren’s famous bestseller, A Purpose Driven Life, he lays out the belief that God has planned every aspect of your life; every speck of dust that floats by is pre-ordained by God.
That idea is absolutely sickening.
Rick Warren, and many others in his tradition, are advocating for my sisters rape as it was God’s idea in the first place.
We need to get serious about this theology thing and find a better answer to the questions, Is God Evil – does God cause rape, violence, hurt, pain, suffering? When we can answer this question faithfully, we can begin to have a healthier discussion on prayer.
This is the direction we’ll be going on Sunday, join us and figure out in community what life is like when God’s “plan/will” isn’t rape.