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@ 𝔼𝕣𝕪𝕟 𝔹𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕠
2025-04-26 04:29:15
A short time ago, a friendly acquaintance posted something moving and troubling on facebook that has really stuck in my mind.
As part of working through some stuff, she wrote out a memory of an experience from when she was a teenager, living with her boyfriend and his mother, who were both physically abusive to her. She had started going to a church down the road and was connecting with the pastor and his family.
One day, the boyfriend’s mother brought home a 40+ year old man and told my friend that she’d made a deal with him, that my friend needed to go with him and have sex with him.
At the moment she was supposed to get in his truck, my friend ran. Betrayed, terrified, checking behind her as she ran, she headed to the church, where she knew she would be safe. No one was there, so she went to the pastor’s house nearby. He was home, and she told him what had just happened.
He said that his wife and kids wouldn’t be home until evening, so while he wished he could help her, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to be alone with a woman who wasn’t his wife. He talked about the “Billy Graham Rule” and avoiding the appearance of evil. He didn’t even call the police or anyone else to help her.
This pastor, in “avoiding the appearance of evil,” much more neatly avoided the substance of righteousness. The priest and the Levite preceding the Good Samaritan come to mind.
Brothers and sisters, don't be like this guy. Don’t raise your kids to be like this guy.
Here’s a brief article on what avoiding the appearance of evil really means:
https://myonlycomfort.com/2017/04/14/every-appearance-of-evil-and-the-billy-graham-rule/
And if you’re up for a little more, there’s a valuable addendum:
https://myonlycomfort.com/2017/04/26/billy-graham-rule-followup/
#Christian #church #purityculture #grownostr