This book is not intended for everyone to read or for everyone to like; it is for the millions of people who have been unjustly raped in the church, without any type of human justice or foreseeable biblical justice. This book is for those who have been hurt or abused in the natural, psychological, mental, physical, and the spiritual realm. If you are a new convert, do not read this book, because some things may shock you or even shake your faith in your local lay members or clergy, who do not deserve any unjust criticism. Some stories may seem unreal but they are based on real life events of everyday people who you see or are seen in the sanctuary worshiping God never knowing what they are going through or why they leave the church today, some even convert to other religions. As a result of hurt and frustration many never return to the organized church and prefer a relationship with God through television evangelist. I am not targeting Christianity but most of the stories and events are from people who are or once was a Christian, I must say in all fairness I must say that I‘m a Christian and this book is written from a Christian point of view. It’s written to heal as well as inform that not everyone in the church is of the church, meaning the kingdom of God. To the clergy and lay members please remember this the Lord said (woe unto the Shepherd that scatter MY Sheep), he said that we are the sheep of his pasture. Many people in leadership today seem to forget that very important fact, that we are not theirs to command and bid as they see fit. If you choose to read this book, you will always have an awareness of what is going on with those who have been spiritually raped. Some people may not believe you when you tell them what you have read and what you learned which is fine. Remember they did not believe Jesus either. Finally as one pastor once said to me many years ago (that education stuff isn’t going to get you anywhere), he/she didn’t know that the bible has been translated by some of the best scholars of our time, and our theology has had may contributors throughout history. From the Quakers, Shakers, Lutheran, Catholic, Jews, and even Mormons. The lord said that knowledge would steadily increase, and if a man lacks knowledge or wisdom let him ask God who gives limberly and upbraids not.

Based on the experiences of hundreds of child abuse survivors, The Courage to Heal profiles victims who share the challenges and triumphs of their personal healing processes. Inspiring and comprehensive, it offers mental, emotional and physical support to all people who are in the process of rebuilding their lives. The Courage to Heal offers hope, encouragement and practical advice to every woman who was sexually abused as a child and answers some vital questions, including: -How do I know if I was sexually abused? -Where does the decision to heal start? -How can I break the silence and who will listen? -How can I re-build my self-esteem, intimacy and capacity to love? -What therapy, support groups, self-help programmes or organisations are available?

2017 Christianity Today Book Award winner (“CT Women” category) “It happened on a Sunday night, even though I’d been a good girl and gone to church that morning.” One brisk November evening during her senior year at a small Midwestern Christian college, two armed intruders broke into the house Ruth Everhart shared with her roommates, held all five girls hostage, and took turns raping them at gunpoint. Reeling with fear, insecurity, and guilt, Ruth believed she was ruined, both physically and in the eyes of God. In the days and weeks that followed, Ruth struggled to come to grips with not only what happened that night but why. The same questions raced through her mind in an unrelenting loop—questions that would continue to haunt her for years to come: Why me? Where was God? Why did God allow this to happen? What am I being punished for? Told with candor and unflinching honesty, Ruined is an extraordinary emotional and spiritual journey that begins with an unspeakable act of violence but ends with tremendous healing and profound spiritual insights about faith, forgiveness, and the will of God.

The #MeToo movement has revealed sexual abuse in every sphere of society, including the church. But all too often, churches have been complicit in protecting abusers, reinforcing patriarchal power dynamics, and creating cultures of secrecy, shame, and silence. Disclosing candid stories of abuse, pastor and survivor Ruth Everhart offers God's hope to survivors while shining a light on the prevalence of sexual misconduct within faith communities.

Helps adult victims of sexual assault move from brokenness to healing. This book outlines a theology or redemption and includes an application of how the disgrace of the cross can lead victims toward grace.

When Emily Joy Allison outed her abuser on Twitter, she launched #ChurchToo, a movement to expose the culture of sexual abuse and assault utterly rampant in Christian churches in America. Not a single denomination is unaffected. And the reasons are somewhat different than those you might find in the #MeToo stories coming out of Hollywood or Washington. While patriarchy and misogyny are problems everywhere, they take on a particularly pernicious form in Christian churches where those with power have been insisting, since many decades before #MeToo, that this sexually dysfunctional environment is, in fact, exactly how God wants it to be. #ChurchToo turns over the rocks of the church's sexual dysfunction, revealing just what makes sexualized violence in religious contexts both ubiquitous and uniquely traumatizing. It also lays the groundwork for not one but many paths of healing from a religious culture of sexual shame, secrecy, and control, and for survivors of abuse to live full, free, healthy lives.