A fascinating book with a two-pronged application. I am…

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Posted by: Gotennis Original: 3/13/2009 8:53 PM Views: 36 Comments: 0 eProps: 0 Read Comments Post a Comment Back to Your Xanga Site

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Friday, March 13, 2009

A fascinating book with a two-pronged application.

I am nearly finished reading Chip St. Clair's book "The Butterfly Garden." I have to warn that the book contains some very foul language. The subject explains the reason. The book is St. Clair's personal memoir of the extreme abuse which he experienced in his childhood and the traumatic discovery, as an adult, of the perilous situation in which he lived.

The first application has to do with an awareness of just how vulnerable youngsters are to abuse and why they will often avoid the very things which could help. Testimonials like these help to explain why government officials who become genuinely concerned about child abuse will sometimes flip to the other extreme in efforts to discover and prevent it. They also raise a challenge to those of us in the Christian community with regard to our head-in-the-sand attitude toward the issue. And, these testimonials help us to realize just how "good" abusers are at winning the support of the very people who should be challenging them.

The second application has to do with our understanding of the fatherhood of God. It is essential that we be very clear about the biblical presentation of God's grace to sinners and his anger toward those who would violate others. It is also important that we understand that the rule of Law differs from the rule of Grace and that fear is designed to drive us to God and be replaced with awe (godliness) and ultimately the atmosphere of love. Satan enjoys depicting God as the bully when it is, in fact, he who masquerades as our benefactor and beats us to a pulp in the process.

I'm hoping to hear Mr. St. Clair speak in a few days. You can catch some of his story by typing in his name on YouTube.

Posted 3/13/2009 8:53 PM - 36 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments