How to Rise Above Abuse (Counseling Through the Bible Series) (4 page)

•
Rape
is both a forceful and nonforceful act resulting in some form of sexual penetration.

—
Rape
is defined by many law enforcement agencies as forced sexual penetration regardless of age, relationship, or duration.

—
Rape
can be a onetime event or repeated incidents over a period of time.

•
Molestation
and
rape
consist of illegal sexual contact.

—
Molestation
and
rape
are words sometimes used in place of the word
incest
, even when the perpetrator is a family member.

—
Molestation
and
rape
are committed primarily by people the child knows.

Biblical Consequence

The Bible is not silent about the seriousness of rape…

“If out in the country a man happens to meet a girl
pledged to be married and rapes her,
only the man who has done this shall die.
Do nothing to the girl;
she has committed no sin deserving death”

(D
EUTERONOMY
22:25-26).

The only way Marilyn could fight back was to
mentally
and
emotionally
deny what she was
physically
experiencing. “I would fight with every ounce of my being to not feel anything he was doing…Every pore, every muscle, every cell of my being had fought from opposite ends…it feels good…I
hate
the feelings [sic].”
¹⁸

Marilyn became torn—
tormented
—like so many childhood sexual abuse victims, all of whom can relate to the words of the psalmist:

“The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish”

(P
SALM
25:17).

Checklist for Childhood Sexual Abuse

I
NDIRECT
S
EXUAL
A
BUSE

As a child, did you experience…?

D
IRECT
S
EXUAL
A
BUSE

As a child, did you experience…?