{"id":2081,"date":"2018-02-06T13:22:53","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T13:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theundergroundchurch.net\/blog\/?p=2081"},"modified":"2018-02-06T13:22:53","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T13:22:53","slug":"rachael-denhollander-a-christian-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/theundergroundchurch.net\/blog\/2018\/02\/06\/rachael-denhollander-a-christian-witness\/","title":{"rendered":"Rachael Denhollander: A Christian Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our early hearings. you brought your Bible into the courtroom and you have spoken of praying for forgiveness. And so it is on that basis that I appeal to you. If you have read the Bible you carry, you know the definition of sacrificial love portrayed is of God himself loving so sacrificially that he gave up everything to pay a penalty for the sin he did not commit. By his grace, I, too, choose to love this way.<\/p>\n

You spoke of praying for forgiveness. But Larry, if you have read the Bible you carry, you know forgiveness does not come from doing good things, as if good deeds can erase what you have done. It comes from repentance which requires facing and acknowledging the truth about what you have done in all of its utter depravity and horror without mitigation, without excuse, without acting as if good deeds can erase what you have seen this courtroom today.<\/p>\n

If the Bible you carry says it is better for a stone to be thrown around your neck and you throw into a lake than for you to make even one child stumble. And you have damaged hundreds.
\nThe Bible you speak carries a final judgment where all of God\u2019s wrath and eternal terror is poured out on men like you. Should you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, the guilt will be crushing. And that is what makes the gospel of Christ so sweet. Because it extends grace and hope and mercy where none should be found. And it will be there for you.
\nI pray you experience the soul crushing weight of guilt so you may someday experience true repentance and true forgiveness from God, which you need far more than forgiveness from me \u2014 though I extend that to you as well.<\/p>\n

Throughout this process I have clung to a quote by CS Lewis where he says,<\/p>\n

\u201cMy argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of unjust and just? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?\u201d (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)<\/p>\n

Larry, I can call what you did evil and wicked because it was, and I know it was evil, and wicked, because the straight line exists. The straight line is not measured based on your perception or anyone else\u2019s perception, and this means, I can speak the truth about my abuse without minimization or mitigation and I can call it evil because I know what goodness is.<\/p>\n

And this is why I pity you, because when a person loses the ability to define good and evil, when they cannot define evil, they can no longer define and enjoy what is truly good. When a person can harm another human being, especially a child, without true guilt, they have lost the ability to truly love.<\/p>\n

Larry, you have shut yourself off from every truly beautiful and good thing in this world, that could have, and should have brought you joy and fulfillment. And I pity you for it. You could have had everything you pretended to be. Every woman who stood up here truly loved you as an innocent child. Real genuine love for you and it did not satisfy.<\/p>\n

I have experienced the soul satisfying joy of a marriage built on sacrificial love, and safety, and tenderness, and care. I have experienced true intimacy in its deepest joy\u2019s and it is beautiful and sacred and glorious and that is a joy you have cut yourself off from ever experiencing and I pity you for it.<\/em><\/p>\n

You can read the entire statement at CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a followup article by Christianity Today<\/a>, she was asked, \u201cWas there a particular Bible verse or passage that you felt spoke to your situation?\u201d<\/p>\n

One was from John 6, where Jesus asks Peter, \u201cDo you want to leave too?\u201d Peter says, \u201cWhere else would I go, Lord? You have the words of life.\u201d There was a point in my faith where I had to simply cling to the fact that although I didn\u2019t understand or have the answers, I knew that God was good and that he was love. Whatever else I didn\u2019t understand couldn\u2019t be a contradiction to that.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, it was learning more about God\u2019s justice, that contrast between darkness and light, and how to properly interpret God\u2019s sovereignty and Bible verses that command us to give thanks or reveal God\u2019s promises of bringing goodness out of evil. When those verses are interpreted properly they are glorious and beautiful truths. More often than not, particularly in the case of sexual assault, they\u2019re really used to mitigate and to minimize\u2014almost as if the victim handles it \u201cproperly,\u201d if the victim just forgives, all of the feelings are going to go away. That\u2019s not true and that\u2019s not what Scripture teaches.<\/em><\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"