by gbaskerville | May 2, 2021 | Safe Churches & Friends
Book Review: Before You Say "I Do," by Norman Wright and Wes Roberts I went through this Christian premarital workbook 35 years ago, before I married a man I met at my church. But later I had to divorce. I didn't want to divorce. I needed to divorce. It...
by gbaskerville | Apr 9, 2021 | Christians and Divorce, For Pastors, Safe Churches & Friends
Summary: This article gives 7 ways churches—especially Evangelical churches—can address emotional abuse in Christian marriages better. Then this article documents 7 problems and gives 7 solutions for pastors, church staff, and lay leaders. Here is the 20-min. video...
by gbaskerville | Feb 22, 2021 | Abuse examples, First-person stories, Safe Churches & Friends
Men can be victims of chronic abuse, betrayal, and neglect too. In this article, you'll read the stories of two men, David and John, who were both married to emotionally abusive and manipulative wives. In 2019, I interviewed David for my book The Life-Saving...
by gbaskerville | Feb 2, 2021 | Christians and Divorce, Safe Churches & Friends
Does A Divorce Mean My Faith Is Weak? No, not if you needed a life-saving divorce to save your life and sanity—and your children's. In fact, it takes tremendous FAITH to say, "I will protect myself and my children because God loves us and cares about us." It takes...
by gbaskerville | Jan 17, 2021 | Focus on the Family, For Pastors, High-Conflict Divorces, Safe Churches & Friends, What is a Life-Saving Divorce?
Pastors, Christian marriage authors, and Christian radio programs like to quote the study by Dr. Linda Waite, who found, "Two out of three unhappily married adults who avoided divorce or separation ended up happily married five years later." When this study came out...
by gbaskerville | Dec 27, 2020 | Christians and Divorce, Divorce Bible Verses, Focus on the Family, Safe Churches & Friends, Standers
DOES THE BIBLE SAY “GOD HATES DIVORCE”? The so-called "God hates divorce" verse is from Malachi 2:16. The book of Malachi was written more than 2,400 years ago, nearly 500 years before Christ. For the first 2,100 years, it was interpreted as an anti-treachery verse,...
by gbaskerville | Dec 22, 2020 | Abuse examples, Christians and Divorce, Divorce and Children, Safe Churches & Friends
Divorce Saves Lives When “no fault” divorce laws started passing one state at a time, starting with Governor Ronald Reagan in California in 1969, researchers wanted to see the effect. In states that passed unilateral no-fault divorce, they observed the suicide rate...
by gbaskerville | Dec 19, 2020 | Christians and Divorce, For Pastors, Safe Churches & Friends
What Was the Puritan View of Divorce? Were There Any Puritan Divorces? Although the Puritans wanted to create a godly society in America, they were realistic about abuse, desertion, and betrayal. They were followers of Protestant Reformer John Calvin (and his...
by gbaskerville | Dec 15, 2020 | Christians and Divorce, First-person stories, Myths, Safe Churches & Friends, Why Do We Divorce?
What do you say if a dear Christian friend disagrees with your decision to divorce your destructive spouse? . What if they accuse you of making things up? . What if they are ill-informed about the tactics abusers use? . What if they pressure you, saying "holiness over...
by gbaskerville | Dec 13, 2020 | For Pastors, Safe Churches & Friends
The famous Reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) was angry at men who abused their wives. He believed that cruelty in marriage was twice as bad as other violence because it happens in secrecy. His Geneva Bible interpreted Malachi 2:16 as a denouncement of hypocritical...