What If He’s Found Jesus?
One common mistake those of faith make is falling for the batterer’s plea of “I found Jesus…And because I am now saved, I am instantly safe” or some other form of new found faith. A faith leader should not fall for such classic manipulation nor encourage a victim to reconcile with her abuser now that he has “found Jesus” or is suddenly professing to be more involved in religion, whichever religion that may be. Although we can respect any new found faith in whomever, it will take the renewing of a batterer’s mind and behavior before the batterer can be in an intimate relationship with his victim again {if ever}.
Batterers need to be held accountable for the sin of abuse. We want to be careful not to enable the sinful behavior of the batterer nor send messages to our congregations and communities that abuse of any sort is permitted or swept under the rug simply because a batterer is suddenly repentant and claims to follow a faith. If a batterer wants to demonstrate change, he could enroll and attend a “Batterers Intervention Course”, which is not the same as “Anger Management”, and whatever law enforcement allows. A batterer needs to reinvent himself and be held accountable over a span of years before true transformation is manifested.