8 year old sex abuse victim was taught
“It’s my fault, it’s my own fault.”
Courtesy of BBC NewsLITTLE-KNOWN FACTS AND NOTES ON EDUCATION IN BRITAIN’S STATE FUNDED SCHOOLS
Alone amongst civilised nations today, Britain allows children to be beaten in the home. Hansard records that in May 2004 Peter Forster, the 55-year-old Lord Bishop of Chester sitting in the House of Lords, spoke in favour of allowing the beating of children as ‘reasonable chastisement’.
The 66-year-old Baroness Richardson of Calow agreed, on behalf of ‘a great many Christians across a wide range of Churches, particularly those which have come out in support in official statements, such as the Methodist Church, the United Reform Church, the Roman Catholic Church and many children’s charities’.
Yet over many decades, and well before 2004, research has shown that corporal punishment does not work and can lead to mental health problems for some children.
QUESTIONABLE VALUES
All Britain’s state funded schools are obliged to teach Christian beliefs. Faith schools are free to teach other beliefs as well. Since the Education Act of 1944 passed into law, many schools, and 60% of primary schools, teach their young pupils negative and unfounded ideas. The following potentially harmful ideas continue to be taught to children today, spurred by churchmen and politicians.
Infants are held to be ‘stained by original sin’ and they need to be baptised to wash the sin out of them. (Since Augustine’s time, original sin has had sexual connotations.) Children are taught, as the author was, that if they are not baptised and do not obey they will burn forever in hell.
Children are customarily taught that they are beholden to a magnificent ‘Saviour,’ who suffered for them and was horribly brutalised and put to death because of their wickedness.
The victim of any sinful act is ignored. If we harm someone, the honourable course of action is to speak to that individual face to face. Encouraging children to seek forgiveness of any wrongdoing from a third party is craven.
Christianity teaches that God knows and manages everything. Evil will be punished after death when all will face the Final Judgement.
Many faith schools expose children as young as six to gory images. Some schools encourage their pupils to draw graphic pictures of a man being tortured and agonisingly killed, as exposed and documented by a primary school teacher in St Augustine’s Sin.
Sensitive children can be affected for life by corrosive feelings of guilt and self-censure, as the author was.
The benefits credited to religious belief are often misrepresented in research studies of religiosity and health, perpetuating the cycle of misplaced approval. In studies analysed by the author, participants are divided into ‘believers’ and ‘unbelievers’. Any health issues amongst unbelieving participants is held to be due to unbelief. However, the true reason might be related to any number of causes and quite possibly attributable to early proselytisation and not due to unbelief. For a proper study of the effects of religion on developing young people, it would be necessary to identify all the subjects who have been indoctrinated and later recanted, and classify them separately. In the pages of St Augustine’s Sin we discover why prominent academics tend to shun religion as a field of study.
PRESS RELEASE
Subject: New Book Review
Genre: Non-fiction/Religious critique
Item Length: 350 words
Press Release Date: 1st July, 2023
Title: ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN – Why child abuse bedevils Christianity
Author/Contact: Please use the form below.
– START –
THE HIDDEN BACKDROP TO MATT REDMAN AND THE REVERED ‘SOUL SURVIVOR’ CHURCH
An important new book: ‘St Augustine’s Sin’ investigates the story behind repeated allegations of abuse by church leaders
Following the latest allegations, by Matt Redman, the Church of England responded by sacking the panel of experts who provided independent oversight of how it dealt with abuse.
- In 2021 the UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse disclosed that 100 new cases of clerical abuse are being reported every year.
- The UK Inquiry reported “a grudging and unsympathetic attitude to victims” (by the Church).
- Around the same time, an inquiry in France reported that children are more likely to be abused within Church settings than state schools, holiday camps and sporting organisations.
Why is abuse more prevalent within church settings than elsewhere, and why is the Church so lax…
——————————————————————————————————-
PRESS RELEASE
Subject: New Book Review
Genre: Non-fiction/Religious critique
Item Length: 400 words
Press Release Date: 18th July, 2023
Title: ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN – Why child abuse bedevils Christianity
Author/Contact: Please use the form below.
– START –
TIMELY NEW BOOK: ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN – WHY CHILD ABUSE BEDEVILS CHRISTIANITY
This first-hand account of clerical abuse by an alter boy explains why abuse is revealed to be more likely in church settings than in state schools, holiday camps and sporting organisations
The latest allegations of abuse by Matt Redman, at the revered ‘Soul Survivor’ Church in Watford, follow the pattern documented throughout the Christian world and up to the present time. When a safeguarding investigation was announced in May, the Church of England responded by sacking the panel of experts who provided independent oversight of how it dealt with abuse.
- In 2021 an inquiry in France reported that children are more likely to be abused within Church settings than state schools, holiday camps and sporting organisations.
- Around the same time, our own UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse disclosed that 100 new cases of clerical abuse are being reported every year.
- The UK Inquiry reported “a grudging and unsympathetic attitude to victims” and failures (by the Church) “contributed to more children experiencing actual abuse and many others being exposed to the risk…
——————————————————————————————————-
PRESS RELEASE
Subject: New Book Review
Genre: Non-fiction/Religious critique
Item Length: 400 words
Press Release Date: 16th July, 2023
Title: ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN – Why child abuse bedevils Christianity
Author/Contact: Please use the form below.
– START –
ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN – THE GUILTY STORY BEHIND MATT REDMAN’S ABUSE
Matt Redman, a prominent worship leader at Soul Survivor, has alleged he experienced “harmful behaviours” and was “mistreated” – The Telegraph
For months UK national newspapers have been publishing allegations of abuse levelled at 65-year-old Rev Canon Mike Pilavachi the British evangelist preacher revered by Church leaders. Pilavachi founded the Soul Survivor Church in Watford 1993, and he is regarded within Christian circles as a charismatic leader and a prophet with “a direct dial to God”. But under the vestment of his Christian celebrity, moralising in front of a giant crucifix, it is claimed that young, men were encouraged to receive full-body oil massages in their underwear in their vicar’s bedroom.
In May, following revelations in the Telegraph, a safeguarding investigation was announced. Days later the Church of England (CofE) reacted by summarily sacking all members of The Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) who provided independent oversight on how the Church deals with abuse…
——————————————————————————————————-
PRESS RELEASE
Subject: New Book Review
Genre: Non-fiction/Religious critique
Item Length: 400 words
Press Release Date: 15th July, 2023
Title: ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN – Why child abuse bedevils Christianity
Author/Contact: Please use the form below.
– START –
NEW BOOK LAYS BARE A QUIET UNDERPROP OF CHILD ABUSE: “ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN”
This new work, tracing the roots of child abuse, has been hailed by reviewers as ‘well researched’, ‘informative’ and ‘mind-opening’
In June 2023, the Church of England sacked the panel of experts who provided independent oversight of how it dealt with abuse. Yet in 2021 the UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse disclosed that 100 new cases of clerical abuse are being reported every year. Around the same time, an inquiry in France reported that children are more likely to be abused within Church settings than in state schools, holiday camps and sporting organisations.
Why is abuse more prevalent within a church than in other settings, and why is the Church so lax in…
——————————————————————————————————-
PRESS RELEASE
Subject: New Book Review
Genre: Non-fiction/Religious critique
Item Length: 400 words
Press Release Date: 11th July, 2023
Title: ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN – Why child abuse bedevils Christianity
Author/Contact: Please use the form below.
– START –
UNITED NATIONS REPRIMAND SHOULD ALARM UK PARENTS
Defending compulsory Religious Worship might be a problem for Church leaders trying to meet requirements for child safeguarding
In June 2023 the United Nations expressed concern regarding UK education. Alone among European nations, collective worship “broadly Christian in character” is compulsory in UK schools. A UN committee called for repeal of the law, and recommended pupils be given the independent right of withdrawal from religious worship.
Recent data from The Children’s Society revealed that young people in the UK exhibit the lowest level of life satisfaction in Europe.
A new book, ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN, offers personal perspectives on faith school education. Joe Baker, a one-time Christian Brothers pupil, explains how his life was influenced by enduring feelings of guilt and deference. Chapters by a primary school teacher…
——————————————————————————————————-
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Subject: Book Review
Genre: Non-fiction/Religious critique
Item Length: 400 words
Press Release Date: 9th July, 2023
Title: ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN – Why child abuse bedevils Christianity
Author/Contact: Please use the form below.
– START –
WAKE-UP CALL TO PARENTS: THE CofE HAS ENDED INDEPENDENT SAFEGUARDING
Meeting requirements for child safeguarding might be a problem for Church leaders trying to uphold compulsory Religious Worship
In 2021 the UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse disclosed that 100 new cases of clerical abuse are being reported every year. Around the same time, an inquiry in France reported that children are more likely to be abused within Church settings than state schools, holiday camps and sporting organisations. Yet in June 2023, the Church of England sacked the panel of experts who provided independent oversight of how it dealt with abuse.
Why is abuse more prevalent within a Church than in other settings, and why is the Church so lax in addressing the issue? A new book, ST AUGUSTINE’S SIN, offers personal perspectives on faith school education…
——————————————————————————————————-
BOOK SYNOPSIS (200 words)
St Augustine’s Sin is a meticulous exploration, initially from a child’s-eye viewpoint, of St Augustine’s fourth century teaching. The author served as altar boy and chorister while attending church schools in Ireland and England, where he faced abuse. Here he recalls daily prayers of self-censure and remorse, a penitential ritual still practised in some British schools.
Britain is a mainly secular society, yet most of us born here were taught Augustine’s ideas, by law. His ancient hair-shirt texts shape our lives—our schools, our politics, and darkly, how we relate to ourselves and each other. In school we are taught values at odds with modern notions of decency and fair play. According to polls, most of us reject religion later in life, but billions of neural connections made in our infant brains are not then freed. Augustine’s shameful ideas about sex and sin pervade or culture, normalising negative thought patterns.
Tracing his religious background, the author suggests Augustine’s teaching on sinful lust might play a more influential role in child abuse and adult mental well-being than has generally been recognised in mainstream social science. The lucid descriptions by a schoolteacher of the indoctrination methods used in faith schools today will stir readers who suppose Christianity is a benign influence, to think again.
BOOK SYNOPSIS (100 words)
The ‘God Debate’ is given a shot in the arm with this new book attacking an eminent Christian saint. The author served as altar boy and chorister while attending boarding schools in Ireland and England, where he faced abuse. With the Vatican decrying critics of the church as ‘Friends of the Devil’, he reflects on the drill and doctrine of his schooldays.
Augustine’s teaching on self-censure and penitence, endorsed in many faith schools today, are studiously explored. The author suggests these dark ideas might play a more influential role in child abuse and adult mental well-being than has generally been recognised.
BOOK SYNOPSIS (50 words)
St Augustine’s Sin offers an acclaimed fresh perspective on the current crisis within Christianity. Vignettes from the author’s church school where he faced abuse, illustrate the work. He explores Augustine’s dark ideas to discover what role drill and doctrine might play in child sexual abuse and adult mental well-being.
——————————————————————————————————-
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY (200 words)
Joe Baker is a professional engineer by training, now retired. In his childhood, he served as altar boy and chorister while attending faith schools in Ireland and England, where he encountered abuse. With the Vatican decrying critics of the church as “Friends of the Devil”, he thought back to his church schooldays. He recalls the daily prayers of self-censure and remorse prescribed by St Augustine of Hippo, a penitential ritual still practised in some British schools.
Today, performing in his local church choir, Joe has acquaintance with clergymen and women, and a close knowledge of ecclesiastical rites and rituals. Reading about the evasiveness of the churches in response to disclosures of child abuse, he resolved to use his familiarity with drill and doctrine to evaluate Augustine’s shameful theology.
His writing about Christianity has been described as ‘informative’ ‘inspiring’ and ‘outrageous.’ Having spent much of his professional life writing for technical journals, Joe’s prose tends to be crisp and taut.
In the final chapters, contributing author Lorna Graham, a schoolteacher for 26 years, brings faith schools to life depicting her struggle to deliver a critically conscious, dialogic education to her charges.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY (100 Words)
A professional engineer by training, Joe Baker served as altar boy and chorister while attending boarding schools where he faced abuse. With the Vatican decrying critics of the church as ‘Friends of the Devil’, he thought back to the drill and doctrine of his schooldays.
His writing about Christianity has been described as ‘informative’ ‘inspiring’ and ‘outrageous.’ Having spent much of his professional life writing for technical journals, Joe’s prose tends to be crisp and taut.
Contributor, Lorna Graham, a teacher for 26 years, brings faith schools to life describing her efforts to deliver a critically conscious, dialogic education to her pupils.
——————————————————————————————————-
TARGET READERSHIP
The readership demographic for St Augustine’s Sin is similar to that for other works critical of religion, by Dawkins, Hitchens, Fry, etc. However, this new scrutiny of the effect of indoctrination on school children, adopts a novel child’s-eye perspective.
No follower wants to hear criticism of their faith. The author avoids challenging Christianity directly; Instead, he examines some of the already contentious teachings of St Augustine. Intelligent young people, recent Christian apostates or those contemplating apostasy, will be responsive to a sincere critique from a church insider. Pre-publication reviews indicate a strong prospective audience of educated thinkers who have reached a reflective stage in life. This is a profile you may recognise as typical of your readership.
- Audience in ‘The God Debate’
- Other educated seniors, 50+.
- Questioning 17 – 24 year-olds.
- Open minded thinkers.
- Child protection workers and anyone involved in child minding or education.
This important new contribution to discussion is timely. Recent polls show that the UK population is turning away from religion. The launch is supported by a lively promotion effort. The National Secular Society and Humanists UK are both actively campaigning against faith schools.