Snakes in the Grass

Snakes in The Grass

by Nancy Bicknell

Wisconsin Lawmakers Push Changes to Fight Abuse (Link)

I was never so frightened in all my life as when a child on our farm by La Cross Wisconsin. I had gone out to the apple orchard and was collecting apples in my dress with my pet rabbit, Thumper, at my side. I had rescued him from the jaws of our dog, Bootsy, and hand raised him. It was a beautiful day in the orchard when I heard a warning – the sound of a rattle snake in the grass. We both froze, the rabbit and I stared into the eyes of the biggest rattle snake I had ever seen. Thumper did what came naturally to rabbits when in danger, he thumped his back leg on the ground. The rattler stood its ground. The tension tingled in the air. Finally the snake backed down.

There was a bounty on the rattle snakes back then. When the snake population became too high, the state of Wisconsin paid for a bounty. This was done to keep the children and the cattle on the rocky hills above the Mississippi river safe from bites. I was glad for a bounty after such a scare. I never felt that kind of fear again until I joined the Independent Fundamental Baptist Church. I felt the sting and poison of a Snake in the Grass when my 16 years old son’s I.F.B. teacher took him to a motel for sex. The feeling of being paralyzed with fear returned when a female teacher ‘Snake’ had just bit my son with her venomous fangs. I felt the same sting of a snake bite when my other son relived his sexual abuse while in the same I.F.B. school system. Today, I am wondering how that bounty system relates to perpetrators of abuse with children in the I.F.B.

“Darling and Krusick believe, however, that a law enabling adults who were abused as children to sue religious organizations could be written in a way that would not violate First Amendment protections. They are awaiting a legal analysis from the state Legislative Council on all aspects of their proposal before proceeding.

Both lawmakers stressed that they want to write a bill only after getting input from religious organizations, victim groups, law enforcement officials and others over the next several months.

“It’s necessary to move beyond just changing church policy. We need strong, effective laws at the state level to prevent abuse and to allow the prosecution of abusers and allow victims to get justice,” Krusick said. “The church hierarchy must no longer be able to cover up cases of known or suspected abuse.”

“We want to put Wisconsin in the mainstream of protecting our children and adults who have been abused by clergy,” Darling added.”– Apr 30, 2002 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Predator snakes know how to hide under rocks waiting for their prey and, similarly, the I.F.B. Predators hide themselves in the shadows. However, there is a big difference in how the authorities in the I.F.B. Church deal with the Predatory Snakes. The I.F.B. leaders have been helping to hide the Predators in the pew of the I.F.B. Church for years and, the population is out of control (As measured buy the number of children who have been harmed).

An example would be these statements made in the above link by Marvin Munyon, an I.F.B. Wisconsin Lobbyist/Legislative Representative of the WI Association of Christian Schools concerning protecting children in the religious institutions from abuse. After reading his comments, I see a Snake in the Grass —

“Marvin Munyon, president of the Family Research Forum in Madison, said he opposes the proposals because he thinks enforcing existing laws could achieve many of the same goals.

Only abusers themselves should be subjected to lawsuits, unless churches or religious organizations tried to cover up abuse, Munyon said. And clergy members might be less able to solve family problems if they are required by law to report even possible cases of abuse, he said.

Munyon also said extending the statute of limitations is problematic because it is difficult to prove abuse incidents that occurred many years ago. It is better to emphasize quick handling of abuse cases when they occur, so that abusers will be deterred and victims will be more likely to come forward, he said.” — Apr 30, 2002 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Marvin Munyon talks with a forked tongue concerning mandated reporting by churches and extending the statute of limitations. He is holding on to the idea that the CHURCH needs to decide weather or not abuse has occurred. (Author’s note: The CHURCH is NOT LEGITIMATELY QUALIFIED to handle ABUSE of any kind.) He states people will only talk to the Pastors if they think the Pastors won’t turn in the abuse or abuser into the state (Author’s note: This is not TRUE. Victims will do whatever the Pastor suggests. The problem is that MOST Pastors do not WANT to involve the authorities). I wonder what a I.F.B. leaders/lobbies/legislative Representative of WI Association of Christian Schools has to gain by waiting under the rock of the I.F.B. INTERNAL INVESTIGATION and leaving the counseling of the victim and the abuser to the I.F.B. Pastor. Is this the I.F.B. reasoning that led to what happened at First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana? And why?

We get loud and point to the head of the snake by pointing out these examples of how the I.F.B. system has used the manipulation of the laws to hide the ‘Snake in the Grass’, but, add all the I.F.B. Leader defenders of the abuser and ONE ABUSER TURNS INTO MANY ABUSERS. Given the nature of a Snake in the Grass it is no surprise given Marv Munyon’s words in the above link. When my husband and I reported to him, the Assistant Principal at Calvary Baptist Christian School, that “our 16 year old son’s teacher had taken him to a motel room last night”, he only snickered a bit. He never reached for a phone as one might expect to report the statutory rape of a minor. Actually, no one reached for a phone! After all, who wants the POLICE to come to their school system when you are actively hitting children with a board and calling it discipline using the ROD?

The ‘Snake in the Grass’ predators are by nature more powerful than their bunny-like victims who have been taught to be forgiving and not to use their natural thumping alarms when bitten. The I.F.B. snakes are often sitting in the open in leadership positions, talking on TV, the radio, or sitting in government positions. We who have been bitten need to show our scars and tell our stories about the snakes.

When the I.F.B. leaders fight to keep the statute of limitations from extending to older victims as well as keep the government out of their schools by using lobbyists, we NEED to see this as the ‘Head of the Snake’.

Parents, do you hear a little rattle of fear at times for the safety of your children in these schools? Are you bringing your children to Rattle Snake Point? I.F.B. Religious predators do not need to cover themselves with a wolf’s skin when they are allowed to sit out in the open as a snake and even bath in the sun. It may seem there is no bounty at all on I.F.B. Snakes in the Grass and, that they are free to populate and rest in the open, bathing in the sun, or waiting in the pew for a vulnerable victim to pass by. However, we can take comfort in God’s power to know where the poison is and what I.F.B. leaders are acting as the head of the snake.

Another article that is worth the read: Sovereign Grace Ministries: Courts Shouldn’t ‘Second-Guess’ Pastoral Counseling of Sex Abuse Victims. This ministry is trying to keep the Snake in the Grass hidden.