Author Archives: carolyncustisjames

In July, when I was in the airport and spotted an abandoned backpack, I didn’t assume it was someone else’s responsibility. I knew the drill. “If you see something, say something.” So I did. One of the many disturbing aspects … Continue reading →

After listening all week to stories of spiritual and other horrible varieties of abuse, along with accounts of indifference, passivity, cover-up, and outright complicity among Christians, I longed to hear a voice that fearlessly spoke out against these injustices. I … Continue reading →

by Frank A. James I have long been something of a fan of Aquinas. For many years I have told my students that Protestants have not given Aquinas his due. However, when it comes to his view of women, I … Continue reading →

“… are we really loving our neighbors as ourselves if our neighbors say they are hurting, and we say they are not?”  —“Lean In … and Listen” Over a decade ago, my mother came out from under anesthesia following abdominal … Continue reading →

Everywhere we are—home, school, workplace, ministry, academy, writing, volunteering, you name it, even in assisted living—and every relationship we are in is a front line for God’s kingdom and an opportunity to proclaim and live out the gospel. Our stories … Continue reading →

“I think it is fair to say that most of us (men included) have encountered spiritual abuse in one form or another and for the most part we endure and press on. But the structural patriarchy that suffuses so much … Continue reading →

After a temporary hiatus from the spiritual abuse blog series while I traveled south to Pennsylvania and west to Oregon, I’m back in Boxford again, stationed at my computer, and ready to pick up where we left off. Statements I … Continue reading →

Last night, on the train home from the Philadelphia airport, I sat behind a black youth and wondered if, along with his backpack, he was also carrying a load of apprehension that something could go terribly wrong as he made … Continue reading →

According to statistics, by the age of eighteen one in three American women has been sexually abused. A statistic like this doesn’t stop at the church door. It marches right on in. This disturbing figure doesn’t include boys who are … Continue reading →

It is summer, after all. So I’m temporarily suspending the spiritual abuse series while I travel west to celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday. Both Phil Monroe and I will resume that important discussion in a week or so. In the … Continue reading →