An excerpt from Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Susan M. Shaw’s new book, Surviving God: A New Vision of God Through the Eyes of Sexual Abuse Survivors:
“The God of our childhoods was terrifying. Sure, He (and it was always ‘He’) loved us, but we also knew He could destroy us in a moment if we displeased Him. Poof! Like Lot’s wife, we’d become a pillar of salt. God knew us intimately and had complete control over us. Like an abuser, He asked us to love Him even as he threatened us with the torments of hell if we didn’t.”