THEOLOGY AND DOCTRINE

"The Abuse of Power is 'must' reading for clergy and denominational officials. Weaving case stories with theo-ry. Poling demonstrates that sexual abuse of children is not a private matter, but very much a matter for society and church-a question of structure and ideology, not just of individual character. He is not afraid to tackle the tough question: Does the image of God sacrificing Jesus on the cross contribute to abusive parent-child relationships? If pastors and church officials read this book the church will change."

Karen Lebacqz Professor of Christian Ethics Pacific School of Religion

"For the exploitation of twomen and children to stop, men must be willing to break ranks with all forms of privilege that sanction male dominance, James Poling does so by deconstructing his own sense of male entitlement, by refusing to distance himself from perpetrators, by allowing survivors of sexual and domestic violence to speak with their own voices, by giving us profound words of hope, and by articulating a powerfully healing theology wrought through the depths of his own struggle with one of the worst evils in our society. His courageous and compassionate twork reveals the love and hope that is born of solidarity across the boundaries of gender, sexual orientation, race, and economics.

"The psychological, political, spiritual, and theological power of this book is such that all educators, ministers, therapists, and Christians must read it."

-Rita Nakashima Brock

Associate Professor in the Endowed Chair in the Humanities

Hamline University

JAMES NEWTON POLING is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Counseling at Colgate Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Semi-nary, Rochester, New York. An experienced psychother-apist, he has done much work with survivors of sexual abuse. He is a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and a clinical member of the American Association of Marital and Family Therapists.