"Weaponized Forgiveness & Confronting Sexism in the Church" with Dr. Andrew Bauman

Episode Summary

For too long, the church has used forgiveness as a weapon—silencing victims, protecting abusers, and demanding reconciliation without accountability. And when it comes to God’s gender, why has the church clung so tightly to a masculine image? What’s at stake in how we see God?

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Dr. Andrew Bauman, therapist, advocate, and author of Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism and Abuse in Christian Communities. Together, we tackle the toxic theology of weaponized forgiveness, the deeply ingrained sexism within church culture, and how our view of God shapes power dynamics in faith communities.

This conversation is raw, unfiltered, and deeply challenging. But to build safe, healthy faith spaces, we must be willing to confront the hard truths.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of abuse and trauma in faith spaces. Listener discretion is advised.

Key Takeaways

* Weaponized forgiveness: How the church uses “forgiveness” to silence survivors.

* Is God a man? Why gendered theology matters more than you think.

* How sexism operates in faith spaces (and how to unlearn it).

* What ACTUALLY makes a church safe for the vulnerable?

About Our Guest

Dr. Andrew J. Bauman is a licensed mental health counselor and Founder & Director of the Christian Counseling Center: For Sexual Health & Trauma (CCC). He holds a Doctorate from Northeastern University, where he researched the impact of sexism and abuse on women in the Protestant Church.

Books by Dr. Bauman:

* Safe Church: How to Guard Against Sexism and Abuse in Christian Communities (Newest Release)

* Other Works by Dr. Bauman

More from Dr. Bauman:

* Christian Counseling Center for Sexual Health & Trauma

* Dr. Bauman’s blog: The Healthy Man

* Follow Andrew on Social Media

Link Back to Previous Episodes

* Episode 5: Spiritual Bypassing: Why It’s Keeping You Stuck – How over-spiritualizing struggles keep us from real healing.

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