Queries and Controversies

In this article, Ed Welch and Paul Tripp respond to the question “How should you counsel a couple in a case of domestic violence?” In the first part of the article, Ed Welch addresses helping the victim and offers brief guidelines: (1) Hear the cries of the oppressed; (2) Teach the oppressed to put their hope in God; and (3) Teach the oppressed to “disarm” the abuser by bold godliness in the love of Christ, rather than fluctuating between timidity and revenge. In the second part, Paul Tripp addresses helping the perpetrator of domestic violence. Tripp offers brief guidelines: (1) Define the common need for grace carefully; (2) Penetrate the fog of confusion and evasion; and (3) Bring the word of grace in Jesus Christ that aims for fundamental restructuring of heart and lifestyle. A response to this article is written in a Letter to the Editor found in JBC 16:1.