Faith is an interesting thing. For me, there's a level below the words that is where the spirit (God) lives that is my most profound connection to the holy. There's a level of truth and trust there that provides a reality that I know is true for me.

When I read the words of those whose faith rests in the Bible, Jesus (although at an essential level Jesus is part of that connection I described earlier), or other, I try to translate what they are saying into what I believe and find our connection to each other. I get beyond the words to the level of love that we all share.

I do believe we have free will and that it is horribly misused much of the time. For the woman who is abused, one of the powers of control that an abuser takes is to confuse the woman's reality. It's probably the worst part of the problem. You come to believe (I've been there), that if you would just "get it" then the abuse would end. You believe that you must be a horrible person. Something has to happen to shake that distorted reality. When it does, the real truth comes to the surface and you will never willingly give it up again.

Some (not all -- not even most) religions and religious leaders riff on this control theme and play into the distortion of reality. But so do some businessmen, political leaders and many others.

We must speak firmly and with love. And we must begin with speaking our truth to ourselves.