As grooming hits the headlines - we take a look from a biblical perspective

News of Phillip Schofield’s affair has been dominating the headlines, and with it, his denial that he groomed the young adult he knew since the age of 15. What exactly is grooming, and what does the Bible have to say about it?

Oxford English dictionary defines grooming as "the practise of preparing or training someone for a particular purpose or activity". When we think of Jesus leading his disciples he was preparing them for their roles in the early church. The Bible sees us as sheep needing to be led, to be shepherded into following Jesus. But in a fallen world, without a close relationship with Jesus, this human tendency to follow others, can be manipulated to lead people astray.

Sexual grooming is: "The action of attempting to form a relationship with a child or a young person with the intention of sexually assaulting them." In the UK sexual grooming is illegal, even if no other crime takes place.