Category: Religion

Closing Thought–11Jan24

A Jewish slap fight…..and arrest that followed….

It appears that there is trouble brewing with the Hasidic Jews of New York.

The rebbe called for an expansion of the property more than 30 years ago, but legal disputes between the two sides (involving, among other things, whether a plaque could refer to the rebbe as deceased) have gone on for years. Community members believe members of the smaller faction secretly dug the tunnel to fulfill the rebbe’s vision of expanding. The New York Post, citing Jewish outlets, reports the group was trying to reach the abandoned men’s mikvah, a ritual bath, around the corner, and had been digging for almost a year. The tunnel was actually discovered late last year, but Monday’s trouble began when a cement truck was brought to fill it and some young Hasidic men tried to block that from happening.

Video from the scene shows a man emerging through the wall of the sanctuary from the tunnel, men sitting in the tunnel to block it from being filled, police confronting the men, and an altercation breaking out, involving people throwing desks and prayer books and the police apparently spraying some sort of irritant, ABC 7 reports. The men arrested were charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, and one was also charged with obstruction of governmental administration. The headquarters is closed while a review of its structural integrity is carried out. A spokesperson for the movement refers to the men who dug the tunnel as “extremist students” and “young agitators” who were primarily in the US on student visas.

What was the aftermath?

Nine men were arrested Monday afternoon when an altercation broke out at a century-old Brooklyn synagogue over a tunnel that had been secretly dug underneath the building. The New York Times reports that the Chabad-Lubavitcher movement, which it describes as one of the most prominent Hasidic Jewish groups in New York, has for decades been in conflict over the movement’s future, with mainstream leadership wanting to carry out the teachings and visions of its leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the rebbe, who died in 1994. But a smaller faction believes he never died and is actually the Messiah, and that has led to disagreements over a planned expansion to the movement’s global headquarters and sanctuary at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood.

Just one question….WTF?

Plus the problems this tunnel causes for the people around the dig site…..

New York City issued vacate orders and emergency work orders following the discovery of a tunnel that had been secretly dug over a period of nearly a year underneath a historic Brooklyn synagogue. Officials say the building and neighboring structures will be stabilized and occupant safety will be ensured, the AP reports. The synagogue has been cited for the illegal excavation, which, a spokesperson says, was carried out by a rogue group of “extremist” young men.

Why can’t they just along?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Forced Religion?

I do not usual comment on religion but there are times when I must step up and say my peace.

Recently Donald the Orange made a speech where he promised a ‘task force’ to impose Christian ideology…..

In recent campaign stops and on social media, Donald Trump has reprised lies aimed at inciting his Christian-right base against Joe Biden. These tirades, centered on the false charge that the Biden administration is persecuting Christians, aren’t just Trump’s typically dubious claims. Much like Trump’s lies about a stolen election, they are designed to immerse his loyalists in a grievance-laden alternative reality in which Trump alone can rescue them from an evil government threatening their freedom.

In a Dec. 19 speech in Iowa, for example, Trump pledged, “As soon as I get back in the Oval Office, I’ll also immediately end the war on Christians. I don’t know if you feel it. You have a war. There’s a war.” Speaking just after the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified him from appearing on the state’s GOP primary ballot, Trump tied this “war” to his own legal woes. “Under crooked Joe Biden, Christians and Americans of faith are being persecuted and government has been weaponized against religion like never before. And also presidents like never before,” he added. “I always say Al Capone was treated better than I was treated.”

Trump has promoted the theme of Christian persecution in the past, but is elevating it again as these legal issues mount. His clear purpose is to deflect attention from his own criminal liabilities by insinuating that the same Biden administration he falsely claims is unfairly targeting him for prosecution is similarly persecuting religious Americans.

Unsurprisingly, Trump’s ardent supporters see his and their “wars” as tied together. When he was indicted in a Manhattan court on charges that he illegally covered up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, his backers compared this supposed persecution to that of Jesus Christ. In a Truth Social video two days after his Iowa speech, Trump made this persecution pact complete. He contended that under Biden, “Christians and Americans of faith are being persecuted like nothing this nation has ever seen before.” Trump has also echoed wild and debunked claims from congressional Republicans about anti-Catholic bias by the Biden administration and the FBI in particular.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-2024-christian-right-truth-social-rcna132082

Sorry but I will not be forced to believe.

I have my religious beliefs and I shall retain them….so screw trump.

What will be next?   The Morality Police?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Changing Religious Landscape

It is a Sunday and time to look at the trends in our society.

I am always interested in how Americans choose to embrace their religious affiliations. Not because I am a religious person but rather how the times are changing and so is the religious beliefs of our people.

This is a study made along those lines….

A growing number of Americans are switching religions, Axios reports. According to a Public Religion Research Institute Poll, almost a quarter of Americans follow a different denomination or tradition than the one they grew up in, including those who switched to no religious affiliation. This trend is supported by a 2022 Pew Research Center study, which projects that religious switching will continue to reshape the American religious landscape in the years to come. With a variety of factors contributing to this shift, such as changing personal beliefs, dissatisfaction with religious institutions, and the influence of friends and family, the landscape of religious affiliation in the United States is transforming rapidly. As the Religion News Service reported in 2014, the reasons behind this trend are complex.

Certain elements in making such changes are common: People often change churches, switch faiths, or leave religion altogether due to personal experiences, evolving beliefs, or dissatisfaction with the way religious organizations handle social issues. And as individuals encounter new communities and ideas, their religious perspectives may adapt accordingly. This shift in religious affiliations has significant implications for faith-based organizations, as they must adapt to the changing needs and expectations of their congregations to remain relevant and maintain membership. As this trend continues to evolve, the American religious landscape will undoubtedly face new challenges and opportunities in the coming years.

It will be fascinating to see just how the major religions handle a changing climate for religion.

This survey could answer some of the questions…..

This is an interesting snapshot on the state of religion in America: As of 2022, not quite half of Americans have no doubt that God is watching over them, which is a little startling in that that number topped 60% in 2008, just 15 years ago. As the Hill reports, citing the General Social Survey conducted by the University of Chicago’s NORC research group, about a third of Americans—34%—never go to church, but about three-quarters of Americans classify themselves as spiritual and believe in things like life after death. Not surprisingly, churches, in terms of membership and attendance, took a hit during the pandemic—as did belief in a higher power. Findings from a recent study by the Public Religion Research Institute also add some interesting findings. Highlights:

  • Most Americans are still Christian, and white Christians have stayed static at 42% over the last five years. It’s worth noting: that number was 54% in 2006 and 72% in 1990.
  • Christians of color make up 25% of the nation’s population.
  • Only 7% of Americans do not believe in God, per the Hill. “Belief is very stubborn in America today,” say Ryan Burge, who studies faith at Eastern Illinois University. Another 7% are agnostic, meaning they think the answer is unknowable. The remainder believe but have doubts to some degree.
  • Mainline Protestantism is “collapsing,” says Burge. Nondenominational Protestants, however, clock in at nearly 15% of Americans and “are the second-largest religious group in America today, after Catholics.”
  • The percentage of those who are religiously unaffiliated has risen to 27% from 16% in 2006.
  • The number of Americans who worship in other houses—including Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Unitarian Universalist—has held pretty steady at 6%.

Check out the full NORC survey here, or the PRRI study here.

Let’s not forget the massive sexual abuse report on the Catholic Church….

In 2018, a grand jury report was released in Pennsylvania naming 300-plus “predator priests” in the state accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children over a period of seven decades. Partly inspired by those revelations, then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan started a probe in her own state, releasing what the AP calls a “blistering” partial report on the matter before she left office in early 2019. Now Kwame Raoul, who took over for Madigan and continued the investigation, has released the numbers his office uncovered, revealing more than 450 Catholic clergy across Illinois’ six dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Chicago, sexually abused 1,197 children between 1950 and 2019.

The 696-page report released Tuesday was compiled by 25 staffers based on more than 100,000 pages of diocese documents, as well as 600 confidential interactions with survivors. The report added 149 names of accused clergy to lists of child sex abusers that the dioceses themselves had already IDed either before or during the AG’s investigation, reports the New York Times. The paper notes that none of the total 451 accused are currently in active ministry, and at least 330 of them are thought to now be dead.

Have a good Sunday and a safe Memorial Day

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Wolves In Priest Clothing

One of the biggest stories this past week was abuse cases in Baltimore.

Yet another scandal involving the Catholic Church…..sexual abuse, in cased you were confused….

This time it is the archdiocese of Baltimore and the number of cases is greater than 500….

Maryland’s attorney general released the results Wednesday of a four-year state investigation into the sexual abuse and torture of children by clergy members and employees of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The report covers the totality of 80 years of mistreatment, during which it says 156 members of Catholic clergy abused at least 600 children, CNN reports. From the 1940s through 2002, the report says, they “engaged in horrific and repeated abuse of the most vulnerable children in their communities while Archdiocese leadership looked the other way.” At a news conference, Anthony Brown pronounced Wednesday “a day of reckoning and a day of accounting.”

The investigation found that one deacon admitted abusing more than 100 children, the Baltimore Sun reports. Even after the Rev. John Joseph Mike pleaded guilty to abusing a boy, he was assigned to a parish in Clarksville. A victim wrote in his diary that Mike tied him up, suspended him from a basketball backboard in the parish gym, and whipped him 150 times. Hundreds of abuse survivors were interviewed for the investigation; the state report called the scope of the abuse “astonishing.” Brown met with advocates and survivors Wednesday to hear their accounts. “What was consistent throughout the stories was the absolute authority and power these abusive priests and the church leadership held over survivors, their families and their communities,” he said.

In many cases, the report says, the archdiocese knew of the abusers but did little to stop them. They often were transferred to new jobs, even after admitting to abuse, where they mistreated more children. When looking into abuse, the report said, police, prosecutors, and local news media often treated church leaders with deference. The attorney general said many of the abusers have since died or can’t be prosecuted because of statutes of limitations. “While it may be too late for the survivors to see criminal justice served, we hope that exposing the archdiocese’s transgressions to the fullest extent possible will bring some measure of accountability and perhaps encourage others to come forward,” Brown said.

When will the church start making these perverts pay for the crimes?

After all these religious types are sexual predators….plain and simple.

Warning:  Keep your children away from youth ministers.

Happy Easter

Enjoy your day….be well and be safe.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Assault On Christianity?

Recently I wrote a post about Ukraine’s banning of the Russian Orthodox Church…..

Christianity Gets Banned

Zelensky has upped the ante against the church by seizing assets…..

Ukraine has ratcheted up its campaign against a branch of the Eastern Orthodox church with ties to Russia. On the order of President Volodymyr Zelensky, seven senior clerics from the Russian Orthodox church will have their assets seized and face bans on a range of economic and legal activities.

During his nightly video address on Sunday, the Ukrainian president said “by decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, sanctions were applied against seven people,” adding that his administration is “doing everything to ensure that the aggressor state does not have a single string of Ukrainian society to pull.”

According to Reuters, the new penalties mean that the seven clerics will have “their assets seized and are subject to a ban on a range of economic and legal activities as well as a de facto travel ban.”

The vast majority of Ukrainians belong to Eastern Orthodox churches, with many worshiping in parishes that take direction from the Moscow Patriarchate. On December 1, Zelensky announced that Kiev would attempt to expel all religious institutions with ties to Russia, arguing the move would make “it impossible for religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence in the Russian Federation to operate in Ukraine.”

The president went on the claim that the Russian Orthodox Church poses a threat to Ukrainian culture, saying “we will never allow anyone to build an empire inside the Ukrainian soul.” He additionally denounced Ukrainians who continue to attend the allegedly Russia-controlled parishes as succumbing to “the temptation of evil.”

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/kiev-seizes-assets-of-russian-orthodox-clerics/

While I can understand what he is doing I still think this is a bad idea.

He would be alienating a part of the population by assaulting their religious leaders and beliefs.

It is one thing to hate the Russians and it is another when you attack religion.

I still have not heard any comments from our dynamite religious community on this assault….do they condemn it or do they support it?

Just thinking.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Christianity Gets Banned

NO this is not some regurgitation from some half mad preacher predicting the end of religion if Dems and the “Left” have their way…..not all…it is about a real action taken by a democratic leader…..

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he is seeking to ban all religions with ties to Russia. He claims the move is needed to “guarantee spiritual independence to Ukraine.”

This law will target millions of Ukrainians who identify as Russian Orthodox.

During his nightly address on Thursday, Zelensky announced he was introducing legislation that would eliminate religious organizations affiliated with Russia from operating in Ukraine. He said this will make “it impossible for religious organizations affiliated with centers of influence in the Russian Federation to operate in Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian leader said it was necessary to purge the church to preserve the country’s spiritual independence. Adding, “We will never allow anyone to build an empire inside the Ukrainian soul.” Zelensky denounced Ukrainians continuing to attend the parishes as failing to overcome “the temptation of evil.”

He claimed a series of recent raids by Kiev’s intelligence found orthodox churches which remain connected with the Moscow Patriarchate have been acting as operatives for the Kremlin. In his address, Zelensky instructed his security forces to further target Russian Orthodox parishes.

Around two-thirds of Ukrainians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians. At one point, the majority of Ukrainians attended parishes that followed the Moscow Patriarchate. Some recent polls say that number has dwindled to under 15%. However, the polling was only conducted in territory that was controlled by Ukrainian forces. Zelensky has vowed to return those regions to Kiev’s authority.

(antiwar.com)

As an American I have a problem with the leader of a nation deciding what a person is to believe.  I realize he is in a war but this does nothing to further the possibility of some sort of settlement in this conflict.

I also wait to see what other condemnations are coming Zelensky’s way…..I am sure that there will be few and far between.

He has banned opposition parties and closed down some papers that do not agree with him….and he is still billed as ‘democratic’ leader.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those ‘Christian Nationalists’

Well it is Sunday and what better time than to post about these so-called ‘christians’ and their embrace of nationalism.

These people are attempting to inflict their personal beliefs ion the rest of America….kinda like the lie that Muslims were attempting to impose Sharia law of the rest of us…..now they are doing it and doing it successfully.

The past few weeks have been full of unsettling indicators of the fragile state of our democracy. The January 6th committee has assembled a frightening account of how close the 2020 election came to being violently overturned. The Supreme Court has lurched rightward, striking down the constitutional right to abortion and issuing a series of momentous decisions on guns, environmental regulation, and the separation of church and state. Researchers have begun to view these disparate political currents as part of a broader cultural, religious, and political phenomenon—one that is rooted in a specific reading of American history and, in particular, Christianity’s role in it. They call this concept white Christian nationalism. Samuel Perry, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma and a co-author of “The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy,” joins guest host Michael Luo to discuss the contours of this belief system, and the roles that guns and voting restrictions play in its implementation in U.S. politics.

(newyorker.com)

The religious Right has made great strives in controlling every aspect of our lives….Roe v Wade…..is just the beginning…..

With its decision overturning Roe v. Wade and ending national protections for abortion rights, the Supreme Court gave the religious right its greatest policy victory since the mass movement of white evangelical Protestants joined hands with the Republican Party more than 40 years ago.

The problem? The religious right’s unpopular policy of banning abortion is now reality, at least in certain states. Republicans can no longer hide behind Roe and express support for unpopular policies that will never become law. They will have to defend abortion bans, and other unpopular restrictions pushed by an emboldened religious conservative movement.

Republicans are already seeing how unpopular banning abortion can be. In the first vote on abortion since the court’s June decision, voters in Kansas ― a state that decisively voted to reelect Donald Trump ― rejected a referendum that would have overturned a state Supreme Court decision protecting abortion rights, and did so by a double-digit margin that exceeded Trump’s win there.

“It’s no longer a theoretical possibility,” Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, which tracks public opinion on politics and religion, said about the prospect of abortion bans. “It’s actual reality, and we’re seeing a backlash.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/roe-kansas-religious-right_n_62ed2034e4b0ecfe3f704a0a

I always get a chuckle out of these knuckle heads that spout ‘religious freedom’ as a way to control the population to their way of thinking…..look at history will help clarify what is going on….

A couple weeks back, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivered the keynote address at the Notre Dame Law School’s second annual Religious Liberty Summit in Rome. Much of the subsequent attention has focused on Alito’s defense of the Court’s recent Dobbs decision on abortion, and especially his mocking of foreign leaders who had criticized that decision. But Alito’s remarks overall presented a far broader defense of religious liberty, which he defined throughout as under sustained attack from “our increasingly secular society.” He argued that there’s “growing hostility to religion, or at least the traditional religious beliefs that are contrary to the new moral code that it is ascendant in some sectors.” And he equated religious liberty with the necessary special protection of religion and religious communities from these attacks.

A sitting Supreme Court Justice delivering such pointed social and political commentary publicly seems a bit unusual (although it is far from unheard-of). But Alito’s remarks fit smoothly into a longstanding, indeed a defining, American debate. Religious liberty is one of America’s founding ideals, a quite literally revolutionary guarantee that any and all religions (including no religion) would be included and equal in this new nation. But in practice, far too often religious liberty has meant the freedom to equate the nation with Christianity and discriminate against and exclude those who are outside that perspective and community.

Both sides of that coin can be found in the story of one of the earliest European American communities, the New England Puritans. The Puritans made their way to the Americas in search of religious freedom, fleeing the persecution they and their extreme form of Protestant Christianity had faced in both England and Holland (as it was then known) and hoping to build a new community where they could practice that religion in peace. What Puritan lawyer and leader John Winthrop famously referred to as the “city upon a hill” in his 1630 speech “A Model of Christian Charity” was the idea that the world would be watching what happened with this community now that it would be finally free to practice and amplify those religious beliefs.

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/08/considering-history-religious-liberty-has-too-often-meant-the-freedom-to-exclude/

Even true Christians are not comfortable with the embrace of nationalism either…..and they offer a response to the crap spread by the nationalists that pretend they are doing what they do in the name of Christ.

How to answer when Christian nationalists embrace the label as a badge of honor

I all see is people that want to fleece the people and control every aspect of the lives…..keep them ignorant and in servitude.

I have no time for these slugs on humanity.

I was never a religious person…. but in 1980 when Reagan brought in religion to the government I back away for good….religion has no place in the decisions of our elected officials.

Religion is a private thing and should stay that way….between the person and whatever god he/she decides to embrace.  Keep your beliefs to yourself….if I want to hear them I will ask.(but don’t hold your breath)

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The City Of ‘Brotherly Love’

I believe that Philadelphia claims that title…..maybe they should re-think that claim….

This country has a growing problem of homelessness and I am pleased to see at least some churches are acting in a very Christian way (more need to step up….leave politics to the sleazy people and help their fellow man)

A few churches are providing a few services for the homeless and now the city government weighs in…..

Two Philadelphia-area churches have come under fire from local zoning officials, who say their free meal services, mental health counseling, and monthly pantries aren’t allowed on their properties and will have to stop or else they risk fines.

In early June, Pottstown staff sent letters to Christ Episcopal Church and Mission First, saying that this charitable work went beyond the allowable activities for churches in the borough’s Downtown zoning district.

“I am writing this letter with compassion for those affected by the COVID pandemic and with gratitude to residents who’ve provided aid to those in need throughout that period,” wrote Pottstown Zoning Officer Winter Stokes in a letter to one of the churches obtained by WHYY, which first reported the story. “However, as the Zoning Officer, I must enforce the zoning code.”

Stokes’ letters specifically lists regular provision of mental health counseling to families, weekly buffet meals, and the distribution of soap, razors, toothbrushes, and other essential items as disallowed uses.

The two churches can either apply for a zoning variance—which requires going before the borough’s Zoning Hearing Board—or stop the disallowed charitable work. Failure to do either of those things could result in the churches being hit with $500 fines for every day they’re out of compliance.

“It was an absolute surprise when we got this letter,” says Dennis Coleman, the deacon of Christ Episcopal Church. He says that his church has been providing meals and an “essentials” pantry for years without incident.

“We’ve been doing the one meal a week for as long as anyone can remember,” which typically feeds about 60 people, Coleman says. The church also runs a “Last Week of the Month” program that provides people with food, essential items, or even assistance in paying gas and electric bills.

Pennsylvania Town Threatens Churches With $500 Fines for Providing Free Meals, Counseling Services

This is a ridiculous ordinance!

I am pleased to see that at least some churches are responding to this growing problem….they should be supported not punished.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“God Has A Plan”

In this recent spat of mass killings has brought about the usual BS from some….most of them are excuses or just pathetic rhetoric….kinda like the “thoughts and prayers” POS….and the equally stupid is the usual “bad people do bad things” and when we thought that it could not get more moronic the proverbial other shoe drops.

This time from an elected official from Texas (where else)…..

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing criticism after saying that his message to the families of the 19 students killed by a gunman at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school last month would be that “God always has a plan” and “Life is short no matter what it is.”

In a May interview with right-wing radio host Trey Graham, 59-year-old Paxton said he would be “devastated” if he lost one of his children, but added that he would tell other parents who lost a child in the shooting that “there’s always a plan.”

“If I lost one of my children I’d be pretty devastated, especially in a way that is so senseless and seemingly has no purpose,” Paxton said. “I think … I would just have to say, if I had the opportunity to talk to the people I’d have to say, look, there’s always a plan. I believe God always has a plan. Life is short no matter what it is. And certainly, we’re not going to make sense of, you know, a young child being shot and killed way before their life expectancy.”

advisor to former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, social media users criticized Paxton who, as one person pointed out, “has been Attorney General of Texas since January 2015, only slightly less time than the Uvalde victims were alive.”

Another user referenced comments Paxton once made about the COVID-19 pandemic — when he suggested senior citizens should be “willing to take a chance on [their] survival in exchange for keeping the America that America loves” — writing: “It’s always fine to sacrifice someone else’s grandparents or kids. His people will have the best protection and healthcare money can buy.”

https://people.com/politics/texas-ag-faces-backlash-for-advice-to-uvalde-families/

God has a plan?

Is that plan to force children to be born so they can be killed later in school?

Great plan but if that is the best he/she can then I suggest they stop drinking and pay attention.

I want NO part of that plan!

People like this d/bag proves just how moronic this situation has become…..more so than in the past.

Idiotic statements like this one above could be a reason why there has been a drop….

The last five years has apparently taken a big toll on Americans’ belief in God—especially among the young, the liberal, and Democrats. Gallup says that in its latest poll, a new low of 81% of Americans said they believed in God, down from 87% in 2017 and from a solid 98% throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Belief fell among every category of people Gallup spoke to, by more than 10% among Democrats, liberals, and adults 18 to 29, but by only 1% among Republicans and married people. Belief in God among women fell from 90% to 83%, according to Gallup. Among men, it fell from 83% to 80%.

Gallup says it has asked Americans about their belief in God in several ways over the years, sometimes phrasing it as belief in “God or a universal spirit.” The pollsters say the highest proportion of people express belief in God when it is phrased as a yes/no question. The proportion dipped significantly when respondents were given the option of saying they were unsure—and even more when they were asked if they were “convinced” that God exists. In the most recent poll, around half of those who said they believed in God said they believe God hears prayers and can intervene.

Other polls have found that while belief in a higher being has been gradually falling over the years, traditional religion is declining a lot faster, the Hill reports. Last year, Gallup said church membership had fallen below 50% for the first time to a record low of 47%, with numbers dropping sharply even among those who described themselves as religious. Gallup says confidence in organized religion has also dropped, “suggesting that the practice of religious faith may be changing more than basic faith in God.”

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Accuser Becomes The Accused

In the past all the abuse issues that the Catholic church as been dealing  with has the protestants condemning the church for allowing….basically covering up the abuses by the clergy…..

Personally I am no fan of organized religion basically because it is hypocrisy at its highest….the leaders lie and cheat….and that is where this post picks up…..

Now the Southern Baptist Convention is at the heart of a controversy…..

An outside investigation released Sunday by the Southern Baptist Convention found that survivors of sexual abuse were ignored, or worse, for decades by clergy. The almost 300-page report mostly addresses leaders’ handling of reported abuse, the Washington Post reports, but includes details on individual cases. “While stories of abuse were minimized, and survivors were ignored or even vilified,” the report says, “revelations came to light in recent years that some senior SBC leaders had protected or even supported alleged abusers.” Members expressed shock at the scope of the problem in the nation’s biggest Protestant denomination.

“I knew it was rotten, but it’s astonishing and infuriating,” said Jennifer Lyell, whose abuse case is included in the report. She once was the convention’s highest-paid female executive. Internal fights over how to handle abuse cases have gone on for years, and leaders have objected to comparisons with the abuse in the Catholic Church, arguing that the number of Southern Baptist cases is much lower. “This is a denomination (that) is through and through about power,” Lyell said, per the Post. “It is misappropriated power. It does not in any way reflect the Jesus I see in the scriptures.”

In an opinion piece that went up Sunday on Christianity Today, Russell Moore writes that “crisis is too small a word” for what the Southern Baptist Convention faces now. “It is an apocalypse.” Moore has been on the convention’s Executive Committee and called for the investigation; he was expecting bad behavior to be found. But “the investigation uncovers a reality far more evil and systemic than I imagined it could be,” he writes. Moore says he’s attended his last committee meeting and likens the leaders’ behavior to a criminal conspiracy. “It’s even more than just a crime,” he writes. “It’s blasphemy.” You can read the full piece here.

The SBC has decided to head off the bad news as best they can…..

The depth of the problem surprised almost everyone, but the themes revealed in Sunday’s bombshell report on sexual abuse and coverups within the Southern Baptist Convention are not new to Christa Brown. She says she was sexually abused as a child by a minister, and she has been fighting for decades to bring light to the issue. Prompted by a motion Brown posted on Monday, the SBC’s Executive Committee voted Tuesday to publish a previously secret database of people accused of committing abuse. Per the Washington Post,the committee also voted to issue a public apology and direct rebuke of former General Counsel August Boto.

“I’m grateful for what we saw today, truly. I am also waiting and hoping for real action and not just words,” Brown said, according to the Post. “Not words, not lament, not thoughts and prayers, real meaningful action that will help survivors.” The decision to release the list was made during a Zoom meeting of the 68-member board that serves as the administrative arm of the SBC. During the meeting, interim committee President Willie McLaurin said: “Now is the time to change the culture. We need to be proactive in our openness, in our transparency from this moment forward.”

The committee’s statement of apology focused on a 2006 letter in which Boto decried Brown’s use of “hyperbole, argumentative language, strident tones, [and] pejorative adjectives” and said “continued discourse between us will not be positive or fruitful.” That letter is seen as emblematic of a systemic, longstanding dismissiveness and hostility toward abuse survivors by SBC leaders. Per the Tennessean, the committee said in its apology that it “rejects this sentiment in its entirety and seeks to publicly repent for its failure to rectify this position.” According to Kentucky Today, SBC counsel says the list will be reviewed prior to release, “with names of abuse survivors, names of potential confidential witnesses, and uncorroborated allegations of abuse redacted.”

So sad that clergy use their position of power and influence to abuse….when caught they cry and beg…..but how much crying did these people do before they were caught?  And how long have they been preying on their flock?

I may be a bad person but their is no forgiveness from me…..ever.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”