Jilting Jezebel

Terry Firma

May

8

2013

A wicked spirit is leading increasing numbers of pastors to their downfall. That spirit’s name is Jezebel. With her Satanic, slutty, womanly wiles, Jezebel pushes decent, almost defenseless men of God into immorality.

Jennifer LeClair is certain of it, she writes in Charisma News — and certain of the need to battle the threat:

Pastors and others will keeping falling into immorality and idolatry until the church understands the spirit that motivates these sins and refuses to tolerate it any longer. You can’t fight an enemy you can’t see. That’s what Jezebel is counting on.

If her prose in the article seems a little aimless and vague, that may be because LeClair would like you to buy her soon-to-be-released book: The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel.

The harpy-fighting manual comes too late for pastors who’ve recently already gone down (as it were) in disgrace — clergymen like David Loveless, Isaac Hunter, Sam Hinn, Jack Schaap, Eddie Long, and others. But it may do wonders for the next generation of holy horndogs, who just might learn to stave off sexual temptation.

We’re afraid that LeClair’s book will be a formidable blow to Moral Compass; most likely, we’ll soon have no more church sex-scandals to write about, and we’ll be reduced to blogging about puppies and kittens.

Any day now.

puppykitten

[image via fanpop]

Rapey Pastor’s Church Reacts to His Arrest With ‘There’s No Evangelism Without Persecution.’

Terry Firma

May

8

2013

From the Windsor Star:

Police in Brazil say they’ve detained an Evangelical pastor accused of raping six women, including three minors.

Officer Marcio Mendonca Dugubras says Marcos Pereira of the Assembly of God of the Latter Days church was detained late Tuesday in the Rio de Janeiro suburb of Sao Joao de Meriti. He says Pereira is suspected in six rapes.

SA-BRAZIL-RIO-SPECIAL-EVENTS-Christ-the-Redeemer-Silhouette---Wallpaper

Rio’s O Globo newspaper reports that one of the alleged victims said she was raped by Pereira from the age of 14 to 22.

Phone calls to the church were not answered, but the church posted a statement on its website saying it is “confident in the actions of God in the life of Marcos Pereira.”

It adds: “The Bible teaches that there is no evangelism without persecution.” [emphasis added]

[image via Eddi Haskell]

As I Lay In Jail; Christian Rocker Tim Lambesis Tries to Hire a Hitman to Murder His Wife

Terry Firma

May

8

2013

Good help is hard to find these days, especially if you’re looking for a reliable contract killer. Do you ask the guy for references? Awkward. So you take his suitability for the task on faith. If you’re religious, you might pray on the whole thing a little (the Lord’s heard worse).

Anyway:

“All five of us are Christians,”

said Tim Lambesis of the U.S. metal band As I Lay Dying.

Tim-Lambesis_-As-I-Lay-Dying-frontman-arrested-in-murder-for-hire-plot-targeting-estranged-wife-_-Mail-Online

“I believe that change should start with me first, and as a result, our lyrics do not come across very ‘preachy.’ Many of our songs are about life, struggles, mistakes, relationships and other issues that don’t fit entirely in the spiritual category. However, all of these topics are written about through my perspective as a Christian.”

Of course,

“If you truly believe something, then it should affect every area of your life.”

Like your marriage and your family, obviously.

Funny story.

Tim Lambesis, lead singer for the heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, was arrested in California on Tuesday on charges that he sought the help of an undercover detective to have his estranged wife killed, police said. …

Lambesis’ wife, Meggan, filed papers in San Diego Superior Court in September 2012 seeking a dissolution of marriage, according to an online court database.

The couple has three adopted children.

[image via Daily Mail]

Orlando Megachurch Pastors Love the Ladies

Terry Firma

May

8

2013

According to Miami’s Riptide blog,

There’s a hot new church trend sweeping Orlando’s thriving megachurch scene: pastors sleeping with ladies who aren’t their wives. For the third time in the last six months, a leader of a popular church in Orlando has resigned after admitting to damaging the sanctity of his marriage.

Riptide refers to pastor David Loveless, whose adulterous affair we pinged on Moral Compass two days ago. But wait, there’s more:

Isaac Hunter, leader of the 5,000-member Summit Church, resigned in December amidst a rash of drama in which he admitted to having an affair with a staff member. A month earlier, his wife Rhonda filed a domestic violence injunction claiming that not only was Hunter abusive but also had a drinking and drug problem and was suicidal.

Sam Hinn, an author and pastor in nearby Stanford, Florida, stepped down in January after admitting to an affair with a member of his congregation.

Here’s a song to get the holy horndogs and their girlfriends in the mood.

When Catholics Attack Catholics (Over Condoms)

Terry Firma

May

7

2013

In Kenya,  Episcopal head honcho John Cardinal Njue is incensed over ads and billboards that proclaim ‘Catholics for Choice: Good Catholics use condoms.’

A group of U.S. Catholics is thought to be behind the campaign. Njue, rather than telling his flock to ignore the ads, wants them withdrawn and banned.

John-Cardinal-NJue

“Catholics for Choice are not Catholics in the sense of the one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We want those adverts pulled out,” said Cardinal Njue in a statement.

He added that the campaign “deliberately ridicules the church teachings of responsible sexual behavior.”

A colleague of Njue’s, Kenyan Archbishop Zaccheus Okoth, agreed, urging the faithful to give birth instead of using “ungodly means” to control reproduction.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

P.S. For a little perspective, I’ll add this. Northern Kenya, especially, suffers from the twin scourge of poverty and over-population. Currently, the country has about 41 million citizens, a number expected to almost double by 2040.

It is estimated that a total of 1.2 million Kenyan children are orphaned by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS; about 80,000 Kenyans a year die from the disease.

TV — Is It Time for a Religious ‘Big Brother’?

Terry Firma

May

7

2013

The other day, the Archbishop of Canterbury “cautioned” the BBC against scaling back religious programming, saying that religious shows are a bulwark against “ignorance.”

According to the Guardian, Archbishop Justin Welby also described religious formats as “the real reality shows.”

It’s safe to assume that there are thousands of juicy tidbits about religion that the bishop would not like to see broadcast too widely, starting with the fact that the Anglican Church was created for the express purpose of allowing King Henry VIII to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marry Anne Boleyn. (Henry liked the result so much that he took four more wives after that.) Or the fact that Sir Thomas More, that great English saint, personally prosecuted and imprisoned Christians who dared read the Bible in English rather than Latin, and then targeted the uppity Lutherans for torture and death.

Justin Welby

If that’s among the knowledge Mr. Welby would like the BBC to impart, I’m all for it.

Instead, the good bishop favors the kumbaya approach to religion on the Beeb: soft-hearted programs like ‘Strictly Kosher’ (about Manchester’s Jewish community) and the upbeat ‘Islam: The Untold Story,’ in which asking critical questions would be like breaking wind in church.

He is also quite taken, no doubt, with the long-running BBC sermons ‘Thought for the Day‘ and ‘Songs of Praise,’ and that’s certainly understandable. Who wouldn’t like a bit of free national advertising?

But I’m concerned about relevance and popularity here. If the Church wants some edge-of-your-seat religious fireworks to broaden its appeal, Mr. Welby should consider the TV-show idea offered by Guardian commenter PaulMan, based on ‘Big Brother’:

Proposal for a new reality show: The Big Brethren House. You put in representatives of all the faiths in the UK and let them argue the case for why theirs is the best. Every week, you chuck the weakest one out. The most tolerant are guaranteed to go first, the last left will be the most fanatical.

Yeah, I’d watch that.

[photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA, via the Guardian]

Religious People Score Embarrassingly Low on Knowledge of Their Holy Texts; Atheists Excel

Terry Firma

May

7

2013

I remember reading about this study when it came out, in 2010, but I’d never seen this illuminating CNN interview with the chief authors. Tip of the hat to reddit.

Also, per the screenshot below, I somehow managed to be the 666th viewer of that YouTube video. Cross yourself!

CNN_ Do agnostics know more than believers? - YouTube

U.S. Monsignor Arsenault Accused of Fraud, More

Terry Firma

May

6

2013

Msgr. Edward Arsenault, the former top lieutenant of ex-Bishop John McCormack of the New Hampshire diocese, is under investigation for an “inappropriate” adult relationship and for financial shenanigans. Arsenault is thought to have dipped into church funds, the Associated Press reports.

The leader of one of the nation’s top clergy treatment centers resigned Monday over allegations involving an inappropriate adult relationship and misuse of church funds in New Hampshire, where he previously served in numerous leadership positions with the Diocese of Manchester.

480px-Father_Arsenault_headshot

The diocese said Monday that it received allegations earlier this year regarding a potentially inappropriate relationship involving Arsenault. During its investigation, the diocese found evidence of improper financial transactions, and reported the matter to the attorney general’s office.

In his New Hampshire post, Arsenault was responsible for handling the clergy sexual abuse crisis and for the church’s new child protection policies. Since 2009, he has been the CEO and president of the Catholic Church’s St. Luke Institute in Maryland, a treatment center for clergy and laity.

St. Luke’s website is incredibly vague about the kinds of problems and afflictions the institution treats, appropriating the empty language of the recovery and twelve-steps industries with gusto.

We see each individual as a whole person, and take a holistic approach to healing that integrates his or her psychological, spiritual and physical wellness. Treatment is tailored to each client’s situation.

Our relationships with our clients and the diocese or religious congregation who entrusts their priest or religious to our care are important to us. Recognizing the importance of local support for those on the path to recovery, our staff seeks to keep leadership informed throughout treatment while also respecting client confidentiality.

On and on it goes, with a complete lack of specificity. The AP says that St. Luke’s

treats priests with a range of mental illnesses and has played a key role in addressing the problem of sexually abusive clergy.

If Arsenault is guilty of the equally vague (for now) allegations, it looks like the monsignor might move from St. Luke’s executive office to one of the patient wards — just as soon as he’s done serving his jail sentence.

[image via wikimedia]

Pastor Was Gang Leader; Dies in Cop Shootout

Terry Firma

May

6

2013

Nigerian cops killed a popular pastor in a shootout with a criminal gang of robbers. No, the pastor wasn’t an innocent victim — he was the gang leader!

I love the quote from the witness on the motorycle.

Pastor John and his gang had raided some buildings in the residential quarters of lecturers of the Cross River College of Education on Saturday, dispossessing their victims of money and valuables. Three other suspected gang members were also arrested after a fierce gun duel that lasted into the night.

fa_249_1938shootout1_9701

After the robbery operation, the gang converged on a drinking spot, not more than three kilometres from the scene of the robbery, to share their loot. …

“When the police came there was an exchange of gun fire and one of them was killed, one escaped while three were arrested,” the motorcyclist [who witnessed the shootout], identified as Dennis Egom, said.

The pastor, Egom said, was well known in the area and was thought to be a real man of God until the incident.

[Photo by J.H. McCrory via L.A. Times Archive]

What’s in a Name?

Terry Firma

May

6

2013

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Pastor David Loveless has resigned from Discovery Church after admitting to having an affair.

[source]

On TV, Christians Boast of Ruining Atheist Lit

Terry Firma

May

6

2013

In Orange County, FL, Christian groups were allowed to display and leave Bibles and informational literature in public high schools. Atheist groups then obtained permission to leave brochures in the same manner.

In some schools, boxes of atheist brochures were stolen. Watch this video to see a Boone High student named Heather Senfire (I couldn’t verify the spelling of her last name) proudly admit to the TV interviewer that she ruined the remaining atheist literature by pouring water on it. The reason: She didn’t like the stuff. She couldn’t just walk by it without doing something. Quote:

“I mean, I understand that it’s fair, you know — like, Christians come in here with their Bibles — but, you know … we all have our own opinions.”

To her credit, she does seem to squirm a little bit when she catches herself in her own lack of logic. Watch it at 0:42.
Heather might get along great with Joe MacDonald, the Wilkes-Barre vandal who illegally took down an atheist banner from a public space last December. MacDonald faces criminal mischief charges.

Jehovah’s Love, Shining Through

Terry Firma

May

5

2013

Twenty-two years ago, when the Jehovah’s Witnesses no longer considered Steph Le Gardener a sufficiently faithful follower, they kicked her out. In a word, she was “disfellowshipped”; and in that narrow, fearful faith, that means she lost her family and friends, because Jehovah’s Witnesses are required to shun ex-members forever. And so:

The last, very brief, conversation I had with my father (who’s now in his 70’s) went something like this, “Dad, I’m flying back for my class reunion, and I’d really like to stop in for a couple of days and check on you and make sure you’re o.k.”

He replied, “Well, are you coming back to ‘The Truth?’” “No, Dad, you know I’m not,” I sighed. “Well, then we have nothing left to discuss.” Click.

watcht copy

Le Gardener is an admin for an ex-Jehovah’s Witness recovery group on Facebook.

Not a week goes by that I don’t hear stories of families torn apart by these abusive shunning practices. What’s worse is that most of the stories involve children. You cannot imagine the number of grandchildren who have never known their grandparents, parents who never see their children, siblings who never see each other. Promotions, graduations, births, deaths, holidays, and more, all missed because families are torn apart by some mysterious code of religious obligation to shun one another.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The irony of the Jehovah’s brigades is that they don’t shun the people who wish to be shunned. Indeed, there are jurisdictions where homeowners who display a sign telling the inveterate proselytizers to get lost can expect a visit from the constabulary.

In 2006, police officers told a British woman, Jean Grove, to remove a sign that read “Our dogs are fed on Jehovah’s Witnesses.” The cops relayed that there had been a complaint from someone who found the sign “distressing, offensive and inappropriate”.