Category Archives: Hypocrisy

Church Leaders Sexually Abused Underage Girls in At-Risk Youth Group

This pattern of abuse seems to emanate from nearly every religious denomination.

Pastor Joshua William Wright, his minister son William Joshua Wright, and Donald Jackson, another leader at the church, were charged with crimes that allegedly occurred between 2001 and 2008. The victims who have been identified were between the ages of 15 and 18, and they were all a part of a group called Children Having Overcoming Power (CHOP), which was designed to give living accommodations to young at-risk kids.

Police say the girls were abused at the suspects’ homes, at various parks and inside the church itself.

“What’s really disturbing about this is that these children were vulnerable. They were coming to a program to get assistance, and they became victims,” Maj. Anthony Schartner said.

The victims, now adults, came forward earlier this year to report abuse they said they suffered when they were under the care of the men when they were teenagers.

If proven true, these are some pretty horrific charges. According to the victims, these men took advantage of them everywhere from their homes to their actual church. That would be bad enough on its own, but it seems even worse when the alleged abusers were people who claim to have a divine moral code and are held out by society as higher authorities.

To make matters even worse, one of the alleged offenders was actually a part of the police department.

— Read more on Patheos.com

Prison chaplain charged with sexual assault

Why is it that news stories like this one no longer shock or surprise us?

 By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 17 December 2015 | UPDATED: 18 December 2015

  • Fifty counts of third-degree sexual assault have been filed against 67-year-old Kenneth Dewitt.
  • He was charged after authorities said he coerced three inmates into having weekly sexual encounters with him.
  • Affidavits allege he initiated and scheduled sexual encounters in his office with three inmates between January 2013 and September 2014.
  • One inmate told investigators that Dewitt told her not to tell anyone and that no one would believe her over him.

A former chaplain at an Arkansas women’s prison has been charged with sexual assault after authorities said he coerced three inmates into having weekly sexual encounters with him.

Fifty counts of third-degree sexual assault have been filed against 67-year-old Kenneth Dewitt, Prosecutor Henry Boyce announced on Thursday. The affidavits obtained from the Jackson County Circuit Clerk’s Office allege that Dewitt initiated and scheduled sexual encounters in his office with three inmates at the McPherson Unit — a women’s prison in Newport — between January 2013 and September 2014.

This man was in a position of authority and trust with supervision and guidance of these inmates, Boyce said. The Arkansas code statutorily prohibits any employee at the Correction Department with having sexual contact with inmates. Clergy and people with a position of trust and authority are specifically prohibited.

Dewitt founded the non-denominational faith-based program called Principles and Applications for Life at McPherson in 1998. He previously ministered at several Baptist churches.

According to the affidavits for reasonable cause, three different inmates said while they were part of Dewitt’s program, he approached them individually and asked about their feelings for him.

All three told investigators that Dewitt initiated sexual activity on multiple occasions.

The three women said Dewitt had a weekly schedule. One inmate was called to his office early Sunday mornings, another early on Monday and the third was called in early on Wednesday.

The women said they would have to sit in a chair with their backs to the office door so Dewitt could see if any guards were coming down the hallway.

One inmate said Dewitt told her not to tell anyone and that no one would believe her over him. A second inmate told investigators she tried to stop the sexual relationship, but Dewitt told her she did not have a choice. She said she cried after the encounters and considered suicide.

Read more on Daily Mail Online.

 

Billy Graham

Billy Graham

“In [Jesus’] name the nations will put their hope.”

–Matthew 12:21, NIV

If you live in the typical American community—with average neighbors—here’s the reality: 7 of your neighbors struggle with depression, even contemplating suicide; 7 abuse or are addicted to drugs or alcohol; 8 are struggling with unemployment; and 60 don’t profess to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

The picture is bleak, but there is hope. Jesus Christ can transform lives that are burdened with fear, insecurity, uncertainty, and pain and offer joy and peace, now and for all eternity. By signing this declaration, you stand with Billy Graham in proclaiming that our nation needs this Good News.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Christians across the U.S. and Canada have joined together for My Hope with Billy Graham, a massive outreach with local churches, to proclaim the Gospel. Submit the form on the right, and we’ll send you updates on this outreach and other ways we are sharing the lifesaving message of Jesus Christ.

If you click on the image, you will arrive at Graham’s site where you can sign his “petition” and, no doubt, be informed on how to make a financial contribution (and get a blessing, too!). Maybe a comment can be posted somewhere else on his site, but not on the landing page, so we decided to provide the opportunity here. Go for it! We were wondering where he got those numbers for the “typical American community” from, and why he doesn’t substantiate any of his statements. Also, if Jesus can “…transform lives that are burdened with fear, insecurity, etc.,” then why doesn’t he? Any true Humanist certainly would if he could! And BTW, doesn’t the man look devilish? Or, is it just me?

The Authoritarian Mindset

 

Research shows that authoritarians are far more likely to exhibit “sloppy reasoning, highly compartmentalized beliefs, double standards, hypocrisy, self-blindness, a profound ethnocentrism, and—to top it all off—a ferocious dogmatism that makes it unlikely anyone could ever change their minds with evidence or logic.”

Totalitarianism

Squiggle5a

Discussion About Atheist Trends

Exchange taken from the mailing list of an atheist meetup group.

C: It is indeed becoming a belief system with rules for true belonging and ostracism for divergent beliefs.

Matthew: Can you give examples of this as well? I ask in the spirit of being an organizer/co-organizer for several meetup groups, and would like to be aware of what to watch out for.

A: Watch out for meetup group members being banned without warning and without reason. Funny you should ask, Matthew. It just happened in the Eastside Atheist/Agnostic meetup which you co-organize.

Squiggle5a

From Matthew Medina:

I wrote you personally, but I also wanted to address this point since you put this [?] in front of this group. The bannings that have happened at Eastside Atheists were not taken lightly [irrelevant], or conducted without reason [without good reason]. The individuals banned took actions [?] which the [intolerant and petty narcissistic] organizer, Gloria, believed [rationalized] to be detrimental to her group [intentional vagueness] not because of divergent beliefs [wordplay]. You are free to question [I humbly thank you, oh mighty one, for allowing me to speak my mind!] whether those actions [?] warranted a response such as banning [that’s what I was doing], but as an organizer of a meetup myself [irrelevant], I can say that I support her right [= might makes right—and “I want that power, too.”] to make those kinds of [intolerant and hateful] decisions [that hurt people]. She pays the fee to keep the meetup going [not true; she takes collections], and does all [much of] the work of running it [irrelevant], so yes she is entitled [= might makes right] to make [unjust and inhumane] decisions about [penalizing and ostracizing peers] how the meetup is run. Having said that, I don’t think it’s out of the question [as a superior, I can tolerate] for you, or anyone, to address any grievances you have with her group to her personally [I grant you my permission to talk with Gloria] – I would recommend [as an authority on such matters and your superior] any further discussion [now that I’ve had my say] on this be directed to her, rather than in the mailing list of this group [Do as I say, not as I do.].

I hope that clarifies the situation. [No, the only thing that is clarified is your grandiosity, narrow authoritarian outlook, and callous disregard for the feelings and rights of fellow human beings. Summarily: “Gloria banned people from the group without considering the harm it causes them because Gloria has the right to ban people and she decided to do it because she felt like doing it, so she did. And that is why she is right.”]

Matthew
[Comments by A]

Squiggle5a

Matthew,

I made reference to events in another meetup group when giving an answer to your question about intolerance. It was not my intention to change the topic as I do agree that this is not the place for discussing the specific situations that you have described. Neither is it appropriate for personal matters, such as remarks of a personal nature to another member. That is disrespectful. I especially resent the condescending advice and permissions apparently directed at me personally, and without reason. Let’s be civil!

As you have initiated a discussion about meetup member bans, I would like to respond to some of your remarks.

Your posting clarifies your views, not the reality of the situation. I would like to contribute to a more nuanced view. What I meant by members being banned without reason was of course without valid reason, unfairly, or without being given a hearing or a comprehensible explanation. Recently, members were kicked out of an atheist meetup group for most ambiguous reasons. I found sufficient evidence to indicate that divergent beliefs and intolerance played a decisive role, although this was never admitted to. I have yet to meet someone who recognizes their own intolerance. For obvious reasons, bigotry is never given as an official explanation when an individual is forcefully excluded from a group.

Another matter of principle that I wish to comment on is your might makes right position regarding the meetup organizer’s decisions. When anyone makes a decision that will affect another human being, I would much prefer—or even demand—that it be made with concern for the consequences to the affected individual and with the highest regard for humanist values, rather than simply justified by the decision maker’s position. I shall never feel obliged to respect or support bad, unfair, unethical decisions that impact the lives of others. I was surprised and most disappointed to see authoritarianism validated on this list.

Squiggle5a

Atheists Are Better

Study Indicates Atheists Are Better People

"αθεοι" (atheoi), Greek for "th...

“αθεοι” (atheoi), Greek for “those without god”, as it appears in the Epistle to the Ephesians on the third-century papyrus known as “Papyrus 46”

“Numerous studies reveal that atheists and secular people most certainly maintain strong values, beliefs, and opinions. But more significantly, when we actually compare the values and beliefs of atheists and secular people to those of religious people, the former are markedly less nationalistic, less prejudiced, less anti-Semitic, less racist, less dogmatic, less ethnocentric, less close-minded, and less authoritarian.”

Atheism, Secularity, and Well-Being: How the Findings of Social Science Counter Negative Stereotypes and Assumptions

Secularists want to impose their anti-God religion on the culture!

How Are Atheists Becoming
More Aggressive in America?

school-indoctrination

  • Billboards promoting atheism and attacking Christianity have popped up across the country.
  • The American Humanist Association has launched a special website for children to indoctrinate them in atheism.
  • An atheist rally in Washington DC last year had a special promotion to encourage kids to attend their atheist camps.
  • Atheists have been increasingly using terms like “child abuse” to describe the efforts of Christians who seek to teach their children about creation, heaven, and hell.
  • Many atheists claim that children belong to the community, not to their parents.
  • Atheists have actively opposed any effort in public schools to even question a belief of evolution or suggest there are any problems with it.

It seems that since the last presidential election, atheists have grown more confident about having something of a license to go after Christians. These secularists want to impose their anti-God religion on the culture. They are simply not content using legislatures and courts to protect the dogmatic teaching of their atheistic religion of evolution and millions of years in public schools.

Read the rest of the article by Ken Ham and Mark Looy…

Notice that Disillusioned’s comment was accepted—but edited.
Original:
Disillusioned   June 4, 2013 at 2:19 pm · · Reply →

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Atheism is not an “anti-God religion.” It’s not “anti” anything. It’s just the lack of belief in a god or gods. Degrade to such erroneous and malicious epithets and your article is nothing but hate and fear mongering propaganda.

Read the article, followed by Disillusioned’s truncated comment…