I recently watched Twist of Faith, a documentary cover the abuse case of firefighter Tony Comes. I thought I’d pass it along as a interesting look inside an actual abuse case. One of the primary responses from the Catholic church and it’s defenders is that those raising abuse allegations are doing so for financial gain. What if you find that the priest that abused you as a child is now living a few house down the road ? Would you act to protect your kids? I would.
Tony Comes, a firefighter from Toledo, Ohio, who was first sexually abused by a Catholic priest when he was a fourteen-year-old student at a Catholic high school.
Feeling ashamed, Comes kept his secret for nearly 20 years but was forced to confront his past after discovering that the priest, Dennis Gray, was living on the same street as Comes, his wife, and their two young children.
Comes decided to go public and bring a lawsuit against the priest and Church leaders who had neglected to take action after reading a series of investigative stories in The Toledo Blade revealing sweeping patterns of abuse and cover up in the diocese—including interviews with other Gray victims.
Note: I realize Atheism is Religion may raise a few concerns as it runs counter to our prevailing rhetorical position, but the world is made of all types, so I let this blog join. I expect you all to be nice when visiting his blog.
We’ve had a new blog join the Atheist Blogroll: Atheism is Religion
Hey! My name is Gareth Mensah,
I'm an ordained atheist minister who wrote a scripture for non-believers called Ordo Abchao, in which atheists, agnostics, gnostics, and part-time believers will find one bad-ass, epic immersion into the life of a member of the Atheism Is Religion (AIR) movement trying to survive one hell of an apocalyptic future where winged-creatures have invaded Earth, but mysteriously disappear at night.
I've created www.atheismisreligion.org where I post ten daily tips and wisdoms on how to become a better atheist. Theres' an assumption that exist within the non-believer community that atheism and anti-theism are one and the same, or broadly that a disbelief in god(s) necessarily goes with anti-religious feelings. As an ordained atheist minister, I try to dispel this misconception, and I also have a wiki about the AIR (Atheism Is Religion) movement called www.ordoabwiki.org where I explain the project of Ordo Abchao and the AIR movement. I also have another blog called o2a2.org where I aggregate all atheist-inspired graphics, quotes or videos.
So come check out my blogs for more information. There are many voices in the non-believer community, I'm trying to voice mine and that of those with similar views that religion and atheism are not contradictory, but might actually be the future of the movement.
John Holland Brothers Jr., 43, was booked into Routt County Jail on Tuesday night after being arrested in Louisiana last week. He was booked on 27 felony charges. Among them: eight counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, four counts of sexual assault on a child, seven counts of sexual assault and eight counts of first-degree burglary.
Brothers was a youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Yampa and was a teacher at Heritage Christian School. At the time of his original arrest, he was youth pastor Hyland Baptist. He represents the worst case scenario for church goers. A traveling man of God who is also an alleged pedophile. It gives you chills.
I realize youth ministry is a relatively new concept. I survived the transition for traditional Sunday school to one manage by a youth minister back in the early 70s. It turned church into a fun experience (or as fun as it could be). Instead of watching a seriously boring sermon, I was free to interact with other kids under the guidance of a hip and trendy youth pastor. It seemed like a good thing at the time, but when I think back on it, I am amazed that I sat for the mind controlish pap peddled by those in charge. I call it my Ben Born Again experience. In retrospect, it was unhealthy. At least I still have my hair.
In a recent article at The Christian Post called Modern Youth Ministry a ‘50-Year Failed Experiment’ Say Pastors, we hear pastors busy rethinking the whole youth ministry concept. They try to link a wholesale exodus from Christianity to youth ministry. Of course, we know it is that reason is winning the battle for the hearts and minds of our youth. My theory is that today’s youth can feel that the message is inauthentic. Once you realize you’ve been mislead, the game is over. Your mind starts looking for the truth, and you find it in science, or secularism. Goodbye superstition…
To these pastors the concept is unbiblical. Worse, they think what they did was divisive (no kidding).
"I look back and realize I did more harm to families than I ever imagined," Dellinger says in the film. "I see that more as I look back because I was usurping the authority of parents, especially fathers by having their children's hearts turn towards me – with their permission."
"Today, I can make more of a difference in the lives of young people through the biblical standards of fathers turning their hearts towards their children," he adds.
Good luck with turning back the clock… It never works.
Former Pentecostal pastor Julio Cesar Parez was sentenced to 45 years in prison for arranging for the murder of his wife, a school teacher. The motive was greed. He wanted the $120,000 insurance policy.
The minister promised a gunman $3,000 in exchange for shooting his wife. The shooter, Daniel Lopez, told the court at his plea hearing that he hid in the back of her van late in March last year, forced her off the road on Robles Road near Rio Hondo and shot her.
Lopez was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Who kills someone for $3,000? I have trouble understanding this kind of crime. How does a man of God turn on their wife with murderous intent? How does murder, greed, and conspiracy factor into the life of a pastor? What gospel was he studying? Is this what Pentecostals preach?
I’m not a fan of Chuck Colson. I found his past life working for Nixon a national disgrace, and his born again life as a Christian incomprehensible. He billed himself as America’s foremost Christian thinker, yet I found his thinking shallow, bigoted and hard to follow. I did not even need to buy his books. He sent them to me to read and review. I could not make it through a single one.
Colson was not my enemy. I did not think ill of him. I simply did not consider his brand of Christianity authentic. And by authentic I mean based in love. He stands for America’s broken right wing conservatives whose misplaced pseudo Christian values are ruining our democracy and hurting the needy. He considered me and my fellow atheists a threat to Christianity. I simply do not understand his reasoning. He spent his time with criminals in an unsuccessful attempt to make them better people through conversion to Christianity. Yet his recidivism rates were appalling, He thinks I’m dangerous… I’m model citizen. He spent his life playacting at being a great man and succeeded.... at acting.
Former pastor Timothy Jackson was sentenced to 40 years in prison for raping a girl repeatedly over several years, beginning when the girl was aged 11.
"The activity you engaged in that you were found guilty of by a jury of your peers is heinous," Callahan said to Jackson before handing down the sentence. "It's unspeakable." Between 2009 and 2010, Jackson was accused of sexually assaulting the victim at Abundant Life Church on Livernois in southwest Detroit. There was a fire at the church in August 2010 after the allegations surfaced. From The Detroit News: Pastor gets at least 40 years for raping girl
I spoke to a member of the jury in this case. 40-years is not enough time. I’ve publish on this hypocrite several times already. I’m done with him now.
We’ve had a new blog join the Atheist blogroll: Reason Being
I decided it is time to join the blogosphere. I stated many times that I would not conform to this modern form of ego-stroking. Who would possibly care about the thoughts rattling around in my head? Why did I do it? The simplest answer is out of frustration. I am tired of reading the paper and putting it down in disgust. I am tired of watching the news and changing the channel in dismay. I am tired of overhearing so many tidbits of conversation (on a daily basis) that leave me walking away and shaking my head. What could one person do against the tide of ignorance and insanity? My answer was to write. To write with the hope that perhaps others will find what I have to say encouraging, interesting, or better yet thought provoking. Most of my posts will be related to articles that I read daily.
Where has the ability to reason gone? It seems that many people no longer think for themselves. They accept the canned answers provided to them by the political and religious forces that bombard us constantly. In the U.S. both parties and all religions are guilty of this. It has become too rare that we stop to question what we hear. It is too common that we accept as fact, that what has no proof—be it political or religious.
I consider myself a secular humanist. I do not believe that a God exists. I do not believe that morality, in any way, has its roots in religion. I embrace reason, ethics and science and reject dogma, superstition, and pseudoscience. I believe that the human mind is a wonderfully complex organ. Furthermore, that it is capable of discovering much about our universe, creation, our own bodies—many scientists and other modern thinkers are working on these ancient questions as I write these words. I believe in proof and fact, not faith.
I am always open to discussion and welcome debate. It is often through debate that we learn the most.
I created this blog as a place for rational discussion on germane Secular Humanist and atheist topics in today’s world
Oh yeah—the question, “Why Reason Being?”—I find wordplay to be quite entertaining.
Is it an odd sentiment, thinking that American Christians have their politics wrong, but it is one I’ve held for a very long time. American’s Christian hypocrisy, published in Salon by David Sirota, makes the point much better than I could.
Here in the United States, those who self-identify as religious tend to be exactly the opposite of their British counterparts when it comes to politics. As the Pew Research Center recently discovered, “Most people who agree with the religious right also support the Tea Party” and its ultra-conservative economic agenda. Summing up the situation, scholar Gregory Paul wrote in the Washington Post that many religious Christians in America simply ignore the Word and “proudly proclaim that the creator of the universe favors free wheeling, deregulated union busting, minimal taxes, especially for wealthy investors, and plutocrat-boosting capitalism as the ideal earthly scheme for his human creations.”
The key phrase from the article, “…religion has become more of a superficial brand…” sums up my feelings. What I see in the conservative moment, in the evangelical right wing of Republican party, and in the Tea Party, is superficiality. They wrap themselves in the cloak of a religion, without understanding is actual message. It’s like a disease.
I have a Christian friend who is spending his Sunday teaching the poor how to navigate the various governmental, religious, and secular institutions that provide health services so that they can stay well enough to work and provide for their families. I think he’s on the right track.
My computer died last night. I awoke this morning to find a dead system. A few lights flashed, but no noise (and no fan). Unfortunately, it is the computer I use to manage my photography library. It is also the one use for blogging. I was not sure if it was the computer's power supply or the motherboard. The fainy smell of burnt electronics was not encouraging. I went into work worrying about losses that may not have yet occurred. It was stress I did not need.
Did I mention I'm an IT Manager? No? Well… I'm not technical. I manage projects mostly. Hardware is for people with nimble fingers and good small motor skills, and not some fat fingers oaf like me. John saved me. He always does. He's the best IT guy I know. He knows everything. I tell him my problem and he gives me advice. It almost always works. I followed his advice tonight and changed out my power supply. I'm sitting here watching my 100,000 plus image library backup to my new 1tb external hard drive, which means I'm a happy man.
Thanks John! I know you don't read my blog, but you are the best.
Deep Thoughts here… What is happiness? I know when I’m happy. I know what makes me happy too. Time with my family is at the top of list, which is followed by closely by time by myself. I was sitting on a bench at The Flower Fields in Carlsbad taking in the view (pictured above) when I noticed that the while alone, I was surrounded by hundreds of happy people walking the fields. There were dozens of multigenerational families, young couples, kids, mothers pushing babies, and lots and gay families. All were happy. It was infectious. You could feel the happiness. It radiated from everyone. But why? We were in a pay to view flower field on a sunny day on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There was nothing to do but walk up and down a hillside and look at flowers, yet everyone was joyously happy. I was hugged by complete strangers. An old woman took my arm as I stood looking down over a beautiful field of orange flowers. She did not say a word. She simple smiled and squeezed my arm. Is this happiness? I hope so, because I was soaking it in like a sponge.
I was alone and happy. It was not the flowers that did it for me. I’m color blind and simply do not get the nuances that people go on and on about. I was content to be around happy people, yet I liked being by myself just as much. Weird, right?
I saw a few other people tripping like me. Take Mr. Baldy… he was doing the same thing as me. We made eye contact briefly. His smile was infectious. He was so happy it was like watching beams of light emit from his face. Did flowers do this for him? Sunshine? People?
I was there to shoot photos while my wife and her cousins did inscrutable wife and cousin things with the kids. We separated after walking in the front gate. I put my earbuds in, turned on some reggae, and started looking for shots. three hours went by in a blur. The flowers were pretty, but they bored me. The people, especially the photographers, fascinated me. I shot more people than flowers, but that is always the case.
I don’t know what happiness is, but I know it when I feel it. The thing is, I’m happy most of of the time; flowers or not. I’ve been that way my whole life.
Everyone needs human contact; even convicted pedophiles. I understand that. I think everyone would agree. Human contact is essential. The nature of the contact should be supervised when one is a pedophile. It would be unwise for pedophiles to establish any kind of unsupervised relationship with a child, especially while incarcerated. I think we can all agree on that too. It is common sense. If it is common sense, then why did a Lutheran school teacher have her students befriend pedophile Rickey R. Rowlett when he was sitting in a local jail?
Officials at a Houston private school said they are investigating how a teacher arranged for a group of fourth-graders to correspond with a man who had been charged with child sexual molestation.
Laura Perry was working as a 4th grade teacher at Trinity Lutheran Church and School when she had her students send letters to Rowlett as a class project. Perry believed Rowlett had been wrongly accused. This is personal. She knew the man. The safety of her students and her moral compass be damned. She was on a personal mission, but was it also sanctioned by her church?
It gets better… Perry’s husband stands charged with possessing and promoting child pornography. He too had access to the students. Her friend is a convicted pedophile and her husband might be a child pornographer, and she is what… horribly irresponsible?
Perry, the school and church, and pastor Michael Dorn are all named in a lawsuit brought by the students' families. In my opinion, the best way to handle cases of misconduct like this are to sue the church out of existence.
When to inform is the question of the day in trial of Monsignor William Lynn. He faces years in prison for deliberately not informing authorities about the activities of pedophile priest under his supervision. As a result, he finds himself standing trial for child endangerment.
In case you are feeling forgiving…
A 2005 grand jury described harrowing accounts of child sexual abuse lodged against 63 Philadelphia priests since 1948, but none were charged because legal time limits had expired. Lynn was charged last year based on more recent complaints involving three priests and a teacher. The jury is also hearing many of the earlier complaints because Lynn worked on or knew about them.
Lynn’s mistakes were not innocent omissions. He protected priests that were abusing children. He did not give a damn for the victims. Go religion!
I took my wife and mother-in-law to Carlsbad for a walk in The flower fields today. My wife conned me into going because to Cannon was there giving free macro clinics. The clinics were aimed at new users, so I did not get much from them. With 250 photographers loose in the flower fields, I was more inclined to shoot the photographers. I played with HDR and produced this photo, which I like because it reminds me of a painting. I’ve got a lot of photos to work on in post-possessing. I hope that I will yield a macro shot that is good enough for their photo contest.
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