Justice

Back on April 12, I mentioned an episode of ABC's 20/20 that made me really angry. Not because I was angry at the report, but because of what happened to the women in the report.

Well, yesterday one of those women got justice.

Her name is Tina Anderson, and at age 15, she was raped twice by an usher in her Fundamental Baptist church. The second rape resulted in a pregnancy. Her mother - married to a convicted child- abuser and molester - took her to the pastor. The pastor made both of them stand before the church and ask for forgiveness - her for 'allowing a compromising situation to happen" and him for being "unfaithful to his marriage vows." Witnesses say there was no connection made between the two. Then she was whisked away from her home in NH to CO, where she lived with friends of the pastor until she gave birth, and gave the baby girl up for adoption. She returned home, and went back to the church... where her rapist still served in a position of authority.

Fast forward fifteen years, and Tina was happily married, with three children. A former church member from NH mentions her story on a Facebook board for survivors of Independent Fundamental Baptist church abuse. This sets things in motion, and Tina suddenly gets a phone call from the police in Concord, NH, asking about her past.

Long story short, Tina went on national TV, on 20/20 (turning down Oprah and other news venues) and told her story. Her rapist, Ernie Willis, was arrested and charged with several charges, of which he only pleaded guilty to one: sex with a minor. He went to trial this week on four related charges, most of them dealing with whether or not it was forcilble rape. I followed the trial through live updates from the Concord news station. The case went to the jury Thursday afternoon, and Friday he was found guilty on all charges. (You can read some of the live updates and the wrap-up of the case here.

The pastor involved was a prosecution witness, and his notes - still available at the church he used to work with - were handed over without his knowledge. The defense wanted those notes covered by "clergy/congregant privilege". Problem is, the pastor was busy "setting the record straight" on his website, and a lot of what he said was contradicted by his own notes from the time. The notes also contradicted what Ernie said.

Tina's mother, though a prosecution witness, was also on Ernie (and the pastor's) side. Much of her testimony made the mothers following the case incensed. Words like "adolescent" and "narcissistic" were used to describe her. Her decision to spirit her daughter away was soundly denounced. There is speculation that they could be brought up on obstruction of justice charges.

There are still those who take the pastor's side, who see Tina as guilty of her rape as Ernie Willis is. But a jury of his peers didn't see her that way, and justice was done.

My FB friends' list is still dissecting all this, while the pastor's supporters are still trying to deflect criticism of him (and still, in some cases, trying to give at least a portion of the blame to Tina - as a way of justifying the pastor's actions). I just want to see the pastor finally admit that he handled Tina's "church discipline" wrongly, apologize to her for that, apologize for not following up more with the police... but I know he won't.

He doesn't see that he's done anything wrong; he followed the letter of the law and made the call to the police. He kept a man he knew was guilty and unrepentant in his church, contrary to Bible teaching. And he still deceived his congregation about the nature of this man's crime. For that, I believe he has forfeited the right to be a pastor at all. But nothing will happen to him. Not unless God humbles him.

I hope things will simmer down a little in my circles now that justice has been served.

Yup, still here

As I knew I would be. Not because I’m not a Christian or I’m not looking for Christ’s return. But because I know that Harold Camping is a charlatan. He’s done this before, this “setting a date for the end of the world” shtick. And he’s been wrong before, just as he is now. It’s just that he hasn’t been so widely publicized as he was this time. The internet picked this up and went with it, giving him a voice and a following he didn’t have before – even though he’s a broadcaster, that’s nothing to the saturation power of the internet! I feel bad for those who followed him to the extent of paying thousands of dollars for billboards, etc. and basically have nothing now, while Camping himself is probably a very rich man at the expense of those same gullible people.

What makes me the angriest about Camping’s idiocy is that he’s making Christ out to be a liar. Jesus was very specific when he told his disciples about his coming, and what premillenialist Christians call “the Rapture”.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.

“Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at the hour when you do not think He will.”

Matthew 24:36-44 NASB

If Camping truly knew the day and hour of the rapture and the end of the world, he would have made Jesus Christ a liar. Yes, a flat out liar. And if Jesus lied, then he couldn’t be the perfect Son of God (for lying is sin), and there would be no salvation through his death, burial, and resurrection.

What narcissistic hubris on the part of Camping! To put his own convoluted numbers game ahead of Jesus’ words, and to promote heresy by obliquely denying Christ’s sinless deity!

Turns out this might have another use altogether.

I'm a recovering Christian Fundamentalist from the "Bob Jones University" (BJU) school of thought. But as I've drifted away from my BJU-orbital church, I've started examining my beliefs to figure out just what it is that I believe about Jesus Christ, his Church, his Word, and how these things affect me, my family, and my personal walk with Him.

I know I'm saved. That has never been in doubt. For many years, however, I feel like I've been told what I should believe, and I've absorbed a lot of teaching (doctrine), that I'm not sure I understand or believe in any more. I've been doing a lot of reading and participating in discussions, all to learn what other people think the Bible says. It's also clear that I should be reading my Bible more to discover its truths for myself, and I'm going to try and do that.

This blog will at least be a jumping off point for some of the other Christian blogs I visit that are on Blogger. As I try and figure out what I believe, I might discuss some of those findings here. Who knows? Someone else might be blessed.