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Nathaniel Morales found guilty on all counts of sex abuse. Pastor said under oath he failed to report sex abuse to authorities. Not looking good for Sovereign Grace Ministries and C.J. Mahaney.
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Brent Detwiler just reported this on his Facebook page. He was there. Will try to update later.
Related articles:
- Jury returns guilty verdict in abuse case
- Nathaniel Morales of Covenant Life Church convicted of sexually abusing young boys
- ‘Relational Restoration’ in Child Abuse Cases Is Never an Excuse for Lack of Exposure
- Megachurch Pastor Confesses to Protecting Child Molester for Years *New
Spiritual Sounding Board 
Great news! This makes me very happy. I hope there is further investigation into why this was not reported to the authorities when the CLC pastors first found out about the horrid abuse.
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Somebody posted this link on TWW, and I thought SSB readers would also appreciate it. It’s a link to a comment on SGM Survivors by one of the victims in the Morales trial. http://www.sgmsurvivors.com/?p=4247&cp=16#comment-84570
I know these victims must be feeling vindicated and that justice has prevailed. I am elated for them. I also pray this brings a little more closure for them.
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I still want to see The Humble One and other SGM bigwigs get subpoenaed about the coverup.
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Just the image of the ManaGawd’s liveried armorbearers preceding him into the courtroom, blowing long trumpets before him to announce how HUMBLE(TM) He is…
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P.S. Didn’t TT who runs GRACE (whose name I’m not even going to try to spell) say that in all his years as a prosecutor in child sexual abuse cases, he NEVER saw clergy in court on the side of the victim, only accompanying and supporting the perp?
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Yes Boz did say that.
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http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05/nathaniel-morales-trial-victim-jeremy-cook-testifies-103128.html
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@Diane
Have you ever read Proverbs 24:17-18?
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The COVEN can kiss their building goodbye. No insurance policy written protects against intentional TORTS and criminal conspiracy to OBSTRUCT Justice.
Maybe their pastor can write another book, ” I kissed our building Goodbye and now we meet in a movie theather “.
The case involving the sexual abuse of minors that occurred at the Fairfax location is still pending too. That case wasn’t dismissed due to the statute of Limitations. The victims are actually still minors. Hopefully the judgment will be large enough to turn out their lights on Ox road for good.
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@ Wondering ~
Yes I have. And I have read it in context.
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Brent sent this to me. I’m at school on my phone so I’ll just paste it here (might be repeat info):
The Jury has returned its verdict. This morning Nathaniel Morales was found guilty on all five counts of sex abuse and sex offense.
There are two more trials scheduled for next week against Morales for the sexual abuse of other boys. I don’t know if he will plead guilty, work a plea deal, or make a defense now that he has been found guilty. I hope it goes to trial because more evidence exposing the conspiracy at Covenant Life Church under C.J. Mahaney will come out.
Morales showed no emotion when the verdict was read. His first known victim for which he has yet to be tried was in 1979. He has known guilt for 35 years.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 14 at 9:30 AM.
See my Facebook page for more comments.
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Proverbs 24:17-18 NLT
[17] Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble. [18] For the Lord will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.
Give me a break, Wondering. You can be sure that God is thankful when someone who hurt defenseless children receives appropriate consequences for their crimes.
It’s not about glee, it’s about rightful justice.
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Wondering, I seriously doubt ANYONE was rejoicing when Nate Morales fell by committing his crimes. No one is happy about what he did, except evil people. We are rejoicing because justice is being served and hopefully it will be strict enough that we can rejoice that this man will not be able to hurt children again. Even IF your interpretation of that scripture was remotely correct, wow, you would choose to admonish Diane now???? Getting a just sentence for crimes one commits is not a fall. By posting that scripture you make it sound like someone is parading Nate through the streets while we party and laugh at and mock him and have a great time at his expense. Again, no one is rejoicing about their enemy’s demise here. We can be happy about the verdict, like any other negative circumstance that God delivers anyone out of. The people who have bravely testified deserve better than your comment. I hope you reconsider and apologize for being insensitive to the victims of Nate Morales who might be reading here.
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Oh I don’t know, I would love to see Morales paraded down Main Street to the closest Oak Tree and lynched. I would pay for the rope and volunteer to do the heavy lifting. Then go get the ex- principal of their wonderful christian school (now a pastor, you know an elder like Stacy McDonald says we can’t question) that was placing his hands inside young girl’s vaginas after stripping them and whipping them with belts & wooden rods, for perceived ” violations” of school rules. Next at the gallows should be the scumbags that covered up the rape of a 3 year old and other children at the Fairfax location. Any adult concealing such offenses deserves zero jail time, just a quick walk to the oak tree. The Sovergn Grace sexual abuse cases are off the charts horrible and anyone defending these people for the sake of their cause isn’t any better than the offending rapist.
If these evil people got anywhere close to any of my nieces or nephews you would never recover their remains. Elder or no elder I’m more than willing to pull a life sentence for killing some pervert that improperly lays a hand on any of my nieces or nephews.
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So, I read Wondering’s demeaning little comment and became annoyed. When I read Scott’s comment, I began to cry. No one in my family wanted to understand what was done to me and thus I received variations of Wondering’s self-righteousness. How comforting it would have been to have an uncle like Scott! An uncle like that would have seen/valued me, and would have understood the extent of the wrong. His strong expression would have allowed me to feel safe for once in my life.
If Scott had been my uncle, I wouldn’t have wanted him to follow through on it because I wasn’t interested in revenge, but to have someone feel that deeply about it…well, that would have have been a healing thing. And the process of talking to such an uncle, to explain that I didn’t want that, and why, and have a good conversation about justice, and how to keep people from continuing to do terrible things to children, that would have been further healing.
As to Wondering: To not rejoice when evil is finally set out in the sunlight to be seen for what it is? To not be glad when evil action is finally stopped? Such an absence of feeling belittles the preciousness of goodness and makes evil as if it is hardly a scratch. It drains energy from the long hard work of exposing evil. Emotions are signs of what’s going on in the mind/heart, and in this case, it shows something deeply wrong.
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Wondering-
Did you ever read Luke 17: 2 or Matthew 18:6 ?
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‘@Diane
Have you ever read Proverbs 24:17-18?”
OOOOOOO Diane! You got “Proverbed”! Cracks me up when people do that. CJ Mahaney the child protector molester was the very best at “Proverbing” people to feel superior. But I am confused by wonderings position. The abusers are professing Christians so how can they be “enemies” as David was using the term in that Psalm? Seems 1 Corin 5 might be better suited after Romans 13 of course. :o)
I am always delighted when evil is exposed and I am hoping evil does jail time, too. In fact, when it comes to raping children, I would prefer something much worse to make sure it never happens again. Paul refers to it in Galatians in another matter.
Even the most incorrigible atheist knows not to molest or rape their little 4 year old sister. No excuses on this one. Barbarians.
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Or Matthew 25?
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“How comforting it would have been to have an uncle like Scott!”
I was thinking the same thing. 🙂
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“It’s not about glee, it’s about rightful justice”
JA, there is a huge contingent of “Christians” out there that do not believe we should seek Justice for innocents here and now. Especially inside the Body where they seem to think people should get a pass. There are more than you can imagine. It is mind boggling. And the irony is they will be judged for it.
I cheer when evil is exposed and then judged to be guilty. Morales got his trial. His peers judged him guilty on all counts. Most Christians do not understand that love also includes justice here and now. God hates injustice. Millstones anyone? Of course being glad evil is exposed and judged guilty brings out the Proverbial Proverb Prognosticators. What they try to do is make the person who did not rape children over many years feel like a sinner for being glad the child rapist was found guilty. Strange people out there. I find them scary.
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“How comforting it would have been to have an uncle like Scott!”
I was thinking the same thing. :)”
Something no abused child would ever forget. It would make all the difference in healing. But too many are surrounded by the CJ and Al Mohler types…I mean look at how many “ministers” are willing to pretend CJ is totally innocent of protecting child molesters. It boggles my mind that they have even ONE person attending T4G or TGC. What is wrong with people? Can they not connect dots? Do they really trust these men?
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In fact, during Morales’ trial this week, public defender Alan Drew asked Pastor Grant Layman: “Did you have an obligation to report the alleged abuse?”
Layman replied: “I believe so.”
Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05/nathaniel-morales-of-covenant-life-church-convicted-of-sexually-abusing-young-boys-103175.html#ixzz31pt1r07F
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Christians who throw out Bible verses in order to criticize another, are cowardly. They literally hide themselves behind short passages in their Holy Book, pretending that no one can see them sticking out all around the edges. I’ve never met so many cowardly people. And they don’t even feel apologetic about it, they feel righteous!
When cowardice of this sort is de rigueur, it is not surprising that their sense of justice is also squishy.
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Hey Wondering, did you notice that since this man was not reported and brought to justice a quarter century ago, he was able to continue his crimes for years and years? I am absolutely rejoicing at this conviction so that there will be no more victims! Why aren’t you?
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I am opposed to capital punishment in any form. And I do not like what happens to child molesters when they end up in the general prison population. However, I do think that simple prison for life might be a bit too cushy. I would go for a concrete bed, steel toilet, no heat and limited AC (take it down to 90 or so). And that would be a lot like a Texas prison!!!!
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Nate Morales should be grateful that Maryland abolished capital punishment last year. That rules out Scott’s lynching scenario. However, it’s entirely possible that Morales could spend the rest of his life in prison if the judge hands down the maximum sentence.
I wonder what Maryland’s statute of limitations is regarding failure to report child sex abuse to the authorities. If it hasn’t expired yet, C.J. Mahaney and some of his assistants, and perhaps Joshua Harris as well, could be in serious trouble.
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Didn’t SGM put out a statement that included a line about how the secular authorities shouldn’t second-guess or question the church’s counseling of abusers, or something to that effect? I would love to see that be brought out in court.
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I think there could be a more interesting charge: Conspiracy to commit child sexual abuse. My reason is that reporting statutes usually have a shorter Statute of Limitations, a period after which charges cannot be sustained. But if there is any evidence that the people who knew about Morales conspired to prevent his being outed or arrested, knowing that he would continue to abuse, then they enabled that abuse and should be held to the same legal standards as the abuser.
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An Attorney, I cannot agree with capital punishment because our system is messed up and makes too many mistakes, yeah, that leaves incarceration.
Speaking only as victim of my pastor-father (who is now dead so it’s moot) and not as a victim of Morales, I wished my father in prison but not completely wasted as a person. I wished him to be useful in a job suited to him—he was a chemical engineer before he became pastor so maybe something related to either/both fields, research work and editing manuals or something. I also wished for him to do factory labor because he thought he was above “all that”. But I wanted him to be paid fair wages to be put into a fund for my sibs and me, for therapy, etc.
I think it a good idea for prisoners to raise/grow/preserve their own food. I would not want all day cable tv, and tons of exercise equipment, you know? But neither did I wish my father constant discomfort, cruelty, or boredom for the rest of his life. That is pointless and just makes more damage. Stop the damage.
Taking away freedom is a terrible thing all on it’s own. But someone like my father, as Morales, should never again have freedom. That’s the thing with pedophiles, they cannot be relied upon to stop.
As you can see, I thought about it a lot in my case lol It was a useful exercise, too, helping me understand the difference between revenge, justice and forgive-as-if-it-didn’t-happen. Actually, it was a vital part of the process to forgiving my father.
I recommend that every victim work through this for themselves. Conclusions will vary.
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@singleman:
Especially if you put him in the general population and announce to all the “inmates” that he’s a short eyes. After which, nobody sees or hears a thing.
In such matters, prisoners (and feral dog packs) have a much better sense of justice than all our attorneys and judges and oh-so-compassionate activists.
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@Lydia:
1) Make that Proverbial Proverb Prognosticators with their full-auto barrages of Bible Bullets.
2) But if they don’t “make the person who did not rape children over many years feel like a SINNER” then the person who did not rape children becomes BETTER than them and That Cannot Be Allowed to Happen.
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“Didn’t SGM put out a statement that included a line about how the secular authorities shouldn’t second-guess or question the church’s counseling of abusers, or something to that effect? I would love to see that be brought out in court.”
I seem to remember something to that effect but not sure if was an offical statement. Their problem is that the “secular authorities” seem to understand real evil better than SGM pastors do. It worries me that so many “Christians” have been so brainwashed to accept evil positions taught by gurus who are simply protecting the image of their institution and the money flow.
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“But I wanted him to be paid fair wages to be put into a fund for my sibs and me, for therapy, etc. ”
Yes! Restitution in some form is desperately needed in our justice system. I realize the difficulty of application in every case but still…..it would be so much more productive for them and their victims to benefit from such work.
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“OOOOOOO Diane! You got “Proverbed”
It’s ok. I didn’t take it personally. Although I was tempted to Proverbify Wondering right back with Proverbs 21:15, I restrained myself.
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Wondering you are cruel, go away please!
@Scott, THANK YOU!! *Tears*, your nieces and nephews are very lucky to have you.
I need to go do some yoga or read a good book filled with fluff! Hugs to all of you who care about the victims of these heinous individuals. Signing off because if I say one more thing it’s going to get really ugly!
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New article by Christian Post: http://www.christianpost.com/news/megachurch-pastor-confesses-to-protecting-child-molester-for-years-119877/
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“1) Make that Proverbial Proverb Prognosticators with their full-auto barrages of Bible Bullets.”
I am stealing that one. Barrage of Bible Bullets.
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An Attorney,
I was just looking at Matthew 18:6 as it was referenced earlier. Jesus states that it would be “better” if he was drowned.
Drowned…doesn’t that mean “dead”? Isn’t that a form of a death penalty?
Just wondering.
Ed
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JA, I am on twitter and amazed at how callously T4G and TGC are standing by evil personified in protecting Mahaney whose SGM pastors were taught NOT to call the authorities but to have the molested child forgive their molester instantly… because the child is a sinner, too. Unbelievable. But SGM normal.
Some are claiming you are standing for SGM victims because you “hate”. I have never seen such blatant narcissism in my life. It is their normal. I have come to see those two entities are pure evil. Joe Carter paid shill for the SBC ELRC. If you are in the SBC stop tithing until they clean house!
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http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/people/item/28705-critics-question-support-of-former-ministry-head-accused-of-covering-up-abuse
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In the understanding of the time, not being buried in soil meant not having eternal life. Their concept of the grave (which we often mistranslate as hell) was as a place of repose and being drowned in the sea would not be repose, so far worse than death itself.
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An Attorney, I just tweeted that Associated Baptist Press (ABP) is not scared of Mohler but Baptist Press, IS. You will never see such truth reported in BP.
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Also, I learned that the “sea” is a sort of metaphor for evil in ancient cultures.
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Lydia, twittering with Joe Carter is time you can never recover. I try to avoid it. I just got back from a massage and had scores of tweets to catch up on. He will defend his buddies. He has nary a word for victims but says I’m on a PR campaign for myself. Lol. He says the same thing about Dee. Ok. Dee is my friend. I know how she spends some of her time because our topics/paths cross frequently. She is the real deal and we both spend a lot of time outside our public blogs talking with people privately, tying to provide hope/help. I don’t need to impress the Joe Carters of the world. If anything I say or do can help someone in their crisis, then that is time well spent. Dee was there for me and that’s how she works.
As I’m typing this on my phone, my Twitter notifications are going bonkers. Lol
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An Attorney,
Spiritually speaking, the grave is indeed hell, therefore, it is not a mistranslation. That refuse was an earthly example of what is spiritual. What is spiritual is eternal.
Eternal life is when we have a body (resurrected immortal body that cannot die). Eternal Death is still existence, but without a body. Those in hell do not have a physical body. They are spirit only. They are dead. The fire is never quenched, and their worm dieth not.
Therefore, I disagree with you. In a very real sense, death is a place, not just a state. Eternal life requires no grave.
Ya gotta think spiritual and stop thinking that a fire in a refuse is just a fire in a refuse, called Gehenna (hell).
However, Jesus was discussing a millstone, and drowning, and hurting children. None of that was spiritual. It was physical. It was not a metaphor, nor was it allegorical. It would be BETTER if they were drowned. That is a death sentence.
I always love how liberals re translate the death penalty. Jesus believed in it. It was declared before the law to Noah. Now that the law is abolished for Christians, it does not negate out what God told Noah.
Anyone who represents God (Jesus) and does this to God’s children…the little ones…it would be better if they had a millstone and drowned.
That is not discussing eternal judgment, as all sin is forgivable. It is discussing punishment in this life, not the next life…or death.
Respectfully
Ed
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Lydia,
I disagree that it is a metaphor in Judaism/Christianity.
Ed
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Let’s not debate death penalty. Thanks!
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Question: How isolated are the people who sit in the pews of churches that follow TGC and T4G? Is this news story being covered nationally where they would have to notice the conviction?
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JA,
Just trying to get a biblical clarification of what Jesus meant by saying millstone and drowning for those who hurt children. I didn’t think that I was out of line. But…oh well.
Ed
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“As I’m typing this on my phone, my Twitter notifications are going bonkers. Lol”
Mine too. Every now and then I allow myself to get into an exchange with one of them to remind me of how lacking critical thinking skills are in that movement. When you do that, all they have are insults and trying to make the messenger out to be the evil one–a hater. (Furtick, anyone?) In their bubble, the victims do not matter. Only the celebs.
Joes makes a nice big salary off SBC tithe dollars as communications guy for the….are you ready….ETHICS and Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC. ETHICS! And “communications” spokesman. Does it get any more bizarre than that?
He is actually paid to be snarky and insulting in Jesus’ Name. It boggles my mind.
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@Lydia…what is this Acton Institute that Joe Carter works for? Are you familiar at all with it? I read about the founder…fascinating read there.
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“Question: How isolated are the people who sit in the pews of churches that follow TGC and T4G? Is this news story being covered nationally where they would have to notice the conviction?”
Carmen, As one who lives at ground zero I can tell you that most pew sitters in T4G/TGC or even just SBC churches do not want to know anything. It is too “negative” and they are “uncomfortable”. They might have to change something. It is so sad to me. I see it all the time here.
To them, ignorance is bliss. That only changes when they decide to disagree with the pastor. But most are too scared or brainwashed to do even that.
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“@Lydia…what is this Acton Institute that Joe Carter works for? Are you familiar at all with it? I read about the founder…fascinating read there.”
http://erlc.com/staff-directory/
The above is where he works now for Russell Moore (former dean at SBTS) of Patriarchy/ESS fame
I am not familiar with Acton Institute.
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We interrupt our regularly scheduled article with breaking news.
They got all the cancer. It has not spread! Glory to God!!!
We now return you to your regular comment section. \o/ 🙂
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Now that is news worth interrupting. Yea!!! So happy for your mom and your family what a relief! Thank God!
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They will be transferring her to a skilled nursing facility tomorrow where she will stay for a few days, until she is strong enough to take care of herself alone at home. My brother lives with her, but he’s gone most of the time.
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Ok, that sounds like a good plan. So glad to hear it, WFTT2.
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Dear Waiting4TT2,
Thank you so much for sharing that news with us. And thanks indeed be to God! I prayed for your mother a few times this past week, and I’m so glad to hear that her grueling surgery was a success. May God continue to bless her with strength and continued healing.
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I am happy for you, Waiting!
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Joe Carter’s Acton…
http://www.acton.org/about/staff/joe-carter
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And the President…
http://www.acton.org/about/staff/rev-robert-sirico
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Thank you so much. I’m still doing the happy dance. Lol
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WaitingFTT2,
This is my favourite Happy Dance! 🙂
I hope that, someday, Jeremy Cook and every other soul victimized by SGM will be able to do such a Dance of Joy from the heart…
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Hahaha. I love it!
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Diane from the Acton bio:
J”oe Carter is a Senior Editor at the Acton Institute. Joe also serves as an editor at the The Gospel Coalition, online editor for First Things, and as an adjunct professor of journalism at Patrick Henry College. He is the co-author of “How to Argue like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History’s Greatest Communicator” (Crossway).”
How to argue like Jesus? Have you read his twitter feed? He thinks that is Jesus’ style?
These sorts of jobs seem like invented high paid jobs to hand out to cronies off donor money. Now he works for the SBC with ETHICS and Religious Liberty Commission. Barnabas Piper got a high paying job at Lifeway and he is not even a Baptist. That is the way it works these days in Christendom. Sell your soul for a mess of pottage.
When enough pew sitters complain about their high paid leaders protecting those who protect child molesters things might change. When the pew sitters withhold their money, things WILL change. It all takes money.
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@Lydia~
Not to get too OT, but the founder of Acton is a controversial character.
I also thought these TGC / Russell Moore types thought that gays and feminism are the cause of the downfall of society and will kill off humanity if we don’t fight…or something. lol Look at the history of Father Sirico, founder of Acton.
Carter also said in a comment I read on a blog that Acton was NOT a Catholic org. (founded by a Catholic priest, named after Lord Acton-a Catholic but okaaaaay) b/c Acton has all manner of denominations involved.
Carter DOES realize that you can’t get much more ecumenical than the Roman Catholic Church who believes Muslims and Christians worship the same God, doesn’t he?
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“I also thought these TGC / Russell Moore types thought that gays and feminism are the cause of the downfall of society and will kill off humanity if we don’t fight…or something. lol Look at the history of Father Sirico, founder of Acton.
Carter also said in a comment I read on a blog that Acton was NOT a Catholic org. (founded by a Catholic priest, named after Lord Acton-a Catholic but okaaaaay) b/c Acton has all manner of denominations involved.
Carter DOES realize that you can’t get much more ecumenical than the Roman Catholic Church who believes Muslims and Christians worship the same God, doesn’t he?”
Diane, There is some weird mojo playing out in evangelicalism in America. I am seeing two distinctive but parallel tracks play together often. One track is their OTT
dogma over doctrine which I think is a ruse. Another is money and celebrity. They are constantly on both tracks trying to ride them together and often it can become a problem. That is why all those years of garnering stepford followers who don’t question is so important. Look at how CJ took SGM from Charismatic prophecy mic stuff to Calvinism.
There are many people out there, like Joe Carter, who know nothing else but making a living in some sort of “religious” capacity. And that takes many forms. That is why you see so much cognitive dissonance. In fact, Mohler,, etc are subtly changing their position on homosexuality. If you think it is because they have seen some light, you would be wrong. It is purely a tactical move and they are careful. There is no grand announcement because that would hurt their “culture war” base many of whom are not Calvinists and they are worth big bucks to them. They are very very careful but if you watch closely enough, you see it. They don’t always say the exact same things on an issue to every single audience.
In Mohler’s SBC Joe’s Catholic ties mean nothing. Barnabas Piper’s Presbyterian ties mean nothing. They are good stepford Christians who are loyal. They key is not really doctrine (although people think it is) the key is loyalty to the gurus. It is all man centered. No real priesthood exists in their world. You are either with them (no matter what they say) or you are an enemy.
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Ed, what you were saying about death and hell reminds me of something that I heard a long time ago. Someone said that there is no word in the Bible that means annihilation so death is still a state of existence. Hearing that made me think about God as creator so maybe God cannot make something nonexistent that exists. What do you think?
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Patti,
My opinion, Patti…you are correct. First and foremost we are created as spirits. And God will never annihilate a spirit. We are created in God’s image, which is eternal.
It’s just the body that dies. It’s the body that is the part of us that makes “life” complete. No body, no life.
Right now, we are clothed in a body that dies. But, we already have eternal life because we have put on the Body of Christ. And that body is immortal. Even tho we do not have a resurrected body at present, we do have the body of Christ.
On a side note, you will see the 7th Day Adventists/Jehovah’s Witnesses, and a few others try to refute what you and I agree on, by quoting Ecclesiastes 9:5 and Ezekiel 18:4. But look at those from this aspect:
1. Ecclesiastes 9:5: A dead corps cannot have a conversation with you because the spirit is in another location. 2. Ezekiel 18:4: A person that sins is separated from God.
A soul and a spirit is invisible. There is no such thing as annihilation.
1. 2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.Ed
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http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2014/05/protecting-our-young-ones.php
“It is not “gospel-centered” to get the child to forgive his abuser.”
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Carmen, I have seen some others promote this article on twitter. Personally I found it to be more of the same “talk over deeds”. Here is why. Ref 21 is also home to Carl Trueman one of the 3 panel members who declared Mahaney “fit for ministry” a few years ago when the scandalabra first got cooking.
Ligon Duncon is one of the 4 in T4G who is part of Ref21
Both of these men have actively IN DEED protected and promoted Mahaney. Neither one has admitted they were wrong about him.
Yet the author of the piece you link to, who is also Ref21, chose not to mention names at all. No SGM. No Mahaney. No asking why Ref21 colleagues did not look into victims stories which had been on the internet for 7 years and the civil suit for the last year or so.
I am seeing this sort of article everywhere in that movement. Words decrying child abuse….crickets over the elephant in the room. TGC did it not long ago, too. Everyone knows it is “bad” and has ideas for prevention….so what? Talk. But they WILL NOT hold one another accountable.
To me it is too little to late. I mean do they really want kudos for WRITING about how bad child molestations are? Seriously? But yet, too cowardly to call out their fellow group members for protecting the very guy who protected child molesters for how many years?
Cowards and frauds. It is too costly to do the right thing.
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You are correct ,Lydia. No names are mentioned, but if these articles were not being written there would be no proof of the continuing cover-up, damage control, or caring about their own hides. The fact that Ligon Duncan is connected with Ref. 21 ..makes it a little more difficult for Trueman. Yes, I know that Trueman is personally responsible for clearing Mahaney fit to be in a pulpit. Let them dig their graves with their silence, and their words, and their actions.
I am hopeful that the state will conduct a criminal investigation. When the state attorney makes a statement, on camera, that they have had to wait for sexual abuse cases to be reported, but that doesn’t seem to be the way to now handle this, I am hopeful this will take a turn in which no one can escape justice.
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This news is so heartening. After three years since leaving SG( becoming a Christian at Covenant Life and later spending five years in a small SG church), having gone through a year of counseling, fumbling my way through church and faith and recently attending a very progressive, loving church, and dating a man who values me for who I am and treats me as an equal, I am finally starting to pick up the broken pieces of my faith post-SG.
My wounds are deep, having been a strong, independent single woman in this patriarchal system that devalued me and so others. I can only imagine how much more exponentially painful the wounds are that those who suffered sexual abuse and cover up by these men must be.
This culture of unchecked authoritarian power, blatant and systemic oppression of women, silencing of lay people, etc needs to be stopped.
It is encouraging to follow this blog and see how Julie Anne’s boldness to speak out and bring light to these cases has given many people a voice.
And now to see the beginning of justice through the legal system… this is a huge first step. I hope that the SG pastors will be scared s$&tless into repentance and start waking up to see the deep, far reaching damage their ideology has caused.
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RP, its soooo good to hear from you. I was thinking of you the other day and wondering how you were. I can imagine this story has brought back some unsettling memories.
It’s great to hear about your spiritual journey after being in a high controlling/patriarchal environment. It’s an encouragement to me.
After a few yucky days I needed to read this. I hate abuse. I really do.
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http://www.worldmag.com/2014/05/mahaney_harris_leave_gospel_coalition_council
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“I am hopeful that the state will conduct a criminal investigation. When the state attorney makes a statement, on camera, that they have had to wait for sexual abuse cases to be reported, but that doesn’t seem to be the way to now handle this, I am hopeful this will take a turn in which no one can escape justice.”
Carmen, there is some very weird mojo in this case that I cannot figure out. For example why would the DEFENSE attorney ask Layman the question about not reporting? He asked a question that affirmed the guilt. I thought perhaps it was because some of the blame would shifted to the pastors and reduce the sentence?
But then the state attorney said what was said on camera as you mention above, I am even more perplexed. What is going on? Don’t misunderstand me, I am thrilled. Is there a move to change reporting laws in Maryland? It seems there is something bigger going on.
I am thinking Penn State has changed perspectives. There was a conspiracy there to cover up child abuse and perhaps the law does not really address that in some states?
I am woefully ignorant on these things but it seems to me there does need to be a way to address massive coverups such as these and hold those who cover up accountable/. That right there would have made Mohler and the other cronies keep arms distance…..just in case. They would not be so cavalier to ignore 7 years of blogging on the subject with victim story after victim story.
Mahaney’s son has an “internship” in SBTS communications dept. He is not SBC. Do you know how many long time SBC students would LOVE to have had that opportunity? Then we have Kauflin’s partnership with SBTS and Mahany’s son in law working there, too.
I also found our local paper’s online artricle from 2011 where Mohler is quoted as saying that the ‘bloggers just do not like Mahaney’s strong leadership’….has been DELETED. I saw it not long ago, too. Of course being the idiot I am I did no screen shot. That is how powerful he is in Louisville.
Everyone who has covered for him will start to rewrite history. They won’t come out FOR Mahaney they will just pretend it was never what we thought it was. I think some of them are a bit worried about what transpired at that trial.
While the whole thing is evil there are parts of it that have a humorous side. Was CJ really worth it to them? He was nothing but a court jester who giggled and fawned all over the others. Are these men really so shallow they fell for it? I mean the fact he was an “Apostle” for the “People of Destiny” as recently as 2002 gave Mohler no clue?
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Lydia,
I think you might still be able to find that article.
1. I know that Julie Anne uses something called wayback, in that it’s an archived history.
2. It still might be that if you google some key words of the article, you might be able to find it that way. It might “appear” as if it is still there, but in reality, it was be a “cached” article, so you would have to open it up as a cached link.
But, that is intriguing, that the DEFENSE would ask that question. I had not put 2 and 2 together on that one. Maybe the defense knew that they were gonna lose the case, and if Morales was going down, he was gonna take down others with him? I don’t know. Good question, tho.
Ed
________________________________
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Another related article in that it speaks about the egotism of Mahaney’s cheering squad…. and many other things as well.
http://jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com/2014/05/20/troubling-trends-americas-calvinist-revival/
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Wow, that’s a great article!! Thanks, Cindy.
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Thanks for your encouragement, JA. I’m glad my little update lifted your spirits as well. I don’t know how you keep up with so many folks on hereamd re,e,bee all f their stories- it has definitely become a ministry! I don’t spend as much time online these days, but I still hop on and follow your blog fairly closely. It has encouraged me a lot. A voice for the voiceless 🙂
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Woah. Touch screen errors ^ . Sorry! meant to say “so man folks on here and remember all of their stories”
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So many folks;)
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Hahaha. Gotta love typos. I’m typo queen when texting.
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Cindy,
Early yesterday morning you posted this link:
http://www.worldmag.com/2014/05/mahaney_harris_leave_gospel_coalition_council
I opened it, and within it is a link of Harris giving his sermon on Sunday, May 18 (Anniversary of Mt. St. Helens, by the way):
http://www.covlife.org/resources/3971736-Hold_Fast_to_the_Gospel
I haven’t listened to it, but here is part of the written description:
“God hates sin and we should too. The gospel enables us to honestly face our own sin, frees us from finding our identity in our reputation, and assures us that God can use the worst circumstances for his glory and our good.”
Now, my problem with that is that “the gospel enables us to honestly face our own sin.”
NO…IT DOESN’T. The Gospel frees us from sin. We died to sin. It is The KNOWLEDGE of the Law that enables a person to honestly face their own sin.
Ya know…Their belief system really bothers me. Everything about it bothers me.
The word repent means to change your mind about your behavior based on information that you received from the law, which ultimately means to change your behavior, then God works with you from their.
I have no idea where they get the idea that the gospel enables them to honestly face their own sin. Concentrating on sin is the same as concentrating on the law. Either we are under the law, which genders sin, which is equated to bondage, or we are under grace, which genders freedom, the chains of sin are broken, and we are then able to love thy neighbor “AS YOURSELF”.
There is no sin in Love thy neighbor. Why are they concentrating on sin IN THE FIRST PLACE, and not concentrating on Love Thy Neighbor? It is the law (schoolmaster) that brings one to Christ. So, there is a time to concentrate on sin, and that is via the schoolmaster. NOT the gospel.
Basically, Love Thy Neighbor is how you treat your fellow human beings.
These people that are hearing a sermon like that are still in bondage to sin, they are not freed from sin. And so, how many church’s across this nation, and the world, are preaching this very distorted belief? I can’t stand it. This is where they justify sin, because sin ultimately brings God glory? There is good that comes out of sin?
I hate that kind of preaching. Some in this twisted belief system will say that I hate it, because that is what is taught in the Bible, therefore I hate what is written in the Bible, that I am a heretic, etc. Yes, they use the words in the Bible much like Satan used it with Jesus. And I can’t stand that they have people in their church’s that remain in bondage to sin, because of their sermons.
Ed
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This comment was stuck in moderation, but it seems to have been posted in the wrong thread. I thought that I’d copy it here. This is the full statement that Detweiler posted on the AM of May 23, 2014, referenced above.
Janiquah
MAY 24, 2014 @ 10:24 PM
Thought this was very interesting.
James Roberts’ Public/Media Statement
5/23/2014
There has seemed to be much confusion as to why my case in particular (MD vs Morales 123155C) was not tried. Let me be clear; it was not due to a sudden fallacy, or the merits of my case against Nathaniel Morales. Mr. Morales was indicted for “sex offence III” by the State of Maryland and my case remains active today.
I want to make it perfectly clear that I stand behind my statements with regard to both my criminal case against Morales, as well as my civil case. Because both the criminal and civil cases are active, I need to be wise with my words so please accept this brief explanation. The State Attorney’s office has explained to me that they will be following ‘Judicial Prudence’ with regard to my case, and will await the outcome of the August sentencing (possible 120+ years) for the cases which Morales has already been convicted and found guilty of. The prosecution has their reasons & strategy for this. It is ultimately their (the State of Maryland’s) decision when to proceed with trying the case. My case is also linked to other active and ongoing investigations that could see the courtroom in the future. I want to clearly state that I have every confidence in the justice system, particularly in ASA Amanda Michalski who tried the first two Morales cases. These men & women know what they’re doing and though I cannot comment in further detail, I see the wisdom in them making this call.
As a side note, I would like to encourage other victims to continue coming forward. It is crucial to report your sex abuse, not only for you, but for the victims who may come after you. You just might save a life. And please, please, please report your abuse to the police first, not your pastor. I can’t even begin to describe how healing it’s been just to report what happened to me!
Thank you all so much for your love, support, and prayers. Nate Morales will never be able to hurt another child ever again, and that has been my driving force in all of this. Let’s continue to pray for justice to be done in all of the other cases that will be coming. Finally I would like to humbly ask that you respect the fact that I cannot comment further and understand that is why I have declined the many numerous media and interview requests. Thank you for understanding that. God bless you all & I am confident that all of these evil deeds will be brought into the light for there is no longer a dark place for this evil to hide.
Sincerely,
James Roberts
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