A Preacher Promoted Spousal Abuse from the Pulpit
The brief clip soon led to his resignation.
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If your church teaches women to submit to their husbands, there’s a slippery slope that extends to accepting abuse. That’s not theoretical, either. Christians have long said abuse thrives in conservative Christian communities precisely because divorce is taboo, women are told to obey obey obey, and the gender roles always benefit one side more than the other.
Enter Dr. Burnett L. Robinson, the senior pastor at Grand Concourse Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Bronx (New York), who took that belief to its logical (and awful) conclusion this month when he told the congregation, “gentlemen, the best person to rape is your wife.”
The video was deleted by the church but a single clip was captured in time:That clip led to Robinson being placed on “administrative leave” earlier this week… and, later, his resignation.
Nearly two years ago, the leaders of a Philippines-based evangelical Christian megachurch in Los Angeles — called the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name (KOJC) — were arrested for allegedly coercing members into sham marriages for the sole purpose of keeping them in California in order to help raise money for the church (via, naturally, a different kind of scam).
Now that church’s leader, Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, is among several people indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with raping women and underage girls while using the threat of “eternal damnation” to get them to submit.
When you think of hospitals with religious restrictions, it’s easy to jump on the Catholic Church because that’s where the media attention tends to go. But Protestant churches that run hospitals are often no better.
Columbia Law School’s Law, Rights, and Religion Project released what they’re calling The Southern Hospitals Report: Faith, Culture, and Abortion Bans in the U.S. South. And it shows how many church-run hospitals restrict services—especially when it comes to reproductive rights.This should frighten people: There’s a Christian Nationalist oath now, courtesy of Gene Bailey, who works for Kenneth Copeland Ministries:
You may think you’ve seen cringe-worthy Christian shows and movies. But you’ve never watched The Dream Motel, a show so heavy-handed in its messaging that the main character is named Jesse Chris.
YouTuber Big Joel watched the entire series, which is now streaming on Amazon, and calls it the “worst Christian show” he’s ever seen. Which is saying something. His analysis is definitely worth your time:If I told you that same-sex couples often fear walking down the street holding hands because they worry they may be victims of violence for that open display of affection, you, a decent human being, would say that’s awful.
Montana State Sen. Theresa Manzella, however, told a Christian audience recently that such fears “are normal consequences associated with the choices they made.”
She later said that quotation was taken a “bit out of context”… but the full text of the speech that she posted on Facebook shows that it was absolutely in context and just as horrible.
Nothing will happen to her, of course, because Christian Nationalists never get punished in the Republican Party.Oh look. Another reason some people won't bother getting vaccinated.
Speaking of which, here’s Republican Mark Robinson, the current Lt. Governor of North Carolina and possible future governor of the state, flat-out telling a Christian audience that straight couples are “superior” to gay ones:
Robinson said he was once asked by a gay man: “So you think your wife and you, you think your heterosexual relationship is superior to my husband and my homosexual relationship?”
“Yes!” Robinson emphatically told the congregation.
“These people are superior because they can do something these people can’t do,” Robinson said, referencing having a child. “Because that’s the way God created it to be. And I’m tired of this society trying to tell me it’s not so.”Back in 2019, David Allen Turpin and Louise Anna Turpin were sentenced to life in prison for holding 12 of their 13 children captive for years — abusing them mentally and physically, depriving them of health care or basic hygiene, and keeping them locked in chains in their home.
It was only when one of their daughters escaped one night and called 911 that she was able to rescue her siblings while her parents were taken away in handcuffs.
What makes this story all the more troubling is that the Turpins were considered a “good Christian family” to the outside world.
Now two of their daughters have spoken to ABC News about what they went through. While the full interview is behind a paywall, about half of it is available on YouTube and once I began watching it, I couldn’t click away.
Here’s Part 1:Need something else to watch this weekend? Netflix’s new documentary Procession is a refreshing (albeit shocking) look into the humanity of the survivors of trauma at the hands of Catholic priests.
The film deals with the victims’ trauma in a rather unusual way: The men re-enact their experiences as a way to take back control of their memories and learn that no one can hurt them anymore.
I still haven’t figured out how to respond to this:
A Washington Post opinion piece with a byline from Denver’s Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila talks about the recent spate of vandalism against churches of all kinds and urges people to condemn it at all costs, no matter your own beliefs. I certainly agree with that sentiment.
However, the article misses a key point: I would guess one of the reasons the vandals act this way is because the churches either reject their legitimate criticism entirely or give them no other venue in which to express their frustrations. If there’s no hope for reform on matters of civil rights or bodily autonomy, because certain despicable beliefs are written in holy stone, then the church is sending a clear message that critics must resort to more drastic measures to be heard. Without addressing that, I worry the vandalism won’t stop.I’m not even complaining here. I just question Richard Dawkins’ taste in everything,
Christian “prophetess” Kat Kerr says she saw a “Pet Portal” — that is, a glimpse of dead pets that now exist in Heaven — and she has proof! She took a photo! It’s the evidence we’ve been waiting for! Get ready for your minds to be blown…
Why is there evil and suffering in the world? If you asked me earlier what people believe the answer is, I would have said the majority of Americans attribute evil and suffering to God just working in “mysterious ways.”
Turns out that’s not the case at all. The Pew Research Center found, in a new survey out this week, that most Americans don’t attribute tragedy to God at all. They mostly think bad things happen because humans are awful to each other, or structural deficiencies exist, or it’s all just straight-up coincidence. God may exist and has the ability to respond to our actions, they’ll say, but God doesn’t cause the evil.
If you’re going to claim Jesus walked behind you during a sermon and you saw him, you KNOW we’re going to find the clip, right…?
I didn’t realize this clip would go as viral as it did, but it’s not every day that an End Times preacher (in this case, Sharon Gilbert) explains how an alien imitating her husband tried to have sex with her… until she used Jesus to make that alien reveal that he was actually a reptile.
End Times preacher Sharon Gilbert says that an alien imitated her husband, and then it tried to have sex with her, and then it claimed to be Xerxes, and then Jesus got involved, and then the alien turned out to be a reptile with a posse of gargoyles.A couple things to note: The man sitting next to her, nodding along, is her husband. (Real Derek, if you will.) Also, Twitter seemed to love how The Jim Bakker Show was promoting a set of DVDs called “The Great Delusion” while Gilbert was speaking.
Remember Stella Immanuel? She was one of the people conservative media outlets and Donald Trump trotted out to downplay the pandemic in the summer of 2020. Immanuel said face masks were effectively useless and that she successfully used hydroxychloroquine on her own patients. Before long, we also found out she blamed gynecological problems (like endometriosis) on people dreaming about having sex with demons, and that alien DNA was used in medical treatments, and that scientists planned to use vaccines to stop people from being religious, and that homosexuality would lead people to Hell.
Anyway, the “Frontline Doctor & Demon Slayer” is still around and she’s now saying vaccinated Christians can pray to God to have the effects of the vaccine undone.
Right-wing anti-vax conspiracy theorist Stella Immanuel tells those who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine that if they cry out to God in repentance, God will physically cast the vaccine out of their bodies.You know what? I’m fine with that. I encourage all anti-vaxxer Christians to get vaccinated and boosted and then pray for deliverance afterwards. Better to have God release you from the supposedly nasty effects of the virus than to pray before you get your shots. Pray after the booster, too. Please.
Let’s play a game:
Televangelist Kenneth Copeland has a cure for the flu! Without a vaccine! I don’t know, though… I have some doubts about this method.
Ever since a couple of “pro-life” Christian activists announced they were opening a bank to cater to that crowd exclusively, critics have pointed out that they have no clue what opening a bank entails. Based on the latest update, those critics are correct.
Speaking of which…
Creationist and domestic abuser Kent Hovind needs cash… for reasons that leave me with a lot of questions.
*Slow clap* for this tweet:
And this one:
Is this conspiracy chart helpful or confusing?
Conspiracy theories are everywhere and people don't understand how harmful they are. I made the original Conspiracy Chart over a year ago. An update was long overdue. This is the 2021 version.
There’s an argument to be made that, while much of it makes sense, the items are placed in certain categories for no reason other than having a vibe.
This strikes me as a pretty big exception to the “He’s all-knowing” thing.
If you listen to MAGA preacher Hank Kunneman, you might think “many preachers” signed the Declaration of Independence.
Self-proclaimed "prophet" Hank Kunneman claims that "there was never a separation between church and state" and that "many preachers" signed the Declaration of Independence. For the record, only *one* of the 56 signers of the Declaration was a minister. archives.gov/founding-docs/…If you listen to facts, you might learn that only one preacher signed it.
Hate-preacher Greg Locke hasn’t changed one bit since getting kicked off of Twitter:
A few months ago, Anthony and Barbara Scarpo, a wealthy couple based in Tampa, Florida, sued the Academy of the Holy Names, a Catholic school their daughters attended, claiming they wanted to rescind a $1.35 million pledge they made earlier. The reason? The school was “too woke.”
Specifically, they were furious that school officials issued a declaration that their community rejected “the racism and hatred reflected in the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor.” And that the school urged respect for LGBTQ people, as if that violated the Catholic Church’s actual teachings.
This week, a judge tossed out nearly all of the 14 charges against the school — rightly saying he couldn’t weigh in on what counted as True Catholicism — and allowed the couple to revise a couple of them, though that doesn’t mean they’ll win on those counts.
Moral of the story: You can be wealthy and still lack the resources to buy some self-awareness.You’re welcome, world:
Right-wing pundit and professional anti-Semite Rick Wiles wants his viewers to begin a “world war against tyrants”… by whom he means the people who want you to get vaccinated.
The Missouri-based Kanakuk Kamps — arguably the most popular Christian summer camp organization in the country — made headlines earlier this summer after David French and Nancy French published a lengthy account of sexual abuse taking place with the knowledge of the camp’s leadership.
Now VICE News has released a segment that includes a few of the victims — including those who have so far remained silent. Their stories are tragic — and they need to be heard:It’s incredible that this ministry hasn’t shut down yet. It’s even more amazing that parents still send their kids to this place.
I didn’t think this was possible but another person has sued Liberty University, claiming she was subject to retaliation and harassment for trying to help and protect students who filed complaints about sexual assault.
Here is your weekly dose of preacher Gene Kim:
Finally, happy second anniversary to this Very Bad Tweet:
That’s it for this week! Which means it’s now the official start of the War on Christmas. Please consider becoming a full subscriber or sharing this with someone who may enjoy it. It would mean a lot to me :)