It's an age-old story. Once people become convinced they're operating under divine sanction, they have no trouble rationalizing an excuse for almost anything. Locke isn't the problem. His enablers in the pews who fund him and are too lazy to think for themselves are the problems. As long as a significant number of people continue to view faith as a virtue, the human race is going to be fighting an uphill battle.
If people in general could learn to think for themselves, to evaluate statements against evidence and hard data, shysters like Locke – indeed just about all proselytizing preachers – would be out of a job.
He is a tRumpian figure who like The Orange Ogre is always looking for a way to spin things to his own greater glorification… you know ‘the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding…” malignant narcissism explains a lot of these christianist cults and their psychopathic leaders.
Greggy-poo, you do 𝗻𝗼𝘁 own your family. Since the incident involved your son, it had nothing to do with you. The malignant narcissism on display here to twist this into a persecution narrative is abhorrent. Any rational person would want to take steps to protect their child and find and prosecute the perpetrator. But you? You want to claim it as an attack on you, personally, so you can gain status and money from the indoctrinated rubes.
"Won't somebody think of the children?" Indeed. Why don't 𝘆𝗼𝘂 think of your child.
I'd love to be surprised, but I when I saw messages of congratulations on digital announcement boards outside some (white) churches after Trump's 2nd win ...congratulating MAGA...I knew that none of those fools would ever experience rapture.
(Well, obviously no one will.)
Thanks, Joe. I just hope that's the most depressing thing I see today, but that seems statistically unlikely.
I suggest if you ran that phrase past many who claim to be steeped in their bibles, they'd say it was a biblical command - just like, 'God always takes the good ones early,' or when a child dies 'God needed another angel' - or the 7 deadly sins, As a crafter, I cringe and want to overturn the tables at craft fairs of crafters who sell cutsie Robin items and the phrase 'Robins appear when loved ones are near.' (i.e. deceased loved ones.) Yuck!
After all, all they need do to explain their most inexplicable HATE toward every "other" is to invoke the concept of "righteous anger", which essentially equates to "hate in the name (and authority) of Jesus".
The hell of it is, Locke is so invested in his lies that he has to stick with them, or else lose face with his congregation. I mean, maybe they are swallowing EVERYTHING he says, but there are liable to be a few smarts out there, and if they knew the real story, things could go sideways in a hurry.
Let's get the obvious out in boldface: 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗜𝗘. Even without all the crap that Locke spouted about the shooting, he still lies, particularly about his beliefs. That's to be expected, since the bible has a paucity of truth tied to it in the first place.
But when he lies about the shooting, about Poole, and about the supposed persecution it represents, Locke is totally lying through his teeth, and getting him to admit that is pulling teeth. Frankly, this brand of mendacity has become predictable and tiresome for its consistency.
But that Locke insists on it, even in the face of the truth, makes it particularly egregious.
Look, man, Jesus said that his true followers would face persecution.
Now, you can either do what Jesus reportedly did and challenge Empires, challenge the injustices of oppressive systems and laws, challenge interpretations of faith that hurt people, isolate them, and wound them and end up hanging on the Empire's cross...
Or you can be a real fucking asshole, be the oppressive dick who hurts people, be part of the religious system that isolates, wounds, and ostracizes innocent people, perpetuate injustices, enrich yourself, wallow and praise Caesar and his legions, and lie and pretend that you're being persecuted because people are tired of your shit, call out your lies, and demand equality, and you get to live a long life with money.
We know which one most American pastors and priests pick.
This really highlights the tribalism associated with religious thinking. His congregants bought his hair-brained story because the simplistic thinking they use is what allows them to believe in religion in the first place. The embody the us-versus-them mentality; just dim-witted tribalists.
It's an age-old story. Once people become convinced they're operating under divine sanction, they have no trouble rationalizing an excuse for almost anything. Locke isn't the problem. His enablers in the pews who fund him and are too lazy to think for themselves are the problems. As long as a significant number of people continue to view faith as a virtue, the human race is going to be fighting an uphill battle.
If people in general could learn to think for themselves, to evaluate statements against evidence and hard data, shysters like Locke – indeed just about all proselytizing preachers – would be out of a job.
Possible, but before that can happen we are going to have to stop discouraging people to think critically on matters of religion.
And THAT is a very big damned ask.
He is a tRumpian figure who like The Orange Ogre is always looking for a way to spin things to his own greater glorification… you know ‘the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding…” malignant narcissism explains a lot of these christianist cults and their psychopathic leaders.
Gullible fools are the bane of humankind, and a threat to the planet.
"Against stupidity, the very gods themselves contend in vain." -- Friedrich Schiller
He ended that sermon by calling on everyone to praise God because God “still protects his children.”
If god protects his children then why did he allow gunshots to be fired in the first place?
Something, something, mysterious ways.
Something-something I WANT ATTENTION!
A U2 song?
When did God ever intervene to prevent the rape of a child by a member of the clergy?
Tell that to the victims of school shootings Liar Locke.
Because God works in mysterious ways . Why do I have to explain everything?
Good luck with trying to use logic with these imbeciles.
𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑒.
Greggy-poo, you do 𝗻𝗼𝘁 own your family. Since the incident involved your son, it had nothing to do with you. The malignant narcissism on display here to twist this into a persecution narrative is abhorrent. Any rational person would want to take steps to protect their child and find and prosecute the perpetrator. But you? You want to claim it as an attack on you, personally, so you can gain status and money from the indoctrinated rubes.
"Won't somebody think of the children?" Indeed. Why don't 𝘆𝗼𝘂 think of your child.
Step son not son. He and his first wife divorced in May 2018 and he married his administrative assistant in August 2018.
That makes it worse. He thinks he 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 a son.
Notice Locke thought nothing of using that son as a human shield against blowback for his lies.
Why? Because Locke is far more interested in putting a snow job on his congregation. 😝
It increases the return from the grift.
"...putting a snow job on his congregation" and getting a blow job from them.
Does that amount to being a snow-blower? 😂
Hmmm….a Fargo blow job doesn't have a happy ending. 😵
OUCH!!! 😖😖😖
Lying liar lies? 🤔
On days that end in "Ys!" [gee, that kinda rhymes!]
It’s deLIEcious!
How will he he spin it when his pants catch on fire? 🤔
God still protects his children, Lockejaw? Tell that to any child who has ever been molested/raped by clergy.
You know: God's agents on Earth.
God is the cold unfeeling silence that answers every child who was raped by a clergyman.
Or abused by a nun.
When I hear the phrase, "God never gives someone more than they can handle", I always respond in the context of the Children's Crusades.
I suspect most of them have no idea what I even mean...
I doubt most Christians have even heard of the children crusade!
John,
I fear that you're right.
I also fear what will happen to The Sermon On the Mount once a MAGA actually reads it for the first time...
It already happened. The MAGAts called it "weak". Then when told it was the words of Jesus, they said "that doesn't work anymore."
https://newrepublic.com/post/174950/christianity-today-editor-evangelicals-call-jesus-liberal-weak?fbclid=IwdGRjcAPXMN9jbGNrA9cw0GV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHsmfi_eppyhIZt_2XTkTxx1saZ7bCmi74ZAU8Y17sqYqRBPCLhGhwJhP6IDq_aem_mzn0hHjdm0sBAtf9lF2KEw
I'd love to be surprised, but I when I saw messages of congratulations on digital announcement boards outside some (white) churches after Trump's 2nd win ...congratulating MAGA...I knew that none of those fools would ever experience rapture.
(Well, obviously no one will.)
Thanks, Joe. I just hope that's the most depressing thing I see today, but that seems statistically unlikely.
I suggest if you ran that phrase past many who claim to be steeped in their bibles, they'd say it was a biblical command - just like, 'God always takes the good ones early,' or when a child dies 'God needed another angel' - or the 7 deadly sins, As a crafter, I cringe and want to overturn the tables at craft fairs of crafters who sell cutsie Robin items and the phrase 'Robins appear when loved ones are near.' (i.e. deceased loved ones.) Yuck!
I fear you're right, Matilda.
After all, all they need do to explain their most inexplicable HATE toward every "other" is to invoke the concept of "righteous anger", which essentially equates to "hate in the name (and authority) of Jesus".
Must've been a real blow to Locke's ego that Tyler Poole had no idea who Locke even was. Ouch.
Talk about ignorance being bliss.
The hell of it is, Locke is so invested in his lies that he has to stick with them, or else lose face with his congregation. I mean, maybe they are swallowing EVERYTHING he says, but there are liable to be a few smarts out there, and if they knew the real story, things could go sideways in a hurry.
I'm sure he's got his Public Apology to the Ceiling ready to go, just in case.
Can we hope he doesn't go from the Jimmy Swaggart School of Apology? That one just about made me sick back when!
“We’ve forgiven the young man and plan on visiting him in jail very soon.”
Greg, stop persecuting the man!
The real question becomes: does Poole REALLY want to see Locke? I would LOVE to hear the answer to that one!
Having never been in lockup, I can only surmise. If it were me, I might welcome almost any break in the tedium. Almost.
Let's get the obvious out in boldface: 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗜𝗘. Even without all the crap that Locke spouted about the shooting, he still lies, particularly about his beliefs. That's to be expected, since the bible has a paucity of truth tied to it in the first place.
But when he lies about the shooting, about Poole, and about the supposed persecution it represents, Locke is totally lying through his teeth, and getting him to admit that is pulling teeth. Frankly, this brand of mendacity has become predictable and tiresome for its consistency.
But that Locke insists on it, even in the face of the truth, makes it particularly egregious.
Look, man, Jesus said that his true followers would face persecution.
Now, you can either do what Jesus reportedly did and challenge Empires, challenge the injustices of oppressive systems and laws, challenge interpretations of faith that hurt people, isolate them, and wound them and end up hanging on the Empire's cross...
Or you can be a real fucking asshole, be the oppressive dick who hurts people, be part of the religious system that isolates, wounds, and ostracizes innocent people, perpetuate injustices, enrich yourself, wallow and praise Caesar and his legions, and lie and pretend that you're being persecuted because people are tired of your shit, call out your lies, and demand equality, and you get to live a long life with money.
We know which one most American pastors and priests pick.
A christian grifter shamelessly lying, how novel.
The list could fill several novels.
And the series would turn out just as dull as the Bible's lists of "begats."
The begats section needs a few illustrations.
How to’s.
A Kama Sutra type section. Christ Sutra perhaps.
Maybe worth a read at last.
A liar for Jesus lying? Must be a day ending in y.
And it just comes so easily to them. Guess that's de rigueur when one is part of a system based on lies.
Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t..
Frankly, I'm slightly surprised it didn't turn out that Locke paid to have his house shot up.
...that we know about.
That passed through my mind too.
Once attendance starts to decline ... nothing is off limits.
"Locke, as usual, capitalized on a lie. He knew was a lie. Yet he repeated it. He amplified it."
Right out of the JD Couchfucker playbook.
And ever creationist playbook out there.
"He hates owls."
Only the gay ones.
Figures. The standard "hoo-hooing" noise they make is actually "owlspeak" for "Jesus sucks and Satan is cool!"/s
Owls are highly effective and specialized predators. Seems he and they are birds of a feather.
So he hates competition?
All xtians do.
I pity any owl caught dead in the presence of any Christian, especially Locke!
"He hates owls." - And Barbie houses.
Doesn't give a hoot.
Bearing false witness again, Greggy? Naughty naughty.
This really highlights the tribalism associated with religious thinking. His congregants bought his hair-brained story because the simplistic thinking they use is what allows them to believe in religion in the first place. The embody the us-versus-them mentality; just dim-witted tribalists.