242 Comments

Slapping the word Christian on something is one of the great smoke screens of all time. A 'Christian' school has immediate credibility without having to demonstrate it. Pedophiles and child abusers of all stripes have been hiding behind their Bibles and clerical collars for centuries. The parents of these abuse victims should be held fully culpable for having placed their children in danger.

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When I see "Christian" attached to the name of an organization, especially one meant to help children, it's a red flag for me.

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Especially in a red state, where these schools are guaranteed no oversight and as much support from elected officials (and ignoring alarming news reports about abuse) as possible,

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But...but...They're closer to Jesus.

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In Indiana they don't have to worry about safety standards, building codes, or ANY of that stuff. Presumably Jesus will take care of things.

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Or a business. I remember businesses which advertised in the church bulletin or diocesan newspaper when I was a kid. My dad always refused to patronize such businesses. He said they were using the catholic imprimatur to rip people off. (Actually, that turned out to be true. The founding bishop of our diocese was named as an abuser, while California's "look-back" law was in effect. A few months later, the diocese declared bankruptcy...because, of course they did. Brand-new cathedral on prime lakefront property is, of course, tax exempt and protected from the bankruptcy.)

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Are you referring to Oakland? Because it sounds like you're referring to Oakland.

The so-called cathedral of light was supposed to cost if I recall $90 million, and ended up costing twice that.

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Yup. Oakland, California. I didn't remember how much the thing cost, never mind "over-runs." Prime Lake Merritt-front property. Unlike the old one, which was across from the Greyhound station. That one, I remember because I got confirmed there in 1964--yeah, by abuser-bishop Floyd Begin.

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You must have felt so honored.

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Gag! I was forced to my knees before the abuser-bishop by two nuns, who had dragged me out of the pew. (For context, I was the shortest kid in my 6th-grade class, and these two nuns were built like linebackers.) I said quietly to the abuser-bishop that I did not want this to be done. His reply: "Shut the fuck up, kid." So, no, I don't think "honored" would be the word I'd use.

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Agreed

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And once again, a great deal of this can be laid at the feet of FAITH AS A VIRTUE. To which I say:

𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑒—𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑—𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠: 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑢𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑠.

-- Christopher Hitchens

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Religion and morality are not mutually exclusive, but they are very far from the same thing.

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As an archeologist and classical scholar friend of mine said, "This is what happens when go around insisting on believing in God."

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No theocracy was ever a bastion of human rights and intellectual freedom.

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I imagine you are a fan of biblical archeology or the art to disrupt layers to have them correspond imaginary dates and events from an book made of bits and pieces 😇

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No, but my mother's best pal was a classical scholar and archeologist and she told me all about this stuff.

Christianity was basically created as a protest movement against the Roman Empire. The "Number of the Beast" is all the Roman numeral letters in order: "DCLXVI."

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For some historians, it comes from a very pagan roman game where you were given a suit of numbers and had to guess who it was. 666 could have been Nero.

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I want that on a t-shirt!

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By the way, there is something missing in your suit of roman numbers, the "M" for thousand.

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Religion <I>per se</I> isn’t a problem. Left to itself, it’d just be a hobby, like collecting stamps, going bowling, or reading Harry Potter. No, religion is just a symptom of the real, underlying problem, namely <B>faith</B> — the mindset that deludes people into thinking that they can somehow or other “know” things without a shred of supporting evidence, and frequently in the face of considerable evidence to the contrary. Faith gives us not only religion but also homeopathy, astrology, objectivism, ufology, conspiracy theories, climate-change denial, false accusations of ritual satanic child abuse, numerology, anti-vax movements, a host of superstitions, personality cults, dowsing, jingoism, imperialism, racism, psi phenomena, quackery, Chinese traditional “medicine”, feng shui, and the insidious brain parasite that leads people to endlessly obsess over anyone named Kardashian.

Faith is humanity’s all-time, blue-ribbon, gold-medal, undisputed, undefeated, heavyweight world-champion <B>worst method EVER</B> of making decisions! Nobody ever uses faith for anything that can be tested or measured or that really matters in real life.

The priest class, needless to say, praises faith to the skies, because their paychecks depend on suckers continuing to fall for it. Religious believers are the victims in a huge con game.

Don’t believe me? Test it for yourself. The difference between education and indoctrination is whether the person at the front of the room welcomes questions from the audience. Try it the next time your minister is in the middle of a sermon.

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Actually, I think religion IS a problem, for the very reason that it and the concept of faith are, virtually without exception, inextricably intertwined. With any other field of endeavor or study, you either show your work or go home. With religion, faith is a near-essential component, particularly considering that the object of that faith – god – is not, has never actually been, and likely never will be available to confirm or deny ANYTHING asserted by god's putative representatives.

Religion's insistence that "You've got to take it on faith" is likely the single most damning characteristic religion maintains.

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I'm skeptical about stamp collecting myself. Insidious

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Philatelists of the world, unite!

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As long as you don't stomp on them on a stump it's good.

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"Actually, I think religion IS a problem"

That's only because it's based on faith. So are all the other things I listed, all of which are problems in their own right, every one of them stemming from the use of faith as a decision-making mechanism.

As a sheer practical political matter, if for no other reason, being pro-reason is a much more palatable message than being anti-religion.

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Heh. That was one reason I quit church as a teen. There's a guy up at the pulpit, yammering away and saying things I knew weren't true, and there was NOTHING i COULD DO ABOUT IT. Apparently standing up in the pews to challenge a preacher's words is frowned upon.

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Mar 4
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🎵 Imagine the police were honest and reliable public servants🎵

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If the evangelicals want to post the ten commandments in public schools, then the words to "Imagine" should be required to be posted right next them.

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If they want to post the Ten Commandments, them I want to post the Charge of the Goddess.

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*then I want

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That's why there should be Satanic schools. At least you can feel safe that children aren't being molested and abused.

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It's worse... they'd be taught to challenge 'conventional wisdom' and think for themselves! Once that happens, chances of them being a churchie and tithing are very slim.

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Free Thought has always been the greatest challenge to religion.

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"That's why there should be Satanic schools. "

I thought that's what the public school system was.

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lol. It's not free of predators, but at least they do some background checks.

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When the fed or state government has lower regs for a religious organization, they are essentially *creating* a hotbed of religious fraud. It's basically an open invitation to con artists and people abusers to call their schemes religious. Eliminating regulatory exceptions isn't just good for the state and the people who live under the regulations, it's good for the legit religious charities and organizations too, by making their businesses less of a target for hucksters.

Also, IMO, there's simply no need for it. The private sector has plenty of health and safety rules tiered based on size of organization, so that 'mom and pop shops' don't end up with absurd baseline operating costs. So there's no need for any special treatment for small religious schools,, just treat them as you would any other small school.

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I got to say it again: PHENOMENAL. These Christian boarding schools, much like other Christian facilities aimed at children, all have one thing in common: NO GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT. The shibboleth which has been going on forever is: Oh, it's CHRISTIAN! The kids should be fine! No problem.

Yeah, right.

I would genuinely wonder whether ANY such school is free from such abuse. This crap of allowing religious organizations such as Agape Boarding School to operate without government supervision needs to STOP.

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Well, I'm shocked that a program run by unqualified adults who think the best approach to child rearing is beating children with a rod would become a hotbed of abuse, torture, and rape.

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And yet, some states are now seeking to replace qualified counselors with unqualified preachers in public schools...

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Well, come now, those kids aren't going to rape themselves.

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I can only apologize so much for Texas. I keep voting, but it does seem like pissing into the wind. I'm curious to see if Ted skunkfucking Cruz will be reelected in November or if the voters of this state have finally learned something.

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I just finished reading this story in the Kansas City Star.

These CHRISTIAN boarding schools are a horror for children.

Then you read about Agape's director just being moved to a different school and it reminded me of moving sexual abuser priests from diocese to diocese . Agape was finally closed down after the legislature could no longer ignore the articles about physical and sexual abuse.

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It has become abundantly clear to even the blind that Christianity is fundamentally broken beyond repair. Particularly when Christians see themselves as blameless and never responsible for the consequences for their own actions. Why would they ever bother even trying to change? They're forgiven!

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I see a video, or maybe multiple videos, talking about the Sandoval kidnapping tactics on Facebook all the time. They claim it’s acceptable because the parents initiate and approve it, but it’s not okay at all. The person they take should be involved in the decision making and know about being enrolled in the program at the very least. If not, it is most certainly kidnapping, parental consent or not. The person being abducted is the only person whose opinion matters in this situation, and even if they’re underage, especially because they are underage, taking them against their will is simply kidnapping.

The parents are who are failing, the children may be acting out, or getting involved in activities they shouldn’t be, but the parents are making the mistakes. You cannot get anyone to turn around, especially kids, if they’re not involved in the solution, if they have no ownership over the process. These organizations are predatory and the children they are supposed to be helping need more protection from predators than they get. Not assuming that because religion is involved all their problems will magically disappear. Not through religion that has centuries of documented abuse, child molestation and sexual misconduct, not to mention its penchant for outright murder of innocent people for simply being a little different.

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jesus is all about hatred, damnation and total control over everyone's thoughts, words, deeds and even dreams. They demand total cradle to grave control in the name of some absentee slumlord who has somehow told them to tell others how everyone must live. We will listen, kkkristers. Just as soon as your gods get over here to tell us to our faces.

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If they reflect their Jesus character, he would have been a terrible person.

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Well, there's your problem... you think children are 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, you silly leftie! The bible says children are property. Even has a pricing guide for 'em!

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We thank Hemant for saying what is (constantly) needed to be addressed:

"This is yet another example of how religious leaders who cloak themselves in faith-based rhetoric are often a serious threat to children while the people conservatives deem “groomers”—like drag queens, LGBTQ people, and liberal allies—are no such thing at all."

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Pure, 100% distilled, Grade-A 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. Every accusation is a confession.

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Fuck this shit! I hope those motherfucking pervs rot in prison and then rot in hell.

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the "troubled teen industry", both run as religious and non-religious businesses, is horrific from the little I know. At some point, I'll read Paris Hilton's memoir on her experiences surviving that industry - from what I know, it was horrific.

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100%. When I was at my wit’s end with my eldest, having tried therapy and getting nowhere, I looked into the non-religious ones. Red flags everywhere. Note: we weathered through it. All good.

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This has gone on for more than 20 years. That would require a great deal of disregarding by the local community. Christian privilege includes Christian impunity. Christian scofflaws don't just claim it for themselves; their local communities afford it to them as well.

A secular organization is considered innocent until proven guilty.

A Satanic, atheist, or Muslim organization is considered guilty until proven innocent, and even then, is still regarded with suspicion.

A Christian organization is considered innocent for years after being proven guilty, and far too soon is unwisely trusted again.

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From another article on the subject, some former captives and nearby town residents formed a phone tree.

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Give us the URL and we'll look at it.

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Found it https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article286162626.html

Paywall, use reader mode.

"After townsfolk saw the caravan Friday night of law enforcement vehicles — led by Finch — head to the boarding school, word spread through a group chat that includes residents and many former students. Those former students said the activity gave them hope that after feeling their stories had been ignored for years, someone was finally listening to them."

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It was in a comment on the previous post. Let me check my browser history.

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"Let me check my browser history."

"One moment, please." *elevator music plays*

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Oh, good morning Mr. NoGodz, going down?

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What a way to blow a job.

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*looks at camera, gives eyebrow lift*

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" Let me check my browser history."

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

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Unlike some good christians I don't dabble in raped kids 😝

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Just so long as you stay out of mine.

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It's DM who loves kiwis.

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There seems to be a pattern of cops sitting on their thumbs until stories like this hit the media. That seems to motivate the department to, yanno, DO THE FUCKING JOB THEY'RE PAID TO DO!

And every story like this underscores the fact that, just because they hide behind the veil of religion, they are not to be trusted.

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You are exaggerating. How are they supposed to eat their donuts and drink their covfefe if they are sitting on their thumbs ?

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I imagine with all the sitting around avoiding their jobs, they'd be sitting on at least one donut...

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My dad always said his store was safe because there was a donut shop next door and usually had police there. :D

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If it was here we would say that cops are more into beignes* than beignets*.

* Both are pastries but in slang a "beigne" is a strong slap or a punch.

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I love beignets. Yummmmmmm

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Unlike azuki beans* or black sesame*, fruits want to be left alone 😋

* Mochis are the only sweet I like.

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They should all get life with no parole. Including local LEO who are clearly in on it.

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It seems, without exception, that any christian organization that grows large is inevitably riddled with sexual predators. But not just that, they actively work to shield the predators in order to "save face."

In my own research of IBLP & ATI (https://www.recoveringgrace.org/) one follower noted (buried in the comments of Rachel's story - scroll to or look for "Sunflower March 5, 2014") that her music instructor informed her of her boyfriends opinion of why they (the female followers) always wore dresses: "Of course that's what we like - easy access." After that, during a family bible study, she noticed her husband, who always sat on the floor, looking up their own daughters' dresses. After that they wore pants. I'm thinking, "Why the hell are you even with him after discovering that?" I think this is part of the reason sexual predation is so prevalent and successful in religious organizations.

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They expect women to wear dresses so man can easily thrust their manhood into the women's private lives whether they like it or not. Seeing them wear pants, especially jeans, and other types of men's style clothing and their "easy fun times" with the ladies get ruined.

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Definitely.

Reading Sex & God, the screwed up messaging about sex not only retards their development, it also anchors them to teenage objectification ("Wham. Bam. Thank you, ma'am.") for life ("If I was 20 years younger, I'd bounce you off a mattress."), and can also lead some to grossly fetishize their own daughters and worse.

But that's okay, forgiveness washes away all sin.

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"What? We're being arrested? Criminals? But, but...we prayed to God and He said it was right and fine. You can't do this to us, we're the good people. Religious persecution!!!"

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they were told “They didn’t provide enough information to meet the criteria to launch an investigation. You have to understand that law enforcement is a cost benefit analysis. The cost of ignoring the information that you have given us, right now, is far less than the cost of us doing our jobs. Maybe if you get a local newspaper to pay attention the equation will change. But there is a new season of Ozarks on Netflix, and I want to watch it, and if I have to do my job, when will I have time to watch it? So, just drop it. And let us, in law enforcement do our jobs, by not doing our jobs. ”

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So Christian schools are evil places for kids – so surprised I'm all Agape.

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