Dr. David Tee, who is neither a doctor nor a Tee, continues to support preachers who rape, molest, and abuse children, saying that their crimes are mere “problems”; weaknesses that they can overcome through Jesus and the power of prayer. Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen, continues to impugn my character, suggesting that I hate God and Christians; that I’m just piling on those poor preachers who are down. Thiessen thinks I am trying to make God look bad. According to him, the purpose of the Black Collar Crime Series is to harm Christianity and Christians.
Here’s what Thiessen had to say (all spelling, grammar, and punctuation in the original):
There is a website [The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser], BG’s [Bruce Gerencser] to be more specific, that likes to post the names, images, and crimes of those Christian pastors who have not been able to conquer their problems [rapes, molestations, assaults]. For the most part, it is a useless list as it does not expose anyone of any secret crime they have committed.
It is just a reposting of actual news stories for whatever reason BG may have. We have labeled it as hatred for God and Christians in the past and it is simply piling on those who are down. It is an uncalled for list as it serves no purpose but to harm Christians and Christianity.
He tries to make God look bad through the fallen ministers who are paying for their crimes. However, no matter the bad reason BG has for posting these images and crimes, Christians can turn it into good.
….
Being a pastor is a hard profession to be in as evil will attack the minister through a variety of means. Ministers need prayer to remain strong, resist temptation, and remain in the faith. They are totally human and do have weaknesses they have not conquered.
Just because God calls them to the ministry does it mean they are impervious to temptation, perfect, or even properly spiritual. These lists prove that point. When these men and sometimes women fail, don’t get a superiority complex because all Christians fail in some way at some point [most Christians don’t rape, molest, or assault children].
I have repeatedly explained why I write the Black Collar Crimes Series to Thiessen. In March 2023, I republished an expanded post titled Why I Write The Black Collar Crime Series and Will Continue to Do So Despite Criticism from Evangelicals. What follows is that post in full.
The Black Collar Crime series is in its seventh year, having published over one thousand reports of clergy and church leader criminal misconduct. Most of the reports are about Evangelical pastors, evangelists, youth directors, and other church leaders who committed sex crimes. Using Google Alerts, I receive an immediate notice any time a news story about clerical malfeasance is posted on the Internet. These stories must receive wide circulation. Victims need to know that people are standing with them as they bring to light what God’s servants have done in secret.
I realize that these reports are often dark and depressing, but the only way to dispel darkness is to turn on the lights. Clergy who prey on congregants — especially children — must be exposed, prosecuted, convicted, and sent to prison. By leveraging this blog’s readership numbers and publishing these reports, I am serving notice to law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges: we are paying attention, and if you fail to provide justice for victims, we will hold you accountable.
Many clerics have enormous power over people. How else do we explain that alleged repeat abusers of children and sexual predators such as Lester Roloff, Jack Patterson, and Mack Ford — to name a few — never spent a day in jail for their crimes? Mack Ford, in particular, spent decades physically and psychologically destroying teenagers, yet, thanks to his connections in the community, he was never prosecuted for his crimes. (Please see Sexual Abuse in the Name of God: New Bethany Home for Girls, Teen Group Homes: Dear IFB Pastor, It’s Time for You to Atone for Your Sin, What Should We Do When Religious Freedom Leads to Child Abuse?)
Sometimes, these seemingly untouchable predators are brought to justice, but not before the public puts pressure on law enforcement and prosecutors, forcing them to act. The sordid story of abuse at Restoration Youth Academy is a case in point. Decades of abuse reports were filed with local law enforcement, yet nothing was done. Yes, they finally acted and the perpetrators are now in prison, but what do we say to the hundreds of children and teenagers who were ritually abused before prosecutors got around to doing their job?
I am sure that this series will bring criticism from Evangelical zealots, reminding me that accused/charged clerics are innocent until proven guilty. While they are correct, all I am doing is sharing that which is widely reported in the news. In the sixteen years I’ve been writing about clergy misconduct, I can count on one hand the number of pastors/priests/religious leaders who were falsely accused — less than five, out of hundreds and hundreds of cases. The reason for so few false accusations is that no person in his or her right mind would mendaciously accuse a pastor of sexual misconduct. The social and personal cost is simply too high for someone to falsely accuse a religious leader of criminal conduct.
People often believe that “men of God” would never, ever commit such crimes. One common thread in the crimes committed by Jack Schaap, Bill Wininger, Josh Duggar, David Farren, Naasón Joaquín García, and a cast of thousands, is that family and fellow Christians were CERTAIN that these men of God could/would never commit the crimes with which they were charged. Even when presented with overwhelming evidence, their supporters, with heads in the sand, refuse to believe that these servants of Jesus did the perverse things they are accused of. (Please see What One IFB Apologist Thinks of People Who Claim They Were Abused and Evangelicals Use ‘We Are All Sinners’ Argument to Justify Sexual Abuse.)
Secondary reasons for this series have to do with exposing the lie that Evangelicalism is immune to scandal and criminal behavior. I remember when the Catholic sex scandal came to light. With great glee and satisfaction, Evangelical preachers railed against predator priests and the Catholic Church who covered up their crimes. Now, of course, we know — with the recent Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) and Southern Baptist sex scandals — that Evangelicalism is just as rotten, having its own problems with sexual abuse and subsequent cover-ups. Evangelicals love to take the high moral ground, giving the perception that their shit doesn’t stink. Well, now we know better. Not only does Evangelicalism have a sexual abuse problem, it also has a big problem with pastors who can’t keep their pants zipped up. (Please see Is Clergy Sexual Infidelity Rare?)
I receive threats from people defending their religious heroes. Threats of legal action are common, even though all I am doing is republishing stories publicly reported by news agencies. A pastor featured in one of my reports contacted me and said that reporters had it all wrong. As I do with everyone who asserts they are being falsely accused, I told this preacher that he could give his version of the facts, sign his name to it, and I would gladly add it to the post. Usually, this puts an end to any further protestations. Most often, the accused want to bully me into taking down my post. In this preacher’s case, he provided me his version of events and I gladly added it to my post. After adding the information, I decided to investigate this pastor further. I found more information about his past indiscretions and crimes. I dutifully added them to the post. I have not heard anything further from the good pastor.
I am not immune from making mistakes, so if you spot a factual error in one of the stories, please let me know and I will gladly correct it. If you come across a story that you would like me to add to this series, please use the contact form to email me. Please keep in mind that I need links to actual news reports in order to add them to this series.
I primarily use Google Alerts for Black Collar Crime reports. I also rely on readers to alert me to new stories or updates of previous reports. I am one man with a limited amount of time each day to slog through the brackish Evangelical swamp, so I don’t see every report or know the outcome of every case I’ve featured in the Black Collar Crime Series. Keep in mind that I require EVIDENCE for me to update a story. Not gossip or personal opinion. Actual evidence such as reputable news stories (with links). Just because a reader or drive-by commenter says something doesn’t make it so. I appreciate your understanding.
I realize that nothing I say in this post will change the minds of preachers such as Dr. David Tee, whose real name is Derrick Thomas Thiessen. Thiessen has a sketchy background. He has been accused of abandoning his family, including an infant child, failing to pay child support, and fleeing to South Korea/Philippines to avoid being held accountable for his behavior.
Thiessen has been a vocal critic of me personally and of the Black Collar Crimes Series. Thiessen is known for defending clerics who commit sex crimes. Just this week he wrote two more posts defending Ravi Zacharias. He has also defended men such as Bill Cosby and Bill Gothard. Thiessen goes to great lengths to defend his support of offending preachers, but I find his defenses lacking in every way. Thiessen repeatedly rejects the substantial work done by law enforcement in investigating, prosecuting, and convicting pastors who commit sex crimes. Why? This is the judgment of the “world,” not God. Of course, God is unavailable for comment. All we have are our legal processes, albeit imperfect, they are the best we have to hold clergy and churches accountable.
Thiessen frequently blames victims for what happened to them. Thiessen is not alone in this approach to women (sometimes men) and children who have been sexually violated and taken advantage of by so-called men of God. Again, Thiessen claims that victims are following the ways of the “world” instead of God. Of course, God’s ways in Thiessen’s mind are his peculiar interpretation of the Protestant Christian Bible.
Thiessen, in response to the post, Dr. David Tee Thinks Everyone Who is Not a Christian is an Atheist, renewed his objections to the Black Collar Crime Series. Here’s some of what he said:
He [Bruce Gerencser] is right in one thing, we do not like his black collar series but not for the reasons he thinks. We [Derrick Thiessen] do not like it for many reasons and two of them are, it is not being fair or just. That owner [Bruce Gerencser] ignores all the unbelievers and atheists who are caught, tried, and convicted for the same crimes.
….
[Speaking of being fair and just] Christians have to do both to be able to make an impact for Christ. But this is not the end of the hypocrisy and injustice carried out by the owners of the BG [The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser] and MM [Meerkat Musings] websites, as well as other unbelieving websites.
There have been other similar stories about drag shows in schools, and so on. Yet not one peep from either owner about how bad, immoral, or wrong these actions are. Instead, they would rather target Christians as that is the group of people, as well as Christ, that they hate.
This is another reason God told us to never follow in the counsel of the ungodly. They do not have fairness or just behavior in their thinking. Look at all the CRT, equity, BLM re-education going on today. None of those and anything similar is of God nor are they just and fair.
….
Another reason we do not like the black collar series over at that website [The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser] is that it is unneeded. It does nothing constructive for society nor does it help redeem those men who failed in their Christian lives, if they were Christians at all.
All it does, as we said earlier, is influence others to hate Christ, pastors, and the church, and turning people to hate is wrong. It is not fair to those men highlighted and the series does not have people being just or fair towards them. In fact, it helps stoke the misguided guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality that many unbelievers endorse.
It is also redundant as the local papers will carry the same stories and his series is just wasting everyone’s time. When the Christian sees those stories they need to ask God how to reach those men so that Christ can redeem them.
….
{we would link to the article we talked about but it is so filled with lies and eisegetical comments that it is nothing but trash [which I can’t rebut] }
I have explained my motivations for writing the Black Collar Crime Series several times. He knows exactly why I do what I do, so I can only conclude that Thiessen is a liar and his goal is to impugn my character and impair my coverage of clergy sex crimes.
Let’s suppose I operated a site whose mission was to cover the Cincinnati Reds. Every day I published news stories about the Reds and individual players on the team. One day, a man named Deirere TeeDee sent me an email, complaining about me not writing any posts about the NHL, particularly me not covering the Detroit Red Wings. Duh, I replied, I write about the Reds, and Major League Baseball, not the National Hockey League and the Detroit Red Wings. Your complaint has no merit.
Yet, this is exactly what Thiessen has done with his complaint about me not covering atheists and other unbelievers who commit sex crimes. He knows that this site focuses on four things:
- Helping people who have questions and doubts about Christianity
- Helping people who have left Christianity
- Telling the story about my journey from Evangelical Christian to atheist
- Critiquing Evangelical Christianity
I have been blogging since 2007 — sixteen years. I have stayed true to these four focus points, rarely veering off the path to talk about politics, sports, food, and travel. Why Thiessen cannot understand why I write the Black Collar Crime Series is beyond me. I know that all sorts of people commit sex crimes, but my focus is on Evangelical preachers who commit such crimes. This is NOT a sex crime blog. If it was, I would cover unbelievers and believers alike. And even if I did, it would still be true that the vast majority of people who commit sex crimes are Christian or religious. Why? Because most Americans are Christians.
I have repeatedly explained to Thiessen why the Black Collar Crime Series is needed. I assume, at this point, he is being obtuse. Most of the stories I write require numerous news stories to tell the complete story. They also require research on my part to find out what sect the offender was a part of and their background and beliefs. Sometimes, these reports take a lot of time to put together. Other times, a Google search quickly gives me everything I need to write the story.
These reports are based on news reports, court records, social media, and other verifiable sources. I rarely interject my personal opinion. My goal is to provide a one-stop website for people looking for information about a particular preacher/church and their crimes. Blog traffic numbers suggest that this is exactly what is happening.
It is not uncommon for news sites to either delete stories about clergy sex crimes or put them behind paywalls. That’s why it is important for me to make these stories available to the public free of charge. The public has a right to know what is going on in Evangelical churches. Surely it is important to cover criminal behavior by clerics. Surely it is important to say to victims that I hear you and I will make your story known far and wide. The bigger question, then, is this: why do Derrick Thiessen and other Christians of his ilk want to muzzle me and keep these stories from being known?
One answer to the questions above is that the Thiessens of the world don’t care about the victims of clergy sex crimes. I suspect many of them believe that the victimized women (and men) and children and not victims at all. Thus, they view sexual predators as the real victims; that the “world” is out to get them. Thiessen admits as much when he says “When the Christian sees those stories [about rape, sexual assault, child molestation, along with theft, fraud, and murder] they need to ask God how to reach those men so that Christ can redeem them.” Remember, Thiessen has called sex crimes “mistakes.” He has yet to write one positive post about the victims of clergy sexual misconduct. All that Thiessen cares about are the poor preachers who rape, assault, misuse, and abuse vulnerable people. In his mind, these preachers just made “mistakes.” If they will just shoot a 1 John 1:9 (If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness) prayer to Heaven, Jesus will forgive them and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. With that, the offending preachers are forgiven and should get right back on the ministry horse. Thiessen seems oblivious to the fact that most pedophiles are incurable; that Jesus himself can’t fix them. He seems to be oblivious to the fact that preachers caught committing sex crimes, particularly child pornography, have likely been doing so for years. When a 60-something-year-old preacher is arrested for sexually assaulting a child, it is likely that he has committed this crime before. Most clergy sex crimes go unreported/unprosecuted (as is the case in the general population). What I cover with the Black Collar Crime Series is but a fraction of the crimes committed by Christian clergy. I read sites such as Ministry Watch, The Roys Report, Bishop Accountability, Baptist Accountability, and the Black Collar Crime listings published monthly for members by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. I am astounded by how many stories about clergy sex crimes I actually miss.
It’s clear to all who are willing to see that Evangelicalism has a clergy sex crime problem of epic proportions. These reports are not a few bad apples. The sex scandal roiling through the Southern Baptist Convention certainly proves that the proverbial barrel is littered with rotten, stinking apples.
Note: As of today, I have published almost 1,000 Black Collar Crime posts. I am sitting on over 1,000 more stories that await publication. I wish I could do more in this regard, but I can’t due to my health. I do what I can, but I want every victim/survivor to know that I see them, hear them, and will do all I can to make sure their story is not forgotten.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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I cannot believe how much mileage he extracts from all this. He knows the purpose of the Black Collar Series, and all his faux outrage is dishonest.
Tee Hee is a joke and an idiot,and his values are twisted,at best ! Most of the people profiled in the Black Collar Series did plead guilty,they didn’t deny what occurred. It’s almost comical to hear him whining that people will hate pastors,churches or God, because of the series, when the blog isn’t to blame, it’s the actions of convicted criminals who should be hated ! I bet where he lives today, no one is allowed to know about his life in the US, where he left his children, and got divorced or whatever. Thiessen – Hee, you are a total boob !
I’m really getting to dislike Tee strongly. I’d have some respect, possibly, if he actually engaged with the points you make, rather than go on what appears to me to be self serving (I’m still suspicious as to motivation) defence of the indefensible. I’m sure that the information about these sexual predators is available for those who seek it out, but it would be a never ending task to search them all day to day, especially for those not living in the US. This column serves a wonderful purpose, whereby the information is collated and laid bare, and we can see the extent of the problem. Whilst I’m sure that many people who feel they are called (however delusional I may think they are) to serve a church are honest and decent, it’s clear that it’s a magnet for people who have social challenges, of which sexual repression is a major factor. In short, religious environments are such that they spawn a level of sexual transgression that exceeds by far the ‘normal’ proportions of predatory behaviour one would expect in other areas of life. I’m guessing there are as many plumbers in the US as there are church workers (if need be add in electricians and bricklayers), yet I’ll lay odds that a report on their sexual transgressions would be a tiny fraction of the religious.
Tee’s continued insistence on writing in the first person plural is something he does only to annoy. I wonder if anybody else in the world actually reads his silly fool nonsense!
Bruce, first of all I want to thank you for posting my story of childhood sexual abuse by a priest. I am sure other victims-and people who simply care—are grateful for your Black Collar Crime series. Yes, you are relaying already-published or -broadcast news accounts. But many of your readers would never know about those perfidious prelates otherwise because, for whatever reasons, they don’t have access or simply the time to do what you do.
What I find particularly appalling about “Tee” is the way he defends perpetrators and kicks victims while they’re down. I have survived and am working through my trauma, half a century after my abuse, with no help from his ever-loving God. If anything, when I “accepted Christ as my Lord and savior” and immersed myself in the Bible, everything got worse. And, in part because of bullying from folks like “Tee,” too many other victims of clerical and other church-related sexual exploitation are too broken to come to terms with their experiences or have taken their stories to their graves.
Just as some of the worst homophobes and transphobes are “in the closet,” I think “Tee”’s over-the-top defense of sexual predators clad in clerical collars (to the point of portraying them as the “real” victims) and the way he casts aspersions on his victims are ways of “overcompensating “ for his own transgressions and “demons.”
“Tee”’s over-the-top defense of sexual predators clad in clerical collars (to the point of portraying them as the “real” victims) and the way he casts aspersions on his victims are ways of “overcompensating “ for his own transgressions and “demons.”
This seems oh sooo clear to me, MJ… I would like to hear how Tee answers to the charges he fled… Feel free to share the God’s truth, Tee….
I recently re-read the story about John Lowe, Pastor of New Life Christian Church, most likely a “Doctor” Tee approved evangelical church. For those who are unfamiliar, he decided to do a “Jimmy Swaggart” style “confession” before his congregation for the sin of adultery due to a long-term extramarital affair with a female parishioner. What he failed to mention was the victim was 16 when the “affair” started, a mistake which was soon exposed when the victim, now an adult who is married, walked onto the stage with her husband to confront Pastor Lowe. The video of this went viral.
During the weeks that followed, other women who had been abused in this church came forward, including the ex-wife of the Pastor’s son, who alleged physical and mental abuse that was continually dismissed or minimized by the leadership at the church.
While horrible, this example pales in comparison to the abuse you hear about regarding Gotthard in Shiny Happy People, as well as the other
pervert abusers Bruce mentions.
These stories shatter the “Doctor” Tee myth that his style of Christianity is the “right” style. If we use the Gospel standard that a tree should be judged by its fruit, then his “trees” are just as rotten as the others.
People like Tee, who himself has a questionable background, focuses on the Gospel messages of forgiveness and temptation. But IMO these incidents fall more in the category of the condemnation of the religious leaders for their hypocrisy and victimization of the defenseless. Funny how “Doctor” Tee fails to make that connection. Maybe he shouldn’t quit his day job, whatever that is.
Derrick Thomas Thiessen: “There is a website [The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser], BG’s [Bruce Gerencser] to be more specific, that likes to post the names, images, and crimes of those Christian pastors who have not been able to conquer their problems [rapes, molestations, assaults]. For the most part, it is a useless list as it does not expose anyone of any secret crime they have committed.”
Zoe: So he admits there are “crimes.” Though really they’re just “problems” No big deal either way, because there is nothing new under the sun, after all, nothing here is a secret, is it? Actually, until exposed, their crimes were a secret to those other than the criminals and their victims. Naturally, Derrick Thomas Thiessen will retort, yes but not a secret to God, and that’s all that matters.
Derrick Thomas Thiessen: “It is just a reposting of actual news stories for whatever reason BG may have. We have labeled it as hatred for God and Christians in the past and it is simply piling on those who are down. It is an uncalled for list as it serves no purpose but to harm Christians and Christianity.”
Zoe: Those poor, poor “down” criminals. How dare anyone come forward to protect the innocent and cast harm to the criminals!
Derrick Thomas Thiessen: “He tries to make God look bad through the fallen ministers who are paying for their crimes. However, no matter the bad reason BG has for posting these images and crimes, Christians can turn it into good.”
Zoe: Oh, look, we’re back to admitting they are criminals.
There are so many victims of sexual abuse whose stories go untold and who never receive justice. None. Their abusers walk/walked freely through life as if nothing happened. I personally know 8 people who were repeatedly sexually abused, and only one was able to get justice – and that’s because police caught the abuser in the act. First, it’s important to note that these alleged perpetrators who appear in the news were actually accused by someone who felt courageous enough to report the abuse. So many victims do not feel that they can report it, for whatever reasons. How many other abusers must be walking around? Second, if the victims feel like forgiving their abusers, that’s entirely up to them. If they don’t want to forgive, that’s certainly their right.
Tee doesn’t seem to be able to decide whether accused abusers are Real Christians (TM) or not.
“…thanks to his connections in the community, he was never prosecuted for his crimes”. That rings a bell. My experience in the small community to the north of Ney, OH was that a number of pedophiles were substantial members of that community. Their perversion seemed to be common knowledge and tolerated with a wink and a shrug, as long as victims were not from important families. A case in point was when a pedophile, a local businessman, molested my classmate, a child of another businessman. That got him arrested and imprisoned. He was never held to account for the less advantaged children he also molested. After a year in the pen, he returned to the community, probably choosing victims more carefully. Local pedos included at least one woman. This came to light when a 14 year old she seduced murdered her husband. No sweeping that under the rug and the boy spent decades in prison. She, far as I know, wasn’t held accountable.
I’m not personally aware of local clergy molesting kids. My observations are of a culture of silence and tolerance exiting there. In fairness it was long ago and all except some victims are deceased.
Is Bruce is just trying to make Christians look bad? No, just shining a light on them as got it coming.
he is being deliberately obtuse: he understands exactly why you are doing the “black collar crimes” series, and he understands its seriousness and the purpose for outing “christians” who do such things, but that doesn’t matter to him. he thinks that, if everyone believed the same things he does, the problems would simply disappear. he wants to encourage that line of thinking, rather than to hold people responsible for their actions, likely because he, himself, is involved in some nefarious behaviour, and wants to draw peoples’ attention elsewhere.
Bruce, this was a long post but excellent and worth reading. Dr Tee most certainly believes that people who reject Jesus will go to hell. Anyone who has been sexually abused by one of Jesus’ minions has every reason to reject Jesus. This all powerful invisible being did nothing to stop the abuse. Certainly threats to keep quiet about the abuse at the cost of eternal damnation were often used. The physical and psychological damage inflicted on countless victims throughout history is overwhelming to consider. The insult of eternal damnation for rejecting a god who would not protect is reprehensible. My blood boils when I think of the pain and suffering caused by religion
Bruce, I have to admit I used to subscribe to Derrick Thomas Thiessen’s blog, but I don’t anymore because of his insistence on referring to himself in the first person plural. Not to mention all the reasons you mentioned.
If you read some older posts, including a handful of guest posts I wrote several months ago, Derrick acknowledged, under oath, that he experiences auditory hallucinations and has refused to seek comprehensive treatment for it. I suspect there may be some correlation between this and his insistence on using first-person plural pronouns.
Thiessen responds:
We read BG’s response to our black collar crime series article. .He is lucky that we are not litigious in nature and do not strike back at those who not only distort what we have said but libel and slander us.
But he says things the way he does because he is a first-class narcissist who needs to be seen as the victim 100% of the time. If he wasn’t that way his posts would be written vastly different than they are being written.
He just doesn’t get it. No one needs his black collar crime series. Everyone that needs to know already knows about what some pastors do. There is no need to pile on and add misery to those who are already miserable.
Of course, if you read that series, you will find that BG does not present one legitimate solution to the problem. Instead, he spends his time attacking us as we are providing the framework for a solution to ministers going and gone bad.
We would prefer that those men not join the ministry until they allow Jesus to heal them of their problems. But since they do not postpone their answer to their calling, we must deal with the problem within the church.
The secular world does not have a solution for the problems these men face and instead of embarrassing and humiliating pastors, they should just remain silent trusting that church officials will be led by God to handle the problems correctly.
….
They [rapist, predator, abusive preachers] have sinned and come short of the glory of God, just like the rest of us. Christ is there for them as he is for all of us. We are no better even if we did not commit such worldly sins as the bible tells.
Those men are no worse than any one of us and deserve a second chance. Where would any of us be if we were not given 2nd, 3rd, or 14 chances by God?
As you may have noticed we are not saying much about BG and his black collar crime series as that rant is not worth discussing. The author of those words doesn’t speak the truth and offers no legitimate reason for it to exist.
We have said the worst we are going to say about the owner of that website and series. As all he can do is distort, libel, and slander. It is not worth getting into a war of words over.
But since it does exist, that series does provide us with a starting point to provide direction for those Christians who may have condemned and judged those men or do not know what ministry they should do.
We should not judge nor condemn those men because that is not our duty. We are not better than them and we do need to find a way to solve their problems BEFORE they get themselves into trouble.
….
We have not changed one word of what we said in the article on the black collar series. That series is a useless effort that does not help anyone.
https://theologyarchaeology.wordpress.com/2023/12/12/we-are-not-litigious/
Tee says
“ Of course, if you read that series, you will find that BG does not present one legitimate solution to the problem.”
As anyone who has worked in a managerial situation will know there’s an old saying that you can’t manage a problem if you don’t know about it. Hence the starting point to solving the problem is quantifying it, and this is what your excellent series does. As several of us point out we wouldn’t know about this problem but for this forum. Yes, we know generally there are countless thousands of paedophile Catholic priests, but I had no idea there were so many elsewhere!
Tee is defending the indefensible. He says we can’t solve the problem so we should ignore it, let these people be. I say…no I can’t write what I want to say. This makes Tee almost culpable alongside them! We don’t ignore moral monsters, we expose them, and in that way it makes others aware that crimes like this can, and will, be exposed and pursued to the full extent of the law. I have little doubt that actually the problem is much worse than we suspect, and that many perpetrators are still being protected by the sick and corrupt churches that allowed this to happen in the first place, but at least this series makes those people sweat just a little, knowing that justice may be at last coming for them.
As for his comment that the perpetrators are no worse than anybody else? He seems to be aligning himself with these people. I’m not sure I would want to do that. I don’t know anybody else here personally, but the impression I get from commenters is that they are substantially better people than those who feature in the series, in part at least because they’ve either left their religion or else come to recognise some of its failings.
He wouldn’t dare try legal proceedings of any kind, because he knows the info on record – official record at that – about him would prove quite damning.
Derrick Thomas Thiessen: “Those men are no worse than any one of us and deserve a second chance.”
Zoe: Speaking for himself. If they are guilty, he is as well. If they don’t get a second chance, they are unforgiven, as he is as well.
Riiiiiight. Of course if any of their sheep made mistakes they’d castigate and even disfellowship them. It’s a double standard for leaders because they’re working for the god and bringing souls into the kingdom.
Saw precious few that I’d consider to be predators during my long journey through the maze of Charismatic / Pentecostal madness, but one thing I did notice was a trail of broken families, as pastors declared who should marry, who should separate, and who should divorce. Men who were ostensibly there to help the hurting and broken used the opportunity instead to wreak bloody havoc in people’s lives, just because they got “words from the holy ghost” that this or that couple was blessed or cursed. They literally had the power of life and death over their congregations.
Years later, I spoke with a guy who, after years of living in the closet, finally came out as a fine, level-headed gay person. I apologized for any attitudes any of us had had toward him and he responded with such grace: “It’s okay. I forgive you and everyone else there and don’t have any bitterness toward you. We were in a cult that was led by a tyrannical maniacs.”