I recently watched a news clip from the recent Value Voters Summit. One attendee interviewed said that Christians (Evangelicals) were being persecuted before Jesus-loving, pussy-grabbing, liar-in-chief Donald Trump became president. The woman’s proof of persecution? People said bad things about Christianity. The following graphic pretty well sums things up:
Please use the comment section below to list all the ways Evangelicals were persecuted under President Obama.
George Waddles Sr., a former president of the National Baptist Congress and pastor of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago,Illinois, pleaded guilty today to sexually abusing a fifteen-year-old church girl. Astoundingly, Waddles Sr. will serve NO jail time for his crimes. Waddles was investigated in the 1990s over similar allegations. No charges were filed.
With little of the fanfare that surrounded his charismatic preaching career, one of Chicago’s most prominent churchmen pleaded guilty on Friday to sexually abusing a 15 year-old-girl, the I-Team has learned.
The Rev. George Waddles Sr., a former president of the National Baptist Congress and ex-pastor of Zion Hill Missionary Church on W. 78th St, appeared in Cook County criminal court. Since being charged two years ago Waddles has been fighting the allegation. On Friday he pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
However, despite having abused a minor girl, he will not go to jail.
Cook County Judge James Obbish sentenced Waddles to 30 months’ probation and the 69 year old minister must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Prosecutors had asked for jail time, especially considering Waddles sexually assaulted the teenager during a counseling session at the church.
In court on Friday the young woman who was sexually abused presented an emotional victim impact statement, saying that the Rev. Waddles had tried to manipulate her family-who were longtime parishioners.
“You called my mom every Sunday to see if you could meet with me again, see if I forgave you, and not press charges” she said.
Although Waddles was charged with molesting only her, the victim told Judge Obbish that there were other girls abused by Waddles.
“I’m the only victim who has come forward since he’s been raping, molesting and assaulting minors. George thought I would give up by now, but little did he know, I can’t be suppressed” she said. “Even through my suicidal thoughts, self-loathing, dwelling, disappointments, anger, weakness, doubt and confusion, God is still so good.”
….
In September of 2015, Chicago Tribune writer Steve Schmadeke reported:
A longtime South Side pastor was charged with sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in his office during a counseling session in 2014.
Prosecutors said the alleged victim and her mother confronted George Waddles, 67, who heads Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, and secretly recorded his admissions to inappropriately touching the teen.
Waddles turned himself in to Chicago police Tuesday and made “a positive disclosure” to a detective that was consistent with the girl’s story, said Assistant State’s Attorney Tara Pease-Harkin. He was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony that carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison or probation on conviction.
Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Waddles released on his own recognizance but barred him from any contact with minors.
Waddles’ wife, daughter and son attended the bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building along with other pastors and supporters.
Waddles’ attorney, Lewis Myers Jr., blasted the case, saying a Department of Children and Family Services investigation did not sustain the girl’s claims and that she and her mother continued to attend church and counseling after the alleged incident.
“These charges should never have been filed,” Myers later said outside the courtroom.
Myers said in court that Waddles has been preaching for 35 years and holds a master’s degree in social work. He founded a training conference for those involved in Christian education called the Biblical Exposition Conference, according to an online biography. He is past president of several Christian education groups, including the Baptist General State Congress of Christian Education in Illinois and the National Baptist Congress.
Pease-Harkin said that Waddles had been investigated in the 1990s on allegations he had sexually abused a young girl in his office but that no criminal charges were filed against him.
Prosecutors said the alleged victim has known Waddles since she was 3 and started to be counseled by him when she turned 13 in 2011.
A year later, he told her he had dreamed about her and asked her to lift her shirt up for him, but she refused, Pease-Harkin said.
He tried to give her a hug and kiss her neck on five to 10 other occasions when she was in his church office at 1460 W 78th St., according to the prosecutor.
Once, in 2014, Waddles asked the girl to sit on his lap, and when she did, he kissed her neck and touched her underneath her underwear, Pease-Harkin said. The girl then left his office and about a month later told her mother what had happened, she said.
The two then confronted Waddles in a meeting at the church. He allegedly confessed and apologized, according to the prosecutor.
At a second meeting between July 2014 and February 2015, the girl and her mother met with Waddles and his wife and recorded his alleged admission, Pease-Harkin said.
Waddles asked them not to contact police, the prosecutor said.
Matt McCall, also a writer for the Chicago Tribune, had this to say about Waddles and his latest victim:
For more than a decade the modest Gresham neighborhood church was the center of the family’s life.
The mother was a church council member, praise leader and Sunday school teacher. Her daughter was in the youth ministry.
They said they felt the Rev. George Waddles Sr., the charismatic pastor and leader of Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church, was a true man of God. Three to four days a week, the family served the church in some way.
That ended in 2014 after the then 15-year-old daughter alleged Waddles had abused her during a counseling session in his office, according to court records.
Waddles was charged in September with aggravated criminal sexual abuse after turning himself in to police, a Class 2 felony that carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. He later pleaded not guilty. Under Waddles’ bond conditions, he is allowed to preach at the church but is barred from contact with minors when adults are not present.
The victim’s family is concerned that Waddles is still at the church and a group that advocates for sexual assault victims is asking that he step down from his leadership position while the case is pending.
The family said they have been shunned by parishioners and receive intimidating phone calls at least once a week. Waddles still preaches at the 100- to 200-member church at 1460 W. 78th St., and a little more than a month after the charges were filed, church members threw an anniversary celebration in Waddles’ honor.
“Overall, you don’t need to be a Christian to understand right from wrong,” the girl said. The Tribune is not naming her or her parents because she is the alleged victim of a sexual assault. “That’s why I feel they are doing something wrong. When you’re so wrapped up in it, it’s hard to see the truth. They see him as God. They don’t do what God says. They do what he says.”
Hunched over in a chair, she stared at the door in the corner of a closet-size room at a Chicago public library recently, an earbud nestled in her left ear. Her father, who was at work, monitored the conversation on a phone placed on the table in front of her. It crackled when he could no longer contain his frustration.
“There was no sensitivity and care for my daughter at all,” he said. “You can imagine her, a 17-year-old girl, with the weight of this on her. As a father, it adds fuel to the fire.”
Her mother, who sat beside her daughter, said the teen has been shamed by the congregation when it should have applauded her.
….
Marc Pearlman, a veteran clergy sex abuse attorney providing legal counsel to the family, said the girl has been treated as a perpetrator for tarnishing the pastor’s reputation, rather than as a potential victim of abuse.
“Tell me any other responsible organization that, when authorities would have enough evidence to charge one of their employees with this crime, that would continue to allow them to work at their place of business,” Pearlman said. “Forget a parish. What about a 7-Eleven?”
….
Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests want the pastor removed “for the safety of other kids.” But unlike the hierarchal Catholic church, Baptist churches typically are independent and only parishioners or a church council can remove their pastor.
An official with the National Baptist Convention said Baptist policy states that each church is autonomous and not subject to management from a national or regional organization.
When Barbara Blaine, president and founder of SNAP, attempted to hand out leaflets at the church on the day of the anniversary service, security guards blocked her from talking to parishioners entering the church.
“We shouldn’t take a risk with any children ever,” Blaine said earlier this month. “So at the bare minimum he should step down while the case is pending.”
Clinton Brackett, Director of Student Ministries at First United Methodist Church in Lindale, Texas, stands accused of sexual assault.
The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports:
The Director of Student Ministries at First United Methodist Church in Lindale has been arrested for sexual assault.
Clinton Brackett, 32, of Lindale was arrested Thursday on a warrant out of Runnels County and taken to the Smith County Jail.
The arrest was the result of information obtained from a Texas Highway Patrol trooper’s traffic stop in Runnels County, according to a statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
….
First United Methodist Senior Pastor Rick Ivey released a statement saying Clinton Brackett, an employee at the church was arrested Thursday for charges of sexual assault that happened in Runnels County.
Ivey said the incident did not happen at FUMC Lindale or in the Lindale community.
“Clint Bracket’s employment with our church has been terminated,” Ivey said.
Brackett’s social media page indicates he was previously employed as the First Baptist Church in Ballinger. In a social medial post on Dec. 6, 2015, Brackett wrote that he accepted the position of Student Minister at the First United Methodist Church in Lindale and would be leaving the church in Ballinger after four and half years as a minister and member of the First Baptist Church family.
Brackett was held on a $100,000 bond which he posted on Thursday, according to Smith County Judicial records.
One of the cardinal doctrines of Evangelical Christianity is the belief that the sixty-six books of the Protestant Bible are inspired, inerrant, and infallible. Every word, every syllable, every letter is without error. The Bible, according to Evangelicals, is different from all other books, in that it was divinely inspired and written by the Christian God. Some Evangelicals believe that God directly dictated the words of the Bible to the original writers. Other Evangelicals believe that God directed the writers to write in such a way that every word is without error. Thus, when Evangelicals say the Bible is inerrant, they mean that the text is internally consistent and without discrepancy, mistake, or error. In other words, every word of the Bible is true.
Ask Evangelical pastors exactly WHAT is inerrant, and they will likely give one of the following responses:
Some Evangelical pastors believe that God has preserved his Word without error down through history, right down to a particular translation — namely the 1769 revision of the King James Bible. Some of these pastors might say that the 1611 edition of the King James Bible is inerrant, but most of them use the 1769 revision, not the 1611. The fact that there are textual differences between the two means that one or the other isn’t inerrant. Other Evangelical pastors believe the King James Bible is inspired by God, right down to the italicized helper words inserted by translators.
Evangelical pastors, as they are wont to do, go to great — and often comical — lengths to explain the doctrine of inerrancy. Serving up theological word salads, these defenders of inerrancy wow congregants with their Trumpian theological prowess. Church members come away believing that whatever translation they are using is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. Asking these members if their Bible contains errors, mistakes, or contractions brings a swift and emphatic NO! However, privately ask educated Evangelical pastors the same question and they will dance all over the place as they attempt to explain that translations are not inerrant, but they ARE faithful, trustworthy, or reliable. Some pastors, realizing that defending inerrancy makes them look like an imbecile, will say that the Bible is inerrant in matters of faith and practice. For these pastors, it doesn’t matter if the Bible is wrong about history and science. The Bible was never meant to be used as a science or history textbook. All that matters is what the Bible says regarding beliefs essential to Christian faith. Good luck trying to pin down pastors on exactly what beliefs are essential.
The original manuscripts of the Bible do not exist in any shape or form. There are thousands of manuscripts from which the various Bible versions are translated. These copies of copies of copies of copies disagree with each other in thousands of places. Granted, most of these discrepancies are minor, but remember, the standard for Biblical inerrancy — WITHOUT ERROR. This means if these manuscripts contain one error, they can not be considered inerrant. The same can be said for translations. If it can be shown that a particular translation has mistakes or internal inconsistencies — and it can — then the text cannot be considered inerrant. Whatever the Bible is or isn’t, one thing is for certain: the Bible is not inerrant. I can’t think of an intellectually honest way to argue that the text of the Protestant Bible in any of its varied forms is without error.
Knowing the Biblical inerrancy cannot be intellectually or rationally sustained, many Evangelical pastors turn to sleight of hand trickery to make it seem that the Bible is inerrant. One popular trick used is harmonization. Bart Ehrman recommends reading each book of the Bible on its own without making attempts to harmonize that book with other books of the Bible. Let each author — whomever he might be — speak for himself without reading into his words what other Biblical writers said. Of course, doing so leaves readers with books that contradict each other, with Jesus, Paul, Peter, and James each having gospels different from the other, and the gospel authors contradicting each other on matters of historical fact. This is why Christian pastors teach congregants to harmonize the Bible. Harmonization makes disparate verses “fit,” supposedly providing a cohesive, consistent text. By doing this, all the alleged textual errors and contradictions disappear — at least in the minds of Evangelical preachers anyway.
Many Evangelical pastors know the Bible is not inerrant. Privately, they will bitch and complain about Bible thumpers such as Ken Ham, David Barton, Jerry Falwell, Jr, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, James Robison, Jim Bakker, and Bob Gray Sr. They wish these men would shut the darn, freaking, heck up.* *Approved Baptist curse words used. (Please read Christian Swear Words.) However, when these very same swearing preachers enter their pulpits on Sunday, they sing a different tune, leading congregants to believe that the translations they hold in their hands are the inspired, inerrant, infallible Words of God. These liars for Jesus know that telling people that the Bible contains errors, mistakes, and contradictions would lead to conflict, unrest, membership loss, reduced offerings, and perhaps even unemployment. If there is one thing I learned as an Evangelical pastor it is this: congregants want certainty. When they read their Bibles, church members want/need to feel/know that what they hold in their hands consists of the very words of God. Without this assurance, people will lose faith in the Bible/God/Jesus/Church. Can’t have that. There is a kingdom to build, an empire to maintain. Doing so requires people of great faith, even if their faith is built upon a lie.
If you are interested in reading further about Biblical inerrancy, I encourage you to read one or more of New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman’s books. Countless Evangelical pastors have done so and now know, if they didn’t know already, that inerrancy is a house of cards. They may not admit this publicly, but when safely meeting behind closed doors with their ministerial colleagues, these men of God speak great lamentations of woe over the pervasive ignorance found among those who believe the Bible is inerrant. However, until they tell their congregations the truth about the Biblical text, what do they expect? Congregants look to their pastors to educate them about the Bible. Most Evangelicals go through life with a borrowed theology — often whatever their pastors believe. Knowing this, Evangelical pastors should speak the truth concerning the Bible and encourage people to study the inerrancy issue for themselves. What better way to do this than starting a Bart Ehrman Book Club. Let me suggest several of his books that will drive a stake in the heart of the brain-sucking doctrine of Biblical inerrancy:
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
Forged: Writing in the Name of God — Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are
How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee
Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament
Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew
About Bruce Gerencser
Bruce Gerencser, 60, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 39 years. He and his wife have six grown children and eleven 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. For more information about Bruce, please read the About page.
Bruce is a local photography business owner, operating Defiance County Photo out of his home. If you live in Northwest Ohio and would like to hire Bruce, please email him.
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Albert Lavador Jr, youth pastor at Broadway Baptist Church and a teacher at Houston Gateway Academy, both located in Houston, Texas, stands accused of sexually assaulting a church teenager.
A youth pastor is accused of taking a teen from his congregation to a motel and sexually assaulting her, according to court documents.
Court documents allege Albert Lavador Jr., 48, met the girl at Broadway Baptist Church in southeast Houston.
He is accused of taking the 16-year-old to a motel where they had sexual contact on two different occasions in June, a probable cause statement said. He allegedly took the girl to McDonald’s for a snack after one incident.
The girl reached out to a friend about the incidents, Lavador was interviewed last month by officers in South Houston, where court documents claim he confessed.
Court records show Lavador was charged with sexual assault of a child under the age of 17.
ABC13 has reached out to Broadway Baptist staff to find out of if Lavador is still a pastor there but has not yet received a response.
Houston Gateway Academy, which is feet away from the church, said they had an Albert Lavador Jr. work as a teacher there, but he resigned in 2016. A school representative said there were no accusations of wrongdoing at that time.
Text from dated Tripod website for Albert Lavador Jr:
Similarly, encourage the young men to have control. In everything you do set an example by doing what is right. In your teaching show Integrity, Seriousness and know what you are saying scripturally. So that those who listen cannot talk behind our backs and say he did not know what he was talking about. Titus 2: 6-8
It takes $150,000 to raise a child from infancy to a age eighteen. But it takes more than money. Lots more! It takes the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, the strength of Sampson and and the protection of thousands of gaurdian [sic] angels.
Of my years in the ministry, I realize that the youth of today live in a completely different world than we do. Peer pressure is at an all time high. The youth of today are searching for the truth. Some believe any thing they hear! Are we listening to our kids? Let’s listen to what the youth are telling us! I am a Youth Minister!
Hello, my name is Rev. Albert Lavador Jr. I have been in the ministry for 15 yrs. Youth Ministry and Recreation are my specialties! I was licensed by Trinity Baptist Church in Corsicana, Tx in 1992. I attended Criswell College in Dallas, Tx. I also studied at Houston Baptist Univ, Cy Fair and HCC. I have preached at many events, youth outings, lock-ins and youth nights. God has blessed me with the ability to play guitar and sing! I have led in congregational hymns and contemporary worship. I have seen many youth come to know the Lord and know this is my calling! I have been married to my lovely wife ***** for two years and we have a beautiful daughter named *****. [names removed to protect the innocent]
I am available to speak or sing at your event! Also, if interested I can bring a rap group, rock or praise and worship band to get the kids excited. Please call me or e-mail me with the date and time of your event. I will confirm your event with a reply or phone call. I come by love offering and believe the Lord to bless in this way!
Robert Davis, pastor of Henrietta Church of Christ in Henrietta, Texas and a teacher at Wichita Christian School in Wichita Falls, Texas, was convicted Monday on one count of sexual abuse of a child younger than fourteen.
The Times Record News reports:
A former Henrietta pastor and teacher accepted a plea bargain and pleaded guilty Monday to child sex abuse in the 97th District Court.
Robert Todd Davis, 51, was sentenced to eight years deferred adjudication after his plea on one count of sexual abuse of a child younger than 14.
The 97th District Attorney’s Office confirmed Thursday morning that the Davis case was closed and he had accepted the plea offer, which includes registering as a sex offender for 10 years.
A jury trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday but Davis accepted the deal Monday before the trial started.
Davis turned himself in to the Archer County Jail in May 2016, after a warrant was issued for his arrest. His bail was set at $250,000 and he was released on bond the same day he turned himself in.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said they began an investigation on Davis after an outcry from the victim. The investigation was turned over to the D.A.’s office in February 2016.
The incidents charged in the indictment against Davis happened between May 2009 and May 2013. The allegations included one act of sexual penetration and two acts of indecency with a child.
Davis was employed at Henrietta Junior High School as a science teacher but left the school in 2011.
He was also employed with Wichita Christian School as a high school Bible teacher and was one of their cross-country coaches. The school confirmed he was no longer employed there in 2016, according to a previous Times Record News article.
Davis was a pastor at the Henrietta Church of Christ prior to the warrant in 2016. The church’s website no longer lists him as a minister or pastor.
Garry Evans, pastor of Rushville Baptist Temple in Rushville, Indiana, stands accused of molesting several church children. I previously reported this story here.
RTV-6 reports:
A 72-year-old pastor in Rush County is accused of molesting multiple young children in his congregation.
Garry Evans, Pastor of the Rushville Baptist Temple was arrested Wednesday evening during a traffic stop.
According to court documents, the investigation began after a 3-year-old child who attends the church told her mother that Evans had taken her into his office to give her candy then “pulled his pants down” and made her touch his genitals.
Shortly after the investigation began another mother came forward saying her 7-year-old and 5-year-old claimed they had also been touched by the pastor. Both girls told investigators that “The Pastor” gives the kids candy when they go into his office alone, and touches them or makes them touch him. The youngest girl told investigators that it started happening after she started kindergarten in August.
And another mother with two young girls at the church also came forward with a similar story.
Rushville Police Chief Craig Tucker said a woman also came forward and said she had been molested by Evans decades ago, in a different community. That woman helped police pursue the new cases, but it is unclear if charges can be sought in hers.
Evans is charged with three counts of child molestation, four counts of sexual battery and five counts of child solicitation. He is currently being held without bond at the Rush County Jail.
….
Update
A November 3, 2017 WISHTV-8 report states:
A Rushville pastor last month arrested and charged with child molestation on Friday faced additional criminal charges.
Rush County Prosecutor Phil Caviness said he filed a motion Friday to amend the charging information. He filed two more charges — child molestation and child solicitation — after another victim who is 6 years old came forward.
The pastor, Garry Evans, 72, now faces a total of 14 charges, the prosecutor said. One alleged victim was a 3-year-old. He had previously been accused of molesting three girls ages 3 to 7.
On Friday morning, a Rush County judge also ordered the pastor to be put on a GPS device to keep track of his whereabouts, the prosecutor said.
….
Klint Bitter, pastor of kids and student ministry at Christ Community Church in Omaha, Nebraska, was charged today with first-degree sexual assault of a child.
A former youth pastor at a west Omaha church is now in jail, accused of having sex with a 15-year old prostitute.
Klint Bitter turned himself in at the Sarpy County Jail Tuesday. He’s charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child. The 34-year-old allegedly answered an online ad posted by a sex trafficking suspect in Bellevue.
Bitter was a pastor of kids and student ministry at Christ Community Church near 108th and Harney. Church officials said Bitter has been fired from that position.
Sarpy County authorities say Klint Andrew Bitter, 34, is held without bond on one felony count of sexual assault.
A criminal complaint says the victim is 15-year old girl and that Bitter assaulted her in the parking lot of an abandoned supermarket in Bellevue on February 27th, 2017.
….
KETV NewsWatch 7 has learned Bitter’s arrest is part of a wider investigation into human trafficking. In March 2017, a Bellevue West High School student was charged with first-degree sexual assault and human trafficking based on an investigation that began on February 27th.
The Omaha World Herald reports:
A 34-year-old former youth pastor will stand trial in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl.
Klint Bitter appeared in Sarpy County Court on Wednesday morning and waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Judge Robert Wester set Bitter’s bail at $1 million and ordered Bitter not to have contact with anyone 18 or younger.
….
Sarpy County Deputy Attorney Phil Kleine told the judge Bitter contacted DeArch Stubblefield online to set up a meeting with the girl. In asking for a high bail, Kleine compared Bitter’s case to co-defendants Stubblefield and Jason Gibson.
….
Thomas Petersen, Bitter’s attorney, asked for a $150,000 bail and told the judge Bitter saw the ad on Craigslist and then emailed to ask if the girl was 18.
Update
Today, October 20, 2017, the Bellvue Leader reports that Bitter has been released from jail after posting ten-percent of his $1 million bond:
Bitter, 34, of Omaha, appeared in Sarpy County Court on Wednesday morning and waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Judge Robert Wester set Bitter’s bail at $1 million and ordered Bitter not to have contact with anyone 18 years or younger. He was released later Wednesday after posting 10 percent of that bail, $100,000.
Sarpy County Deputy Attorney Phil Kleine told the judge that Bitter contacted DeArch Stubblefield, then 18, to set up a meeting with the girl. Bitter’s attorney said he was responding to a Craigslist ad. A criminal complaint said the offense took place near the intersection of Fort Crook and Childs Roads on Feb. 27.
That same day, Bellevue police said they began an investigation into a report of possible human trafficking, which led to the March arrest of Stubblefield.
In asking for a high bail, Kleine compared Bitter’s case to co-defendants Stubblefield and Jason Gibson, who was charged March 9 with the same offense as Bitter. Stubblefield was initially held on no bail and Gibson was held on $2 million bail.
Gibson, 41, later pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree sexual assault of a child. He will be sentenced next month and faces up to 50 years in prison.
And on Wednesday, Stubblefield pleaded guilty to attempted human trafficking, attempted aiding and abetting first-degree sexual assault of a child, and possession of child pornography. Prosecutors dropped an additional charge of child abuse. He faces a maximum of 72 years when sentenced in December.
Thomas Petersen, Bitter’s attorney, asked Wednesday for a $150,000 bail amount. He told the judge that Bitter emailed after seeing the Craigslist ad to ask if the girl was 18.
n asking for a lower bail amount, Petersen also said his client is married with children, owns a home, is college educated and until recently was employed as a pastor.
Mark Ashton, lead pastor at Christ Community Church, said Bitter worked for the church for seven years and was in charge of the church’s kids and student ministries.….
Update
Bitter’s co-defendant, Jason Gibson, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree sexual assault of a child and received a six-month jail sentence. Gibson must also serve five years probation and register as a sex offender.
John Wilson and Laurence Peterson, pastors of Liberty Pentecostal Church in Keighley, Bradford, England, along with Wilson’s wife, were recently convicted of multiple sex crimes.
Last year, Keighley Online reported:
A clergyman and his wife have been charged with sex crimes against worshippers at a Keighley church.
Rev John Wilson, 69, his wife Mary, 78, and assistant pastor Laurence Peterson, 58, are accused of a string of historic offences at the Liberty Pentecostal Church, in Sunderland Street.
Rev Wilson and Peterson had previously appeared in court for alleged sexual attacks on females
But, today both men, and Mrs Wilson, appeared together at Bradford Magistrates’ Court after two more women made complaints to the police following earlier publicity.
Mrs Wilson, who lives with her husband in Shann Avenue, is accused of sexual assault on a female between January 1985 and January 1986, in that she aided and abetted , counselled or procured John Wilson to indecent assault.Rev Wilson is accused of five counts of indecent assault against the same complainant between 1985 and 1990. He also faces two fresh charges of rape and three counts of indecent assault against another woman between 1990 and 1998.
Peterson, of Eric Street, is accused of indecently assaulting one of those alleged victims four times between 1986 and 1990. Rev Wilson and Peterson had previously appeared in court for alleged sexual attacks on three females.
….
Silver-haired Wilson is charged with sexually assaulting a woman at the Liberty Pentecostal Church between January and December 2010.
He is also charged with three counts of indecent assault on a schoolgirl between October 1985 and October 1987 when she was under 16 years old.
Wilson is charged with continuing the abuse against her for a further eight years after she turned 16. He faces eight counts of indecent assault on the same parishioner between 1987 and 1995.Wilson and Peterson are charged with five counts of conspiring to rape the same victim between 1985 and 1995. Both men are also charged with conspiring to rape another under aged female member of the congregation between July 1980 and July 1984. Wilson is also charged with two offences of indecently assaulting the same child at a location in Kensington Street, between July 1980 and July 1982.
The alleged crimes span 30 years from 1980 to 2010.
….
In June 2017, the defendants pleaded not guilty. The court set a July 24, 2017 trial date.
In August 2017, John and Mary Wilson and Laurence Peterson were found guilty of sexually assaulting and abusing numerous women. The Yorkshire Post reported:
A church minister who sexually abused six vulnerable women has been warned by a judge he faces “a very substantial” prison sentence.
Pastor John Wilson, 70, carried out a series of indecent assaults under the pretext of being commanded by God to rid the complainants of evil spirits. The sexual abuse took place over more than two decades while Wilson served at the Liberty Pentecostal Church in Keighley.
Following a trial lasting more than a month Wilson, of Shann Avenue, Keighley, was today found guilty on more than a dozen charges of indecent assault and further allegations of sexual assault and conspiracy to commit indecent assault after the jury deliberated for about 15 hours.
The abuse was said to have taken place between the mid-1980s and 2010 with victims, who cannot be identified, being assaulted during one-to-one “deliverance sessions”.
At the start of the trial in July prosecutor David McGonigal told the jury that the case involved sexual abuse “in the name of religion”. “John Wilson was purporting to rid the women of evil spirits by sexually touching them,” he said. “It is the prosecution’s argument that he was doing for his own sexual gratification.
“They were taken under the wing of Mr Wilson and he would blame the abuse on evil spirits inside of them. These were vulnerable women.” Wilson’s wife Mary, 79, was also convicted on two charges of aiding and abetting him to commit indecent assault while his assistant Laurence Peterson, 59, of Eric Street, Keighley, was found guilty on similar aid and abet charges and further allegations of conspiring with Wilson to commit indecent assault.
….
John Wilson was sentenced to 21 years in prison. His wife Mary was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. Laurence Peterson has not yet been sentenced.
I recently received a rare polite email from an Evangelical Christian. After sharing his testimony, the letter writer asked me three questions. Rather than privately responding to his questions, I decided to answer them in a post. I hope his questions and my answers will be helpful to the readers of this blog. Please leave your pithy ruminations in the comment section.
Looking back, would you say you truly believed, repented, and tried to live a sanctified life in sincerity?
The short answer is yes. From the age of fifteen through age of fifty, I devoted my life to following the teachings of the Bible. Believing that the Bible was the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God, I daily attempted, by and through the grace of God, to put its words into practice. I wasn’t a perfect Christian, but the bent of my life, as John MacArthur says, was towards righteousness. As a pastor, I devoted my life to studying and preaching the Bible, leading people to saving faith in Jesus Christ, and helping Christians put into practice in their lives the teachings of the Bible.
As a follower of Jesus, I came into contact with scores of Christians — as friends, colleagues, and congregants. Not one person ever said that they doubted that I was a Christian. To the person, they believed that I was a saved, sanctified, sold-out child of God. My life as a committed Christian is beyond dispute. That some Evangelicals can’t square my present life with my past is not my concern. I know this: I once was saved and, to use the vernacular of Christianity, now I am lost. Jesus was once my God, Lord, and Savior. Today, he is a fading memory, a mere mortal who lived and died and now lies buried in some nondescript Middle Eastern grave. For further information about my life, please read the posts found on the WHY page.
Is there ever a conviction (currently) that the bible might be true?
True in what way? Factual or historical? Sure. Some of the events mentioned in the Bible are historical, and some of the people actually lived. That said, much of the Bible is myth; at best, stories written by humans meant to explain their understanding of the world. I suspect what you are really asking here is whether I ever have thoughts that the Bible might be supernatural words given to inspired writers by the Christian God. The answer to THAT question is no. I’m an atheist, so I don’t believe in the existence of gods — including the Christian God, so the Bible, by default, cannot be of supernatural origin.
While I still find some of Christ’s teachings — say the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes, and parts of Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes inspiring, I view most of the Bible as ancient — oft contradictory — teachings and myths that are largely irrelevant to moderns in the twenty-first century. The Evangelical notion that the Bible — due to its inspired and inerrant nature — is different from all the other books ever written is laughable and cannot be intellectually sustained. Inerrancy is a doctrine built upon hubris, arrogance, and deliberate ignorance. There are too many textual errors and contradictions in the Bible for it to be considered in any way inerrant. Agnostic New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman’s books nail shut the coffin of inerrancy. Some “might” be able to maintain their Christian faith after reading Ehrman’s books, but it is impossible for anyone who has read his books and honestly wrestled with the data to maintain that the Bible is inerrant.
Books by Bart Ehrman
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
Forged: Writing in the Name of God — Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are
How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee
Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament
Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew
We just had that “great American eclipse” come by, and I was in awe that the sun and the moon are in our perception the same size (a mathematical anomaly even to the staunchest evolutionist), which makes me see God as the Creator. Can you attribute the complexity of our universe to mere chance?
I am not sure why you would think our perception of the size of the moon in relation to the sun speaks in any way to the existence of the Evangelical God. Why must there be some higher meaning?
The word “complexity” often means something different to Evangelicals from what it means to unbelievers. You, of course, see your version of God in this complexity. Let me ask you this, if the complexity of the universe requires a Creator, and God himself is a complex being, who, then, created God? You might argue that God exists outside of time and space, but there is no evidence for this claim. Such a belief requires faith, and faith is, by definition, beyond or contrary to reason. If God does indeed exist outside of space and time, and Jesus is God, what are we to make of the Bible verses that suggest that Jesus, in space and time, became the son of God?
For the sake of argument, suppose I agree with your premise that the universe with all its wonders suggests that there is a Creator. How could I determine that it was your version of the Christian God who is this Creator? Why is it any more likely that this Creator is your God, than it is any of the other Gods humans have worshiped in the past or presently worship? I can look at a starry night sky and easily understand how someone might conclude that some sort of deistic being created the universe. What is the bridge, however, that gets us from there being A GOD to that God being the Evangelical God? I see no rational argument for it being any more likely that this Creator is the Christian God. This Creator could just as easily be Vishnu, Mbombo, Nanabozho, El, Pango, or an advanced race of aliens who created our “reality” as some sort of video game. Again, this brings us back to faith. You believe what you do by faith. Faith is impervious to reason and rational inquiry, as Hebrews 11 makes clear. I have backed countless Evangelicals into the corner with my challenges of their beliefs (especially about the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible), only to have them run to the safety of the house of faith. Once faith is invoked, no further discussion can take place. It is only when Evangelical Christians begin to doubt the veracity and authority of their foundation — the Bible — that faith can be overcome. It is no surprise, then, that Evangelical preachers lie about the nature of the Biblical text. They know if congregants begin to doubt that the Bible is what their pastors say it is, down comes the house of cards. Once Evangelicals dare to consider that they might be wrong and that what they have been taught their entire lives might be false, then, and only then, can they take an honest, open, follow-the-evidence-wherever-it-leads look at the Biblical text and the claims of Christianity. Most often, such intellectual pursuits lead to liberal Christianity or, as in my case, atheism. My recommendation, then, for readers is not to take that step if they are not ready to question their faith in earnest.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen 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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