It was bound to happen...

Ferno · Post by **Ferno** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 2:06 am

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprov ... bdb1713ea2

I'm not sure I can find the words to describe this.

Lothar · Post by **Lothar** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 2:13 am

"Cohen calls their interpretations of the Bible "somewhat suspect.""

Somewhat. Heh.

Dude shouldn't be punishing his kids for 'un-Christian' behavior, he should be punishing himself.

Iceman · Post by **Iceman** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:17 am

A boy who repeatedly endured whippings with an electric cord from his extremist Christian stepfather, with the blessing of his mother ...

I got news for ya ... This guy (and his wife) are not Christians.

Stryker · Post by **Stryker** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:22 am

Heck, Christians didn't even do this in the middle ages. This guy is more barbarian than Christian.

Let's just hope it doesn't rub off onto the poor kids...

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 9:24 am

...
Two younger children have been returned to the parents, despite the fact that "the court expresses the gravest of doubts as to the likelihood that [the stepfather] will be able to control his anger"...

Wow... the scary thing is, this stuff happens all the time. I have a friend who worked for the Department of Human Services, and has witnessed all kinds of horrific abuse situations. From what he tells me, they often don't have the resources to follow up on abuse reports; and even when it's clear that a child needs to be out of a particular situation, the red tape is so overwhelming they can't do much.

Iceman wrote:I got news for ya ... This guy (and his wife) are not Christians.

They may profess some kind of beliefs in common with Christianity, but if you're referring to the original intended definition of Christian ("Christ-like" or "of Christ"), you're right.

(Note: Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying "anyone who sins cannot be a Christian" or "people who act in such-and-such a way cannot be Christians"; that's the furthest thing from the truth. I'm just making a comparision of this kind of abuse to the ideals of a well-lived Christian life.)

Tyranny · Post by **Tyranny** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:42 pm

I'd be more worried about how those kids are going to turn out when they're adults then anything. Something tells me that a lifetime of law-breaking and abuse to others around them are in their future. Sucks for them...

Ferno · Post by **Ferno** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 2:26 am

yea no kidding.. extremism in any form should not be tolerated.

Even if you guys have figured out that they are not christians; it should be dealt with by the church, since he subscribes to that faith.

Zoop! · Post by **Zoop!** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 6:46 pm

I think this guy was just using religion as justification to beating his kids.

Lothar · Post by **Lothar** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 6:58 pm

Ferno wrote:it should be dealt with by the church, since he subscribes to that faith.

It should be dealt with by "the church", meaning, the community of believers he associates with. Or, if they collectively refuse, the whole group should be dealt with by the larger community -- by other congregations that associate with his.

There is no overarching "church" heirarchy that could send him an order from above. The church is a community full of peers, not a business full of bosses. So, it's up to those who are in fellowship with him -- those who know him -- to deal with his behavior. If they don't, then they as a community have failed, and it's then up to the wider community to help.

If he doesn't respond, then he should be treated as a non-Christian. At that point, it becomes a community / law-enforcement matter -- which still includes the church in his community, of course, but is larger than that.

Of course, if he's in a church that does have a heirarchy, like the Catholic church, none of what I said applies. And if he's not a part of any church, then it's up to individuals in his community (Christian or not) to deal with it.