In the Name of Christ??

I'm absolutely speechless. I knew some awful things went on at the so-called "Christian" boot camps but this was very nearly a lynching.

Fascist bastards, every one.

From Reuters today:

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas pastor and a colleague have been charged with tying a 15-year-old girl to a van and dragging her along the ground after she refused to continue an exercise run at a Christian "boot camp," police said on Sunday.

Charles Flowers, senior pastor at the Faith Outreach Center, an evangelical church in the San Antonio suburb of Schertz, was arrested on Friday along with the camp counselor, Stephanie Bassitt, the Nueces County Sheriff's department said in a statement.

The alleged incident took place in June and was reported to police by the mother of the girl, who was hospitalized for unspecified injuries.

According to a copy of the arrest affidavit obtained by Reuters, the girl was participating in a running exercise at the military style "Love Demonstrated Ministries" camp near Corpus Christi when she tired and refused to continue.

It says Bassitt pinned the girl down while Flowers tied a rope around her, tied the other end to the bumper of a van, and dragged her on her stomach "several times."

The camp's Web site, where Flowers refers to himself as the "commandant," says it "strives to prepare young men and women to positively impact their world with the principles of Christ as their foundation" and is "designed to build character and instill discipline, integrity, unity, and morality back into their lives."

The camp, which is operated in both Bexar and Nueces Counties, is aimed at teens with drug, alcohol, and other problems. Some teens are referred to the camp by courts.

Neither Flowers nor the church responded to requests for comment.

Organisers of an evangelical summer camp for children featured in the documentary "Jesus Camp" said late last year they were closing the camp because of negative reaction sparked by the film and vandalism at the camp site in North Dakota.

At that camp, children spoke in tongues and were urged to become Christian warriors and campaign against abortion.
COMMENTS:

ThomasLB said...

I don't remember any story in the bible where Jesus tied a sinner to a camel and dragged her for a few miles. I don't remember reading anything about running laps, either.

Maybe my bible is missing a few chapters.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 5:21:00 AM

WA: Best I can recall Jesus did not condemn but forgave even the prostitute, thief and adultress, which seems to me to be a little more irregular than a rebellious or disobedient teen. But then the fundies advocate executing rebellious sons. The Fundamentals do NOT follow the teachings of the Christ but their own notions and ideas, which they select - cherry pick- certain scriptures that they can twist with "interpretations" to justify their actions. They give Christians a bad name.

I remember a terrible tragedy a few years back that occurred a few miles away from here where several rednecks dragged a black man to death behind their pickup truck.
James Byrd - Death at Jasper
Excerpt:

The Murder

"On June 7, 1998, Byrd, 49, accepted a ride from Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russel Brewer, and John William King. Instead of taking him home, however, the three men beat Byrd, tied him to their pickup truck with a chain, and dragged him about three miles. It is not known whether or not he was alive during the dragging. Although Lawrence Russell Brewer claimed that Byrd's throat had been slashed before he was dragged, forensic evidence suggests that Byrd had been attempting to keep his head up, and an autopsy suggested that Byrd was alive for much of the dragging and died only after his right arm and head were severed when his body hit a culvert.[2]"

This action by the church people is just too close for comfort; brings back horrible memories. And what kind of example does it set for the other children at the camp? It is ok to do something like that if people disobey you, anger you, or you don't like them or they are "sinners"? What kind of "warriors" are they teaching these children to be? First the murdering video games to kill sinners. What next?

DivaJood said...

Well, these are the kinds of people who will flock to a theme park where Jesus is crucified 6 days a week. I guess, on the 7th day, he gets his wounds bound.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 12:04:00 PM

WA: Good Heavens, Diva! As verbose as I am it is rare that words fail me, but like Granny, I am speechless! Glorifying such a cruel and horrendous death as "entertainment"? From a medical point of view, crucifixion was a slow, agonizing, and terrible way to die.

Endorendil said...

Jeez, who knew that boot camp could be such a drag.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 2:33:00 PM

WA: Endorendil, you wag!! :-)

Granny said...

WA, that other case was on my mind when I used the word lynching.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 4:43:00 PM

WA: Exactly! Just too close of parallels.

LET'S TALK said...

This could not have been a Christian boot camp this was more so the boot camp of hell. It's just beyond me how people attache themselves to certain organizations simply because they are supposed to do the right thing because they have the Christians as their prop up. When what we find are sick and twisted devils hiding behind a word and belief.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 9:48:00 PM

WA: Hanging the "Christian" tag on something garners a great deal of support and is a great money-maker. I get garbage "Christian" emails all the time advertising everything from funding for mortgages, loans and even finding me a sweetie.