I'm taking a break

I am starting to receive inquires about my health and intentions, so I thought it would be a good idea to send in a quick post to clear things up. I am not dead or in poor health. I am, if fact, on a break from blogging at Deep Thoughts. While on break, I am considering retiring this blog and moving on to other endeavors. I've been at this for a long time.

I was inspired to take a break by an episode of Cosmos. I realized that I had given up my sense of wonder and curiosity and replaced it with endless stories of clergy abuse. I am taking a break to reconnect with the world of art and science, plus I’m taking a lot of photos too. It is time to feed my brain again.

My ten year blogiversary is coming up in a few weeks. As it stands, I'm at several million page views and over 6,500 posts. What I have written so far could fill a couple of books. In the time since my last post, I've managed to read five new books and several hundred papers and articles. I’ve also managed to take a few good photos. It’s been good for me. 

I am also considering writing a new blog using my real name that is focused on tech and photography. The idea seems appealing  on several levels and has the added benefit of fewer hate mails and death threats. I am also reconsidering my connection to the Atheist Movement, which lately seems distorted by unproductive internal issues. I’ve always been a blogger who happens to be an atheist (among other, more important, things). That's why my blog is not named ATHEIST HOWLINGS or some such.

Drop me a note if you want to talk, or post a comment. I'm still here and thinking.

The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face. - Jack Handy

Baptist pastor Kevin Lohse arrested

Baptist pastor Kevin Lohse of Woodlawn Baptist Church, allegedly exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl. The incident was caught on store video. I think the hammer has fallen on this dumb guy and his life is over.

Woodlawn Baptist Church is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Former pastor Kevin Lohse admitted to exposing himself. He had his seven-year-old son with him at the time.

Update on Pastor Mark Lewis case

The mother of the deceased wife of Pastor Mark Lewis shared stories of her daughters spousal abuse with Soroptimists International of Vacaville this week. Patricia Hunter last saw her daughter about a month before her death. Her daughter's death was ruled a suicide. I don't believe it was suicide. I believe the case should be reopened. I believe that the authorities should look at Pastor Mark Lewis. So do a lot of other people. 20/20 was on hand to film the event. 

According to Hunter, one out of every four women will be victims of domestic violence in their lifetime. Mark Lewis, was convicted of felony spousal abuse 15 years ago, Solano County Superior Court Judge Peter B. Foor confirmed during a Feb 18 hearing. Lewis ultimately plead to and served probation for the abuse charge, his attorney noted. Hunter doesn't believe the conviction was the only time her daughter endured abuse, though.

"I don't know how many visits to the hospital my daughter made," she said emotionally. "I know of three. I don't know how many she kept from me."

Source: Mother shares story of abuse: Details relationship daughter endured with embattled Vacaville pastor

I recommend reading the whole article. It’s fascinating. I learned that Lewis had a prior conviction for felony spousal abuse. I wonder if his congregation knew this and continued to support him? 

Pastor Mark Lewis is setting in jail on charges the he conspired to firebomb his ex-girlfriends house and that he lied about source of funds used to secure his bail. 

Pastor Ronald Norris arrested

Pastor Ronald Norris, Pastor of “The Church” on East Main Street in Spartanburg, was arrested for sexually abusing a teenage girl. 

A school official notified a Special Victims Unit investigator that a teen told her she'd been sexually abused by Ronald Norris, 27, of Roebuck, according to Spartanburg County investigators.

After collecting statements from the girl and her family, the investigator approached Norris and he immediately invoked his right to an attorney. He is charged with criminal sexual conduct, third degree. 

Source:Pastor arrested on sexual abuse charge

I’m sure we will hear more about this case as it develops. 

Pastor David Yonggi Cho sentenced

Pastor David Yonggi Cho, founding pastor of the world’s largest Pentecostal congregation known as the Yoido Full Gospel Church, was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling $12 million dollars. 

Last Thursday, the Seoul pastor was convicted of embezzlement as part of a scheme in which he arranged for the church to buy stock from his son Cho Hee-jun at more than three times the market price. Hee-jun was sentenced to three years in prison for colluding with his father. Hee-jun, 49, previously served as chairman of the Yeongsan Christian Cultural Center.

Source: Founder of World’s Largest Megachurch Convicted of Embezzling $12 million 

I’m surrounded by Korean churches where I live, including a large branch of this church called the Assemblies of God Thanksgiving Church. It looks like I have a few new talking points when they come by the house to invite me to the English language services. Korean Christians are every bit as persistent as the Mormons and JWs, plus that hog all the seats at Paul’s Place on Sunday morning.  

Pastor George Spencer pleaded guilty

Pastor George Spencer, profiled here, pleaded guilty to child molestations charges and will serve seven years in prison. Spencer was an associate pastor at Greater Works CME Church is south Kansas City.

The girl said Spencer groped her and made her take off her shirt and bra, according to court documents. He put his hands down her pants, sodomized her with his finger and exposed his genitals, the documents said. Spencer told the girl that he could get in a lot of trouble for his actions.

Source: Former Kansas City pastor pleads guilty to child molestation by Matt Campell

Seven years does not seem like enough in this case. Spencer was a convicted sex offender and was hired by his church anyway because… well fuck because. Hiring him simply created more victims. 

Baptist youth pastor Adam Epperson arrested

Youth pastor Adam Epperson, of Raymond Road Baptist Church and Central Hinds Academy, was arrested on one count of gratification of lust while in a position of authority. His alleged victim was 14-year-old male.

Pastor Jonathan Russell said in a statement that he found out about the allegations on Jan. 31, at which point he reported them to the Department of Human Services. He met with Epperson the next day, and Epperson denied the allegations.

“It became apparent that the investigation was going to take some time. After further discussion with the staff member, we determined that it would be in the best interest of the church and all parties involved if the staff member were to resign from his position at our church,” Russell said in a statement.

Source: Metro area youth pastor arrested on gratification charges

Gratification... that sounds bad.

Raymond Road Baptist Church is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention

Technorati Tags: Baptists, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pedophiles, Southern Baptists

Rev. John Roebuck accused of grabbing a man's junk

Reverend John Roebuck of Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in Landsdale, allegedly grabbed a guy’s junk in a YMCA locker room. The victim did not appreciate the contact. I’m thinking Roebuck might be gay.

John H. Roebuck, 64 — a parochial vicar at Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in Lansdale until December, when he was placed on administrative leave by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia — waived charges of second-degree misdemeanor indecent assault and summary harassment on Feb. 11 before District Judge Albert Augustine of Skippack.

The story...

After exiting the sauna just before 7 p.m., the victim went to a sink outside the sauna to wash his face when he saw Roebuck standing several feet behind him, and he began walking away from the sink area and told Roebuck, “See you later,” the complaint states.

At that point, the complaint states, Roebuck shook the man’s hand and again pulled the victim close to him, this time grabbing the man’s genitals with his other hand and asking, “Do you want to?”

Saunas... Remember to protect your junk in the sauna if a Catholic priest is around. Ewww.

I had a guy rub my belly at random once, but that was only slightly awkward and not sexual at all. I was in China visiting a shrine to Buddha and he thought I looked a lot like the statue of Buddha, so he rubbed my belly for luck. It’s a Chinese thing. Of course, if he had grabbed my junk I would have fainted. 

Reverend Philip Briganti arrested

Retired Catholic priest Rev. Phillip Briganti allegedly sexually assaulted an adult male on a bus after officiating a wedding.

I don't make this stuff up.

A charge of criminal sexual contact that was filed Thursday against the 67-year-old cleric was announced Friday in a joint release by acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Randolph Police Chief David Stokoe.

Briganti is a retired Paterson Diocesan priest who presently lives in El Paso, Texas. He had briefly returned to officiate a wedding at St. Paul’s Church in Prospect Park, Bergen County, on Nov. 9, 2013. After the wedding reception, Briganti was allegedly on a bus with the adult victim traveling to a hotel when he “engaged in unwanted sexual contact” with the victim, according to the release.

Source: Retired pastor of Mendham church charged with criminal sexual contact

Rev. Briganti  served as the pastor St. Joseph’s Parish in Mendham which is part of the Diocese of Paterson.  

Technorati Tags: Catholics, Clergy Sexual Abuse

Update on the pastor Mark Hooper case

Sentencing was delayed for Elk County pastor Pastor Mark Hooper and his wife Susan Hooper who pleaded no contest to charges that they deliberately underfed their adoptive children. Their adoptive daughter was nine years old and weighed only 31 pounds at the time the abuse was noticed. She was diagnosed with malnutrition.

Mark Hooper was the pastor at Cobb Street Baptist church in Johnsonburg, Elk County Pennsylvania. The church is an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) Church. The church website has been taken down.

Hooper is also a member of the Hall of Shame.

Technorati Tags: Baptists, Clergy Crime, IFB

Youth pastor Charles Pittman arrested for murder

I held off posting this story for a few days to let it develop. It getting worse with age. Youth pastor Charles Pittman of Providence Baptist Church in Alamo, Tn, was arrested on murder charges stemming from the death of his fiancé. He alleged rigged the murder scene to look like a suicide. His church is shocked.

"It's shocking because he's supposed to be a good example to the community and a Christian leader. It just sets a bad example," Megan Carter, another resident, said.

"Even though I didn't know him, anybody that would've come here would've probably been a good guy," Taylor Pillow, a former member at Providence Baptist Church, said.

"If he's a nice guy, not on drugs, doesn't smoke," Pillow said

Providence Baptist Church released a statement:

"We were deeply saddened by the news of the death of Olivia Greenlee and as a church body we are praying for the family and friends and will continue praying for them in the days ahead. We have been informed of the arrest of Charlie Pittman, our Youth and Children's Minister. We will pray for Brother Charlie and his family and friends. At this time, we have no further comment other than to reiterate our concern for the family and friends of Olivia during this tragic loss of such an awesome, young Christian lady. As a church, we will be praying for all parties involved."

The murder victim was Olivia Greenlee. She was found in what authorities say was a staged scene that made it look like she killed herself. The police have not release a motive. My guess is that he likes to play the victim. His whole “Jesus Freak” story sounds fishy. 

I am not sure what type of Baptist Providence Baptist Church is. I could use some help. If anyone know, please post it in the comments. The only contact information I have for the church is randall.kellough@bxs.com. www.bxs.com resolves to BancorpSouth, so that was a dead end. I’ve sent an inquiry. 

Baptist Providence is a member of the Souther Baptist Convention. Thanks tipsters! 

Youth pastor Joseph Todd Neill pleads guilty to child porn charges

Former Baptist youth pastor Joseph Todd Neill, of North Fork Baptist Church in Shelbyville, admitted to possessing violent and sadistic images of child pornography in a plea deal. He faces 20 years in prison. Neil still faces trail for the sexual exploitation of a minor and statuary rape by an authority figure.

Former North Fork Baptist Church youth minister Joseph Todd Neill, 37, agreed to plead guilty to a charge of possession of child pornography on Feb. 13. The plea agreement was filed Thursday.

Neill faces up to 20 years in prison. There has not yet been a plea hearing scheduled.

The child porn images were discovered when Shelbyville police began investigating charges that Neill had seduced and had sexual contact at least twice with a 17-year-old female church member.

Source: Former youth pastor faces child porn charge

There were 72 images:

Among the images, 32 included children. One image was of a child under the age of 12. Seven images depicted violent child rape. One image depicted bondage and child rape. At least one child pictured was a known victim of molestation from age 5 until 9, according to police. Nine of the images were cartoons depicting minors in sexual activity, and 26 showed minors in minimal clothing or lingerie.

The images were discovered during a forensic investigation linked to the investigation of alleged statutory rape.

According to Detective Sgt. Brian Crews of the Shelbyville Police Department, Neill's phones were seized in January during their investigation of the original charges. Crews asked for forensic help from the TBI to see if any evidence had been deleted from the phones, and text messages were recovered to and from the alleged victim.

But during that testing, TBI agents also recovered a number of files and images with minors in sexual situations.

Neill was arrested in September 2013. 

Youth pastor Tyler Bliss arrested for child porn

Youth pastor Tyler Bliss of Bethel Church in Oakdale was arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

Ceres police spokeswoman Carissa Higginbotham said that while pornography was located on the computer Bliss uses at the church, no other church employees or parishioners are suspected to be involved.

Higginbotham said detectives are trying to determine where the images originated.

Source: Police: Child porn found on home, church computers of Oakdale youth pastor

Police also found images on his home computer. They are not sure if Bliss created the images or if he acquired them. 

Bethel Church is an Assemblies of God church located in Oakdale, California. I could not located an official statement from the church. Tyler Bliss was removed from the church website. 

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pedophiles, Child Porn

Pastor Mark Lewis to remain in jail

Baptist pastor Mark Lewis has given up on bail and will remain in Jail pending his trail on a long list of allegations connected to the firebombing of his ex-girlfriend's home.

Lewis, the pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church, initially was arrested following the Jan. 9 firebombing of his ex-girlfriend's home on Chateau Circle, also in Vacaville. Six people, including three children, were asleep inside the residence at the time, but no injuries were reported, police said.

Three others were also arrested in connection with the firebombing. Kristen Broyles, 30, of Citrus Heights, and Sacramento residents Anthony Newbolt, 33, and Richerd Wright, 28, have all pleaded not guilty to felony charges of arson of an inhabited structure and possession of flammable or explosive material. They remain in Solano County Jail custody, with bail set at $150,000, $155,000 and $290,000, respectively.

Source: Vacaville Pastor remains in jail by Ryan Chalk

His congregation at Fellowship Baptist Church had been selling off his possessions and church property in an attempt to raise his bail. That must not have worked very well.

Technorati Tags: Baptists, Christians, Clergy Crime

Well duh pastor Michael Todd Abromovich

"Street" pastor Michael Todd Abromovich, profiled here, was arrested a few weeks ago for posing as a U.S. Marshal and then handcuffing and robbing men he lured to a hotel for sex. Apparently, pastor Abromovich has a substance abuse problem and wants out of jail so he can seek treatment. Um... I don't think that's a good idea.

She said if Abromovich was released, he planned to check into a Salvation Army substance abuse program in Denver. Judge James Breese said Abromovich deserved a slight reduction in his bond, to $65,000, for acknowledging his problem.

Prosecutors argued against releasing him because they say he has four previous felony convictions. Through his lawyer, Abromovich said none of his previous offenses were violent and the latest was seven years ago.

Source: Street ministry pastor accused of posing as US Marshal says he has substance abuse problem

That's right. Pastor Abromovich is one of those pastors who was a criminal and addict who was reborn though belief in Christ. He fell right back into his old lifestyle once real life intruded on his fairy tail.  It’s as if the magic of a conversion would somehow fix his drug addiction. Keep this bastard in jail until his trail. He preys on gay men in risky situations. It would not take much for a victim to be serially hurt or even killed. Keep the public safe. Keep this asshole in jail.