Monday, March 07, 2011

Flushing a long religious career down the toilet

I can almost here the sound of a toilet flushing when reading this sad story of Christian debauchery. A life long pastor, Donald Hoornstra, who retired after long years of service at Messiah Lutheran Church, was convicted of possession of child pornography a few months ago. They had to tell his old church, right?

Local church officials on Thursday acknowledged knowing at least a couple of months ago the 68-year-old former pastor was convicted for possession of child pornography in Bemidji, Minn., where he retired, but told the congregation this past weekend.

Telling the church would have been hard to do, especially given the time he served there. The church did the right thing, but slowly.

"The leadership of Messiah Lutheran Church, after much deliberation, has chosen to inform members of the congregation of these facts, rather than allow the congregation to be subjected to misinformation or gossip about this matter," a collective statement from the local church stated.

Smith said Thursday she consulted church leadership about how to tell the many generations Hoornstra pastored.

"It's unfortunate and sad," Smith said. She did not comment further.

Possession of child porn is a serious crime, it involves real victims. Young children are horribly exploited. To think that an old retired pastor was getting off to kiddy porn is unthinkable and ample proof that being a Christian does not give one a moral advantage. If a life long pastor cannot control himself, the whole concept of Christian morality is off the table. But that’s not the real issue here. Christians morality is about telling other people how to live. They point at us and shout immoral. They work to enact laws that infringe on our liberties because they think they know how we should live. Yet they rape, consume child porn, cheat and steal as if they never heard the words of their gods. It’s the ultimate in hypocrisy and it makes me sick. How dare you tell me how to live my life.

And – you should have put the old bastard in jail.

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Comments (11)

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Obviously Mr Hoornstra didn't pray hard enough. Prison should allow him enough time to pray the pervert away.
1 reply · active 734 weeks ago
REVERAND Hoornstra prayed plenty. BTW, he did not spend any time in prison.
What is with these priest,Reverends,Preachers,and Pastors ! I know they all want to be more Christ like,but that's no longer exceptble behavior . Just because Jesus did it that's no excuse! Read Mathew 14:51-52 . What was JC doing with a young naked boy in the garden late at night?
He wasn't a true xtian. He was a true xtian all those years, but when he got busted( got caught), then all of a sudden he's not a true xtian. But before that...he was a true xtian. NOT.

K
1 reply · active 734 weeks ago
Pastor Hoornstra is a true Christian. Always has been... always will.
So quick to judge, are we? Certainly crimes against children and rape forced upon anyone is horrible, and people should pay dearly for those crimes. If you look more closely into this story, Pastor Hoornstra is like you... a zealot for justice, and a passion for protecting victims. If you knew the truth of this story, like I do, you would know that Pastor Hoornstra was the one that discovered the child porn, and was proactive with authorities to bring the true criminals to justice. When a virus was located on his computer, he brought it to authorities, and yes... there were images on the computer... duh! This was an event that happened two years ago, and, as they SHOULD... the authorities looked into these images through FBI channels to make sure Pastor Hoornstra was NOT the one who TOOK the photos, who COLLECTED the photos, or DISTRIBUTED the photos. If you read the article that you linked, you will find a cub reporter from a small town in Iowa... quoting a newly-elected Prosecuting Attorney... who's phrases are... "IF" Pastor Hoornstra commits these crimes he'd be sent to prison... "IF" he fails a lie-detector test he'd be sent to prison.
1 reply · active 567 weeks ago
He was convicted. Read the article. He plead guilty. His prison term was stayed; 5 years probation. He did not go to authorities about the images. The computer repair shop alerted authorities.
Fact is... when the FBI did their research on the computer, they could not find any images. Perhaps they were lost??? Either way, the Prosecuting Attorney had no evidence to suggest a prison sentence. I thought in this country, the accused are able to be presented with the evidence... it is called "THE CONSTITUTION."
Mojoey, you're just as bad as the irresponsible reporter in Iowa! In your quest to point-out the wrong-doings of clergy, you have sentenced an innocent man! Sure, child porn is horrible... the children are exploited, no doubt. But to suggest that "an old retired pastor was getting off to kiddy porn is unthinkable and ample proof that being a Christian does not give one a moral advantage" is uncalled for. "Getting off"??? Jeez... are you going for shock value? In addtion, your post that, "the whole concept of Christian morality is off the table" is extreme. Furthermore, Pastor Hoornstra has never told anyone "how to live." He has never pointed at you, or passed judgement on you. He has never ministered to you, or made any suggestions about your morality. Where do YOU get off pointing the finger and shouting immorality? Get off your pulpit, Mojoey!

You said it best! "It’s the ultimate in hypocrisy and it makes me sick. How dare you tell me how to live my life."
If you hold yourself to be a moral leader... or even feel like it is your obligation to pass your own judgements on others... please do your homework instead of being lazy and cutting-and-pasting incorrect material on the web. I did. "www.bemidjipioneer.com"
1 reply · active 734 weeks ago
Sorry - you link is meaningless. Oh, and thanks for the insults. They always feel good when delivered by an outraged Christian.

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