Deep Thoughts: Pastor Chris Settlemoir sentenced

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Pastor Chris Settlemoir sentenced

And so end the saga of Baptist pastor Chris Settlemoir. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for molesting a 15-year-old boy. Although he may only serve seven years. It’s a shame too. Settlemoir deserves to spend a lot more time in prison than he is expected to serve.

There are over one thousand comments on my original post on this case. If you want to look into the screwed up inner workings of a small Baptist church, spend an hour reading the comments.

An interesting side note to this case. Many members of the Antioch Baptist Church stood behind their pastor until the very end when Chris agreed to a plea deal. They promptly hired a new pastor - one with an allegation of misconduct hanging over his past. Will Baptists ever learn.

Technorati Tags: Clergy Sexual Abuse,Child Molestation

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Justice · 729 weeks ago

I by no means condone any acts of sexual abuse or molestation...I think it is disgusting and should be punishable by more than just jail time. On the other hand, when you lump everyone who is a "Baptist" together when something like this happens, you are absolutely wrong! Just because people who claim the title Baptist commit a crime, doesn't mean that every Baptist or "small Baptist church" is like that. By your logic, I could claim that just because a "non-Baptist" commits a terrible crime, that everyone who is a "non-Baptist" is just like them. This is outrageous! Every person has a free will. They have the right to choose whether to do right or wrong. I am all for giving criminals what they deserve, but don't drag innocent people into it just because they fall under the same "title/religion."

4 replies · active 623 weeks ago

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Mojoey 107p · 729 weeks ago

Justice - I have ample proof to support my conclusion. I've reported on hundreds of cases of clergy sexual abuse with baptist churches. What I see with the Settlemoir case is typical of the other baptist churchs. They are insular and protective. They view others out outsiders and they have a pattern of protecting "the church" and by extension, the pastor, at all costs. Not to mention that the org structure places too much power and authority in the hands of the pastor. When I say the problem is baptists, I mean it.

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christabrown 23p · 728 weeks ago

You're exactly right, Mojoey. Baptists put too much power in the office of pastor and, unlike other major faith groups, they refuse the implementation of any realistic structures for accountability and oversight. While other major Protestant groups in this country have at least begun to try to put systems in place to prevent abusive pastors from church-hopping, Baptists don't bother. Instead, they stand on the sidelines and piously recite their mantra of "local church autonomy." In effect, they use their own radicalized religious doctrine as a rationalization for blind-eyed do-nothingness in the face of clergy child molestation. It's a shame of a sham.

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Bill · 688 weeks ago

You are quite the idiot!

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guest · 623 weeks ago

kinda like Catholicks where the lick stands for licking alter boys' penis' ?
as far as cover ups they are the best at covering all their mafia like behaviors and extortion's , and criminal empire disguised as a religion . Same as Muslims , Buddhists , and almost all religions , it's not the members who are corrupt , but the leaders and organizers of religion . They as all people are sinners , Jesus didn't come to earth to start a religion , that's Satan's work , Jesus came to set men free from sin , & the law of sin , which was death , until He paid that price & said follow me , and I will give you eternal life , if you accept the payment I made on the cross . Christianity is NOT a religion of any kind , it is a faith in Christ's payment on the cross and belief in His words in the bible that he dictated to man through the Holy spirit who they were filled with while they wrote the words , some of which they didn't even understand themselves until much later . Kinda like a secretary taking dictation from a boss , she just writes what is told to her to write . That's why we can trust the Bible , because it was not written by man , it was written through dictation from God himself . Religion like all organizations , kinda like our Government , has a tendency to become corrupt .

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deleted8470268 143p · 729 weeks ago

The old saying power corrupts ,and absolute power corrupts absolutely comes to mind with these Pred-O-pastors. Until the sheep wake up ,and demand that the Shepard's stop F@cking the sheep nothing will ever change.

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Michael · 729 weeks ago

okay. Justice, I'm with you. Mojoey- it sounds like you are just trying to tear down the Baptists or Christians in general. just because one person commits a crime doesnt mean that everyone should be lumped under that title who is of the same religion, race, sex, or whatever it might be. i think that you need to wake up and see that this doesnt only happen in Baptist churches. how many other places do you think that it happens? do you think that it is reported all of the time? it is disgusting. no matter where it happens. not all pastors molest children. it needs to be brought to everyone's attention, but you should not be lumping everyone into the same group and tearing down the Church or Christianity. have a good day and God bless...

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Mojoey 107p · 729 weeks ago

I keep stats on reported cases. Besides Catholics, baptists are worst offenders. And for good reasons. Ironically, the have the opposite structure. In cases reported via the media, baptists are the most likely to offend. If you don't believe it, scroll through the hypocrisy watch label off my main page. There are over a thousand cases documented.

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Terry · 722 weeks ago

I think any rational person knows, without having to debate the issue, that such crimes are not limited to Baptists or Catholics, but that they cross all church denominational lines and occur in the secular arena as well. It is human sin nature at work. My point is two-fold: 1) Arguing about being stereotyped is really not the issue, it is a smokescreen to escape accountability--we don't want to face it. 2) Regardless of how widespread it is, it still should not be in the Church of Jesus Christ. As God told Moses when Moses was praying about their defeat at Ai, "Why liest thou thus upon they face? There is sin in the camp." Until Baptists--or whatever denomination is being talked about deal with the sin in the camp--there is a problem. The church is supposed to be a place of refuge, not a place where perverts are allowed to continue to put the sheep of God's pasture in danger.

1 reply · active 722 weeks ago

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deleted8470268 143p · 722 weeks ago

Terry that has to be the most perfect response . The church should be a safe place for those who need sanctuary ,and not a place for wolves in sheep's clothing. The problem is a lot of time people when it comes to faith forget to put on they're Logical ,Skepticism hat,and fall prey to all sorts of falsehoods .People of faith are easy targets for these Pred-O-Pastors because they fail to question anything . So sayeth the Shepard ,so sayeth the flock type mentality . And that is what these men rely on to feast on the week ,and the small .

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Terry · 722 weeks ago

An increasing number of these churches are sneaking something entirely UNBIBLICAL into their statements of faith. It goes something like this depending on the church, "All Scripture shall be interpreted according to its normal grammatical and historical context. Furthermore, ALL QUESTIONS OF INTERPRETATION SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE PASTOR." Now if that is not proof that something is terribly wrong in such a church, I don't know what is, because that pastor is the final authority on everything the Bible says rather than the Bible being the final authority on what HE says!!! Anytime a man replaces God, then God no longer exists in such a pretext. In those churches, the pastor is "god."

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deleted8470268 143p · 722 weeks ago

Sad but true Terry , But this only happens when the people in the church let it happen. Vote with your feet,and do not stand for such Totalitarian manipulation . I have long been a proponent of people reading the bible for themselves,and making they're own conclusions on faith rather than a weekly book report from a person who will only tell you what he/the church wants you to know .Read ,analyze ,and question is what I believe true ? Ask yourself " Is it important to me whether my beliefs are true ? Do I really think that a women should have to marry her Rapist ? Or that the sins of the father shall fall on the children for 10 generations ? Study the culture ,History, peoples,Myths time lines,Science and question everything you thought you knew.Then decide if the bible is true,or just a big book of Jewish Lies ,and fairy tales. Based on the primitive Superstitions of people who pray to an ancient Hebrew Volcano God ( Yahweh)

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guest · 686 weeks ago

''allegations of misconduct''? Show me one person on this earth that someone doesn't make allegations about. The one making these allegations is a stone nutcase-nobody takes him serious at all

1 reply · active 686 weeks ago

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Mojoey 107p · 686 weeks ago

Read the scoreboard... Settlemoir is in prison where he belongs.

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guest · 686 weeks ago

that post wasn't about settlemoir, it was about the allegations made by the nutcase against Antioch's new Pastor

1 reply · active 686 weeks ago

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Mojoey 107p · 686 weeks ago

My bad. Sorry.

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guest · 686 weeks ago

no prob, nobody's perfect :)

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Guest · 675 weeks ago

What allegations have you found on the new Pastor at Antioch Baptist Church??

1 reply · active 674 weeks ago

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guest · 674 weeks ago

There is some nut on MoJoey's blog that has been sueing every fundamentalist he possible can for ripping him off etc, the law suit has been going on for years but hasn't even started yet cause no lawyers or police will even listen to the guy. Antioch's new Pastor is on the list, and I think he recently added Antioch to the list cause we hired the new Pastor. He is a nut and the people on here ran with his allegations without even checking them out. Talk about wanting the truths eh?

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Guest · 667 weeks ago

Hmmmm.....lets now talk about Jack Schapp being fired as Pastor of First Baptist Church-Hammond Indiana. The apples never fall far from the tree! No wonder FBC has so many pedophiles coming out of it....their own leader is one!!!

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Marty · 660 weeks ago

Nothing but self righteous folks on here ! Look at yourself in the mirrors and ask what is wrong with you , and ask God to forgive those that have fallen . If I remember correctly , there were alot of fallen men in the Bible . Whatever degree of sin it may be , they are just as weak as any human being you may come across. No one is above sin !!!

1 reply · active 524 weeks ago

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Marty's gaylover · 524 weeks ago

' Nothing but self righteous folks on here' Yep. And you're one too.

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guest · 648 weeks ago

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/Januar....
Chicago Magazine has published an article about FBCH and the sickness that has been cultivating there. Finally this place is being exposed for what it is.

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guest · 648 weeks ago

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-31...

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guest · 648 weeks ago

http://www.wbez.org/programs/morning-shift-tony-s...

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