It’s always in those often ignored corners of America that some of the worst behavior imaginable is tolerated. Civilization is slow to reach some parts, and in these places, religion is still calling all the shots. Generally speaking, city folks think that the rest of the world has the same attitude about how to properly raise children. The notion of nurturing creativity, self expression and above all, their physical wellbeing, is a foreign concept to the harsh taskmasters of religion. Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child has been the attitude of many a Christian, and it’s not very surprising when the news identifies yet another story of abuse at their hands.

Religious schools benefit from little oversight. In the case of Lighthouse Christian Academy in Missouri,

ABM Ministries owners Larry Musgraves Jr., 57, and his wife, Carmen Musgraves, 64, were charged over the weekend with first-degree kidnapping for allegedly locking a student in a small room. The allegations are the latest against people associated with Christian boarding schools in Missouri.

The 15 year old boy was allegedly punch multiple times in the face, breaking his nose, as a supposed “preparation” for an upcoming boxing match. He was also apparently locked in a small room as punishment. The kid claims that it was because of comments he had made previously about one of the school administrators wife.

The school used to accept female students, until a lawsuit in 2009 that claimed a former principle had sexually abused a female students, and the Musgraves had been aware of the abuse and had done nothing. They settled for almost 1 million dollars. The offender walked away scot-free, and simply headed to another religiously run school called Agape Boarding School to cause more pain and hurt:

A former student at Agape said he was constantly raped and called “seizure boy” because of epilepsy from which he suffered, while other students have said they suffered permanent injuries after facing disciplinary action or being forced to work long hours of manual labour, it was reported.

There was also another nearby religious school, called Circle of Hope Girl’s Ranch, that had at least 5 employees charged with abuse, with their doctor, David Smock, being accused of over 100 separate counts of child abuse.

It’s beginning to be difficult keeping track of all these abusers. They all have one thing in common: because of Missouri’s lax laws when it comes to oversights, religious organizations are free to do pretty much anything that comes to mind, which tends to be some pretty unsavory shit.

You have to marvel at Christian hypocrisy. This is a faith that pertains to have “family values”, and yet every day, one of their leaders gets arrested on sexual abuse scandal. TGA’s been seriously considering making a Bingo style game to keep track of it all, since simply writing about it seems to be redundant at this point.

In Minnesota, a former youth pastor named Luverne Zacharias was arrested when it came to light that he had molested a number of students at a Christian High school in the mid 2000’s.

According to the criminal complaint obtained by the outlet, the alleged abuse took place between 2006 and 2009, when the victim was a student at El Shaddai Christian School in Owatonna. It was affiliated with and overseen by Christian Family Church, where Zacharias served as a youth pastor.

The woman told police that Zacharias would meet her in the basement of the school when she was sent to get milk for her classmates at lunchtime and during breaks. He allegedly touched her breasts and genitals over her clothing at first, doing it at least once every day, the woman said.

So this guy had a daily thirst for this kind of behavior. To call him an abuser would be an understatement. The guy was a straight up predator. Imagine the terror and humiliation visited upon them on a daily basis. Who knows if they will ever be able to enjoy intimacy with their partner thanks to this man’s traumatic behavior.

What do “family values” mean to Christians anyways? I keep waiting to see what the hell they are talking about whenever one claims this vaunted virtue. Does it mean disowning your child because they have a sexual preference you dislike? Does it mean beating, or abandoning your kids for questioning the teachings of a Bronze Age book? The lack of empathy and love displayed by the faithful can often be quite disturbing. Their claim to be the example to follow when it comes to family cohesion is a joke with no punchline.

I have personally witnessed a religious family being torn apart because of a disagreement about their own internal doctrines. If you’re looking for something to ensure family cohesion, Christianity certainly isn’t something an objective person would prescribe.

Africa has become the wild west of religion. Every other day, there’s a tragedy happening on the Continent, all because of a toxic mixture of traditional beliefs and Abrahamic faiths.

When Pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and 29 of his other accomplices were arrested in connection with the death of over 400 of his followers, 191 of them being children, they seemed unusually calm and cool, all things considered. His ministry, Good News International, had told their followers that the End Times were just around the corner, and that only through starvation could they meet the bearded hippie. When these followers inevitably died from a lack of food, they were buried in mass graves and simply forgotten about.

Mackenzie was a taxi driver before becoming a preacher. He quickly gained a following with his fiery sermons, and with his uncanny ability to predict events before they would happen (no doubt a result of simply reading the newspaper). His brainwashed followers were so convinced that he had special powers that when he told them to stop eating, they refused to do so even when they were dying at the hospital:

Several emaciated children escaped from the forest and locals alerted the authorities. Police found many followers close to death and took those still alive to nearby hospitals, where medical staff tried to feed the group. Many refused food, however, and as the situation grew more dire, the director of public prosecutions charged almost 65 people with attempted suicide for refusing to eat.

That’s the level of control that someone can have over others, thanks to the submissive nature of believers. Now the survivors of this cult have the difficult task of being deprogrammed. There’s bound to be more tragedy before this thing is all over.

A television series in Belgium has recently exposed the Catholic Church and their history of abuse in the country, and this has left many Catholics upset, so much so that many have requested that they be “debaptised”.

The documentary series called “Forgotten by God” is what we’ve come to expect: it’s a exposé about the church’s coordinated attempts to cover up child sexual abuse. It centered around a man named Roger Vangheluwe, who had been abusing his nephews since 2010. The church was aware of what was going on, and because the statues of limitation has expired on the crimes, Vangheluwe was free, and had even retained his job as an ordained bishiop. The people were not pleased.

The Belgian Church, facing rising protests after a television film on sexual abuse and cover-ups in its ranks, has appealed against a government data protection agency ruling that the Diocese of Ghent must let a person be “debaptised”.
The Church considers baptism a permanent act that cannot be done away with, but the agency ruled in December that the plaintiff’s personal data record overrides the Church’s interest in preserving its records.

The reason that the church is appealing the decision is that they never like the idea of ever removing someone from their little registry. It’s how churches around the world operate: once you’re in their little cult, they never want you to leave. Plus, it help them to pretend that there are way more active Catholics than there really are.