Southern Baptist leader told alleged victim it was 'good' she was raped, lawyer says

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram


BY SARAH SMITH

[e-mail]

June 03, 2018 09:45 AM
Updated 2 hours 13 minutes ago

The fired Southern Baptist seminary leader who wanted to get an alleged rape victim alone to “break her down” also said it was a “good thing” she had been raped and that her future husband wouldn’t care if she was a virgin or not, according to the woman’s attorney.

Paige Patterson, a giant in the Southern Baptist world, was fired from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth on May 30 in response to his handling of sexual assault allegations. He had been pushed to president emeritus May 23.

The three alleged assaults took place in October 2014 and April 2015 and were reported in August 2015. The alleged assailant, according to the victim’s attorney, Stuart Cochran of Dallas, was a Southwestern student and employee.

“I am told he said it was a ‘good thing’ my client had been raped and that her future husband wouldn't care if she was a virgin or not,” Cochran said of Paige in a statement to the Star-Telegram. “He threatened to sic lawyers on her [mother] for questioning his leadership at the school when she asked why the assailant was allowed on campus.”



Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article212442059.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I can't even!!

[vlyons]

2. Did anyone ask him in what way it was good?

Not that he would give an answer that was anything other than stupid and vile. More and more, I'm seeing Christianity as a big big part of the problem. Completely devoid of any moral authority.

[PatrickforO]

6. Sadly, today's 'conservative evangelicals' are little more than

Pharisees in the sense they are hypocritical and focus on how they look to other people rather than on good works.

Others, such as Jimmy Carter, are really Christians, in the sense that he tries to do the actual things Christ advocated.

Theologically, though, I think the problem stems from the early Christians, who systematically destroyed the gnostic and hermetic literature in the early centuries. This keeps many from getting the point of the great work - that your true will must be congruent with the true will of the divine for any kind of growth to take place.

Oh, well. Easy to say. Tough to do.

But I do agree with you that this particular Paige guy is a total dirtbag.

[vlyons]

14. Are you familiar with Jesus' parable of the seed sower?

Some of his seeds falls in weed thickets. They take root and begin to grow, but are quickly choked out by the weeds. The evangelicals are the weeds.

[PatrickforO]

15. I see the evangelicals as the seeds that grew up in the

noisome weedbed of capitalism. The profit motive and philosophy of fiduciary responsibility just doesn't fit in with the Christian teachings.

[vlyons]

16. They are dirty pots

Buddha told a parable of the 4 pots. A right-side up pot can receive and hold onto spiritual teachings about compassion, generosity, peace, etc. An upside-down pot cannot receive any truth whatsoever. A cracked pot can receive teachings, but cannot hold on them. A dirty pot corrupts any teachings that it receives. To me, evangelicals are dirty pots. They have corrupted the real teachings of Jesus with their self-cherishing and greed.

[keithbvadu2]

18. Prosperity Gospel Christianity

[area51]

3. MF'er!

If rape is a "good thing", then he needs to experience it.

[heaven05]

4. drunk with power

The Southern Baptist religion teaches sexism and racism in Jesus name. They are truly evil. I am angry at the treatment of someone who probably trusted the preacher.

[appalachiablue]

5. Patriarchal misogyny still flagrant and on the rise in too many places.

[TEB]

7. Pig shit

[Jedi Guy]

8. What in the actual fuck?

What the hell is wrong with that guy? First he wants to get this poor woman alone to "break her down," which I'm going to guess means "convince her it was her fault some savage raped her." Then he goes on to "counsel" her like this? That is some sick shit.

And you know this guy pats himself on the back for his "righteousness." Absolutely vile.

[Faux pas]

9. Kickin' with disgust

[SergeStorms]

10. It's so nice of this man....

to tell everyone how to think, and how to feel.

Screw you, Paige Patterson! If you think your god would condone the things you said then you deserve to burn in your own private hell forever. Not that I believe in any of that horse-hockey, but I'm sure Patterson does.

[turbinetree]

11. And this organization has a tax exempt status ........................

[EarnestPutz]

12. President Emiritus?

Before they got up the nerve to fire him, they first
tried to sweep the tawdry affair under the carpet by
putting him in an "honorary" post - president with
great merit, no doubt for all his years of selfless service.
This from Baptists no less, who have no trouble criticizing
Catholic priests.

[RobertDevereaux]

13. The "school" that credentialed this monster...

"Patterson completed the Master of Theology (Th.M.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary."

[Collimator]

17. Is there another article on this story with more details?

The reason that I am asking this is the statement that arouses everyone's ire contains the words, "I am told".

Now, I am no way questioning anyone's sentiments in responding to the very thought that such a thing could have been said. The fact remains, however, that the headline is crafted to grab attention and generate outrage. The actual proven facts of the story are thin on the ground.

Before anyone attempts to tear into me, I will defend myself by saying that it would not particularly surprise me if all the alleged facts turned out to be true. I happen to know the Bible very well, which is why I cannot reconcile its contents with my standards of morality.

Very nearly every mention of rape in the Bible regards it as primarily a property crime. The property being the woman herself and sometimes the honor of her family. The supposed victims are the woman's father, fiance or husband. Only in the most specific circumstances is the woman considered the victim. In certain circumstances, she is the offender, and her crime is punishable by death.

Many who know the Bible to a degree will point out that this information can be found in Deuteronomy 22. Many will dismiss this as being just "the Old Testament" and insist that it has nothing to do with Jesus and what they regard as geniune Christianity.

With all due respect to those who define their Christian faith by the virtues of compassion and forgiveness, (excellent values well worth promugating), my counter to that point can be expressed by this quote.

"The entire provenance for Jesus Christ lays in the Bible. Not just His ministry but His history and His legitimacy as the fulfillment of divine promise are described there.

The Old Testament is every bit as critical as the New Testament in the formation of Jesus' claims of identity-- and by extension, His followers' claims to identity as Christians.

It's not just that there are New Testament verses explicitly commanding Christians to revere and obey the Old Testament with the same commitment that they offer to the teachings of Christ; without the Old Testament, there is no frame of reference for Jesus."

What I am suggesting here is that a lack of compassion and concern for women who have been raped is not essentially "unchristian". Certainly, those who regard Jesus Christ as a caring figure would insist that he would respond to a woman in such a situation with kindness. As it stands, however, there is no written material depicting Jesus dealing with the specific circumstance of rape. Even most of the ideas people have about Jesus' treatment of prostitutes is not actually written in the Gospel accounts.

Another point that I am making here is to consider the source of any information carefully. There will be plenty of opportunities to condemn Patterson thoroughly when all the facts are established. For the time being, we can just regard him with extreme distaste.

[keithbvadu2]

19. The epidemic of denial about sexual abuse in the evangelical church.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/05/31/feature/the-epidemic-of-denial-about-sexual-abuse-in-the-evangelical-church/?utm_term=.295cc26c8a49&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

The epidemic of denial about sexual abuse in the evangelical church.

[SWBTATTReg]

20. This is simply a very ignorant guy quoting his interpretation of some passage out of the bible or

the like simply to 'legalize' rape or the act of rape.

And pls. note that the 'bible', 'the gospels' or anything as such was hobbled together by a bunch of guys appointed by Emperor Constantinople in Roman times, who then recreated the bible by assimilating portions of this gospel, a portion of that gospel, throwing other gospels (or parts of) away, and so forth.

They simply picked and chose what portions that THEY wanted, nothing more.

Plain as that, nothing golden, nothing sacred, nothing at all. No finger of God pointing at what to use or keep. Simply putting a multitude of words together in a series of documents collectively called the bible which have been used to justify RAPE, killings, and all manners of nefarious and truly horrible acts against their fellow human beings.

And this POS P. Patterson is part of the problem. Who in their right mind justifies rape? Who?