Holy Crap: The Evangelical Drifts Away Edition
Okay, Aladamnbama. Evangelist Acton Bowen, 37 years old, has some child molestation charges against him currently pending. Now he’s got seven more charges.
He faces two counts of second-degree sodomy, two counts of enticing a child for immoral purposes and three counts of second-degree sexual abuse, according to jail records.
He was booked into jail on a $500,000 bond.
His wife filed for divorce. And then …
On Friday, two of the ministry’s board members stepped down, include attorney Trenton Garmon, who worked as an attorney for former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore during his failed campaign bid for U.S. senate last year.
I don’t know about you, but I kinda think that Attorney Trenton Garmon needs to turn in his law license.
Acton describes himself as “a speaker, best-selling author and visionary.”
I ain’t buying the visionary crap because if he is a visionary, he’d have seen this coming.
Thanks to SGray for the heads up.
So many perverts, not enough time to document them all.
1these creeps are probably all in the same child porn ring.
2So, it turns out there really is a politically connected child sex ring, it just wasn’t run in the basement of a Washington pizza joint.
3Yeah, I like the “best selling” part since he’s had to self-publish whatever he’s “best sold.” I love this guy’s take on it: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/04/16/26047270/acton-bowen-update-what-part-of-one-man-one-woman-for-life-didnt-mrs-bowen-understand.
4Oh, he saw this coming. Why else do you think he’s so well inserted into the a$$ of his community?
The problem with faith and belief is that it can be manipulated to be used against you. Kinda like how the RNC money guy had his mistress get an abortion, with no blow back…
5Seriously, and I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it here or if it was elsewhere, but those a$$holes are destroying evangelicalism. I’ve never been evangelical, but I’ve known plenty of fine folks who are. This is so destructive for them. I doubt that in 10 years we’ll be hearing any but a few refer to themselves as evangelicals. Maybe they’ll call themselves Fundamentalists, Literalists, or something not yet coined. The numbers of evangelicals, already shrinking, has begun to plummet. In another 30-40 years all the Boomers will have kicked ye olde bucket and Christianity in America will be like it is in most of Europe.
Evangelical dirtbags like Bowen and political opportunists like Falwell, Graham, Perkins, White and the gang are mostly responsible. At least after shedding the stench of that garbage, the faith may be healthier than it has been in centuries, even millennia.
6I’m not an evangelical. So please tell me, is it necessary for male (?) evangelicals to be child molesters or collectors of child porn? Those slimy toxic bacteria all profess Christianity but commit the most foul sins imaginable. Any attacks on children are horrid. They should all be castrated. And not with chemicals.
7Evangelism is a great resource for a predator. An easy inroad to gaining trust with vulnerable people, it is easy to understand, but difficult to fight against. Truly disgusting.
8Debbo:
9I know I’ve mentioned him before, but John Pavlovitz’s latest post on “Things that need to be Said” speaks almost directly to what you’re saying. I like his site because he’s a pastor. And in spite of that very fact.
Sorry. John Pavlovitz’s site is “Stuff that needs to Said”
10P.P., thank you for introducing me to John Pavlovitz this morning. I went to his site and will be a regular now.
11Sexual perversion of any kind is a power trip performed by people who usually don’t have any real power (or effect) in the group in which they live. And they hate being powerless and pretty much hate everyone around them despite the facade they maintain. Outside of gelding, a lobotomy is perhaps the better choice. They still retain the gear they were born with but the lobotomy renders them rather unable to do as they had before. Whereas gelding could make them even more bitter and apt to seek out something that needs to be fed ammo.
12maggie: There are no cures for sex criminals. I am a child survivor of this. Although the events that happened to me no longer have an emotional hold on how I move through my life, I have never forgot. So jmo, they’d all be better off dead.
13Special place in hell!
14Seems to me any culture that says “Believe this because we say so, don’t think, just believe it” is ripe for abuse by the hierarchy. I don’t hear about a whole lot of Unitarian child-sex scandals.
15Papa, you’re right. A lobotomy is not a cure, though. It just mostly renders the lobotomized to the mental level of a tulip. I do understand the opinion of what a pervert richly deserves.
16PP, I’ve found Pavolitz’s site and on preliminary perusal, it looks good. Thanks for the info.
Papa, I’m a survivor too, and have learned to live well thanks to years, 1000s of my $, great psychotherapists and wonderful, supportive friends. And a really hefty dose of determination that the bastard wouldn’t define my life!
17Anyway, yeah, lifetime imprisonment for sexual predators. Period. Let ’em rot.
Even Bowen’s wife didn’t know to whom she was married. She filed for divorce after the first time he was arrested. They’ve been married for three years. I don’t care what church/organization a person is a member of or what position s/he holds, every parent should always keep a close eye on their child[ren] around them because people will lie about themselves in order to gain access to their child[ren.] I taught high school for over 30 years in GA and there were some on staff that had inappropriate relationships with students. The problem in many school systems is that those who commit these kinds of crimes aren’t prosecuted, are allowed to resign, and are then hired to work in other school systems.
18@Debbo & Papa: Unfortunately, ditto.
I have had private therapy, but didn’t really break free till I got into (12 step) Program. Sadly, we are not alone…
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