Holy Crap: Just Doing That Leviticus Stuff
The book of Leviticus, the one that forbids gays from being gay and you can’t eat shellfish and assorted other wacky rules, says that it’s okay to have slaves just so long they are not Israelites.
Reginald Wayne Miller, president and founder of Cathedral Bible College, took that little Leviticus part out for a spin.
It did not go well, even in the Bible Belt of South Carolina.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations filed a criminal complaint against Miller this week saying they have probable cause to charge him with forced labor, a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for each count. Investigators say Miller forced foreign students to work at the campus and his personal residence for as little as $25 per week. Miller threatened to cancel the students’ visas if they complained or didn’t comply with his demands, according to an affidavit filed this week.
Miller crossed that fine line between snake oil salesman and man of the cloth. In 2006 he was arrested for lewdness and prostitution after exposing himself to an undercover cop. His Christian-based school for elementary through high school students closed.
And get this. Miller opened his school at the “former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base in 1995, purchasing property at a reduced rate under a federal program that gave incentives to educational facilities relocating to closed military sites.”
And these, my friends, are the people who want to privatize public education.
Thanks to Carl for the heads up.
What is it with guys whose middle name is Wayne?
1DHS works very closely with ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Both of these organizations are well know for “detention”; i.e., jailing. Lotsa luck, Wayne. You are most likely to get an unsympathetic judge with those agencies than anywhere else!
2I’ll bet those foreign students got a bad taste of Christianity from that experience. Wonder what happened when they got home, Religion wise?
3Kristians unite!
4He seems to be interested in using educational systems to create opportunities and help his students. I suggest a sabbatical. To reward him adequately, how about a sabbatical that lasts a year for every student that he tried to help.
It would be interesting to see how his approach to educating students might evolve and what new insights he could articulate after a few years as a live-in at at a federal max security unit. BTW, a minimum security federal unit would probably not provide maximum opportunities for new insights.
5Once again, a Kristian who uses the Bible to his own, anti-Christian ends. Hope he gets a long, long sentence which includes having to serve, clean, wash and “slave away” in the Joint.
6Once again, a Kristian uses the Bible to his own anti-Christian ends. May he be sentenced to serve, wash, clean toilets and generally “slave” away in the Joint.
7Discount on the air force base campus.
Discount on the cleaning, domestic labor, and yard maintenance.
Still couldn’t make a go of it.
Sounds like God has been trying to tell Reginald Wayne Miller something for awhile now.
We can only hope the judge likes the Old Testament as much as Reggie did.
8Judging from the mugshot, one can easily imagine this clown as a plantation overseer in the Old South.
9I’m just back too hating .the very idea of them…makes me sad more than anything..
10I wish there was an Eisenhower out there…
People like Wayne should not be able to live in a civilized society. Isn’t there an island somewhere with awful weather and no amenities we can send them? Let them live with like-minded people who profess to be Christian and want to live by the Old Testament. If they follow the OT, they’ll not live very long.
11Well, we all know what the oldest profession is.
Guess what’s the oldest scam?
(religion)
12june, these fun loving fans of the ever so zany Leviticus should be sent to the Enewetak Atoll to enjoy the radiation. If the slightly cranky (for good reason) indigenous population doesn’t get them, they’ll be among the first to reap the rewards of their science/climate denial.
But, we have already done too much to the fine people of the Enewetak Atoll. They do not deserve to be burdened with more of our detritus.
Surely Texas has a nice sand bar off the coast to make a home for the religious wrong. Or, some of that abandoned NASA property is perfect for building a tent city for the snake oil boys.
13Well, if the Supreme Court rules that corporations can refuse to follow laws based upon their religious beliefs, perhaps Mr. Miller will be acquitted based upon his Kristian (not Christian) beliefs.
Of course, I expect the Supremes will restrict their opinion to only allow corporations to ignore laws regarding reproductive rights, and possibly waving guns around in public (other than in the Supreme Court’s building, of course…)
14“Greetings in Christ, bloved One. I am Dr. Reginsld Wayne Miller of the most excellent Cathedral Bible Collej of being in America. I have received a wonderful gift from a Cristian benefi… beneface… gift giver and the LORD has directed me to you to receive it to attend most excellent collej. It is in the amount of $30.000.000 and you don’t even need a bank acvount for it. I myself will personnally pay all taxes, bribes and transfer fees for you all you needs to do is mail yourself to me…”
Now we know where Nigerian scammers learned their craft.
I don’t blame these victims, nor the ones brought here by other unscrupulous people for horrific purposes. But eventually I hope the world wises up enough to recognize that “Psst! Wanna go to America?” is NEVER going to end well.
15Brian E.,
Sorry, but I cannot let your comment go unanswered. I grew up in an extremely racist Texas community. The folks who persuaded me, as a teenager, to examine my inherited prejudices were religious people, Baptists even. Before the bumper stickers that asked, “What would Jesus do?” they made me consider what would Jesus think of racial hatred. They were the ones who spoke out when no one else in our community did.
There are a lot of believers who share with Dietrich Bonhoffer, Jim Wallis, Marcus Borg, and thousands of other voices that faith is more than just believing something, it includes living and doing: charity, stewardship, sacrifice. The conceit that dismisses those folks is unfortunate because they do care about doing the things faith obliges them to do, like caring for the environment, doing justice, and feeding God’s lambs. Oh, and by the way, they vote!
Please, don’t dismiss these folks, accept them as allies in the good fight.
16Thank you so much, Uncle Dave. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was the most famous member of the Confessing Church during WWII. He and many others gave their lives rather than go along with Hitler and many other Christians in tormenting Jews and other outcasts such as gays and gypsies. What always gets me is how Hitler took over. If everyone had screamed and hollered back when he was popular, and done as the Scandinavians did and worn the yellow stars, maybe it would not have gone the way it did. Hitler seemed like a hero at first. He started little and played on the fears of the Germans. You all know all that.
17and we’re glad you’re back, da Chipster!
Throw the book at him, and I don’t mean the good book.
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