Godless Girl

Ohhh yes, my heathen horde, I’m serving up another hot plate of my favorite dish and yours: Christian faith healers.
Check out Part 1 this series: Kerney Thomas and his magic handkerchiefs, showcasing a douche of monstrous proportions!

A Holy Cage Match

Now that we’ve warmed up, let me introduce Todd Bentley, a man who likes to beat people up and brag about it. This pierced, tattooed, ex-con/druggie is one of my favorite examples of see-through bullshittery.

I dig the tatts and piercings and the “everyman” appeal of his aesthetic, but I cannot stomach some of the tall tales of his godly beatings for Jesus. This man enjoys violence and places God’s stamp of approval on it:

Bentley: “Why Isn’t the power of God moving?”
God: “It’s because you haven’t kicked that woman in the face!”
Bentley: “… And just as my boot made contact with her nose, she fell under the power of God.”

May I be the first to say… No shit, Sherlock!

One of the worst assaults was on a man with stage 4 colon cancer. Todd kicks this man in the stomach and then brazenly  acts like he did the right thing!

Caught in a Lie

As I was gleaning video clips for this blog post, I came across a blatant discrepancy in Bentley’s testimonies. I think it illustrates the importance of reliable evidence and how the personal experience of an individual may not be trustworthy, especially when it’s used to elicit an emotional reaction.

Click here to watch both clips side-by-side. [Edited 01/14/11: Sorry folks! The user who posted these videos is not on youtube anymore. I'm leaving this text on the blog for the record anyway]

In clip 1 Bentley speaks of a woman whose legs get beaten like a baseball bat on the stage. In clip 2 he’s telling the same story (you can hear the similar lead-in about “crippled people” and “not one”) but this time it’s a small boy whose legs God says to beat on the stage. So which is it, a male or female? I believe these tall tales are fabricated for theatrics and to give the audience a sense of awe and to gain trust before they step up to be healed. Hardly a  trustworthy man of God!

Bentley glorifies his stories of slapping grandmothers through doors, clotheslining men who need healing, and more. This man’s glorification of senseless violence in the name of God is truly frightening!

On top of his lies, fabrications, and glorification of violence, this man was also involved in an extramarital affair, left his wife, and married the young woman he cheated with. Sure, normal assholes do this of every creed, but when you claim to have a special relationship with the Almighty and converse regularly and intimately with him… you’d think your moral character might look a little bit less like that of a complete troll.

Nightline featured on Todd Bentley in 2008. View part one and part two.

Tell us what you think of Todd Bentley in the comments!

How Can an Atheist Make a Difference?

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photo by Curtis Gregory Perry

This twitter conversation is currently in process:

Me: I think it will take at least 2 generations more to get some of the “old time fundamentalism” on the way out the door.

J: How would you contribute to get that “old time fundamentalism on the way out the door”, being a first generation ex-Christian?

Me: what can we do but engage each other and help people reason and hopefully stop indoctrination in its tracks. WDYT?

J: What if all your family (wife & young children included), friends & co-workers are Christians? How would you make a difference?

Me: that’s my life, so I’m working on it. What do you think would influence you if you believed and a fammembr/friend didn’t? I honestly think that we can make a difference by just being honest and asking questions. encouraging skepticism and freethought

Honestly, I feel a little sad when my mind draws a blank when it comes to the practical ways I can influence things around me. But should I instead feel at peace with a “live and let live” default? I don’t want to press my lack of beliefs on anyone like I did my spiritual beliefs. But I want things to change in this society for the better.

What do you think? How can atheists–especially those surrounded by believers–make an impact on those around them? Do we need to “evangelize” (sorry for poor word choice; it even makes me shudder) in some way? In what ways do you (or do you not) strive to end the cycle of hereditary indoctrination, social/political religious bias, and the other poisons caused by religion? How can we make a difference?

June 23, 2009  |  christianity, questions, relationships, religion, skepticism and freethought, twitter  |  36 Comments