Pastor and family charged with killing man who tried to leave their church for good

[Chingylol]

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...ew-york-church

The pastor of an insular New York church was one of seven people charged on Tuesday with the murder of a young man who wanted to leave the congregation and the assault of his brother.

Lucas Leonard, 19, was beaten to death in October over 10 hours during a “spiritual counselling” session at the Word of Life Church in the town of Chadwicks, New York State.

His brother, Christopher, 17, received blunt force injuries when he was repeatedly struck during the same session, which was being held because Lucas Leonard wanted to leave the congregation, prosecutors said.

Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, her mother, Traci Irwin, as well as her two brothers, Joseph and Daniel Irwin, were charged in a 13-count indictment.

WTF? What a horrible way to die...

[Stop Pretending]

I thought Christians were good god fearing people who never did anything wrong. Guess the image they portray about other religions indeed applies to them as well.

[Vapo]

Should ban Christianity!

[Tychus]

executed for attempted apostasy?

[Polyxo]

I guess we'll hear every Christian everywhere apologizing for and denouncing them. Oh wait, we won't, because that's a ridiculous expectation of any religion.

[Bakis]

The church property — valued at $210,843, and sitting on 1.86 acres — is tax-exempt as a religious organization, according to a 2015 assessment roll.

NYT
Wonder if that will change. Might as well dismantle the church if the pastor in charge go killing people with his fellow church members.

[Rukh]

That's unfortunate. Anything else to say?

[Moralgy]

How... how can... I don't understand... Seriously?

How can people do this... I feel bad if I make an animal feel slight pain on accident.

[Tychus]

I guess we'll hear every Christian everywhere apologizing for and denouncing them. Oh wait, we won't, because that's a ridiculous expectation of any religion.

no doubt we'll hear plenty of people saying this has nothing to do with christianity or religion, as well.

[Wells]

no doubt we'll hear plenty of people saying this has nothing to do with christianity or religion, as well.

It doesn't. Lots of types of Christians. They're just people like everyone else. Some are assholes are find beliefs that justify being assholes.

[Moralgy]

no doubt we'll hear plenty of people saying this has nothing to do with christianity or religion, as well.

The same people who say all of a group is responsible for some crazies as well!

[Forgettable]

Just want to point out that Jesus told the world that the most important commandment is:

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

These people obviously didn't have that part down, and therefore evidently weren't Christians.

To clarify, going to a church regularly doesn't make you a Christian.

[Azgraal]

Those people aren't christians. They're businessmen that run a scheme cult to control people's minds and get rich doing it.

[Bakis]

So they spread violence hiding behind the word of god, their Christian god and they are not Christians?
At the same time the call for terrorists misusing Islam in the same manner are muslims.
(Going by this forum)

I for one take pride in labeling both of the above as a product of religion, hiding behind it but still a product of their different religion.
Neither Christians or Muslims gets a free cop out from me.

[FearXI]

Should ban Christianity!

Should ban all religions.
Because of them we have the fucked up world we have.

[Venant]

The same people who say all of a group is responsible for some crazies as well!

Yes, the entire group is responsible. Christianity should be abolished, and so should Islam. Imagine liberating that many minds from this irrationality that infects nearly half of the planet's population.

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Should ban all religions.
Because of them we have the fucked up world we have.

Who would guess that large groups of people, believing in things that would be considered schizophrenic outside the contexts of religion, would result in bad things.

[Faroth]

Should ban all religions.
Because of them we have the fucked up world we have.

Because if there was never religion, humans would have never devised different reasons to do horrible things. That's an adorable thought.

We're a nasty, cruel species. We'll find an excuse. :/

[Tychus]

It doesn't. Lots of types of Christians. They're just people like everyone else. Some are assholes are find beliefs that justify being assholes.

i didn't say "christians", i said "christianity or religion". and such does have something to do with it, as it's informs and provides context to how the entire event unfolded.

[Tijuana]

Should ban all religions.
Because of them we have the fucked up world we have.

Alternatively, maybe people are responsible for their own actions, regardless of what their favorite book is.

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I think we can all agree that this thread will devolve in to Christians vs Atheists vs Jihadist apologists in 3....2.....1....

[Bakis]

Alternatively, maybe people are responsible for their own actions, regardless of what their favorite book is.

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I think we can all agree that this thread will devolve in to Christians vs Atheists vs Jihadist apologists in 3....2.....1....

Could we also start being secular and remove tax exempt, or as in my country federal funding if applied for, for religious institutions.
One thing to tolerate religion, another thing to actively support it.