UPDATE: THE SMITHS HAVE BEEN CONVICTED. Video of verdict is included.
Here’s a disturbing story about a Christian church that that is more inline with Scientology than Christianity. For as long as the Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood Tennessee has been around, it’s been shrouded in controversy.
It all started in Oct 8,2003 when Remnant Fellowship Church members Joseph and Sonya Smith applied some of the Church’s good ole parenting techniques to their 8-year-old son. As a result of their loving disciplinary action, their child will not see his 9th birthday or any other birthday for that matter.
Watch the video to see what I mean. Then read the next paragraph for my opinion on churches like this.
Ok, I guarantee after viewing this video that you have formulated your own thoughts on the matter. But this is what I feel matters. Churches like this, or cults as I see them, prey on the weak-minded. Now by weak-minded I do not necessarily mean uneducated. These members could very well be college educated, but nonetheless they are weak. They need someone or some thing to guide them through the basic day-to-day problems that plague all of us. In this case it was dealing with a difficult child. I’m sure many of you have kids, as do I, and face this problem frequently. But what separates us from them is our ability to rationally approach the situation and grasp what is right and what is not. These people can’t and as such fall victim to these cults. As a result they look to the church for guidance, which in this case was horribly inept.
I know I’ve just scratched the surface on this, but I leave it to you guys to fill in the blanks.
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Related posts:
- Religious Freaks Distraught Over Miracle Pizza Pan
- Westboro Baptist Church: The Musical!
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- Next Generation Of Religious Freaks
- Christians In The Buff
February 10th, 2007 at 1:53 am
This happened in my own back yard… I live in Cobb county. I cannot believe that this happened and I haven’t heard it on the news out here.
I really don’t know what to say. I’m going to have to gather thoughts together and come back to this.
February 10th, 2007 at 1:57 am
When I see stuff like this on the site, I really, really want to find something to say, but I don’t know. The story pretty much speaks for itself. I just want to yell, “What the hell!?” and hope that it will dawn on them that what they’re doing doesn’t make any sense, and yet I get that creeping feeling that they really do believe they’re in the right as much as I believe I am, and that we are back at square one. It really irritates me. AGH!
February 10th, 2007 at 3:18 am
I’m impressed by that news channel; especially Phil Williams. Puts sham to all the local channels in my area (LA). Around here we have hour long news casts centered around the light drizzle. Literally news reporters driving to some random location holding out there hand and telling the views look its raining!.
February 10th, 2007 at 3:28 am
I’m glad that there’s finally some press on this stuff. I dealt with beatings. Not spankings, the way most people think of it. Actual beatings with many objects and until I bruised or bleed. I went to my pastor and my teachers and they all turned a blind eye because of the religious aspect. I do not want it to happen to children anymore.
February 10th, 2007 at 5:14 am
I don’t really know what to say about this, it’s just frustrating in the extreme, and also terrifying.
I couldn’t help but notice the father and his son were both named Joseph Smith, who’s the founder of Mormonism. I don’t know what’s up with that name and weird cult-like religions, but it just struck me as odd. Actually, to some extent the attitude of that woman and some of their approach to religion smacks of Mormonism to me. Not entirely, but in a lot of ways.
February 10th, 2007 at 6:58 am
THEISTS EVERYWHERE - CHRISTIANS - MOSLEMS - HINDUS - GAIISTS - THIS IS WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU ABDICATE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT - STOP IT - JUST STOP IT!! - STOP IT NOW FOR YOU ARE BLIND!!!
@Gasmonso
Sometimes I wonder what I am doing here, why paying attention to this shite is worth the time out of my life that I give it. Not any more. “One man’s quest against religious idiocy” - One man? No way - what you are doing here matters. I am not the only one who can see that.
@Everyone
Been sitting on this one for a while, and am interested in peer-reviewed feedback - What do you think - is it time we had a “church of freedom”?
* Freedom from LIES
* Freedom from MANIPULATION
* Freedom from SUPERSTITION
There would be enough passionate, emotive, rock-n-roll-liberatian goodness to keep everyone busy for a month of sundays and more. It could be fun! Why should being sane mean being alone? So much of *why* people get into this shite is simple longing for human connection and belonging - why is that so easy to find if you are willing to be a fruit-loop but so hard if you want to be rational? Because most rational people have happy and awesome lives that don’t need propping up by a Hallelujah club? OK, Granted, the Theists don’t know how much better things are working for us, but don’t we have a basic human responsibility to SHARE THAT BENEFIT WITH THEM?
Especially in light of this kind of thing? We may not need the “Yay! Freedom!!!” club for ourselves - but… we keep leaving each and every vulnerable adolescent to the mercy of the wolves then ridiculing them when they fall….
What do you think? It’s worth 60 minutes of my sundays…. Would we care enough to keep it going? I am game if you are…
@Niki
Hi there! First post right? Welcome aboard. I am really, really, really, sorry to hear about that. I wasn’t beaten, but we might have more in common than you think. Drop me a line at recovered.catholic–at–gmail.com if you feel like talking, I can promise I am interested to hear how things are going.
//fairytale mind-abuse survivors chat-board member signing out…
February 10th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Why is it that every time some churchy is caught doing/saying something horrible, they always fall back on the ol’ “out of context” excuse?
February 10th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
She actually completely denied saying that while in the interview. I guess along with some of the other deviations her church believes in, lying outright is ok.
February 10th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
@RC you know, I’m actually kind up for the idea of a church of freedom. Full of Humanist Rock and the good news from who ever has something inspiring to say. It has been said that if there is ever going to be mass apostacy we’d need to replace all the religious ritual with our own, so why not.
Heck we can even get a Reverend, I know of a site where you can order your ordainment for something like $15.
February 10th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
As a Christian what can I say : This is what an unbelieving world simply finds …..UNBLIEVABLE.
How friggin sad man !! Wake up Christians we act like a bunch of deer in the headlights whenever someone attaches the word “Jesus” in the message. This is what I found so sickening before I accepted Christ.
And she is accepted as a mainstream voice for Christendom?
Good God !!
February 10th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Brad: You said:
“Good God !!”
Don’t you mean:
“Bad god! Bad! Bad go peepee on the carpet! Bad!”
February 10th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it.
February 10th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Although this website brings out the idiocy in all religion, I’m glad when it focuses on the fringes of society. These nuts are definitely not mainstream and should be exposed as the lunatics they are.
February 10th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
“An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it.”
An idea only exists in terms of how people believe in it.
February 10th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
“Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the church of slack.
I come before you today to save you from the perils of the evil.
The clutches of sin!
And the devils and daemons lurking from within.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I come before you today and I present the world’s first guilt-free religion.
That’s right, boys and girls, no more waking up early on sunday morning,
it’s all about believing in yourself!
I said it’s all about believing in yourself!
I said it’s all about believing in yourself!
Now listen up closely and listen to me,
and I’ll make sure you live the rest of your life bullshit-free!
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, everybody out there, listen to me right now.
I want you to put your hand on the stereo.
Put your hand on the speaker.
Not that speaker, the other speaker!
Put your hand on the speaker.
I want you to put your hands in the air where I can see them.
And I want you to repeat after me:
I am somebody!
I said I am somebody!
And I’m gonna believe in myself!
Because…
I am somebody!
And I’m gonna shake my ass.”
// Off burning Churches
February 10th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Hee Hee yep Shaze, that’s a start :)
Where did you find that one?
@HJ
Theist churches continue because the members believe that there is a big scary man in the sky who really cares whether or not people turn up to church - and they believe this, and keep turning up, for an entire lifetime. What do you think would be sufficient reason for people to put ongoing effort into a humanistic church?
For me, I think it would have to be the observation that
1. there is a whole lot of dangerous nonsense ruining lives all over the world because people think it’s ok to be in-human as long as you are theistic, and…
2. a belief that by speaking out about it the world could become a better place - and that if I have the ability to do something, then I have the respons-ability to do something.
However, theist churches aren’t all, or even mainly, about altruism - rather, they hold out the very self-oriented offer of personal salvation, as well as hope in voodoo cures for a whole host of life’s ills.
I think a Humanistic church would hold it’s own quite nicely from the standpoint of community, and from the standpoint of “this is a right and good thing to do”, but I do not yet see how it offers the “I’m going to get a big personal payback”, which I think is an important part of the continuity of any religion.
Would it’s utility as a “mind gym” or “bullshit vaccination” be purpose enough? Would acquiring that for yourself or family seem compelling? I guess regular gyms do well enough, and the nutter in the video above got started with a diet book….
Is it about self improvement? Are theists tapping into people’s need to feel they can find a way to become “good enough”?
February 11th, 2007 at 1:17 am
Whoa.
There’s a name I’d forgotten about.
A few years back my mother started participating in a weight loss seminar at our church. After she had quite a bit of success with it my father started taking the seminar as well. He too lost a significant amount of weight.
If I remember correctly, the seminar focused on helping participants learn when they are truly hungry (not just craving food) and when they are full. Sure sure, simple stuff, I know, but as a fat person I understand the need to relearn insanely obvious stuff like that. It also talked about self-discipline and all that too, I’m sure. And it undoubtedly had plenty of christian-y talk mixed in as well.
Anyway, both my parents had a great amount of success with the seminar. So much so that they began to volunteer to teach the seminar. They even got an above-the-fold story and before and after pictures on the front page of the community section of the local newspaper.
If you haven’t guessed already, the seminar series was called The Weigh Down Workshop, and its creator was this Gwen Shamblin
Then they quit.
The reason? The founder of the seminar series started her own damn church! I remember my mother remarking that the literature was becoming more and more cult-like. That was a shame, she said, since the seminar had helped her so much and could likely help others.
I’m glad she got out. Seems like the whole thing has become kinda scary.
February 11th, 2007 at 10:52 am
As bad as the child abuse is, the one phrase that bothered me most was when the preacher said, “What’s the worst that can happen? You die? So what? You go to heaven.” I can’t think of a more frightening attitude towards medicine and psychiatry.
As for starting a church, there are actually “free-thinker societies” already in some major cities. Normally near a university.
February 11th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Religious cults aren’t the only ones that prey on the weak minded. There have been plenty of non-religious self help gurus that have done more harm than good and plenty of good info has come out of church groups. Let’s make sure that we get from this not “Religion is bad.” but rather “Cults are dangerous.”
February 11th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Scott: Well, I get from this that “religion is bad” since… well, I believe that religion is bad. Religion teaches people to let others think for them, don’t even try to deny this. Religion teaches people to just do things the way the church says and don’t worry about any consequences here on earth because you will get whisked away to a magical fairyland after you die.
Religion is bad, dangerous and pure insanity.
February 11th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
@Andrew - yep, and for why they don’t cut it, check here:
http://www.wired.com/news/wiredmag/1,71985-0.html
Churches, like sports or political rallys, aren’t about thinking - free or otherwise. They are about feeling.
February 12th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Forgot who said this, but I love it…
“Only when the last king is strangled with the entrials of the last priest will we have peace.”
February 12th, 2007 at 10:07 am
This Christian sect simply points out the major flaw with any fundamentalist religion. Each Christian fundamentalist sect picks a different subset of the Bible and declares it inerrant and unquestionable and/or more important than most other verses. Gwen Shamblin choose the “Spare the Rod, spoil the child” verse as more important than others, including ones that declare lying a sin (can you help me out with book/chapter/verse, Scott?). She admitted that she lies in pursuit of spreading her cult, yet she gets very defensive if anyone questions hitting kids.
I find evangelical Christians (another, albeit larger fundamentalist sect) no different. They arbitrarily decided that ‘thou shall not lay man with man’ (or however it’s worded) as more important and inerrant than ‘eating of shellfish is an abomination before the lord’, and many other conveniently ignored verses. This belief is no less dangerous to homosexuals as the Remnant Church is to children.
Also, there already is a large, organized, humanistic church: Unitarian Universalist. Though each church is slightly different from one another, in general they do not prescribe an ontology or theology (they have no holy book either). Atheists and agnostics are just as welcome as the deeply religious. Their entire focus is on living a moral life (based on humanitarianism), building a community, and promoting liberal religion.
I had read somewhere that Deists, such as myself, often feel at home in UU churches, so I decided to give it a shot over the weekend. Not expecting much, I was very pleasantly shocked when the minister pointed out a hypocrisy of conservative Christianity. After speaking to many members, I discovered that the congregation was largely liberal, open-minded, and suspicious of any one or any institution that claims to have all the answers.
There were definitely some things about the church that made me and my wife very uncomfortable. The UU church grew out of protestant Christianity, so they’ve inherited quite a bit from them. The service mirrored that of what I remembered from by Baptist upbringing; complete with hymns (yuck!). Prayer time is replaced with a quiet meditation / reflection period and the sermon is replaced with a humanistic message.
Anyway, they at least earned a return visit from me. A warning to any atheists who might be interested in visiting a UU church: some churches (not the one I went to) will include ‘God’ in their messages. Others will included ‘Great Spirit’ or other similar term. If you can get past that, the benefits of meeting other humanists, being involved in building your local community, and the opportunity to put liberal thought into action more than make up for UU’s drawbacks.
February 12th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Sidfaiwu — I did quite a bit of checking into the UU church. The number one thing to remember is that there is a central organization over all UU churches, but they make no effort at all to govern the beliefs and practices of the individual churches. They believe that the local members of each church should determine those things. As a result, some may be reminiscent of liberal christianity, while some may be nearly nontheist. One thing that struck me was the acknowledgment and appreciation of all the world’s spiritual traditions. A theme for a given church service may very well be a discussion of buddhist ideals, for instance, and how they relate to the modern world. Not bad stuff, even if you are an agnostic or atheist.
I never got interested enough to actually attend a service, but if I felt the need to develop my own Sunday rituals I might very well start there.
The UU national site also played up a connection to the beliefs of the USA’s founding fathers. It was popular in New England at an early time in the nation’s history, and it is true that their beliefs were inline with the somewhat agnostic and less formal structure that were popular at that time.
Andy
February 13th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Well, I get from this that “religion is bad†since… well, I believe that religion is bad.
Obviously so.
Religion teaches people to let others think for them, don’t even try to deny this.
Okay, if you say so. See I don’t like thinking for myself. :-p
Religion teaches people to just do things the way the church says and don’t worry about any consequences here on earth because you will get whisked away to a magical fairyland after you die.
That’s actually all crap but I know I won’t change your mind so I won’t try.
Religion is bad, dangerous and pure insanity.
Whatever you say.
February 13th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Sid - I’m assuming you want the rod verse:
Prov. 13:24 He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.
I discipline my children. I use spanking where I deem it is appropriate. I don’t beat my children and I don’t abuse them in any way. I also try not to lie. Of course one thing Christianity teaches is that no one is perfect so I can’t say that I’ve never spanked my child in anger or that I’ve never lied.
They arbitrarily decided that ‘thou shall not lay man with man’ (or however it’s worded) as more important and inerrant than ‘eating of shellfish is an abomination before the lord’, and many other conveniently ignored verses.
It’s not really that arbitrary when you read the NT. It declares that homosexuality is a no-no while eating shellfish is okay, so that’s at least internally consistant. You may not like it but that much is true.
February 13th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
The problem you have when quoting the bible as a reason for this and that is we find it silly in the extreme to use this book as the ultimate guide to anything, much less your life. I especially love it when you folk like to say you follow the new testament but not the old. To me, it seems that at some point someone decided that the old testament was no longer viable due to societal evolution and it was time for a modernized version, so they made one up. I say it is time for a book three. Call it the new-new testament and toss out those outdated bigoted parts and modernize it. I don’t care who you get to write it, it would not be any more legitimate than the other two books.
February 13th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Hello Michael,
While I agree that the Bible is not a reliable life guide, it is much more effective to present Christians with evidence from their own truth-source. The Bible can be interpreted liberally as well as conservatively. Whenever possible, I try to use the Bible itself to promote liberalism and/or metaphorical interpretations.
This is especially useful with people like Scott, who understands that the Bible can be interpreted differently by different groups. We had an interesting discussion on the forum about how different fundamentalist groups take different parts of the Bible and inerrant and literal.
Hey Scott,
I responded to your post much earlier, but for what ever reason, it has been delayed. I hope it eventually makes it through, but until then, I’d like to ask for Book(s), Chapter(s), Verse(s) for the NT anti-homosexual reference. I’m also interested when the NT put shellfish back on the menu.
February 14th, 2007 at 8:45 am
1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
Acts 11:4 Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened: 5″I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8″I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9″The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
A larger/better case can be built if you’d like me to.
February 14th, 2007 at 8:48 am
“I especially love it when you folk like to say you follow the new testament but not the old.”
I didn’t say that, but then you did say “folks like me”. The OT is as much the word of God as the old. What’s also clear (if you read it) is the nature of the various covenants God makes.
I’d love to talk with you about that but I dout that you’d listen.
February 14th, 2007 at 9:45 am
So OT is as valid as NT?
If so, is the NT a patch to the OT, overwriting things of older version with current code?
February 14th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Hello Scott,
Thanks for the references. The Acts verses are enough to convince me that there is a Biblical basis for the change in menu, so to speak. I would ask why God changed ‘His’ mind, but I’d like to stay on the topic of why fundamentalists have chosen certain aspects of the Bible to focus on.
I’ve asked other before, but you are the first to actually provide the NT anti-homosexuality references. Thank you very much.
“http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibc1.htm”>Here is a great discussion on 1 Corinthians 6:9.
Surely, there must be more in the NT on this topic. I mean, the way fundamentalist make it sound, Jesus himself forbade the behavior and spent more time talking about sins of the flesh than the evils of greed and power.
Here are a few quick Bible references that I found on the topic that come straight from Jesus: Matthew 6:19-21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:15, Luke 12:16-21, John 6:27. These do not even include the whole “overturning of the money changers’ tables” bit.
The anti-homosexual reference is from Paul, who (correct me if I’m wrong) was the first to interpret what Jesus said. Why does this carry more weight than what came directly from Jesus?
It seems that conservatives have hijacked Christianity to promote a socially conservative agenda despite the fact that Jesus promoting largely liberal causes.
February 14th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Scott:
“I didn’t say that, but then you did say “folks like meâ€. The OT is as much the word of God as the old. What’s also clear (if you read it) is the nature of the various covenants God makes.”
I never said you did, I just said (with the folks like you” reference) that generally christians (which you are one of right?) say that. Am I incorrect? It is the first thing any christian I have ever asked about the evil stuff in the old testiment says.
“I’d love to talk with you about that but I dout that you’d listen.”
Listen or believe? I will listen, but making me believe is something neither you nor your mythical god has the power to accomplish. Sorry.
February 15th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
“I’d like to stay on the topic of why fundamentalists have chosen certain aspects of the Bible to focus on.”
I’d wager it’s because they’re reluctant to face their own sins. It’s easier to try adn remove a speck from someone else’s eye than the plank from your own.
“Thank you very much.”
You’re welcome.
“Surely, there must be more in the NT on this topic. I mean, the way fundamentalist make it sound, Jesus himself forbade the behavior and spent more time talking about sins of the flesh than the evils of greed and power.”
Yeah, in my church we focus more on what Jesus says about things like greed and self righteousness. I like to think we aren’t alone.
“The anti-homosexual reference is from Paul, who (correct me if I’m wrong) was the first to interpret what Jesus said. Why does this carry more weight than what came directly from Jesus?”
Paul, before his conversion, was very focused on the Law. I’d like to think when he gets on his soapbox like that it’s just Paul being Paul. He goes on to say so much more about grace (especially in Romans), but that gets overshadowed in some eyes by his railing against things like sexual problems and women in places of authority. Now don’t get me wrong, I think that homosexual acts are sinful. but no more so than any other. I believe that God’s grace is sufficient for all/any sin. I also believe that God has given man a place of authority above women. Unfortunately men seem to either abuse it or abdicate it entirely. That authority should look like Christ’s love, very sacrificial and humble as Paul says in Eph 5:25-33.
I say all that to say that yes, certain evangelicals do get things a bit out of whack imo. And your last sentence is dead on.
February 15th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
“It is the first thing any christian I have ever asked about the evil stuff in the old testiment says.”
Then I’d say they haven’t thought thiungs through. Like I believe you said in another post M, there are many people in this country that call themselves Christians but they haven’t cracked a Bible in serious study in their entire lives. Any one of them who says “we don’t follow the OT” either isn’t being very clear or doesn’t realize how important the OT is.
I don’t follow it in the sense that it isn’t a book of laws on how to live my life. That’s not the purpose of the Bible. The laws in the Old and New Testament are important for other reasons, but as for me what Christ said about the law sums it up for me:
LK 10:26″What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered: ” ‘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.’”
28″You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
February 16th, 2007 at 2:55 am
@scott
man thats some truly demented sh!t. first of all, no half intelligent person can believe all sins are equal.
second, the whole thing about women and authority, now thats just a truly retarded remnant of the bronze age. how convenient that the ideas about women rights supposedly passed on to us by god really predate xtianity and judaism. wow, humanity truly was created by yahweh
/me rolls eyes
February 18th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
All I have to say is those actions have nothing to do with christianity just some delusion of it. And those people were not christians. I can say i was the president but that doesn’t make it true. What God creates the devil always tries to copy adding his own perverted twists.
February 20th, 2007 at 7:05 am
Just another reason to go to Vegas! Gamble, smoke, get laid, ….. umm then I will come back, join the church beat my kid, and lose some weight
June 12th, 2007 at 8:58 am
[...] and strict rules - here is an article with a video of the news coverage of her teachings how God teaches to spank your child  (over and over again if needed called “show down spanking”, using” glue sticks [...]
June 12th, 2007 at 10:42 am
[...] and strict rules - here is an article with a video of the news coverage of her teachings how God teaches to spank your child (over and over again if needed called “show down spanking”, using” glue sticks [...]
June 12th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
[...] age 8 died when his parents followed the churches teachings of “show down spanking” - God teaches to spank your child  (using” glue sticks because they hurt like switches but don’t leave marks”)  [...]
July 25th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
[...] horrendous abuses were documented in a series of exposes by Atlanta’s Newschannel 5 (posted here at Religious Freaks). While Shamblin was not directly implicated in the killing, her methods [...]
August 10th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
She is an insane person
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:22 pm
loveandlogic.com
If you, by any chance are a member or think that this is the only answer out there, check out love and logic. It really works and suddenly you have great kids who can make choices for themselves and live with the consequences of those choices. The key term is LIVE!
For someone, anyone to harm a child in any way is… I think people need to reevaluate the term ABOMINATION! People throw that word around, what is really a horrible thing? Is it okay to molest a child, but not okay to have sex with a man if you’re a man? It’s okay to beat your child over and over and over and over, lock them in a room for 3 days with nothing but a F**KING BIBLE! Maybe it’s a good thing this young man died because it spared him from further torture at the hands of these “Christ like people”. Jesus said, (and I’m paraphrasing here) “DON’T HARM CHILDREN!” End of story.
September 7th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Excuse my vulgarity:
FUCK them all.
September 8th, 2007 at 12:52 am
I hate stupid people.
… what is the politically correct way to say that without sounding condescending? When its obvious you are more intelligent on a subject (such as believing or not in make believe entities), how can you not ’sound’ condescending?
Sorry, but I really really hate stupid people, and I had to vent after viewing this video.
…..
Stooooooooooooopid.
September 10th, 2007 at 8:37 am
indeed, If only stupidity were painful….
February 7th, 2008 at 6:16 am
[...] and strict rules - here is an article with a video of the news coverage of her teachings how God teaches to spank your child (over and over again if needed called “show down spanking”, using ” glue sticks [...]
February 8th, 2008 at 1:30 am
“For someone, anyone to harm a child in any way”
Funny, I did a lot of reading about parenting/techniques before i became a father, and this included historical context and scientific/psychological/brain pysiological studies…
For example, how the children of very strict, authoritarian/physical disciplinarian backgrounds characteristic of the parenting style of early 20thC germany grew up to become the adults who stood by while tha nazis did their deeds (while overwhelmingly, the people who harboured jews etc were pretty much consistently coming from families raising them with love and not physical violence as the dominating method)… and so on.
Anyway, my point was that in this day and age, it was ALWAYS the religious elements of our society who were opposing any moves to outlaw beating children, DESPITE overwhelming evidence that beating doesnt actually deal with the problem at the time (it just masks it) and doesnt build any bond between child and parent. I guess the ‘fear of god’ easily translates over to ‘fear of parents’? Anyway, i guess it comes as no surprise that christians etc arent exactly known for making decisions based on evidence!
does that make any sense?
February 11th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Okay. Let’s take things one step at a time. Spanking, when used in moderation (a swat or two on the butt with an open hand) and coupled with love, has been shown in a longitudinal study to produce fine, upstanding adults with no adverse effects. That having been said . . .
1) The entire church leadership should be prosecuted as accessories to murder.
2) The Federal government and local citizens where these “churches” are should investigate/mobilize against these nutcases.
3) Gwen Shamblin should be given a “show down spanking” every day for the rest of her miserable, twisted life.
April 16th, 2008 at 1:08 am
damn the bitch in this video is a liar
i love how she denies everything
shes a fuck up
she needs to die
August 14th, 2008 at 12:24 am
I’ve read only a few of the comments and being a Christian all my life, I find myself a little bit overwhelmed with the wide range of views that show up here. Some the the comments ticked me off just a little considering my mother just got sucked into this cult despite the fact that she has a very good working knowledge of cults and the bible. It is my opinion that it does not take a small, weak mind to become a member of a cult…. if it did then Hitler would not have been so successful in convincing an entire country that the Jews were a race that needed to be removed from this world…. or how about the Mormon church…. yes its classified as a cult and its membership is very large… and I don’t think for a second that most or all of them are idiots, stupid and the likes. For that matter has anyone seen a hypnotist at work…. as long as you trust the hypnotist and are willing to have some fun… he/she could have you taking off your cloths. Be aware people… most of us are not immune to the controls of a cult… all it takes is a little bit of desire from the victim and a willing deceiver. Gwen is a willing deceiver because her rich lifestyle depends on it and the desire for the deceived is a life long struggle to overcome a weight problem.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I actually started to follow their beliefs a few years back but realized after only weeks these people were too freaky for me..I thank God I got out when I did..Everyone starves themselves and oh so much more craziness…
October 13th, 2008 at 3:30 am
PLEASE SOMEONE OUT THERE TELL ME HOW TO RECLAIM MY SON (&NOW DAUGHTERINLAW) OUT OF rEMNANT FELLOWSHIP/WEIGHDOWN CULT. I REFUSE TO LET GS HAVE MY SON &/OR DAUGHTERINLAW. WHEN HE WAS FIRST DRAFTED INTO THIS CULT- GOD SPOKE TO ME & PROMISED HE WOULD DELIVER HIM. I HATE HOW THESE PEOPLE DRIVE HUGE WEDGES IN BETWEEN THE MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES & CHURCHES. THIS ONE FACTOR ALONE HAS BROUGHT MANY GOD FEARING PEOPLE ON THEIR KNEES- IN FERVERANT PRAYER FOR THE DOWNFALL OF THE REMNANT/WEIGHDOWN LEADERSHIP & THEIR BANKACCOUNTS TO CRUMBLE. mY GODIS BIGGER THAN THAT.
i WAS LIED TO BY TOP REMNANT PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS FIRST DRAFTED INTO THIS STUFF. RIGHT OR WRONG- I PRAY DAILY FOR THE FALL OF GWEN SHAMBLIN,REMNANT FELLOWSHIP,WEIGHDOWN WORKSHOP, & THE DOZENS OF OTHER REMNANT BASED BUSINESS.
I WILL ENTER & REENTER “THE ENEMIES CAMP” AND i WILL “TAKE BACK WHAT THE DEVIL IS TRYING TO STEAL FROM ME”
THEY CANNOT KEEP WHAT GOD GAVE TO ME!!
January 25th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Sue: Take a look at the spiritwatch.org/remnantcultism.htm web site and learn more about this cult. As well contact them, they have resources that may be of some help to you. There is a group of councilors who use a process call exit counseling. Google it. It is a counseling technique used on cult members that is safe and respects the cult member as a person. In the end this is very important because if the cult member becomes an ex-member he/she will need to to have all the self respect he/she can get in order to deal with the damage resulting from being involved in the cult.
January 29th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Sue- I too have had a personal experience with this organization and a family member; and my heart goes out to you and any others out there who are experiencing the same pain. We are in fervent prayer with you. Remain steadfast and know that He is God! Remember that this is not a battle of flesh and blood, but rather a spiritual battle. I pray your son sees God’s truth very soon. And like RCS says, he will need some deprogramming and much support when he does leave as they will label him the enemy. It is obvious how much you love your son. Keep on, Keepin’ on. Hang on to the Hope you have in Christ Jesus!!
January 29th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Hey Password, maybe you can pass RCS and S.Baron comments by email and let her know people care or concerned. just my thought.
December 6th, 2009 at 5:55 am
[...] möchte, welches Unheil Religion anrichten kann, sollte mal diesen Artikel lesen und sich das Video auf der Seite [...]
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:42 am
I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you
February 14th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Kinda funny to see ol’ Gwen at a loss for words.