If you are born again you can do no wrong??

[doggie]

Another one of those he is too good not to do it. We see so much that born again Christians are so full of god that they won't do horrible things. Yet gain and again it happens and people will never believe even after they get convicted they never did it.

SC preacher accused of raping women behind church

BRUCE SMITH

Published: Aug 21, 2011 7:53 AM

LADSON, S.C. (AP) - Dale Richardson was saved at a tent revival 32 years ago, was called to preach the Lord's word in 2006 and, for the past year, had served as pastor at Freedom Free Will Baptist Church, a modest red brick structure on a South Carolina side road running along a railroad track.

Now he's in jail, charged with kidnapping and raping three women at gunpoint - two of them in a trailer behind the church - and kidnapping a fourth who was not sexually assaulted.

According to an incident report, about noon on a Saturday last month, Richardson picked up a woman and gave her a ride. When the 20-year-old tried to get out of the car, Richardson allegedly pulled a gun, bound her hands, covered her head and took her to the gray-blue trailer home behind the church.

The report said he later dropped the woman in a wooded area, threatening to shoot her if she turned around. Police said the woman was able to identify Richardson from his picture on the church website, which also displays a short biography detailing how he became a Christian and then a pastor.

Richardson has since been charged with two other similar sexual assaults, both of which occurred last year. He is accused of bringing one of those women to the church trailer. The third woman claims she was raped in a wooded area outside nearby Summerville, a bedroom community about 20 miles northwest of Charleston. He is also charged with kidnapping a fourth woman.

Richardson said little last week when, dressed in a gray and white striped prison jump suit with his ankles and wrists shackled, he appeared before a Dorchester County magistrate on the latest charges. He said he understood the charges against him and was denied bond when the magistrate said he was a danger to society.

Richardson's public defender said it's too soon to comment on the case. During his initial bond hearing when he was first arrested, Richardson said he has a spotless record and will put up a strong defense.

Maj. John Garrison of the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office said serial rape cases are unusual in the area. He said this case is drawing particular interest because the suspect is a preacher.

Garrison, then at the Charleston County Sheriff's Department, helped investigate the so-called Lowcountry serial rapist that attracted national headlines two decades ago. Authorities believe Duncan Proctor, who was convicted of two rapes and burglaries and sentenced to life in prison, may have raped as many as 30 women between March 1990 and June 1992.

Most neighbors on the quiet cul-de-sac where Richardson lived in a neat yellow house refused to talk last week. But Mary Milligan, who lives two doors away, came to Richardson's defense.

"I don't believe any of this. I have never had a problem with him. He's kind. He's a member of this community. He mows the neighbors' lawns. I am just blown away by all these accusations," she said.

There was no one home at the Richardson residence, where a paving stone beside the walkway is inscribed "Believe in God. Believe also in me. John 14:1."

The church website says Richardson became pastor of the church on June 9, 2010. It says he graduated from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. - the college founded by evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell - and has a wife and two grown daughters.

But his name has now been removed from the sign outside the church that has a congregation of about 50 people. Those attending last Wednesday night's service who were willing to be interviewed did not condemn Richardson.

"He's always been a real sweet person. He's always taught God's word," said Virginia Davis, who has been attending the church about a year. "He's been honest with me since Day 1. I'd let him look me right in the face and tell me he did it, because I don't believe he did it."

The Rev. Dean Mandrell, who has been helping by preaching at one of the church's three weekly services, said the congregation has drawn closer.

"Nobody is leaving, they are staying right here. They are just worshipping God. They are not condemning. They are not tearing down or poor-mouthing or bad-mouthing him," he said.

Mandrell's Wednesday sermon was about judging others, based on Matthew's biblical account of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus says people with a log in their own eye should not be concerned about the speck in another's eye.

The South Carolina Free Will Baptist State Association has suspended Richardson's preaching credentials pending the outcome of the investigations because "the misconduct alleged against him is forbidden by God." The Rev. Todd Smith, executive director of the statewide association numbering almost 120 churches, said in a statement the association would cooperate with investigators.

"Our prayers are with all involved," he said.

[luckylassie]

I hate it when people "throw the Christian card". I know of some sick and deluded men that hurt women and others then claim to be "born again". Saying that one is a "Christian" doesn't make one good any more than saying "hop hop" makes one a Kangeroo.

[doggie]

but the Christian card is used a lot but it is a marked deck. I mean look at the republican contenders.

[Kitten]

There are some "Christians" who believe that, since Jesus came to wash away their sins, that as long as they confess their sins to God and ask forgiveness, they are once again in a state of grace, or right with God, or whatever phrase you want to use. BTW, doesn't matter whether we're talking Catholic or Protestant here, because that's just quibbling over how you confess.

They all seem to conveniently forget that Jesus said "Go, and sin no more." As I read that, the intention is that yes, your sins can be forgiven by the crucifixion and your belief in God and Jesus, but your duty is to do your best from sinning again.

I don't think serial rape quite fits that requirement.

[Chrystal-J]

I've never bought into the "once saved, always saved" theory. The bible says even the demons accept that God is God and understand you should follow his rules. (They just choose not to.) It's in James 2:18-19.

(part of that scripture) “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.â€

[BlackHawk]

I give it little time before he comes out saying he has a sexual addiction and needs help not prosecution. He'll blather on about something close to "God has forgiven me and shown me the path to my salvation" and blah blah blah. Instead of taking responsibility, he'll just go this route.. they all seem to.

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

— Brennan Manning

[Avalondaughter]

Christians often come back with the slogan "Christians aren't perfect - just forgiven." If you are saved/born again then you are among the only people God will forgive for sinning. You won't be sinless. You will just feel smug that God will let you get away with it.

[maybeizfundie]

It is an unfortunate tendancy for people to insist that a loved one simply couldn't possibly have done wrong, because he or she is "too nice".

In a way, I suppose it is good to remember the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing. But I'm glad his credentials have been suspended until it's proven one way or another. Actually, that's all the more admirable that they did it even though they are not convinced of his guilt.

Salvation is not a one-off deal. Yes it involves "cleansing of sin". It also involves daily living out. Actually, Paul dealt with this same kind of thing way back when, people thinking "Oh goodie, I'll get forgiven and then I can do whatever the heck I want, and hey, that just gives God more opportunity to forgive! I've had my eye on my sister in law for years, now I can have her! Woop-woop!" It don't work that way. Nor is grace something to be taken lightly or to be smug about. So, if he is a serial rapist as alleged, he's got a problem with the man upstairs. A big, big problem.

[lilwriter85]

I had to roll my eyes at these quotes from the article

"I don't believe any of this. I have never had a problem with him. He's kind. He's a member of this community. He mows the neighbors' lawns. I am just blown away by all these accusations," she said.

"He's always been a real sweet person. He's always taught God's word," said Virginia Davis, who has been attending the church about a year. "He's been honest with me since Day 1. I'd let him look me right in the face and tell me he did it, because I don't believe he did it."

I know a few people who work in the prison system and they have said that some men serving time for sex crimes were very deceptive in their communities and work places. This woman who said she never had a problem with him probably thinks that since the pastor never tried to hurt her that he must be innocent of the accusations. There is possibility that he just didn't see her as someone to target. Some sex offenders are very picky about who to victimize.

The other woman's comment shows how naive she is. Her only encounters/experiences with the pastor were probably in setting in which other people were around. Also she has only been attending the church for a year. I bet some people who have attended the church longer might have different opinions on the pastor.

[bananacat]

I'm generally suspicious of people who play the Christian card, especially in a country where the vast majority of people are Christian. I especially hate it when someone objects to a routine security measure, like checking receipts at Costco, and think that declaring themselves Christian should be enough to give them a free pass, like they should be above suspicion. It makes me think they don't want to be checked because they did shoplift something.

I was once in a very long line at KFC, and a woman behind me made a big deal about how she's Christian now. And as she was doing this, she managed to work her way up in front of several people who were there before her. She acted like she deserved to go before everyone else just because she declared her Christianity.

I have only seen the Christian card played by dishonest people. Most Christians don't make a big deal about it.

[Black Aliss]

I hate it when people play the "No true Scotsman" card. If someone claims to be a Christian, and fellow Christians acknowledge him to be a Christian, then when he does something utterly heinous, you don't get to say, "Well, he wasn't a real Christian because Christians don't do that sort of thing." Yes, Christians DO do awful things, probably just as often as non-Christians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman