Praying for Resurrection

[MayMay1123]

i had great faith that Grace would be healed...there were thousands of people all over the country praying for her, that she would get a miracle. but it just didn't happen. although it was incredibly hard, we had to accept that. i, too, wonder, how long are they going to go on with this? hopefully, being at the morgue, Olive is being kept cold and her body isn't too far gone by the time they will have a funeral. these people need some serious help.

[Koala]

I can't imagine how harmful this will end up being to their remaining child, when she realizes that her sister is not coming back.

It's horrible enough to lose a sibling, but having her parents go stark raving mad and insist that she will be brought back to life?  That's a whole new level of trauma.

It's a heartbreaking situation, but allowing this to continue will not make it better.  I am floored by how many people are playing along with it.

[WarriorJane]

Does anyone familiar with this church know if they would allow an autopsy?

[Four is Enough]

I have no problem believing in an "eventual" resurrection, as in the day we are all raised from the dead, but this "immediate" resurrection.... no. Just NO.

[Koala]

41 minutes ago, WarriorJane said:

Does anyone familiar with this church know if they would allow an autopsy?

Honestly, I don't think they will have a choice in the matter.

[Giraffe]

2 minutes ago, Koala said:

Honestly, I don't think they will have a choice in the matter.

I was wondering that. I’m curious to see how this plays out. It’s becoming more and more bizarre. 

[NachosFlandersStyle]

7 hours ago, HeadshipRegent said:

I feel so awful saying this but is there any chance that this might be fabricated by Bethel? Has anything concrete been reported outside of christian websites?

Local news in Redding is reporting on it, but doesn't say much that isn't already out there.

 https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.redding.com/amp/2676273001

[Rachel333]

Someone on reddit claiming to be a family member wrote this:

Quote

I’m a family member and I can confirm olive is dead and this is not a hoax. It’s a church using a emotionally susceptible couple to get their name out there more. She was taken to the coroner on Sunday when the immediate family flew out. From my understanding Kalley and Andrew we’re out of town at the time and got the call that the child was sluggish and breathing heavily. The babysitter put the girl to sleep and when she checked on her again she wasn’t breathing. Olive was pronounced dead before they could get back to her. I think how it all happened is what added to the intense guteral sadness and the inability to cope and that plus a PR crazy church makes for a perfect storm. Super nice couple, not the normal hatred kind of people. Just easily exploited

If that's true it sounds like there were signs that something was wrong with Olive. It's extremely sad.

[AmazonGrace]

I wonder if guilt and what-ifs about not being there while she was sick play a role in the heavy denial.

[dripcurl]

2 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

Someone on reddit claiming to be a family member wrote this:

If that's true it sounds like there were signs that something was wrong with Olive. It's extremely sad.

 

1 hour ago, AmazonGrace said:

I wonder if guilt and what-ifs about not being there while she was sick play a role in the heavy denial.

I really do hope there is an investigation and an autopsy. It would be so ironic if she was sick the night before and they were just trying to pray that away and not take her to the ER. I think there is some major guilt going on with the family. I have been watching videos that Kalley (the mom) is tagged in as she lead a worship service last night. I know Bethel has very exuberant and manic worship, but this woman is going mad and I feel so sorry for the sister of the baby.

[Giraffe]

Imo, it’s wrong that Bethel even allowed the mother to be on stage the day after her daughter died - even if they believe she’s going to rise from the dead. She should’ve been told to spend time with her other child,  not be involved in this ridiculous display of denial. 

How will they know if she raises from the dead? Do they have someone with her in the morgue? This whole thing is utterly bizarre. 

[Beermeet]

This whole wake up Olive still seems to be going on. Day 5. 5 days.  This is wrong on so many levels.  Someone needs to shut this down and help this mother.  Maybe some sedatives and a therapist or some non Bethel family for the mother to cling to.  This is sick.  That "church" is wrong for this.  They don't care about this family.  Horrific.  

[Beermeet]

This is a still from day 5's services.  Those are the parents.  What I'm super hating is the guy in the back with the microphone smiling his ass off.  Like, it's just a good time.  All these people enabling this behavior suck so bad.  I can only hope this harms Bethel.  The levels at which they are involved in Redding's political ambitions, owning and buying property and police is beyond disturbing.   

 

[Jasmar]

21 hours ago, Marmion said:

Also coincidentally , both Bethel , Redding , and Colonia Dignidad had been based upon the teachings of William Branham . 

  Quote

Oh wow, this totally brought back memories of my fundie ex-MIL. She was a rabid Branham follower, and raised her kids in it (although my ex quit following when he was 13). The girls managed to get out as they grew up, but the youngest still tries to show her mom all the contradictions, failed prophecies, and dodgy crap Branham pulled. MIL will not hear it.

We “went to church” with her once when my kids were little. Which meant we walked a few trailers down the lane to her parents’ place and listened to Branham tapes for about two hours. That never happened again!

[Howl]

Quote

From my understanding Kalley and Andrew we’re out of town at the time and got the call that the child was sluggish and breathing heavily. The babysitter put the girl to sleep and when she checked on her again she wasn’t breathing.

 

4 hours ago, dripcurl said:

It would be so ironic if she was sick the night before and they were just trying to pray that away and not take her to the ER.

Does this congregation believe in regular medical intervention?  I have to wonder who the babysitter is, how old and experienced is she? Can't imagine how traumatic this would be. 

[ColeJo]

I didn't think Bethel was this crazy. One of my pastors talked about the church a while ago and made it sound like there were just a few things wrong with their doctrine. I know they have been like that, but I only know of them because of their music. I'm trying to figure out what to do because a huge chunk of the repertoire of church music is Bethel. I can't just not sing it because I would have to quit the praise team. This is all screwing with me.

[thoughtful]

I decided to try to learn more about Bethel, so I started with a google search.

They have 790 google reviews - 4.5 stars.

I'm sure all of that is genuine and without bias./s

 

 

[Giraffe]

https://brucegerencser.net/2016/02/bethel-redding-dangerous-evangelical-cult/
 

This man was a fundamentalist Baptist preacher (think Pa Keller or Pisser Anderson) and is now an atheist. 

[church_of_dog]

I can't see the text without turning off my adblocker, which I decline to do, but the Sacramento Bee has an article about this case, at www.sacbee.com

 

[adidas]

I’ll make my usual disclaimer because I’m about to talk about my faith. I’m a Christian. Grew up fundie lite. Please skip my post if you don’t want an opinion from a Christian POV.

My problem with this is that it smacks of people telling God what to do. Nowhere do I see people praying for God’s will. They’re just telling Jesus what they want. He is not Santa. In the Bible when these types of miracles were performed, people approached Jesus with humble requests. Not demands, expectations and a sense of entitlement.

[HereComesTreble]

On reddit, a poster suggested this could all be staged.  Possibly the girl is not actually dead and her public "resurrection" would be a grand slam for Bethel.  The poster pointed out the situation is described rather vaguely.  They also claimed there hasn't been a death certificate issued, yet (I don't know if that's true or not).  This would, or course, be an ideal situation because Olivia would be alive and well.

If this isn't all a terrible hoax--I don't blame the parents for praying for resurrection.  They lost their daughter suddenly.  I can't imagine how I'd act in their situation.  It's a nightmare.  I wouldn't be surprised if they've lost their minds (at least temporarily) due to their grief.

I blame Bethel and everyone enabling this madness.

[church_of_dog]

2 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

I can't see the text without turning off my adblocker, which I decline to do, but the Sacramento Bee has an article about this case, at www.sacbee.com

 

quoting myself because I messed up the link and it goes to something weird.  The Sacramento Bee is at sacbee.com.

[mango_fandango]

FAKING a child’s death?? Who the hell would that? Especially when children genuinely die every day? *If* it was a hoax then that’s disgusting. If the child is genuinely dead, then Bethel are still disgusting for encouraging this resurrection madness.

[dripcurl]

They all posted an update, it’s day 5 and they’re still asking God to raise her. Sickening. Who has some legal authority regarding the body? How long can you just leave a body in a morgue?

[Timetraveler]

I wish Christopher Hitchens was still around to react to this.