A Baptist pastor in Connecticut was arrested this week after being accused of stealing more than $170,000 from an elderly woman who was a member of his church.
According to Attorney Joseph Mager, who is currently serving as conservator for the victim, a probate judge first noticed inconsistencies in the woman’s bank account while 67-year-old Stratford Baptist Church Pastor Robert Genevicz was the acting conservator in 2013.
After more than $170,000 went missing from the account, police launched an investigation. Genevicz turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday.
A judge had previously ordered Genevicz to pay the woman $170,000 within 30 days. Mager filed a lawsuit when the pastor failed to come up with the money.
“It’s just awful for this poor woman,” Mager explained. “Right now, she’s in an assisted living facility and her money is dwindling very quickly.”
WVIT spoke to members of the church who were standing behind Genevicz.
“A hundred percent,” one parishioner said. “He’s the best pastor this town and state has ever had.”
Must be more of that faith inspired morality I keep hearing about.
Then it's the Christian duty of his parishioners to pay for the poor woman's assisted care -- every single penny of it. Plus, they must visit her regularly and see to her every need.
ReplyDeleteGryphen -
ReplyDeleteThis is why "we" can't ever have an honest and friendly conversation about religion/faith/God/? Because despite your professions that you aren't name calling, you are painting all people of "faith" with one large brush of judgement. You obviously hold people of faith in contempt and that is unfortunate.
We don't all use religion to hurt other people or bend their will or lives our way,
We dont do the "right thing" BECAUSE we fear fire and brimstone; many of us do it because it is the right thing to do (like you said about atheists),
We don't mindlessly believe the Bible and boycott Cosmos (Neil. Tyson is a sexy mf!).
We simply believe that there is something more, that is all.
Note: I didn't say religion is great or that it hasn't been used for centuries to hurt people. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition! ;)
There is just a lot that could be said but it won't happen here because of the above. Just a bummer because I enjoy how your brain works.
Namaste, friend.
Well you clearly miss the point.
DeleteI was not inferring that people of faith would, as a group, victimize the elderly. What I was saying is that claiming a religious faith does NOT indicate moral superiority.
Well, keep saying it. Just like you just did. Obviously there are no shackles holding back your comments. Since you don't mindlessly believe the bible, I'm certain you'll have no need to quote a bunch of mindless scripture.
DeleteWhen they stop doing it to us we'll stop returning the favor.
DeleteBy the way, do you get this butthurt when Christians talk shit about everyone else? Or is it just because you think he's saying mean things about you?
Gryph is correct. Any first-year philosophy course in ethics will reveal to you that religion is hardly a substitute (or surrogate) for conscionable behavior. Just ask the survivors of the Jonestown massacre.
DeleteI was not inferring that …
DeleteNo. The writer (Gryphen, in this case) implies—or doesn't imply. The reader infers—accurately or otherwise.
Not all religious persons can victimize the faithful among their like-minded fellow believers. There must be others among the group who play the role of the passive sheep, unknowingly herded towards their own shearing as the victims of their "leaders". These leaders, either in a formal role or merely as social/opinion leaders, prey on the gullibility and naivete of these lesser members who are more easily exploited. Religion is more about power via control of others as well as extraction of resources from some members to be converted to political capital of others. Look at the structure of each individual medium-sized congregation on up through the hierarchy of the major denominations of the Protestant churches, and you will see that behavior reflected at every level as the rule, not the exception with mere anecdotal documentation. The more powerful and less-principled will always exploit the weaker, poorer without exception.
DeleteI limit my comments to only the modern Christian Protestant congregations, as those are the ones that I am most familiar with in my associations. Not every individual participates to the same degree in the activities, ethical or unethical, but their passive support due to a human behavorial desire to belong to groups, allows a social structure to exist in order to facilitate the den of wolves to shear the sheep.
The desire to conform and not resist being controlled through group-think are the vulnerabilities that many non-critical thinkers possess that make them easy marks.
Annony 9:15, I agree completely. And that is why I have opted out of any form of organized religion. I could not justify contributing to the whole dysfunctional system because I wanted some social interaction with a few good minded individuals. My showing up, sitting down, listening and adding to the tithing plate didn't support those fine people, it went to support the industry of control over people's lives.
DeleteGryph is not inferring or implying anything. The congregation had a chance to boot this pastor and chose to blindly overlook his crime. To me this is just a cult. People of faith are so blinded by their own feelings of needing something in their life that they can't see the forest for their trees. Anyone with critical thinking skills can see these tv evangelists for what they are, money grubbing whores. Yet the ones who claim to be of pure faith do not come forward and renounce those who tarnish this faith. I am sure that there are good people out there who take Jesus's teachings and apply them in their life, but one wonders how anyone can not see through these Pharisees and stand up to them.Or does the ends justify the means?
DeleteIf, despite his obvious moral and ethical failings and inability to live up the expectations of the Gospel, his followers STILL found him to be the "best preacher in the city and the state" then something is very wrong at a basic level of religious doctrine and those who practice it. This man should be shunned by his congregation rather than lauded. Talk about being blinded by faith, these people need to get a clue, this guy is a very bad person.
DeleteUnfortunately, this town probably has NEVER had a good pastor so this scumbag is the best they ever had.
ReplyDeleteThe church should be closed and sold to pay the bill - or else the parishioners who stand by the thief should fork over the $170K.
There were guys like that around when I was growing up. Some of them weren’t even ministers; they just had prayer meetings and passed a plate. The “I’m raising money to be a missionary” angle was especially successful.
ReplyDeleteOklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern Says People Who Disagree With Her are Stoning God
ReplyDelete...I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the best way to avoid being taken as an idiot is to avoid saying idiotic things. Just sayin’.
But then it turns out that when we are stoning Sally Kern, we are really stoning God himself:
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/03/21/oklahoma-state-rep-sally-kern-people-disagree-stoning-god.html
Please.
DeleteEveryone knows disagreeing with Sarah, not Sally, is the same thing as stoning God.
No thanks. Scripture is never persuasive when one doesn't accept it as true. Try arguing without it.
ReplyDeleteAs a child the "good book" for me was Charles Kingsley's Water Babies. It had a pretty straightforward message and the illustrations were lovely.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who weren't brought up by Victorians, [there were] two sub-aqua spinsters who saw to it that the water-babies grew up into decent water-adults in Charles Kingsley's fairytale. Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By, was the cosy one, treating her charges as they wished to be treated: with unlimited love and sweets.
Mrs Be-Done-By-As-You-Did was a different kettle of fish. She was stern, bespectacled, unbending. She behaved toward the babies as they behaved towards others, making sure their actions came back to bite them, until they gradually learnt the golden rule of civilisation: if you don't like it yourself, then best not do it to someone else.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/mary-wakefield-what-the-water-babies-can-teach-us-about-personal-morality-1850416.html
Although not raised in a religion, I did discover later that the same thing had been said by Matthew and it was called The Golden Rule
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
Realistically there are places where this doesn't work so well - I mean, I don't want to be sent to prison, for example. But the point is, over all it's not a bad way to attempt to live a good life and as it's all about personal responsibility, it works with or without God.
Matthew was quoting current law which indicates the Golden Rule is much older than the bible.
Delete"A monk should treat all beings as he himself would be treated." (Jaina Sutras, Sutrakritanga, bk. 1, 10:1-3 - 4th to 3rd century BC)
"Regard your neighbor's gain as your gain and your neighbor's loss as your loss." (T'ai-Shang Kan-Ying P'ien - 12th century BC)
The current version of the bible contains a mish-mash of holy stories from a variety of religions in a league of countries.
9:15 am
DeleteThank you, interesting and at the same time wholly expected.
O/T but so enjoyable!
ReplyDeleteJon Favreau On What He Learned From President Obama
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/03/20/jon-favreau-on-what-he-learned-from-president-obama/
$carah has a hand on this....i know it...lol
ReplyDeleteI've always been puzzled on how some people can be manipulated so easly and how they can be so blind and trusting. And I guess that's how so many follow sister Sarah.
ReplyDeleteOne word: Loneliness.
DeleteThe bots believe Sarah cares about them.
THis woman seems to be in an assisted living and the Pastor/thief somehow got control of her money. It wasn't blind faith that allowed this it was a crook taking advantage of someone who couldn't monitor their finances anymore.
DeleteCue the butthurt christians in 3..2..
ReplyDeleteMy great uncles started a church, built it and found pastors to minister to the members. The first five stole all the church money and or had affairs with women in the church. One actually got the deed to the church and was on his way to sell it to some people wanting the land as a hunting lodge. Learning curve? Not for a long time did they understand about what someone does to your face and what they do behind your back is the test of a spiritual leader. They gave them leeway because they were "men of god". Snort.
ReplyDeleteIt took until my generation for them to understand just because a man or woman calls themselves a pastor didn't
mean they were one. So finally they locked up the money, deeds and obviously their future pastor's zippers.
Just one of the events that helped me in my run up to atheism and dislike of organized religion. These people in CT. are spiritually remiss and intellectually lazy.
The worst business experiences I have ever had is with the born again. They screwed me over and asked for God's forgiveness, as if it absolved them of their crime.
DeleteI don't do business with christians, simple as that. I try to avoid having them as friends or even acquaintances. Sometimes they are unavoidable but I try my best to give them a very wide berth.
Delete>>>Must be more of that faith inspired morality I keep hearing about<<<
ReplyDeleteAlso too TIL KKK=We’re not hateful, we’re a Christian organization
"He insisted that the KKK had been unfairly maligned for its acts of violence against black people in the United States.
“Because of the acts of a few rogue Klansmen our Klansmen are supposed to be murderers and want to lynch black people, and we are supposed to be terrorists, and that is a complete falsehood.”"
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/21/virginia-kkk-imperial-wizard-were-not-hateful-were-a-christian-organization/
Earlier on
This is why I haven't completed paperwork for a will, living will, conservator, guardian or whatever.
ReplyDeleteThere is no one in my family I trust to follow my wishes.
I have two friends I trust but haven't talked to them about this yet.
I think given the chance my nephews would put me in a home the first chance they got and clean out my bank accounts. Well, maybe not Dropout but Deadbeat certainly would.
That means your state will get to decide what happens to you and/or your $....especially your $.
DeleteGryphen, have you seen this?
ReplyDeleteAK-Sen: Democratic Sen. Mark Begich's wife, Mary Bonito, narrates this exceptional new minute-long ad that's also a treat for political junkies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnVDAfkLHK8
Bonito, with pride but a little wistfulness, describes her husband's endless journeys to Alaska's far corners to meet with his constituents, just as his own father, Rep. Nick Begich, once did. There's some terrific vintage footage of the elder Begich from his own campaign days, before he perished in a plane crash with Louisiana Rep. Hale Boggs and two others in 1972, on his way to a fundraiser in Juneau. There are also some great clips from Begich family home movies, featuring a very young (and adorable) Mark.
Bonito goes on to say that her husband "is clearly his father's son" in his determination to keep traveling the state despite its perils, and she describes some of his achievements—"He forced Washington to open up the Arctic Ocean to oil drilling, strengthened our Coast Guard, stood with our fisherman to protect their jobs"—before linking Begich to his dad once more at the end. This ad is singular, but there's almost something a little reminiscent of Heidi Heitkamp's spots in North Dakota last cycle, in terms of the warm and personal feel it conveys. And Begich, who faces an incredibly tough fight for re-election, could certainly use a little of that magic.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/21/1286316/-Daily-Kos-Elections-Morning-Digest-Mark-Begich-s-new-masterpiece-is-the-best-ad-of-the-cycle?detail=hide
There's a paragraph in the NT on how to behave as a pastor. It gives a long description of decency and good behavior and refraining from the things that the present ages indulge in. Churches have become so immersed in the capitalist system, and yielded to the temptation of profit, forgetting that they are tasked with keeping the flocks learned in gentleness and integrity.
ReplyDeleteIt boils down to disciples of the bible exploiting it's teaching to make a buck and lose their soul. By the way, the NT warns these types and their followers. In fact, the NT spends a majority of it's time warning the shepherds. The pursuit of riches for a pastor is taboo according to the bible. How many false pastors have fallen to the trap.
The first-world nations really can't sustain good shepherds anymore, (although there still are some, but fewer to find), because the accumulation of wealth and the traps of covetness is too great.
scrolling past that spew hurts my eyes.
ReplyDeleteThat weirdo looks like a child molester, and I wouldn't put it past him since most of these so called pastors are all -around sickos and thieves.
ReplyDeleteWhy do people ask for prayer for someone who is ill or injured? Do you think God takes time out to answer these prayers on a daily basis. If God can heal, why does he let you get ill or injured in the first place? How many of these prayers are answered? I have seen much prayer in my life, but very few miracles to back them up. Statistically lightning hits someone, somewhere everyday. I will put my faith in science and medicine.
ReplyDeleteYour self-selection of arbitrary passages throughout the Bible to support your own biased interpretations is convincing only to those weaker-minded individuals susceptible to false appeals to authority.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm sure your intentions are pure and honorable, thanks but no thanks, Steve.
BTW, I couldn't help but notice that you only mentioned Jesus once and even then, it was not to "quote" his words which are "transcribed" in the Gospel of the New Testament. Jesus' teachings and emphasis on love are pretty simple, straightforward and consistent. The corruption of His philosophy via the pretzel-logic of the hateful and greedy has made organized religion into dangerous cults in many cases or social clubs to network for business or personal gain. Just an observation from a recovering christianist victimized via the brainwashing indoctrination of the highly profitable religion industry who enjoy not only tax-free status but also very limited (almost non-existent) financial reporting requirements.
Circular arguments contain an assumption that is to be proven. Logical fallacy. Example- Ken Ham (Answers in Genesis) and his creationist tripe. If you feel you have extracted the relevant truth out of the historical Jewish Law for an ancient nomadic tribe, your target audience would be the false prophets corrupting the landscape. Avoiding cleaning up of the ministry of one's own sect would be telling, IMHO only, of course.
ReplyDeleteThanks but no thanks.
ReplyDeletegenevicz; jerry sandusky's twin brother ?
ReplyDeletewhat a resemblance of a couple of obvious scumbags ..
No thanks, go spam somewhere else, you aren't getting any money from me.
ReplyDeleteIf someone tells you he or she is a "Christian", I would run, not walk, as fast as I could away from that person. And sadly, this is not a new situation. Preachers and so called people of God have been scamming the faithful forever (and a day).
ReplyDeleteI currently work as an auditor and I would give everyone the following advice; Don't trust anyone with your money.