KF228-20196J5Y – Clergy Malpractice – Sex Slavery, Trafficking, Keith Raniere Guilty on All Counts – Religious Daycare for Children?

contributed via email by T.J.

confidential, HIPPA privacy protected, & mission-specific collaborations are here
open comments for general public and open subscribers are below
Admin PLB Accountant, Dick Roma

Quick Link – Includes Jury Verdict Sheet

This new case regarding Keith Raniere does not qualify on the same order of magnitude for clergy malpractice as the landmark case, F.G v. MacDonell and its long lineage of clergy malpractice.  

Popular reporting of the Raniere case labels the followers of Keith Raniere as a ‘cult’. This label is melodrama because the label might lead naive readers to assume the Raniere case has no relevance for clergy and full-time caregiving in cases of spiritual care. The Raniere case does not distinguish between cult and religion. The case does not give criteria to know the difference between cult and religion. Anyone who wants extra reading, see one of the best explorations of the confused lines between cult and religion, where cult and religion sometimes merge, by Marci Hamilton, a leading scholar of constitutional law who specializes in church/state issues, see “JUSTICE DENIED: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children” (Cambridge 2008, 2012), who wrote also, “GOD VS. THE GAVEL: Religion and the Rule of Law” (Cambridge 2005, 2007).

In short, the Raniere case puts us back into the territory already identified as the confused boundaries where cult and religion mergeThis case does apply to clergy and to full-time spiritual caregivers. 

The plot of the Raniere case is ancient.  The plot goes back at least to the story of the unnamed woman concubine in Judges 19–20, a woman from Bethlehem who lived with a Levite priest in the hill country of Ephraim.  The woman is raped to death. The priest does nothing to save her.  The rape causes the first bloody civil war between the tribes of God’s people.

Here are a few issues from the case of Keith Raniere that are issues all the way back in history to Judges 19-20.  They are relevant in our work as full-time mentors and students in spiritual service.

For one issue, the case raises old issues about how and when spiritual authority becomes abused by people with authority so that men or women insiders are coerced, threatened, ‘blackmailed’, or by violence put under pressures to have sex with leaders – by forced ‘consent’?  More generally, what is consent? 

For another issue, the case raises age-old questions about whether consent can include consent to be a ‘slave’? This issue of consensual slavery is not trivial. Arguments that people want to be slaves are more common than we think.  Especially in arguments in favor of sex-slavery.  The argument goes that sex and human trafficking victims really want the so called ‘protections’ of their slavery.  These arguments in and out of court today are cloaked under fancy rhetoric about voluntary consent.  Arguments in court, and social policy arguments try and justify many forms of slavery in the U.S.  These arguments go back at least to the shameful era of the Fugitive Slave ActAnd before that – with slavery of all kinds justified by theology preached from pulpits.

For another issue, with questions about sex, sex slavery, and sex trafficking put aside, the Raniere case raises questions about how and when people with authority create obedience ‘slaves’ to spiritual authority for a variety of ‘religious’ purposes and ‘religious’ chores.  Sometimes without the perpetrators like pastors and elders and without the victims (church members) even knowing they are in slavery.  Almost always without religious authorities admitting – almost always with religious authorities denying – that they are creating slaves.  Just joking? just read the Raniere case.

A most troubling issue in the practice by followers of Raniere is that they ran eleven daycare centers for children worldwide.  The existence of children in religious day care may have played a huge role – a far greater role than can be published in popular media because we do not have access to the subjective opinions of the jury – the jury decision includes unpublished juror reasons for judging to convict Raniere on all counts.  Good judges expect impartial juries.  The problem and the great blessing with our system of juries made up of our ordinary peers is that ordinary jurors really are our peers, and they are mothers and fathers too. 

… distributed by email from T.J. to users as 20196J5Y.docx, and 20196J5Y.odt

BF774 – Degrees of Influence – God’s Big Book of “Numbers”

contributed by Celie∞Hilbert, PhD, Research Mathematician, via direct log-in
reviewed by “Episcopal Maenad,” by email, May 25, 2021

confidential, HIPPA privacy protected, & mission-specific collaborations are here
open comments for general public and open subscribers are below
Admin PLB Accountant, R. Roma

in memorial of MTB, 50 year, no-fear, go-anywhere street-worker, recently deceased

The Holy Spirit signed no contract to cooperate with results of studies on degrees of social influence starting with smallest groups.

Studies about degrees of influence go like this.  Start with our friends or nuclear families (first degree).  Move on to how our friends and family influence our friends’ friends and families of friends (second degree).  Next move on to study the influence of our friends’ friends’ friends and family (third degree).  And so on. It all starts with smallest groups.  The smallest groups are often our nuclear families.  These smallest groups, however, can be nuclear groups that are stronger than nuclear family because they are forged together by strongest covenant-bonds for service and obedience – just as Jesus said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:48-50).

The focus in studies of degrees of influence in social networking , churches, politics, local bar rooms – and for our local mission teams would have us know that the influence of just 20 workers in the field (just one full-time trainer working with just one full-time learner – times 10 = 20) is an effective influence on 160,000 people, whose further networks have an effective influence on another 25,600,000,000 (twenty-five billion, six hundred million). 

These measures are generally true.  They all start with smallest groups.  Not big numbers:  but, full-time commitment replicated in others.

True, these studies are true, but are potentially misleading.  Misleading because having an influence on 25,600,000,000 people (twenty-five billion, six hundred million) says nothing about the quality and kind of the influence.

Influence? For life?  For death? 

Or for mediocrity and lukewarmness by camping in ‘safe zones’ in between life and death?

Most full-time trainers here have used The Tempest as an instruction and training media. The Tempest is all about winning battles by prayer alone.  In the Julie Taymor version, Prospera recites standard language about using prayer:  1) some prayers to heal, 2) some prayers to harm (harm evil).  These two elements of prayer are just basic introductions to prayer. To heal and bless the Good.  To destroy and harm the evil.  That’s prayer in a nutshell.

The effects of Answered prayers in physical results on earth can be more complicated in because of the number and the spectrum of results of influence on others.   The Tempest revisits the mixture – and it is a mixture – of many influences and many effects predicted in the Mountains of Blessings and Curses.  

The basic statistical studies on degrees of influence do not show who, or Who gets the benefits of effects of influence – in 25,600,000,000 (twenty-five billion, six hundred million) – effects of influence. 

The studies do not show the reasons why.  Or the complicated mixtures.  Other studies must measure these mixtures.  

The Holy Spirit alone authors and knows the real influence of our contemporary “Book of Numbers.”  As we have written many times, the Book of Numbers was a census for going to war.  Many were counted for war.  Very few showed up.  Of all those numbered for war, only the smallest handful showed up fully committed and the greatest number in this massive Book of Numbers wandered and died in the wilderness – with their names on the books

What kind of influence is it to be called to war – and not show up?  How to measure that failure to show up for war on that generation? – on their own living children who got to wander with the adults? – how to measure that failure to show up for war on next generations who suffered for their cowardice?  – what kind of influence are we having? – especially because our radiating effects in furthermost outward circles really does influence 25,600,000,000 others?

It is a truism among some professional mathematicians that  – “God has the Big Book of Numbers, God has All the Beautiful Proofs, God has all Mathematical Theorems.”  There are emotional expressions in the scriptures that show God disgusted and wanting to repent for making an earth full of a Big Book of Numbers.  In some cases, God is pleased and for the Joy set before Him, He implemented Salvation (Hebrews 12:2).

As to influence, we are not called just to influence others.  There is an idolatry in this focus on our influence.  We are called to be under the influence of the Spirit – unto obedience. 

God knows the degrees to which we are influenced by the Holy Spirit unto obedience.   

As MTB said over and over, now recently deceased in Texas, she said to the old forums (2004-2012) – Ananias and Sapphira got numbered for faking and lying about the measures of their obedience.  The Barna studies (here) describe people deliberately seeking churches that are deliberately lukewarm and half-committed and growing with big numbers – to avoid full-time commitment.

The simple studies about degrees of influence are generally accurate. 

These studies mean that 20 people here, say just 10 full-time mentors and with only 1 full-time student each (10 students), and then each reproducing full-time commitment in kind — these very small numbers can have an effective influence on 160,000 people.   

And more generally, this propagation of influence is certain to happen. 

For good or ill.  Influence happens.

We are either blessed or doomed, as you will, in having influence.

On good days, we hear and obey. 

Other days, we don’t care.   Enough.  

QH447 – Map of 4,246 Microorganisms Found in Subways all around the World ~ @ Martin 95 (Registered Residency Student)

Happy days for subway riders, a wearable SmartPhone map of microorganisms found in subways all around the world.

Data collected by over 900 scientist and volunteers.

Did the scientists brave the subways to swab? Or send in the volunteers?  How many extra microorganisms did they introduce into our beloved subways?

It is new, it is exciting, METASUB: THE METAGENOMICS AND METADESIGN OF THE SUBWAYS AND URBAN BIOMES.

The good news is that subways have only 4,246 species of microorganisms, two-thirds bacteria, most of the rest fungi, a few viruses sprinkled in, just to keep us guessing about novel virus mutations.

Or,  ‘unknown.’

Isn’t that fun?

Unknown?

Imagine all the recreational sex that 4,246 species of microorganisms are having with us?

Is Greenland the place on that map to be?

Should we move our prayer headquarters to Greenland?

@ Martin 95 (Registered Residency Student)

NOTE by T.J. (Jurist) — Comments made under this post should be made as comments under Underground Moebius ~ UM-86 ∩ Romans 8:6-8 ~ Pure Inductive Learning.    Please combine these two posts in your studies.