FOURTH STEP: MADE A SEARCHING AND FEARLESS MORAL INVENTORY OF OURSELVES.
You were anticipating that I would pen a searching and fearless moral inventory; a “Fourth Step” here with you in this particular post. Howbeit, the posts that you have been reading are inarguably a corollary of my “Fourth Step,” thus scribing it here would be a colorless replication. Nevertheless, I have someone that would triumph over my meager attestation; someone mightier than I; someone “I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.” (Mark 1:7)
Instead, let us begin by taking a searching, and fearless moral inventory of the triune God, (God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit) . . . shall we? I mean . . . Why not??? We blame God for everything! He has this expansive reputation for being such a killjoy! Surely, He is the cause for every dark area of your life; barrenness, fatherless, motherless, rape, addiction, homosexuality, sickness, disease, injury, death, murder, poverty, hunger, famine, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes . . . . Did I miss anything???
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pope-francis-removes-the-secrecy-requirements-for-church-documents-on-child-sex-abuse-11576587118
While we are making a searching and fearless moral inventory of God, let’s compare God to man. Not just any man . . . but someone who is perceived as Christ Jesus here on earth; the one who masquerades as holy; the “Holy See,” the Pope. Oh and let’s not forget his minions; the Priests. In fact, let’s include the whole society of men and women under the Pope’s leadership. That’s fair . . . Right??? Since only the Pope and his Priests can purportedly absolve your sins. Surely they too are holy? Thus, the whole package must be addressed as one entity; the Catholic Church!!!
To begin with, Webster’s Dictionary best delineates five preeminent words of the Fourth Step; 1) searching, 2) fearless, 3) moral, 4) inventory, and 5) ourselves.
First, the word searching provides extensive definitions; all of which are applicable to the “Fourth Step.” [i.e. (1) “to look into or over carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something: such as (1a) to examine in seeking something, (1b) to look through or explore by inspecting possible places of concealment or investigating suspicious circumstances, (1c) to read thoroughly; especially to examine a public record or register for information about, (1d) to examine for articles concealed on the person, (1e) to look at as if to discover or penetrate intention or nature, (2) to uncover to find, or come to know by inquiry or scrutiny, (2a) to look or inquire carefully, and (2b) to make painstaking investigation or examination.].
Let’s start with God and begin with the rightful blame of barrenness; infertility. Then we will cover fatherlessness, motherlessness, and rape in the same segment. Because the Fourth Step is intended to be such an expansive, comprehensive laborious moral inventory, the development will be framed in multiple parts, (as it should be when you pen your Fourth Step).
The greatest example of barrenness in the Bible is Sarai, Gen 11 v. 30 the wife of Abram who is frustrated because she is barren and begs her husband, Abram to “Please go into my maid,” Hagar, Gen. 16 v. 2, (Bold added). Abram went into Hagar and she conceived. Sarai in return became upset at the very sight of Hagar, treating her “harshly,” v. 4 Consequently, Sarai says to Abram “May the wrong done me be upon you,” v. 5, (Bold added)
(Stop, put a parenthetical pin here. . . We will come back to the later statement.)
Meanwhile Hagar runs away. But the angel of the Lord instructs Hagar to “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority,” v. 9. The Lord promises to multiply the descendants of Ishmael, (the child conceived by Hagar from Abram’s seed) v. 10. Simultaneously, the compassionate Lord acknowledges Hagar’s “affliction,” v. 11. (Bold added)(Italics added)
As for Abram, he too was visited by the angel of the Lord. The angel told Abram, (at the age of 86) he would have a son, Ismael, Gen 16 v. 16. In turn, Ismael would be the father of 12 princes, a great nation Gen 17 v. 20. Concurrently, the angel communicates that the Lord would bless his wife, Sarai, at age 99 and He would give them a son. Gen 17 v. 16. Even Abram was astonished stating, “Will a child be born to a man 100 years old and Sarai who is ninety years old bear a child?” (Gen 17:17) (Bold added)
The Lord confirmed not only would Abram’s wife bear a son, Abram would name him Isaac, Gen 17 v. 19. Meanwhile, Sarai heard this angel of the Lord and laughed to herself because she and Abram were both old; Sarai was past the age to even conceive a child, Gen 18:11. Well lo and behold, Sarai (now Sarah)”received the ability to conceive even beyond the proper time of life,” because of her faith! (Heb 11:11 )(Bold added)
Thus, the Lord has acquiesced to an expository trial developed by mere man; encouraging me to examine through the microscopic lenses of an investigative deviant, inspecting places of concealment and suspicious circumstances to unearth the blame for barrenness. Having done so, (thoroughly searching 20 Scriptures) where each time a woman (man, animal or land) was determined barren (infertile), the Lord acknowledged the affliction, the “incarnate Christ” often times visited the individuals in the form of an angel and then conception was realized in every encounter based on faith.
1) “Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.” (Gen 21 v. 1-2)(Bold added)
2) Same thing with Leah; unloved (hated) by her husband and barren as a result, Gen 29 v. 31. Once again, the Lord, with great compassion, saw Leah’s affliction when Leah prayed to God, believed by faith and God blessed her womb. Not only did Leah have one child, she had Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah with her husband.
3) Also, Rachel was barren, Gen 29 v. 31. God remembered Rachel, He was positively aware of her cry and opened her womb, Gen 30 v 22. So she conceived and bore a son, Gen 30 v. 23. (Bold added)
4). “For My angel will go before you, . . . “ Exo 23 v. 23 “There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land . . .”(v. 26) (Bold added)(Italics added)
5) You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle” Deut 7:14 (Bold added)(Italics added)
6) Manoah’s wife was barren. Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son, Judges 13 vs. 2-3. Then Manoah entreated the LORD and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.” 13 v. 8. Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the LORD blessed him.” Judges 13 v. 24.(Bold added)(Italics added)
7). Hannah made up a song about the Lord singing, “Even the barren gives birth to seven . . .” 1 Samuel 2:5 (Bold added)(Italics added)
8). According to Luke 1 vs. 5 thru 25, “Elizabeth was the wife of the priest Zacharia, both righteous and blameless in God’s sight. Elizabeth was barren, and they were both old. Zacharia was one of the priest permitted to burn incense in the temple on behalf of the people when an an angel of the Lord appeared to him. Instantly fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.”(Bold added)
Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words . . .” (Bold added)
“When Zacharias’ priestly services were over, he went home to his wife, Elizabeth and she became pregnant and she said, “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.” (Bold added)
Let’s switch directions and talk about mere man; the particular one whom mortals perceive as Christ “incarnate” here on earth; the Pope and his Priests. In all of my due diligence, (i.e. The Word on Fire, The National Catholic Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, BBC News, ATI, the Vatican News, et. al.) one specific article stood out, “The Lord’s Gratuitousness Makes the Dessert Bloom” by Robin Gomes and published in the “Vatican News,” where he captured the most relative communication from Pope Francis’ perspective on barrenness. In that, Gomes hypothecates the Pope’s recall of Abraham and Sarah’s “infertility” in his Mass at Casa Santa Marta on December 19, 2019. Accordingly, he quotes the Pope’s inference on barrenness, “Sterility is a desert” . . . because “a sterile woman ends up there, without descendants.” Likewise, the Pope concludes that Sarah and Elizabeth were “women of faith” who trusted the Lord. (Bold added) Thus, they both conceived and gave birth as a result of their faith. Only this statement is Biblically true, (a former point that was demonstrated in defending God).
However, Gomes articulated that Pope Francis claimed, “John the Baptist” and “Samson” are indeed “God’s gratuitousness” (i.e. given unearned or without recompense; costing nothing; free). Pope Francis deduced symbolically, “the gratuitousness of our salvation,” and concluded “no one can save himself” in relation to Samson’s downfall; acquiesced to the manipulation of a woman and consequently captured by the Philistines.
The points emphasized are what one would call comparing apples to oranges; they’re both fruit types but one is globose and the other a pome fruit. Likewise, what does salvation have to do with infertility or barrenness? The Bible says that salvation is based on grace, and grace alone; gratuitousness? OK, I can get with that! The Bible also says that children are a gift from God; gratuitousness —unearned, without recompense, costing nothing? OK, I will even give a pass on that perspective.
However, there are NO Scriptures in the Bible that correlate salvation to fertility. Yet again, I took into consideration that I Timothy 2 vs. 15 may cause one to be perplexed about the transliteration of the word “saved,” as it relates to childbearing.
For the record, biblical words often have more than one meaning (use) and the lack of knowledge about the origin of a word can breed confusion. For example, the word saved in this text originated in the Greek Language whereas σῴζω (sozo); saved, make whole, heal, be whole. Likewise, Bibles are printed in various versions, (adaptions of literary work) to support different audiences and cultures, (i.e. King James Version, New International Version, New American Standard Bible Version, Expanded Greek Version, et. al.). As an example, the same verse has been provided below; each in a different version . . .
“Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.” (I Timothy 2:15) (King James Version) (Bold added)(Italics added)
“But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” ( 1 Timothy 2:15) (New International Version) (Bold added)(Italics added)
“But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.” (I Timothy 2:15)(New American Standard Bible Version)
“Yet she shall be saved [in the sense of sanctifying, salutary influences in her spiritual life through the pains of childbirth] in her childbearing if they continue in faith and love and holiness accompanied by sober-mindedness.” (1 Timothy 2:15)(Expanded Greek Translation)
And there does not exist in any other the salvation, for there is not even another name under heaven which has been given among men by means of which we can be saved, the need for this salvation being a necessity in the nature of the case.
(Acts 4:12)(Expanded Greek)(Bold added)
Adversely, salvation is only relative to one’s faith confession of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus. (Roman 10:8-10) Thus, neither John the Baptist’s nor Sampson’s birth are relative to salvation; not even if John the Baptist led people to Christ by which they were saved. Because there is no real nexus established between “John the Baptist,” “Sampson,” “gratuitousness” and the origin of the sermon; “barrenness” or “fertility,” we simply need to go back to the basics!
God is INCREDIBLE to save, keep you safe, sound and can rescue one from danger and destruction!!!
The author of the Expanded Greek Translation intended the word saved to mean, salutary; producing a beneficial effect; promoting healing; curative. All of which are analogous to the original Greek definition; to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction.
Hence, the act of child birthing, (not childbearing) was cursed in the Garden of Eden because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God when “they ate of the fruit of the trees in the middle of the garden.” God instructed them, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat . . .” Gen 2 vv. 16-17.
However, Eve communicated to Satan that God commanded her, “You shall not eat from it or touch it. . .’” Likewise, “To the woman God said, ’I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children. . .’”(Gen 3:1-16) (Bold added) (lowercase added).
Notice, God said, YOU WILL bring forth children . . . however, child birthing will be in pain; NOT because of what we did, but because of what Eve did in the Garden of Eden. The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen 3:12-13)(Bold added)
(Another great place to put a parenthetical pin . . . We will come back to the later statement.)
Let’s recap, the Pope’s Sermon, “The Lord’s Gratuitousness Makes the Dessert Bloom,” a synopsis of Abraham and Sarah’s “infertility” and barrenness, which the Pope inferred, “Sterility is a desert” . . . because “a sterile woman ends up there, without descendants.” Likewise, the Pope mentioned “women of faith,” Sarah and Elizabeth; both trusted the Lord, both conceived, both gave birth, both as a result of their faith. As I mentioned, this statement is Biblically true, (a former point that was demonstrated above defending God).
Then, the Pope changed directions and got us lost in the desert. Pope Francis claimed, “John the Baptist” and “Samson” are indeed “God’s gratuitousness” (i.e. given unearned or without recompense; costing nothing; free). Symbolically he harped on, “the gratuitousness of our salvation,” concluding “no one can save himself.” How the Pope tied gratuitousness into Samson’s downfall; acquiescing (accepted, complied, or submitted passively) to the manipulation of a woman, Delilah, who caused Samson’s captivity by the Philistines in itself is just mind-blowing! Even when the Lord answered Samson’s prayer “to remember and strengthen him so that he would be avenged of the Philistines,” also leads to head-scratching. What was the correlation to gratuitousness and what does salvation have to do with infertility and barrenness??? —Mind blown!!!
Even if the Pope chose to exegete 1 Timothy 2 v. 15 from a “technical biblical sense” as an alternative “to save,” the reference denotes some type of “negative” behavior, (i.e. to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment; the return of Christ in the end time). Joel 2 v. 32, Joel 3 v. 5 See below . . .
“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered . . .” (Joel 2:32). (I.e. delivered from penalties of the Messianic judgement; saved from judgement).
OR
On the other hand, if the Pope chose to exegete 1 Timothy 2 v. 15 from a ”technical biblical sense”as a dissimilar alternative ”to save” (i.e. evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance) as in Joel 3:5, howbeit, the intention would remain “negative.”
“Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples, . . .” (Joel 3:5) (i.e. the sin of robbing then hindered messianic deliverance from the coming Messiah).
Neither Scripture is relative to one being saved through childbearing according to 1 Timothy 2 v. 15. Specifically, Acts 4 v. 12 told us that there is no one UNDER HEAVEN, given among men, by which we can be saved. Even if one were to associate the birth of Jesus Christ through the virgin Mary, (because Jesus is the only path to salvation) the response is still the same. Jesus is ABOVE HEAVEN and he had to die on the cross, experience burial and resurection in order for salvation to be actionable. Thus 1 Timothy 2:15 has absolutely NO correlation to salvation!
In my finite opinion, The Pope neglected the basics taught in Seminary; Homiletics and Hermeneutics 101 in developing his very own sermon. It’s extremely important because Paul the Apostle, charged us in the ministry to “accurately handle the word of truth.”(2 Timothy 2:15) Thereby, any dereliction of God’s Word can cause distrust, doubt and confusion to God’s audience.
To give you an idea of what the Apostle Paul meant, we must examine the definitions and application of Homiletics and Hermeneutics. First, homiletics stems from homily; a sermon. The very theological art of preaching a homily encompasses the arranging, (forming, molding, and constructing) the very sculpture of indoctrination, (teaching) the religious pontification (expression opinions dogmatically) to be delivered, comprehensively to each individual in your audience.
Hermeneutics is the thesis; the hypothesis or supposition and the course (blueprint) of the explanation, albeit the illustration and the exegesis of the interpretation of 1) biblical texts, 2) wisdom literature, and 3) philosophical texts.
Therefore, when one begins to develop a sermon, one has options; narrative, topical, textual or expository sermons.
- Narrative Sermons; the development of a sermon outlined with more or less similar ideas that condense to a solitary image, thought or concept to unveil a decisive message.
- Topical Sermons; a sermon that assembles its topic or main preaching point separate from the text of Scripture, thereby developing an outline corroborating the preaching points of the topic.
- Textual Sermon; a sermon that evolves from a particular Scripture or group of Scriptures to preach a certain topic to the audience.
- Expository sermon; a sermon that comes from a passage of Scripture that has one subject or theme.
With the aforementioned in mind, one could conclude that the Pope’s sermon was a Narrative Sermon with more or less similar ideas, (i.e. infertility/barrenness, grace, John the Baptist, Samson, salvation). The scattered ideas were condensed to a solitary thought, (God’s gratuitousness). Even so, surmising a Narrative Sermon form based on the Pope’s Sermon was even a stretch for me and I went to Seminary, (just as the Pope did).
Meanwhile, at the onset of this post, you were presented with the “Fourth Step,” making a searching and fearless moral inventory of oneself. Under the instruction of God, my goal is to exegete (take apart) each word from the Fourth Step; 1) searching, 2) fearless, 3) moral, 4) inventory, while providing you with examples as it applies to God through His Word versus man’s counterfeit interpretation of God. If you recal, not just any man; someone who is perceived as Christ Jesus here on earth; one who masquerades as holy; the “Holy See,” the Pope. Hence, we too are examining the Pope’s leadership and that of his Priests; men and women, and the Catholic Church as a whole.
Having completed the searching aspect, of the Fourth Step (i.e. looked into carefully and thoroughly; inspected possible places of concealment; investigated suspicious circumstances; read thoroughly while examining public records and concealed articles, etc.) we examined both God and the Pope’s messages on barrenness and infertility. Consequently, one may have identified that the Pope’s perspective differentiates vastly from the meaning intended through Jesus Christ and the Word of God.
For the sake of condensing the overall discourse, grouping the the subjects together will save time and work. Thus, along with the topic of “barrenness,” (which we already examined) we are going to tackle “fatherless,” and “motherless.” Please note: The passages regarding one being “motherless,” are surmised in the the passages about orphans.
“. . . preferred preying on poorer children.”
(Boston Globe)
“Geoghan was, by his own assessment, a heterosexual, but disclosed during his treatment sessions that his victims were usually young prepubescent boys” . . . he “avoided girls,” exclaiming “I picked the boys because in some way they were the safest, the girls and the mothers would have been more dangerous.”
(https://www3.bostonglobe.com/news/special-reports/2002/01/07/geoghan-preferred-preying-poorerchildren/69DE1kOuETjphwmIBcgzCM/story.html?arc404=true)
Beginning with God, as it pertains to the fatherless, He established Sundry Laws (many things of different kinds) in the Old Testament stating, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.” (Exodus 22:22-24)(Bold added)
God says He is “a father of the fatherless,” Psalms 68:5. Also, In Psalm 82 v. 3, God rebuked unjust judgments thereby instructing one to ”Vindicate the weak and fatherless.” The Bible also says, ”The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked.” Psalm 146 v. 9. The Bible instructs on life and conduct, ”Do not move the ancient boundary Or go into the fields of the fatherless, For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.” Proverbs 23:10. (Bold added)
On the other hand, David (mere man) prayed to God for vengeance against his adversaries, ”Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.” Psalm 109 v. 9. ”Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him, Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children.” Psalm 109 v. 12 (Bold added)
David wanted God to overthrow the wicked declaring, ”You have been the helper of the orphan.” Psalms 10 v. 14. Thus, David pleads for God to “vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,” Psalms 10 v. 18.
The Lord even counsels Israel on their sins, ”The alien they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged . . .” Ezekiel 22:7. (Bold added)
In the Old Testament, God “executes justice for the orphan and the widow,” Deuteronomy 10 v.18. (Bold added) Bringing the tithes resulting everything produced every third year so that “the alien, the orphan and the widow in your town will eat and be satisfied,” Deu 14:29. (Bold added) Celebrate the Feast of Weeks and include the stranger and orphan along with one’s family, Deu 16 v. 11, 14. Leave the forgotten sheaf in the field from the harvest for the alien, the orphan and the widow. Deu 24 v 19. When the olive trees are beaten, go over the boughs again and it shall be for the alien, the orphan and the widow. v. 20. When the grapes are gathered, go over it again, it shall be for the alien, the orphan and the widow. v. 21.
Job perceives God as one who ignores wrong doings, ”Others snatch the orphan from the breast,” Job 24 v. 9. (Bold added) Job reminds God that He said, “Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper,” Job 29 v. 12. Job questions his own motives, have I “eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it,” Job 31 v. 17 ” or ”. . . lifted up my hand against the orphan,” Job 31 v. 21. (Bold added)
Isaiah, the Prophet teaches on behalf of God, ”Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. Isaiah 1:17. He condemns the rebels and thieves, ”They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow’s plea come before them,” Isa 1:23. (Bold added)
Jeremiah, the Prophet delivers judgement on behalf of God, “. . . They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.” Jer 5 v. 28 (Bold added) Jeremiah reminds the Israelites, ”if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place,” then they can dwell in the land that God gave to their forefathers forever. Jer 7 vv. 6-7 Finally, Jeremiah reminds them, “. . . do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place. Jer 22 v. 3
Hosea pleads for the Israelites to return to God, reminding them Assyria won’t not save them. However, in God, even ”the orphan finds mercy.” Hosea 14 v. 3.
Zecharia the Prophet cried out saying, “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing.” Zechariah 7 vv. 8-11
God prophesies about the Judgement Day, “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” Malachi 3 v.5
“According to a BBC News article ”French Church abuse: Victims demand action after inquiry,” since 1950, clergy in the organization have sexually abused some 216,000 children, according to the report—mostly boys. According to the report there were at least 2,900-3,200 abusers. It said the number of children abused in France could rise to 330,000, when taking into account abuses committed by lay members of the Church such as teachers at Catholic schools, and also called for the victims to be compensated.” (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58805963)
As we examine how mere man and the Catholic Church responded to the fatherless an example on one Catholic Priest, John J. Geoghan, had more than 130 people disclose childhood testimonies about fondling and raping over a thirty year frolic under his leadership.
The same report disclosed by BBC stated, “The Catholic Church is, after the circle of family and friends, the environment that has the highest prevalence of sexual violence,” the report said. The report also discovered that “about 60% of the men and women who were abused had gone on to “encounter major problems in their emotional or sexual lives.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34355662
A more in depth look at another priest, Peter Searson, who died in 2009 at the age of 86 without being confronted with child sex abuse charges, presumed to have engaged in an enumerated list of malefactions over three parishes in Victoria in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.
Just one of his victims, Peter Blenkiron, (recalled at the age of 11) the horror of his school days, “how he would be pressed against the wall at the back of the classroom while his teacher physically and sexually abused him, with the other students ordered to look away.”
Another victim, identified as BVD testified to the commission that at the age of nine, he was “sexually abused almost every Saturday for six months by Searson,” forced to cut his grass and clean his vehicle. As a result, BVD disclosed to the commission “he had suffered from depression and attempted suicide three times.”
Searson was also accused of recording confessions of school-age children whom he forced to kneel between his legs while giving confession. Searson transgressed repeatedly; sexually offending a nine-year-old girl each time inside his confession booth while at the Doveton parish in the mid 80’s.
Searson intimidated children; stabbing a bird with a screwdriver, killed a cat by throwing it over a fence. Searson also threatened a young girl with a large knife, stating, ”If you move this will go through you.” Searson loitered continually in the boys toilets. It was also reported to the commission that Searson terrified the children by having them view a dead body in a coffin. To some high school seniors, he even paraded his army service revolver.
Cardinal Pell, a regional bishop was given a list of concerns by the parents in 1989 about Searson at a meeting particularly convened to address these issues. Cardinal Pell told the commission that he had referred the matter to Melbourne Archbishop Frank Little.
Notwithstanding all of the assertions brought against Searson, the Church and the police, (after thoroughly investigating the claims) neglected to produce charges regarding sexual abuse against him. The Victoria Police now agonizing for its negligence before the commission.
However, Searson was eventually charged in the 1990s by the police for physically violating a male youth. He was given a suspended sentence instead.
In wrapping up this first part of the Fourth Step, one must conclude (as it pertains to the Catholic Church, the Pope and His Priests) “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!” (Matthew 10:24-25)
Remember we put a parenthetical pin in the story about Abram and his wife Sarai who was barren? Gen 11 v. 30. Consequently, Sarai begged her husband, Abram to “Please go into my maid,” Hagar, Gen. 16 v. 2, (Bold added). Abram went into Hagar and she conceived. Sarai in return became upset. Consequently, Sarai says to Abram “May the wrong done me be upon you,” v. 5. (Bold added)
Sarai gave her husband permission to sleep with her maid; not God! Abram followed his wife instead of following God. The same scenario occurred in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. The husband followed the wife instead of following God! Both actions brought dissension into the household.
Alternatively, the only solution to infertility/barrenness is God’s Word . . . period! While science might offer IVF, fertility drugs, medical procedures, sperm, egg or embryo donation, surrogacy, etc. Science DOES NOT emphasize FAITH!
Furthermore, God does not discriminate! In the Scripture above Elizabeth, (the wife of the Priest, Zacharia) was barren and the Bible says they were both blameless and righteous and even they could not get pregnant initially. But through prayer and faith, they conceived. Scripture says, “. . . God is not one to show partiality,“ (Acts 10:34).
For guaranteed answered prayer, God says one must “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me,” (John 15:4). The Lord guarantees, ”If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7) (Bold added)
As for the victims, God will vindicate you . . .
“And whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it is good for him rather if a millstone is hung around his neck and that he has been thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off at once. It is good for you to enter life maimed, rather than having two hands to go off into hell, into unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut if off at once. It is good for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having the two feet, to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out at once. It is good for you to enter the kingdom of God one-eyed, rather than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell . . .” Mark 9:42-47
I WILL KILL YOU WITH THE SWORD!!!
Remember, God said, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.” (Exodus 22:22-24)(Bold added)
GOD’S WORD IS TRUE!!!
God is NOT the cause of barrenness and infertility! Every time someone prayed and believed, God blessed them and they conceived because of their faith! God is NOT the cause of motherless and fatherless orphans. In fact, every Scripture either exonerated, defended, blessed and encouraged others to bless the fatherless, motherless and orphans.
Remember the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen 3:12-13)(Bold added) “As for you, out from your father, the devil, you are, and the passionate cravings of your father you are desiring to be doing. That one was a manslayer from the beginning, and in the truth he did not maintain his standing, because truth does not exist in him. Whenever he is speaking the lie, out of the things which are his own private possessions he is speaking, because a liar he is and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
How can any of that be true if God as to His nature is light, and darkness in Him does not exist, not even one particle.” (John 1:5)(Bold added)
And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the universe and is here, and men loved rather the darkness than the light, for their works were pernicious. For everyone who practices evil things hates the light, and does not come and face up to the light lest his works be effectually rebuked. But he who habitually does the truth comes and faces up to the light in order that his works might be clearly shown to have been produced by God.” (John 3:19-21) (Bold added)
Again, this is a process (for me as well as for you) and you absolutely must NOT pick up! You must pray! You must go to Twelve Step Meetings every time you crave to obtain a drug or get high! You absolutely should be calling a sponsor; daily! You absolutely must read your literature!
If you want a relationship with Jesus Christ, you must read His literature; the Bible! If you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, we can take care of that right now! Repeat after me . . . Father, please forgive me for everyone of my sins! I believe you died for my sins! I believe you were buried! I believe you rose from the grave on the third day! I want you as my Lord and Savior! In the name of Jesus I make this confession. AMEN!
As for you, deliverance will come if you just believe in Jesus’ name, Amen!
I love you ALL eternally,
Forever for his name sake only . . . I am
“Water Walker”
Kingdom Fire Ecumenical Church 
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