I Don't Have to Ask, I Already Know

Another biblically-mandated Lord's day, another religious compound raided. This time around, a compound in Arkansas was raided as part of a kiddie porn investigation. Also this time around, instead of your average run-of-the-mill fundamentalist wacko, the ministry's founder claims that "consent is puberty." This might be shocking to some, but remember -- we're talking about Arkansas. I don't claim to be an expert in the ways of Arkansans, but "if it's old enough to bleed, it's old enough to breed" is a fairly well-known piece of relationship advice in the south.

I'm not surprised that certain people aim to retreat from a world they feel doesn't agree with them, and, depressingly, I'm also not surprised that some people are able to manipulate others by threatening God's wrath. What does surprise me, however, are people like Anthony Justin Lane, a 34-year-old former member of the Arkansas church who claims he was kicked out for asking too many questions.

Hmm, okay. I'll buy that. I was raised Catholic, remember, and I have firsthand knowledge of the way religious authorities react to questions they can't answer. Anthony Justin Lane - 1. Tony Alamo Christian Ministries - 0. Unfortunately for Anthony Justin Lane, his then-girlfriend and their children remained in the church, and aside from a few pictures over the years, he hasn't been allowed to see the kids. Sad. Unfair. Weird.

Not weird because Anthony Justin Lane was kicked out and denied regular access to his children by a cult leader now being investigated for kiddie porn, but weird because he didn't see it fit to ever challenge this mandate because, he says, "I keep laying it in the Lord's hands and hope He'll have mercy on my children and protect them."

Um, Anthony Justin Lane, I'm really sorry that you've been separated from your kids, and I know this must be a trying time for you, but are you fucking retarded? Is it not enough that you Christians ignore science and reason? Must you continue to make piss poor decisions about your children's welfare based on a belief that, let's be honest, hasn't gotten you very far by this point? It's not about the Lord, you idiot, it's about lawyers and custody and your kids not being molested in the name of religion.

Christ.

And I'm aware of how that sounds.