The Des Moines Register reports about one pastor who shot a mentally disabled boy with a BB gun:
David L. Reasby, 51, of Lighthouse Full Gospel Baptist Church was charged Tuesday with assault with a weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine. ... “The man who did this must be a sick individual, and I hope he will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Steve Carlson, the boy’s father.
Fortunately, the boy was only shot in the buttocks and didn’t require any medical treatment. All the boy did was knock on the door a second or third time after being told to go away. Even if he weren’t mentally disabled, Reasby’s reaction was totally out of line. I assume he never physically assaulted people in his church, but I find it implausible that his apparent inability to handle anger never influenced his actions and perhaps his sermons.
The overall point here is that people need to remember that being a pastor, minister, priest, rabbi, or other “man of the cloth” doesn’t make one morally, psychologically, or emotionally superior to anyone else. Such people shouldn’t be given more uncritical, unquestioning trust than any other fallible, flawed human being.
Religion & Religious Beliefs: