As everyone who reads sensational news knows, the "pastor" of World Changers Church International in Atlanta was recently arrested for allegedly choking his 15-year old daughter and beating her with his shoe.
According to the daughter's testimony, she was attempting to leave for a party and Dollar was adamantly against it. He attacked her and choked her for about five seconds, then wrestled her to the ground and started beating her with the said shoe.
If this is true, that's really bad, in itself. But, even worse, if I were his 15-year-old daughter, I would be crawling into a hole right now or quickly packing my bags to leave my father and his life - forever.
Picture yourself, Dollar's daughter, sitting in a pew at your dad's church the Sunday after the attack. You know what really happened and told the police the truth. Now, you watch and listen as words start to flow out of daddy's mouth and the congregation starts yelling "Amen!" and "Case dismissed!" and other loud murmurings of praise and adoration.
Then your father says that he didn't choke you. He says he never punched you. But, he says that he wrestled you to the ground and spanked you.
Really? At 15? This is an alternative story to attempted murder that would be acceptable? Sadly, yes. Hitting a 15-year old girl anywhere on her body - except her rear end - and choking her is taboo, but heck, beating her on the arse is fair game! Does anyone not see the mind game here?
Then, dear old daddy begins to feel the spirit. You listen as he blames the devil for causing this sensational controversy. You watch him flip open to a verse in Psalms that says that the enemy attacks a good man to silence truth. He parades himself around the stage as a martyr for a cause that you have lost all faith in.
"I was a religious man sent to jail! I have upped my resume, if you know what I mean. I am now on the same level as Paul and Jesus!"
The crowd goes wild. You shrink down smaller into the cushioned pew that is beginning to feel like a board with spikes on it. You can feel every thread of the seat - and it hurts inside.
"You know how I love my pinstriped suits. Well, picture me in a yellow jumpsuit and sandals while being cuffed."
Laughter rattles throughout the auditorium.
"No weapon that forms against you shall prosper!"
You realize daddy dearest is referring to you as the weapon that is trying to bring him down. Witness intimidation? No. It can't be. This is just a sermon. But it sure feels like a heavy-handed blackmailing attempt to you. You wonder if you have a friend in the room. All your being desires to just reach out and grab the hand of someone next to you...for support. Then your daddy unloads...
"And we couldn't do it without the love of you brothers and sisters."
Cheering. "Amen's!" Murmurs of affirmation.
And that was it. The nail in the coffin. You realize you are now completely alone in a sea of humanity. You close your eyes to block out reality and feel the burning sensation of thousands of eyes focused on the back of your neck, straining to "see the blood" with presuppositions of guilt. You cannot weep. The hurt is too much. Rejection is full and final.
Shame on you Creflo Dollar. You made this issue about yourself and your perceived piety and humility. All you ended up doing was to make yourself look like an ass of a father. You have no business parading her around like this in front of people you know you control. Shame on you.
According to the daughter's testimony, she was attempting to leave for a party and Dollar was adamantly against it. He attacked her and choked her for about five seconds, then wrestled her to the ground and started beating her with the said shoe.
If this is true, that's really bad, in itself. But, even worse, if I were his 15-year-old daughter, I would be crawling into a hole right now or quickly packing my bags to leave my father and his life - forever.
Picture yourself, Dollar's daughter, sitting in a pew at your dad's church the Sunday after the attack. You know what really happened and told the police the truth. Now, you watch and listen as words start to flow out of daddy's mouth and the congregation starts yelling "Amen!" and "Case dismissed!" and other loud murmurings of praise and adoration.
Then your father says that he didn't choke you. He says he never punched you. But, he says that he wrestled you to the ground and spanked you.
Really? At 15? This is an alternative story to attempted murder that would be acceptable? Sadly, yes. Hitting a 15-year old girl anywhere on her body - except her rear end - and choking her is taboo, but heck, beating her on the arse is fair game! Does anyone not see the mind game here?
Then, dear old daddy begins to feel the spirit. You listen as he blames the devil for causing this sensational controversy. You watch him flip open to a verse in Psalms that says that the enemy attacks a good man to silence truth. He parades himself around the stage as a martyr for a cause that you have lost all faith in.
"I was a religious man sent to jail! I have upped my resume, if you know what I mean. I am now on the same level as Paul and Jesus!"
The crowd goes wild. You shrink down smaller into the cushioned pew that is beginning to feel like a board with spikes on it. You can feel every thread of the seat - and it hurts inside.
"You know how I love my pinstriped suits. Well, picture me in a yellow jumpsuit and sandals while being cuffed."
Laughter rattles throughout the auditorium.
"No weapon that forms against you shall prosper!"
You realize daddy dearest is referring to you as the weapon that is trying to bring him down. Witness intimidation? No. It can't be. This is just a sermon. But it sure feels like a heavy-handed blackmailing attempt to you. You wonder if you have a friend in the room. All your being desires to just reach out and grab the hand of someone next to you...for support. Then your daddy unloads...
"And we couldn't do it without the love of you brothers and sisters."
Cheering. "Amen's!" Murmurs of affirmation.
And that was it. The nail in the coffin. You realize you are now completely alone in a sea of humanity. You close your eyes to block out reality and feel the burning sensation of thousands of eyes focused on the back of your neck, straining to "see the blood" with presuppositions of guilt. You cannot weep. The hurt is too much. Rejection is full and final.
******
Shame on you Creflo Dollar. You made this issue about yourself and your perceived piety and humility. All you ended up doing was to make yourself look like an ass of a father. You have no business parading her around like this in front of people you know you control. Shame on you.
Creflo made headline news here in Australia, albeit briefly. But that's how it's done here in Oz: chalk it up to 'Crazy Yank Televangelist!' and don't give 'em any more air-time!
ReplyDeleteHis daughter probably doesn't know what her rights are. Did CPS show up at all? They should, at least to investigate and talk to the daughter.
ReplyDeleteThis is the stuff suicide is made of. I hurt for that poor girl. I've been there.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to correct one portion of the story, and its the media's fault for the way they wrote it. (They are correcting it as we speak)
ReplyDeleteShe was asking to go to a party the next evening, and he told her NO due to bad grades. She went to the kitchen to cry - as we know at times be a teen. He should have left her be, and instead came in to ask WHY she was crying and that is when all hell broke loose.
The newspapers made it sound like she wanted to go out that night (1 am), and they do have the police report online - and of course the media FINALLY chanced that part of the story. Talk about awful journalism.
I have this feeling he will eat his arrogance in time. Her sister when to get mom, and she called the police due to fear. Something scared them, and HE makes it spiritual.
If he was a true man of the clothe he would be apologizing to her, and to his congregation. He acted out of angry, and he was OUT of control. The man is a coward, and wouldn't know humility if it bit him in the nose.
I found the police report for you. Its telling they had the older daughter write her's again. She wrote what she felt her parents 'wanted her to', and the police separated her from them and had her write what happened again.
ReplyDeletehttp://newsone.com/playlist/pastor-creflo-a-dollar-police-report/1/
I'm thinking like Katy-Anne. This involves a minor, not another adult. Where is CPS?
ReplyDeleteI remember those types of threats. I remember being told that if we cried too loud during beatings, that the police would come and take us away. I thought that social workers would seperate us, and i would be put in foster care and never see my siblings again. Threats like that keep a kid silent and submitted to abuse. :(
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that Creflo Dollar is all about control and abuse. He uses scare tactics, loud voice and status-power to control and subdue. He rarely talks positive about women in general, other than how they should always submit and stand behind their man. Oh and make sure they cook,clean and iron. Living with that controlling, intimidating, abusive man must be horrible. He's full of pride. He once asked his wife "what's this mess?" after his wife cooked him a meal. Can you imagine that? How ungrateful! When I saw this video, it just made me sick. He seems to think it's ok and biblical to treat woman the way they were treated in Ancient times, where women were mostly thought of as nothing more than property, slaves, with no rights, in a patriarchal, sexist, society.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying he never has any good messages, but he's not Lord, he's just a man, and he's not always right and he doesn't always have to win, or have the last word as he would like to think he does.....and even when it come down to his own daughter, he'll go to great lengths to be the one that wins, with the last word. And so his daughter, his family, goes on suffering....
This video link is a good example of this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upVc_EspZtU&feature=related
While I agree with most of your points, I don't put too much stock in what the god of the Bible has to say about women. If you really look at the "biblical" idea of how women are to be treated, everyone from Adam to Paul had low views of them. It makes it very apparent that the book is very human. If god cared for women, his words of wisdom would have transcended time - and they don't.
ReplyDeleteThe God of the bible in my mind and heart is beautiful and full of love and grace. It's man and the culture and society that messes everything up. But God did tell us that we live in a fallen world. If we look to God for who he is, and not to man, we will find the truth and the truth will set us free....
ReplyDeleteI wish this man would have a nice long talk with Creflo.....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYiVjTwOWt8
You'd have to ignore most of the Old Testament and even a lot of the New Testament to come to that conclusion. Even Jesus said he came not for peace, but as a sword and would turn people against their family and friends. Should we reject complete worship of him, he cursed us to hell.
ReplyDeleteBut! If you reject those parts of the Bible, I have nothing to say. Faith is obviously personal and cannot be bound by a book. Have at it.
ReplyDelete