Say It Ain't So Already

Terry Jones — the Koran-Burning Minister — is a David Koresh Wannabe

September 8, 2010 at 2:53 PM Leave a comment

Why oh why does it take a German magazine to expose the real Terry Jones — the pastor of “Dove World Church” — who’s planning on holding a Koran-burning on Saturday:

In the United States, Jones has already attracted attention on several occasions as an Islamophobic provocateur. What is less well known is that the pastor led a charismatic evangelical church, the Christian Community of Cologne, in the western German city up until 2009. Last year, however, the members of the congregation kicked founder Jones out, because of his radicalism. One of the church’s current leaders, Stephan Baar, also told the German news agency DPA that there had been suspicions of financial irregularities in the church surrounding Jones.

A “climate of fear and control” had previously prevailed in the congregation, says one former member of the church who does not want to be named. Instead of free expression, “blind obedience” was demanded, he says.

Various witnesses gave SPIEGEL ONLINE consistent accounts of the Jones’ behavior. The pastor and his wife apparently regarded themselves as having been appointed by God, meaning opposition was a crime against the Lord. Terry and Sylvia Jones allegedly used these methods to ask for money in an increasingly insistent manner, as well as making members of the congregation carry out work.

Andrew Schäfer, a Protestant Church official responsible for monitoring sects in the region where Cologne is located, confirmed the accounts. “Terry Jones is a fundamentalist,” he told SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Both major churches in Germany have “sect commissioners” who monitor the activities of religious groups, sects and cults. Although they are obviously not totally impartial, the officials’ findings are usually considered to be trustworthy.

‘Delusional Personality’

Former church members are still undergoing therapy as a result of “spiritual abuse,” Schäfer said. According to Schäfer, Jones urged church members to beat their children with a rod and also taught “a distinctive demonology” and conducted brainwashing.

(Read the whole article.  There’s lots more there.)

So, we’re essentially letting this nut hold the country hostage?  Are you kidding?  Yo, “liberal” American media — EXPOSE THIS GUY!

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