by Lorette C. Luzajic
Megachurch pastor Earl “Don Juan” Paulk died in hospital early morning of March 29. The “cause of death cannot be released” according to the major news networks, leading some to wonder if he ended his battle with cancer by suicide. But cancer was hardly his most pressing concern at 81 — it was an endless stream of accusations and scandals of affairs, adultery, and child molestation.
Reverend Paulk of Cathedral at Chapel Hill in Decatur, Georgia, has been fleeing allegations since 1960 when he was first caught having an extramarital affair. He denied it, and though he lost his church, he moved on to shepherd and found others. He became a bishop in 1982.
In 1992, six women came forward and accused him of sexual “manipulation.” At the helm was Trina Weeks, his ghostwriter. He claimed she was unstable or possessed by demons. But he then admitted his adultery 30 years before.
About ten years later, Jessica Battle, a college student, charged Paulk with molesting her from ages 7 through 11. He paid her out of court, reportedly $400,000.
Cindy Hall came forward in 2003 and claimed that Paulk manipulated her into an affair, claiming special rights from God. She also claims he made her sleep with brother, Don.
Mona Brewer was 19 at the time of her conversion to Christianity. Shortly thereafter, she was convinced by Paulk to begin having sex with him. Though she was married, she carried on with Paulk for 14 years before coming forward in 2005. Paulk said she instigated the relationship, and that it was fleeting.
Paulk claimed under oath to have only slept with his wife and Mona — but in 2007, it turned out that his nephew was actually his son, revealed through DNA testing.
After this horrible revelation, his granddaughter Penny White went public with allegations that she was already pursuing privately in court. She charged her grandfather Earl Paulk for incest abuse.
Earl Paulk was criticized for his ties to the Dominionist and Reconstructionist movements, hyper-conservative Christianity that seeks to resume Old Testament Law. These theologies advocate stoning or burning to death the apostates, adulterers, homosexuals, rebellious children, unchaste women, and more, as prescribed by the Old Testament.
I wonder if he had a special Get Out of Jail Free Card from heaven?
Lorette C. Luzajic is a full-time freelance writer in Toronto. She blogs at Facinating People.
Further proof (as if any was necessary) of the catholic church’s deep corruption. If any other organization had even half so long a history of this sort of thing, it would be prosecuted with RICO to the fullest extent of the law.
GBM,
this man was not Catholic.
If anything, I believe it to be an excellent example of how the power a position such as leader of a church, especially one with such loyal following, can either corrupt a person, or lure in already corrupt persons.
No one organization should have so much power over a person’s life that they allow these kinds of abuses to continue for decades before they bring it up.
Interesting, as a former Catholic, I have nothing to say anymore. Hey – LOVE your blog!
There will always be wicked people – I wonder what the people around Paulk knew and did, that’s the thing that fascinates me.
(He’s not Catholic, but) the real crime of the Catholic Church wasn’t that they hired child molesters – that, sadly, is a risk all organizations who work with children will face. The real crime is that the people around the molesters – and the ‘they’ includes the current Pope – hushed things up, moved them around, placed pressure on the victims.
So I’d really like to know what the institutional response was.
Whose brother?
He was Pentecostal not Catholic and I don’t think his church was originally tied to any specific group of churches (e.g., Assemblies of God) though he was a bishop (and for a time presiding bishop) in the International Communion of Charismatic Churches founded in 1982.
On his plus side he seems to have worked against racism from very early in his ministry (and in Georgia circa 1950 that was a bit difficult).
All together now:
“But he wasn’t a realy Christian!”
1) I believe that if God does not exist, then those who follow this “God” will be ultimately misled.
2) This man is obviously misled.
3) Therefore, God does not exist.
I wonder if he had a special Get Out of Jail Free Card from heaven?
I’ve got one of those, and you can get one too:
Get Out of Hell Free
It’s a case where power attracts the power-hungry. Molestation and rape are also born out of a combination of a desire for power and control, and sexual repression. The church offers both of these in large quantities.
The less you worry, the happier you’ll be. If people would just take things in stride and slow down to just think once in a while, they wouldn’t have nearly as much to worry about.
I love it when pastors and fundies are exposed for how heinous they really are. Clearly there are so many, and so many still clandestinely being heinous without exposure.
When will xians get it, and stop saying that this “rare exception” wasn’t a “true christian”?
There is something in christianity which allows, if not promotes, perversion of human nature. Lack of their exposure keeps apologists saying that they are exceptions, rather than being perhaps fairly common.
Christians who use the bible and relegious zeal to justify their “superiority” to non-Christians. And when someone feels dominate to another, it often causes them to feel the need to command others and take matters into their own hands. Ever heard of the Crusades? Religious “Christian” zealots used the Bible out of it’s to justify forcing “conversion,” and often just killing those who didn’t agree with them and conform. Not very Christianly, eh? But it all started because “Christians” with influential powers thought it was their duty to change the world “for God’s glory.” It didn’t end too well. So, I check myself about 100 times a day so I don’t end up like them. And plenty of “crusaders” and “Christians” of the like are around today. Once a person feels the need to take matters into their own hands “for God’s glory,” be assured that they are wrong.
Miguel:
While I agree with you, I would respond to your question that any religion or any “system” that promotes obedience to a “leader” or a priestly elite leads to abuse. This is not the province solely of Christianity, of course.
Presumable this guy has read and studied the Bible. All those years of learning about the ways of god and yet he still lies. Yes, we all know that “everyone is a sinner”, as I am sure some Christians would point out. But I think there is nothing wrong with expecting a pastor to at least be as moral as everybody else. And this guy had some serious transgressions. God had 40 years to work through this man, and the spirit never seemed to stick.
If God only transforms when it’s convenient for you, then maybe you should consider the possibility that God does not transform at all.
The sad thing is that stories like this – where people of religious power abuse others (sexually/emotionally/physically) – is no longer shocking or surprising.
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I found it at zimbio:
Awww…. You beat me to it!
I was so…. so close….
No, no, you’ve got it all wrong. The protestants molest women; the catholics prefer to exclude women from the church and molest young boys.
GBM, if you read the article fully, you will see Paulk was MARRIED. Catholic priests and bishops are not allowed to marry. Only Deacons are allowed to marry in the Catholic Church. Paulk was a Protestant, and a Bishop in his church. Pay attention to what you’re reading, there.
I really have to do a better job of typing up these posts.
Obviously that should read. “…real Christian” not “…really Christian”
There are many heinous people in the world. I think it is wrong to make such sweeping statements like that. Sure, many are heinous, but many more have sacrificed a lot in the service of other people.
“There is something in christianity which allows, if not promotes, perversion of human nature. ”
– What might that be?
That’s an ignorant post, and you have no basis for your claims.
1) What evidence do you have that proves there are many unexposed “heinous” pastors?
2) The number of people who have been exposed is the overwhelming minority of pastors/religious leaders as a whole.
3) Again, there is nothing common at all statistically about perverts being exposed. That they appear in the news fairly commonly is misleading, because for every one who is exposed, there are thousands of pastors who have never engaged in “heinous” behavior.
For a site that promotes rationality and evidence-based epistemology, it’s surprising how many comments are made based on anecdotal evidence and belief which is based on those anecdotes.
I don’t think it’s really a symptom of Christianity, so much as it’s a symptom of what happens when you invest individuals with so much power. It’s a very insidious type of power that we give to religious leaders like this one, and it’s one that’s very, very easy to abuse, especially when it comes to young people.
It doesn’t help that religious organisations tend to be very unresponsive to outside policing, and since so much of religion revolves around reputation, it’s not surprising that the successful religions tend to be those that are very much internally regulated. Of course, this means that it’s hard for a religion to publicly accept that some of its representatives have been up to no good, because that undermines the whole concept of a priest being somehow closer to god or gods, and therefore morally better/more enlightened/whatever.
I don’t think its fair to level the blame entirely at Christianity for this one. It’s just that we tend to hear more about Christian pastors doing the dirty. I rather think it doesn’t matter what faith, if any, these people are involved in – the problem is the power structure that allows them to get away with it, persecutes their victims and covers up their crimes – and that is not a uniquely Christian set-up.
And I agree with brgulker, there are no statistics. I would say that almost all statistics are either random good-sounding guesses or inefficient anyways. I hardly ever find solid proof of a statistic unless it is specifically based on a small group of people or events.
“While I agree with you, I would respond to your question that any religion or any “system” that promotes obedience to a “leader” or a priestly elite leads to abuse. This is not the province solely of Christianity, of course. ”
– So, you agree then that claidheamh mor’s sweeping statement was irrational and uncalled for. Thank you.
Someone said it even better than I can
Belief that people are born evil. The same xians who say “what’s that born evil crap?” say people need to be saved, people are born in sin and need jesus, people need to be redeemed. If you didn’t believe people were born evil, you would not believe that they need to be saved from anything or redeemed of anything.
“Surrendering” one’s will and decision-making, one’s freedom and obligation to determine one’s own values, to an external authority. This can be both external real people, and an imaginary god or jesus, in the sky or inside your heart.
The covering-up and hypocrisy evident in the religious leaders. People who are former christians, as are some on this site, may not have had extreme experiences like that, but I bet that they can vouch for experiences with hypocrisy. I can. Lots of passive-aggressive, sweet-on-the-outside, vicious-just-underneath, monologue from christians. Being direct and honest is discouraged in xianity, in my experience.
Sexual repression. Sexual dishonesty.
Repression of questioning, reasoning, or thinking, or challenging. Christianity is so weak it can’t take that? Fact stands up to verification.
Same for God’s self-appointed defense attorneys. If he needs them, he’s weak – or not real.
Hypocrisy in church-and-state separation: the state shouldn’t mess with the church, but it’s OK with christians to mess with the state. See; “Dominionist” in this very blog.
These are a few starters for now.
Ooops, not all xians are passive-aggressive; some are just aggressive. There’s Alex Gaggenheim, god’s self-appointed attack dog.
That’s another one: a lot of the christians posting on this site are full of vitriol and hate. And they probably talk about love and think of themselves as loving christians! They spew invective as awful as anything you can find in a hate group.
Not just Gaggenheim – lots of them can be found in previous blog topics. Especially abortion and lousy christian marriages – that sets off their hatred like nothing else.
Oh – and they force their beliefs on how others live. (Dominionist or not.) That is a strong christian trait. I see a lot more tolerance – a trait of adulthood and maturity – outside of christianity.
Another example. The examples just keep rolling in!
This one just posted by an atheist who was raised christian, posted on another blog topic:
You can pretend that that kind of guilt and fear doesn’t fuck with a young kid’s head. It does so anyway. That will pervert human nature. It’s not healthy or conducive to well-being. No matter how much your belief set loves using guilt and fear (because you believe humans are born evil, called “marred with the sin of Adam” – and therefore need you to apply guilt and fear), no matter how much your belief system mandates doing that to a human being, it will never be conducive to health and well-being.
I wouldn’t say there’s no evidence.
Quoted from “Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches” by Carolyn Holderread Heggen:
A disturbing fact continues to surface in sex abuse research. The first best predictor of abuse is alcohol or drug addiction in the father. But the second best predictor is conservative religiosity, accompanied by parental belief in traditional male-female roles. This means that if you want to know which children are most likely to be sexually abused by their father, the second most significant clue is whether or not the parents belong to a conservative religious group with traditional role beliefs and rigid sexual attitudes. (Brown and Bohn, 1989; Finkelhor, 1986; Fortune, 1983; Goldstein et al, 1973; Van Leeuwen, 1990)
Sounds like there’s some statistical evidence there.
Of those ways I listed that christianity perverts human nature, I think sexual repression and the belief that people are intrinsically evil (“born in sin”) cause the most perversion and harm.
The “3 Ways Christianity Prolongs Immaturity” are a close second, or a tie for first place.
don’t forget “Teh Gayz” set them off big time!
Sadly true, even within the churches, among her own kind, not that I feel sad because of the deeds christianity but I am part of humanity.
The many obvious contradictions of the teachings in christianity against what is written in the “bible” must be made known not only by unbelievers, but also by believers for the better part of humanity.
Even the “so-called Word of God” blesses the peacekeapers, are they the one who will tear down strifes of contradictions for the better of mankind, or are we alone?
You wrote, “2) The number of people who have been exposed is the overwhelming minority of pastors/religious leaders as a whole.
3) Again, there is nothing common at all statistically about perverts being exposed. That they appear in the news fairly commonly is misleading, because for every one who is exposed, there are thousands of pastors who have never engaged in “heinous” behavior.”
So, the number of religous leaders exposed is a fraction of the whole and there are thousands who have never engaged. Using this comparison and knowing that a great number of religous leaders have been exposed, then it goes to reason that there remains a greater number that have not been exposed.
Keep it rational!
“Of those ways I listed that christianity perverts human nature, I think sexual repression”
- But no one is forced to be celibate – its a matter of choice. If you can’t handle it, then don’t be a priest.
“and the belief that people are intrinsically evil (”born in sin”)”
– Yes, there is a belief that we are all marred by the sin of Adam, but there is no belief that we are “intrinsically evil”. The opposite is true, Christians believe that we were created with God’s divine spark, thus we are moral and rational beings.
Even if the rates of child abuse by the religious were exactly the same as by atheists, that would still be powerful evidence that they’re full of shit.
The fact that he was married, should have given a hint. Catholic pastors and bishops are not frequently married… ;)
sorry guys, turns out i am and idiot
It will happen on occasion. I have an uncle who is a priest in the Boston area. They gave him special permission to join the priesthood after his wife passed away.
Sexual repression takes many more forms than simply being a celibate priest. It’s (sexual repression) probably so much a part of how you “think” that you are completely unaware or ignorant of it.
Different way of mouthing the same thing.
Different way of mouthing the same thing.
No, it really isn’t.
“Men are intrinsically evil” is a massively different claim than “men are intrinsically imperfect”. You are getting carried away by your zeal here, a bit.
The Catholics will also allow married clergy from certain denominations (the Anglicans and Episcopalians, for instance) who convert to become priests and remain married.
also unable to spell apparently…
You’re right, but I do think that it’s not merely the power structure that lets them get away with it, it’s the fact that Christian pastors etc can most likely twist doctrine and Bible text and justify just about anything… in other power structures eg in a corporate setting, or organised crime, they don’t really have an ‘out’ or a way of justifying sex crimes in this way. This could be a difference between the two? I don’t think I’ve explained myself very well… argh.