I used to attend this church as a teen. I am not the victim mentioned in the article.

Here are some notable highlights:

To be a criminal act in Michigan, the victim either had to fall under a special class of victims or there had to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that there was force or coercion involved in the alleged sexual assault. — The special class of victims includes children under the age of 16, incapacitated victims, family members, students of a certain age, special education students, persons in foster care, clients of mental health professionals, prisoners, and patients of medical doctors, among others.

“In contrast, there currently are no laws in Michigan that specifically list or protect members of a religious organization as ‘status’ victims against sexual contact by religious leaders, authorities, or pastors, etc,” according to the prosecutor’s review.

While Michigan law does not state that it is illegal for clergy members to engage in sexual activity with church members, other states have amended their laws to include that language. Other states have also amended their laws to say that consent is not a defense in certain criminal sexual assault cases.

It was acknowledged that clergy in counseling roles have more power than a typical counselor or psychologist because clergy are also connecting parishioners to God, said Gary Schoener, a psychologist in Minnesota that consulted on the legislation changes in the early 1990s. Since then, Schoener has also provided testimony for other states looking to similarly update their criminal sexual assault laws in regard to clergy members.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut the fuck up.

Christian teachings led me into horrifying situations. It taught me the "correct" way to act. It taught me that questioning God is a sin. It taught me to trust in those who preach the word of God.

Those people abused me. Hurt me. Led me to become the broken person I am today. I'm still suffering. It finally led me to my PTSD diagnosis and I'm fucking struggling.

"Not all Christians are bad!" and "Well, they weren't real Christians!" are things I've been told. Shut the fuck up. If the wolves fit into your flock so well, YOU'RE ALL WOLVES.

Christian teachings led to this. Not """"fake Christians"""".

The church ain't paying for my fucking therapy or my bills that I struggle with since the PTSD has me struggling for steady employment. Fuck Christians and their shitty teachings.

EDIT: Did you know that in a lot of places, clergy are exempt from mandatory reporting laws? Most are also exempt from laws that keep vulnerable people safe from being preyed upon by people in positions of power. People like teachers and therapists have these laws applied to them. Clergy and church """"counselors"""" do not.

TEXT:

Witch: –turns me into a frog– now suffer

Me: –chilling on a leaf–

Witch: wait

Me: –experiencing happiness for the first time in my life—

Witch: wait no

I patterned it all from scratch, too!

Sewn both by hand & machine. Has a velcro closure on the front of the neck! Also super light, so your head & neck won't hurt while wearing it (I'm very proud of that)! I lined the mouth with soft fleece and the inside of the head with satin. It's really comfortable!

It's not a mask, so you can't see out of it if you pull it over your face!! It's meant to be worn more like a hood.

If you have any questions about how it was made, feel free to ask!

Black fur is really difficult to photograph.. it looks better in-person!

Sloppy edge because I was just in a hurry to get it done, and I also ran out of that color.

Made it for a trip, but it's too large. I'm pretty frustrated at myself for that. Oh well..

I took in a silkback/scaleless bearded dragons some years ago after all my fosters were adopted, as I wanted to get some experience with such a misunderstood species.

I learned an absolute ton and have been educating about silkbacks on R×ddit for some years now, dispelling myths, discouraging ownership / breeding, and swapping advice with the fellow silkback owners.

One thing I've noticed is that silkbacks seem to be prone to blindness / vision loss. We suspect that their eyes may be much more sensitive to UVB, resulting in eyesight deterioration. My own has lost most of his vision and now struggles to find food on his own.

tl;dr: Is vision restoration even possible? Surgery? I'd love for my guy to be able to see again. It really hurts me to him struggle to even feel comfortable roaming my house now. The world can be scary for a little lizard when they can no longer see what's around them.

Thank you.