Religious extremism strikes again, tragedy ensues.

[jbluhm86]

Police: Brothers were beaten in church to make them confess

By JOHN KEKIS

Oct. 14, 2015 11:14 PM EDT

 

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Two teenage brothers were brutally beaten in church — one fatally — in an effort by their parents, sister and other members to get them to confess their sins, police said Wednesday in a case involving an insular congregation that had sparked gossip and suspicion among neighbors.

Police said spiritual "counseling" at the Word of Life church in upstate New York turned into an hours-long attack Sunday night in which Lucas Leonard, 19, and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were pummeled with fists and kicked. They suffered injuries to the abdomen, genitals, back and thighs.

Eventually, Lucas stopped breathing and relatives took him early Monday to a hospital, where he died, police said. Authorities went to the church and found his younger brother, who was hospitalized in serious condition.

"Both brothers were subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours, in hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness," Police Chief Michael Inserra said.

He said investigators have not determined what the supposed sins were.

The brothers' parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, were charged with manslaughter in Lucas' death. Four other adults were charged with assault in the younger brother's beating, including Sarah Ferguson, 33, the victims' sister.

The beatings took place at a red-brick former elementary school that serves as both a church and a home for several members of the congregation, including one of the suspects. The church has existed for as many as 30 years in New Hartford, a once-thriving mill town of 22,000 people about 50 miles from Syracuse.

"I'm really afraid. In my heart I don't think this is the first incident," said Eva Monaghan, who lives around the corner. "Over all the years, I can't imagine this is the first thing. Maybe nothing as bad. Around town, it's considered a cult."

The police chief, however, said he had no indication Word of Life was anything but a church and a home.

Tara Litz, who used to live next door to the church, said: "I never really had any ill problems with them, but I did see a lot of sketchy things regarding stuff in my backyard, weird hours of the night, weird chanting, humming."

Nancy Kneller, who used to work at a Catholic church next door, said residents had long been suspicious of the place.

"Why are they so secretive? Why are there no kids out playing?" she said. Still, she added, "I think they're good people that made a bad decision."

Nearby, in the village where the Leonard brothers lived with their parents, neighbors recalled a deeply religious family that kept mostly to itself.

All the suspects pleaded not guilty. Lawyers for the parents and the sister had no comment.

Seven children, four of them Ferguson's, were turned over to child welfare authorities.

Police said more arrests are expected as the investigation continues.

"We're not alleging that they intended to kill their son," Inserra said of the parents, but "they were attempting to seriously hurt their son, and he died as a result."

After Lucas was brought to the hospital, police suspected Christopher had been hurt, too, but his relatives wouldn't tell officers where he was, the chief said. After searching for hours, police found him on the church's second floor.

The Leonards live in Clayville, a village of 350 people, in a two-story, wood-frame duplex. The sister lives in the attic with her own children, a neighbor said.

Lucas and Christopher read the Bible two hours a day at their parents' insistence and "weren't really allowed to go out of their house" for sleepovers, said another neighbor, Nicole Howard. The brothers "weren't allowed to do normal things, but they tried to be as normal as they could be."

The Leonards home-schooled their children, eschewed TV and did not take part in Halloween, either leaving home or turning off all the lights, neighbor Jim Constantine said. Some Christians do not observe Halloween because of its pagan origins and macabre themes.

The children weren't entirely isolated from everyday life, though: Lucas Leonard was routinely hired to watch Constantine's dog when he was away, including this past weekend.

"Pleasant kid. No bad talk," Constantine said. "No nothing."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spare the rod, spoil the child, I suppose...

[Westside Steve]

Of course on the bright side he for sure went to heaven, so it's got that going for him.

 

But yes I heard that story yesterday and try as I might to avoid the vernacular of the streets, that's some fucked up shit.

 

WSS

[bbedward]

"I beat my kids to make them confess their sins, but you're going to hell because you're gay"

[Clevfan4life]

What were these so called sins supposed to be, anyone know? Like did they catch em buggering other little boys or something?

[DieHardBrownsFan]

Police: Brothers were beaten in church to make them confess

By JOHN KEKIS

Oct. 14, 2015 11:14 PM EDT

 

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Two teenage brothers were brutally beaten in church — one fatally — in an effort by their parents, sister and other members to get them to confess their sins, police said Wednesday in a case involving an insular congregation that had sparked gossip and suspicion among neighbors.

Police said spiritual "counseling" at the Word of Life church in upstate New York turned into an hours-long attack Sunday night in which Lucas Leonard, 19, and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were pummeled with fists and kicked. They suffered injuries to the abdomen, genitals, back and thighs.

Eventually, Lucas stopped breathing and relatives took him early Monday to a hospital, where he died, police said. Authorities went to the church and found his younger brother, who was hospitalized in serious condition.

"Both brothers were subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours, in hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness," Police Chief Michael Inserra said.

He said investigators have not determined what the supposed sins were.

The brothers' parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, were charged with manslaughter in Lucas' death. Four other adults were charged with assault in the younger brother's beating, including Sarah Ferguson, 33, the victims' sister.

The beatings took place at a red-brick former elementary school that serves as both a church and a home for several members of the congregation, including one of the suspects. The church has existed for as many as 30 years in New Hartford, a once-thriving mill town of 22,000 people about 50 miles from Syracuse.

"I'm really afraid. In my heart I don't think this is the first incident," said Eva Monaghan, who lives around the corner. "Over all the years, I can't imagine this is the first thing. Maybe nothing as bad. Around town, it's considered a cult."

The police chief, however, said he had no indication Word of Life was anything but a church and a home.

Tara Litz, who used to live next door to the church, said: "I never really had any ill problems with them, but I did see a lot of sketchy things regarding stuff in my backyard, weird hours of the night, weird chanting, humming."

Nancy Kneller, who used to work at a Catholic church next door, said residents had long been suspicious of the place.

"Why are they so secretive? Why are there no kids out playing?" she said. Still, she added, "I think they're good people that made a bad decision."

Nearby, in the village where the Leonard brothers lived with their parents, neighbors recalled a deeply religious family that kept mostly to itself.

All the suspects pleaded not guilty. Lawyers for the parents and the sister had no comment.

Seven children, four of them Ferguson's, were turned over to child welfare authorities.

Police said more arrests are expected as the investigation continues.

"We're not alleging that they intended to kill their son," Inserra said of the parents, but "they were attempting to seriously hurt their son, and he died as a result."

After Lucas was brought to the hospital, police suspected Christopher had been hurt, too, but his relatives wouldn't tell officers where he was, the chief said. After searching for hours, police found him on the church's second floor.

The Leonards live in Clayville, a village of 350 people, in a two-story, wood-frame duplex. The sister lives in the attic with her own children, a neighbor said.

Lucas and Christopher read the Bible two hours a day at their parents' insistence and "weren't really allowed to go out of their house" for sleepovers, said another neighbor, Nicole Howard. The brothers "weren't allowed to do normal things, but they tried to be as normal as they could be."

The Leonards home-schooled their children, eschewed TV and did not take part in Halloween, either leaving home or turning off all the lights, neighbor Jim Constantine said. Some Christians do not observe Halloween because of its pagan origins and macabre themes.

The children weren't entirely isolated from everyday life, though: Lucas Leonard was routinely hired to watch Constantine's dog when he was away, including this past weekend.

"Pleasant kid. No bad talk," Constantine said. "No nothing."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spare the rod, spoil the child, I suppose...

 

How do you know what really occurred? Especially from some fucking obvious atheists like yourself? Dig these up all the time to justify your sickness?

[MLD Woody]

How do you know what really occurred? Especially from some fucking obvious atheists like yourself? Dig these up all the time to justify your sickness?

Oh the irony

[jbluhm86]

How do you know what really occurred? Especially from some fucking obvious atheists like yourself? Dig these up all the time to justify your sickness?

Perhaps you didn't read the part of the article, which stated:

 

"Both brothers were subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours, in hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness," Police Chief Michael Inserra said.

 

I know it's probably hard in your case to read right now, since you're probably two bottles of Jack - deep already for the day (after all, its only 5pm, the day is still young), and the words could be a bit blurry right now. But, please, do try to keep up.

 

Keep the struggle, bruh.

[jbluhm86]

"I beat my kids to make them confess their sins, but you're going to hell because you're gay"

Fucking magnets.

[DieHardBrownsFan]

Perhaps you didn't read the part of the article, which stated:

 

"Both brothers were subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours, in hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness," Police Chief Michael Inserra said.

 

I know it's probably hard in your case to read right now, since you're probably two bottles of Jack - deep already for the day (after all, its only 5pm, the day is still young), and the words could be a bit blurry right now. But, please, do try to keep up.

 

Keep the struggle, bruh.

Fifth joint, and one hit of scag bruh.

[StinkHole]

How do you know what really occurred? Especially from some fucking obvious atheists like yourself? Dig these up all the time to justify your sickness?

Stuart

 

 

It's crystal clear what he's doing. Marginalizing and making excuses for Islamic barbarism with another "Christianity does bad stuff too" thread.

 

Religious extremism is nothing new. The Salem witch trials?

 

The major difference here is that these acts are not a part of Christian principles or ideology.

 

Honor killing, stoning, executing gays etc. are components of a set principles laid down by Islam. They cannot be changed or discarded.

Islam is one fucked up religion.

[jbluhm86]

Stuart

 

 

It's crystal clear what he's doing. Marginalizing and making excuses for Islamic barbarism with another "Christianity does bad stuff too" thread.

 

No, what I'm doing is pointing out another example of religious extremism. Just like I stated in the title of my post, if you had bothered to read it. Religious-induced violence is disgraceful, irregardless of which religion committing it.

 

Religious extremism is nothing new. The Salem witch trials? You are absolutely right. Religious extremism is nothing new. But just because it is old-hat, that doesn't magically mean it's excusable

 

The major difference here is that these acts are not a part of Christian principles or ideology.

 

Honor killing, stoning, executing gays etc. are components of a set principles laid down by Islam...

 

Yeah, because none of those things exist anywhere in the Bible at all. Give me a break...

 

Deuteronomy 21: 18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 20 And they shall say to the elders of his city, This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.

 

Or maybe that's just one of those metaphorically-ambiguous laws in the Bible that can just be overlooked...

 

...They cannot be changed or discarded.

Islam is one fucked up religion.

 

More like religion is a fucked up religion

[Westside Steve]

http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2015/07/31/california-eight-year-old-white-girl-raped-and-murdered-by-hispanic-teenager/

 

I couldn't find anything about religion in this story. Filipinos must be some dangerous bastards.

 

WSS

[Westside Steve]

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/06/balti-murder-16-year-old-black-girl-raped-strangled-set-fire-black-gang-members/

 

Wow another case not involving Christian perpetrators at all!

 

I can't imagine those nice young men going to church regularly. Can you?

 

WSS

[DieHardBrownsFan]

jBLUH just is an angry atheist pos.

[jbluhm86]

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2015/06/balti-murder-16-year-old-black-girl-raped-strangled-set-fire-black-gang-members/

 

Wow another case not involving Christian perpetrators at all!

 

I can't imagine those nice young men going to church regularly. Can you?

 

WSS

No. But from all appearances, the Leonard family attended church quite regularly, and their devoutness did nothing to stop Bruce and Deborah Leonard from beating their own children to death in order to get them to "confess their sins". If anything, their religious beliefs empowered their actions. So apparently, Church attendance is not necessarily the bulwark against immorality that many would have you believe.

[calfoxwc]

so there are screwballs in religion.

 

But Muslim extremists are world wide, as in,

every country on earth, apparently,

 

this is just one example of rare sick sumbeeches.

 

Just another liberal change of subject.

[jbluhm86]

The fact that a child's parents would beat them to death is appalling in its own right, but the fact that the parents believed their actions were justified by some nonsensical mythology scribbled in some book is what, to me, makes it infinitely more despicable. It's as if they believed that as long as they were perpetrating their violence in the name of God or Jesus, that it magically somehow made it ok, when under almost any other circumstance, it would be malicious.

 

And yet others on here that huff and puff and harrumph about how the Leonard's were simply misinterpreting the Bible or that they were following the Old Testament instead of the New - are the same people who get up in arms when Muslims use the ideology of the Koran to perpetrate violence - and not bat an eyelash when some of their fellow Christians do the same. And as much as I agree that the Koran is a cornucopia of bad ideas, the Bible is no better. You cannot deny that the Bible contains instructions which commands the faithful to stone others, kill rebellious children, and all sorts of other hateful nonsense just like the Koran does. It's right there in black and white in both books. But it seems, to me at least, that people in this country are more than willing to condem Islamic religious violence, while at the same time throwing the blinders on to Christian religious violence. And God forbid (no pun intended) when an atheist points this out. No, they are just simply being Christianophobes. The hypocrisy is mind-boggling.

[Legacy Fan]

No. But from all appearances, the Leonard family attended church quite regularly, and their devoutness did nothing to stop Bruce and Deborah Leonard from beating their own children to death in order to get them to "confess their sins". If anything, their religious beliefs empowered their actions. So apparently, Church attendance is not necessarily the bulwark against immorality that many would have you believe.

Many who?

Those who receive their paychecks based on number of attendees?

 

There some church folk who play with cottonmouths and pit-vipers on the reg. Anyone looking to them for their moral compass?? Didn't think so.

[jbluhm86]

so there are screwballs in religion.

 

But Muslim extremists are world wide, as in,

every country on earth, apparently,

 

this is just one example of rare sick sumbeeches.

 

Just another liberal change of subject.

And this right here is the attitude I'm talking about. I'll agree with you Cal that at the moment, Islamic extremists are the bigger threat. I personally think that they are the greatest threat to civilization right now and in the immediate future. But it is incredibly naive of you to pass this off as a rare occurrence. Last time I checked, Christianity is still the number one global religion, and history, both past and present, is littered with the atrocities committed in its name. And making the insinuation that disparity in the number of atrocities committed between both religions somehow alleviates Christianity's responsibility in them is disgraceful. Whether or not, hypothetically, 10 children are killed by interpretation of Islamic doctrine to every 1 child killed by the Christian one, that doesn't hide the true facts that those people are being killed or having their lives destroyed simply based on the beliefs of others in some Iron Age superstitious nonsense.

[Legacy Fan]

The fact that a child's parents would beat them to death is appalling in its own right, but the fact that the parents believed their actions were justified by some nonsensical mythology scribbled in some book is what, to me, makes it infinitely more despicable. It's as if they believed that as long as they were perpetrating their violence in the name of God or Jesus, that it magically somehow made it ok, when under almost any other circumstance, it would be malicious.

 

And yet others on here that huff and puff and harrumph about how the Leonard's were simply misinterpreting the Bible or that they were following the Old Testament instead of the New - are the same people who get up in arms when Muslims use the ideology of the Koran to perpetrate violence - and not bat an eyelash when some of their fellow Christians do the same. And as much as I agree that the Koran is a cornucopia of bad ideas, the Bible is no better. You cannot deny that the Bible contains instructions which commands the faithful to stone others, kill rebellious children, and all sorts of other hateful nonsense just like the Koran does. It's right there in black and white in both books. But it seems, to me at least, that people in this country are more than willing to condem Islamic religious violence, while at the same time throwing the blinders on to Christian religious violence. And God forbid (no pun intended) when an atheist points this out. No, they are just simply being Christianophobes. The hypocrisy is mind-boggling.

Ugh. You'd be a lot better at this if you actually knew what the Bible said.

(When the faithful asked Jesus if they should stone the adulterous woman, He responded: 'let he who is without sin cast the 1st stone') meaning nobody gets to stone her.

[jbluhm86]

Many who?

Those who receive their paychecks based on number of attendees?

 

There some church folk who play with cottonmouths and pit-vipers on the reg. Anyone looking to them for their moral compass?? Didn't think so.

No, but I think it's safe to say that the four other members arrested for assault along with the Leonard's could be considered pillars of the congregation as well. After all, they volunteered out of the goodness of their heart to join along with the Leonard's in a "counseling session" for the brothers, which consisted of beating them repeatedly in the hopes of getting them to "confess their sins".

[jbluhm86]

Ugh. You'd be a lot better at this if you actually knew what the Bible said.

(When the faithful asked Jesus if they should stone the adulterous woman, He responded: 'let he who is without sin cast the 1st stone') meaning nobody gets to stone her.

Acts 10:43: "To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

 

1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

 

So I guess if the Leonard's and the others in the congregation truly believed with all their heart that Jesus was real and confessed beforehand, their sins are washed away. So I guess using the algebra of theology, they were sinless and weapons free to cast the first stones on their children.

 

Or fists, in this case.

[calfoxwc]

great. An avowed Christian church basher quotes a few quotes, and

makes a major point on it.

 

Doesn't matter that it's out of context. Libs never care.

[Legacy Fan]

Acts 10:43: "To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

 

1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

 

So I guess if the Leonard's and the others in the congregation truly believed with all their heart that Jesus was real and confessed beforehand, their sins are washed away. So I guess using the algebra of theology, they were sinless and weapons free to cast the first stones on their children.

 

Or fists, in this case.

Shakes head.gif

Face palm.gif

[jbluhm86]

great. An avowed Christian church basher quotes a few quotes, and

makes a major point on it.

 

Doesn't matter that it's out of context. Libs never care.

Yeah, I'm just going to stop you right there. People of all religions do the exact same thing you are accusing me of.

 

"The Ten Commandments? Why those are the words of God! How dare you try to remove the monument of them?...Oh, so the Bible says that if I cheat on my wife, both the woman I cheated with and I are to be put to death? (Leviticus 20:10) Ummm...no, no...that's not meant to be taken literally. We'll just skip that one."

 

"Fags can't get married! It's unnatural! Leviticus 18:22 says that "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." And 1 Corinthians 7:2 states that "each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband." See? One man, one woman. Magnets!...Whats that? Oh, that verse in Leviticus 20:13 which says that "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death"...well, nobody REALLY is going to kill someone over being a queer, so we don't need to pay attention to that. Those perverts will get theirs when they die anyway..."

 

Pre 1863: "How dare you try to tell us slavery is wrong! It cannot be wrong, after all it's in the Good Book. The Lord clearly is in favor of slavery; he even gave us rules by which to purchase them (Leviticus 25:44-46)! Why, even St. Paul instructed slaves to "obey their earthly masters with fear and deep respect...as they would serve Christ (Ephesians 6:5).

 

Post 1865: "Slavery? Uhhh...our bad. Those verses were obviously metaphors. They were never meant to be taken literally"

 

ad infinitum...

 

When the verse suits their purposes, it is treated like the literal perfect word of God. But, when the shoe is on the other foot and incompatable with their views, that part of the Bible is conveniently ignored or passed off as "metaphorical". Well I, for one, am calling bullshit. Either the Bible is the True Word of God, IN ITS ENTIRETY, or it is not. Just like the Koran is the true word of God, or it is not.

[jbluhm86]

And don't think that I'm just singling out Christianity on this either. If it wasn't for radical Islamists doing the exact same horseshit word-play with verses from the Koran, then we wouldn't have to worry about those psychopaths from ISIL and al-Qaeda.

[jbluhm86]

And to be honest, if it takes you having to consult Stone Age ramblings to figure out that it's not morally acceptable to murder, rape, abuse or steal from someone; or worse, to not do these things mostly or solely out of fear of some afterlife retribution from some imaginary celestial dictator, then perhaps you are not a moral person to begin with. Morality should come from genuine good will and a desire to be a good person on its own merits, not in some vain hope of being rewarded with eternal happiness or punished with eternal suffering. And, to me at least, there is no way you can slice it to make it morally acceptable to beat your own children to death for any reason, but especially not in some cowardly and disgraceful attempt to force them to "confess their sins" based on religious nonsense.

[The Cysko Kid]

So you find one story about christians acting up. Big whoop. Go over to best gore and we'll talk again after you get some video review time in.

 

 

[MLD Woody]

The difference in responses when the story is about Christians vs Muslims is hilarious.

[The Cysko Kid]

The denial of the extent of the problem with islam isn't hilarious. It's sad and pathetic and frightening. Hiding your head in the sand and going but but but the crusades! is ridiculous. The proof is out there, on video captured for posterity forever. Go look.