Comments on Youth Pastor Watch

Was it the churches cigarette fund?

The thing is - religion doesn't really make people any better. It makes some people TRY harder, but religious people are made of the same selfish, giving, just as awful and just as beautiful.

The bad part about religion is that it seems to make people more conflicted, more willing to deny what they feel, to hide what they do or want to do. Precisely because it encourages people to behave in inhuman ways, spiritual ways, and punishes human animal behavior.

"As youth-pastor-gone-bad stories go, this is pretty minor"

Depends on what he spent the money on.

Kodos on being the only Seattle paper with the balls to call out Christianity as the idiot cult for sex perverts.

Judism is unlike Christianity in that Judaism is based on the truth and righteousness. The anti-Christian pro-Jewish bias of The Stranger takes guts, but somebody in Seattle has to stand up for the world's only true religion and the world's most righteous people, the Jews. Mazel Tov!

"Lake Township" in "Stark County" ?

It fits.

Sounds like the sticks.

Stark County? Isn't that where Johnny Cash got locked up for picking a flower?

"But I am powerless in the face of news about youth pastors gone bad."

That good work, Dan. Acknowledgment is the first step to recovery.

Dan, serious question:

Does The Stranger - Seattle's only _newspaper_, I think I read somewhere - claim to be unbiased/objective in its reporting of Christianity, or are you guys very clear (and if so, where?) about your opposition to the faith?

I'm being serious, here. Because I enjoy reading The Stranger/Slog for its reporting on events and issues important to Seattle, but the repeated anti-Christian/religion/church posts really seem to point toward a very strong bias on that topic.

I'm not saying you can't report the bad things that Christians do. But what about good things? Or do you get so much joy out of taking shots at the church that you choose to focus only on the bad things and pass over the good things?

I'm truly curious about this. Because in my book, a newspaper's credibility is only as good as its ability to report on important, "big picture" issues in an objective, unbiased way. And like it or not, religion is a big part of life in Seattle or anywhere else. And I have a hard time seeing objectivity in The Stranger's religion reporting.

And if objectivity is *not* The Stranger's goal, that's fine with me - I just want to know that that's the way it is so I can assign the appropriate amount of credibility to your publication.

Roger, I don't want to seem to be too simplistic, but have you never heard the adage "No news is good news"?

If you want to read about the good side of Christians, and only the good side,start your own web log.

Lawrence Clark you do seem to be simple.

This is why churches hire an independent auditor to check the books.

Roger.

Christianity is an idiot religion for sex perverts.

Judaism is a true religion of righteousness. The Stranger is written for Seattle's Jewish readers. Christians should go to trash publications like PI or Seattle Times.