STRATEGIES FOR THE USING THE CLERGY ABUSE FILES The Witch Hunter has absolutely no authori

From:    Ammond Shadowcraft

        STRATEGIES FOR THE USING THE CLERGY ABUSE FILES

  The Witch Hunter has absolutely no authority to decided who has and
  has not the Spirit of Christ living within. Only their God has that
  privilege. They can reference only themselves. When they say these
  people aren't Christians, they are in "sin". They can't make that
  determination.

  The _status_ of Christian for these perpetrators is irrelevant. As
  long as these folks come from within the Christian churches they
  will have to look for the abusers there. There is ample proof that
  these folks are there in numbers.

  Just today the media released information on a Denver Area youth
  minister (for three Pres. churches), Bryan Bush, 31, who molested 30
  boys on 50 occasions. This announcement is many years after the
  fact. The victims are now grown. The abuse in the witch hunter's
  church, if it exists, is hidden and will have to be ferreted out. It
  was a psychologist in Texas who reported the abuse in Colorado to
  Denver authorities. They can't fully deny abuse until they have
  taken a close look at their churches.

  Don't attack the hardened spear point. Attack the softest part of
  the organization. The soft hand and foot provide the support for the
  spear tip. Metaphorically get behind the witch hunter and attack
  there. Write to or talk with the directors of the organization. Time
  will take its toll.

  We let the witch hunting organizations know that the 'evil one' is
  within their midst. [After all he is.] They should be looking there
  for their quarry. We provide scriptural support for cleaning their
  house. Tell them to take the mote out of their own eyes. Also that
  they are hypocrites for taking money looking for Satanists outside
  the church when their own ranks are affected. We let them know that
  the media is looking at them as they decide to clean their house. We
  substitute for the _invisible_ Satanist for the extremely _visable_
  and possibly abusive Clergyman or layperson.

  Send a copy to your local medias. Let them know that abuse exists in
  the Clergy's ranks. Send copies of clippings of abuse you get from
  friends. Posit that the witch hunters are askew and possibly hiding
  clergy abuse within their ranks. That's reasonable to say because
  many churches and organizations cover up the abuse for years before
  the victims break the news to the public.

  A hidden fundamentalist sect in Colorado Springs (with no name
  non-the-less) abused children and women for years. A girlfriend's 2
  year-old boy was a victim. The small, unwatched fundamentalist
  groups that spring up around a charismatic pastor are the most
  likely to suffer and hide abuse. Generally these groups have no
  building nor standard meeting place. They will be hard to find. The
  higher the internal pressure to perform the higher the repression,
  the higher the chance of abuse. Keep you ears open for rumor.

  Shift the burden of proof onto the witch hunters. Make them look
  over their shoulders for the investigative reporter, the listening
  ear, the photographic eye. Provide reasonable suspicion and doubt.
  What their say and how they respond is _not_ important. What they
  think is. Over time they will either back off or go non-linear. Both
  responses can be used to turn public opinion against them.

  Shift the burden of proof onto the witch hunters. Make them prove
  they have cleaned their houses first. Let them laugh and scorn what
  they may. The media and the public opinion will water the seeds of
  doubt we plant. When they know we are watching them they will desist
  from their attacks.

  Copyright Ammond Shadowcraft March 1990