Blake Lorenz:
From Right Wing Watch (Sept. 1)"These are the last days; these are the end times," he said, "and this conflict between Islam and Christianity is going to grow greater. This conflict between good and evil is going to grow greater."
If Rifqa's claims are indeed false, that raises the question of whether she may have been prodded by her new friends at Global Revolution Church to make the death-threat accusations, and whether she was somehow lured to Orlando by the Lorenzes via the Internet.
Mat Staver [sic], the Lorenzes' lawyer and longtime friend, said there is "no solid basis for the complaint" filed against them.
Perhaps
you remember the name Mat Stavor from other articles: he's the Dean of
Liberty University School of Law, the man who put together a "brief"
list of wrongs about the Health Care Reform Bill (128 - all debunked)
and the good friend of not only the Lorenzes, but of Rick Joyner of "I
met Jesus and some saints" fame. Read HERE and HERE.
Sept. 14, The Orlando Sentinel:
The Ohio teen had planned locations thousands of miles away from her home -- known as "fire drills" -- where she could seek refuge. Orlando was her "primary planned sanctuary," and that's exactly where Rifqa ended up in July.
Those were among the details of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report that said investigators found no credible reports of threats toward the 17-year-old runaway.
Of
course, the FDL report has been attacked by the right-wing media. But
just look at the dates: even after the FDL report came out, and even
after press had speculated that Rifqa would be returned to her family,
Rifqa's story of abuse, "courage in her flight," and love of Jesus
Christ have been spotlighted and expanded. But for who's benefit?
Rifqa's?
The Ohio teen had planned locations thousands of miles away from her home -- known as "fire drills" -- where she could seek refuge. Orlando was her "primary planned sanctuary," and that's exactly where Rifqa ended up in July. Those were among the details of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report that said investigators found no credible reports of threats toward the 17-year-old runaway.
(and later, on Sept. 25th) A Muslim girl who gave her heart to Jesus and then ran away to Christian evangelists in Orlando is not just any Christian. She is driven to save souls and prays that God will make her a prophet.
That's according to writings she left behind when she fled.
It's amazing how Christofascists (aka, the Christian Right) can cling to something so flimsy as a youthful but deluded zealot, a girl who swore she was a Christian since she was 13, who swore that her parents (who knew of her conversion for at least a year) would murder her, who planned her "escape" well in advance, and who hopes to become a "prophet" for Christ.The Department of Children and Families is trying to figure out who arranged for Fathima Rifqa Bary to join-in on a conference call with "thousands" of people and on which the 17-year-old delivered her testimony and a frenzied prayer.
Aren't these the same people who spirited away a young gay man named Bryce Faulkner to be "cured" by bogus "ex-gay" (reparative) therapy? As always with Christofascists, their actions are deeply rooted in hypocrisy. Faulkner has not been heard from in three months.
So to Christofascists who are always coming up with standard-bearers for their part in the culture war, I have to say:
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