Sunday, May 14, 2023

The Song of the Slandered: Psalm 109 (BSB)

O God of my praise,
be not silent.
For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.
They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.
In return for my love they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.

Set over him a wicked man;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayer be regarded as sin.
May his days be few;
may another take his position.
May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
May his children wander as beggars,
seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.
May the creditor seize all he owns,
and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
May there be no one to extend kindness to him,
and no one to favor his fatherless children.
May his descendants be cut off;
may their name be blotted out from the next generation.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
and the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
May their sins always remain before the LORD,
that He may cut off their memory from the earth.

For he never thought to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy and brokenhearted,
even to their death.
The cursing that he loved,
may it fall on him;
the blessing in which he refused to delight,
may it be far from him.
The cursing that he wore like a coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
and into his bones like oil.
May it be like a robe wrapped about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
May this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.

But You, O GOD, the Lord,
deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name;
deliver me by the goodness of Your loving devotion.
For I am poor and needy;
my heart is wounded within me.
I am fading away like a lengthening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body grows lean and gaunt.
I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.

Help me, O LORD my God;
save me according to Your loving devotion.
Let them know that this is Your hand,
that You, O LORD, have done it.
Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace;
may they wear their shame like a robe.
With my mouth I will thank the LORD profusely;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.
For He stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from the condemners of his soul.

Friday, May 5, 2023

The Reconciliation of Slander (Flower Moon Rising)

Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks
or the church of God.
1 Corinthians 10:32 (NIV) ✝

This reconciliation of slander is based on, and derived from, the case files of Alfred Wiggins Jr., a.k.a. 'The Host'.

Those files currently include: Alfred Wiggins Jr. v. Bridgewater State College and another, and Alfred W. Wiggins, Jr. vs. Crossroads Rhode Island and Housing Opportunities Corporation.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 (ESV) ✝

On the day of the events that led up to the lawsuit against Bridgewater State College, the Host was a Buddhist lay-priest in the Order of Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA) and a veteran of the United States military.

The Host is no longer a Buddhist, but there are points of contention concerning slanders against his character, his former spiritual practice and his military service record that must be meticulously attended to and effectively reconciled.

At issue are four slanderous statements made by school psychologist Dr. Grace Seibert-Larke (and her colleagues), at Bridgewater State College, (now Bridgewater State University) in Bridgewater, Massachusetts on April 15, 2004.

Let those who are experts at cursing— whose cursing could rouse Leviathan— curse that day.
Job 3:8 (NLT) ✝

What follows are the four slanders levied against the Host on April 15, 2004:

1. Dr. Grace Siebert-Larke told BSC Campus Police Chief David Tillinghast that the Host was bringing weapons to campus with the intention of hurting people. That statement led to what is now known as the Ambush at Bridgewater State College, when the campus police to treated the Host as a threat to the rest of the campus community.

During the interaction between the Host and Chief Tillinghast, the Host invited the Chief to search him and his car. The Chief accepted his invitation, and campus police officers conducted an extensive search, but failed to find weapons of any kind.

2. Dr. Grace Siebert-Larke reported that the Host was kicked out of the service on 'drug charges'. The truth is that he was honorably discharged after over six years of loyal service in the United States Army.

3. Dr. Siebert-Larke also misrepresented the Host's honorable service that day when she told other campus employees that he had been a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, which was totally false.

The Host began his military career as an enlisted man in combat arms as an artilleryman. When he re-enlisted, the Host became a member of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps where he remained until the end of his time in service.

These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed.
2 Peter 2:12 (NLT) ✝

4. According to the Summary Judgement of Alfred Wiggins Jr. vs Bridgewater State College, Dr. Siebert-Larke never met or examined the Host. However, she cited him in her records for dancing to 'Buddhistic music' in the privacy of his own home, and said that his dancing to religious music was evidence of 'mania'.

Before the day was over, Dr. Siebert-Larke used those slanders against the Host's spiritual practice as a pretext to have him involuntarily and forcibly hospitalized in the psych ward at Brockton Hospital in Brockton, Massachusetts.
Next time:
The Commiseration of Souls.
Matthew 6:6 (ESV) ✝

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:11 (ESV) ✝

The Abyss of Belial