Agnostic.com

14 18

I have a friend, well more the husband of a friend who is an elder in the village church.
I discovered that his "sermons" are recorded online so I checked them out.
One was on "sexual morality". He prattled on about our bodies being gods and more or less everybody is a sinner, except him of course.
This is a guy who's wife was in a nursing home suffering from advanced dementia and he started dating a local woman, a good friend of mine.
They went away for frequent weekends together much to the disgust of his grown up children. One weekend they were away together when he got word that his wife had died and they had to rush home.;
What a bloody hypocrite but it does give a new meaning to "lay preacher" I suppose πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜‰

Moravian 8 May 26
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

14 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

Christianists wear hypocrisy like a badge of honor.

2

My wife had dementia for the last six years of her life, but I took my wedding vows seriously, honored the, and never thought of abandoning her or cheating on her, even tho she probably no longer even knew who I was, much less had any idea what I was doing away from her, during the last several months of her life. To me, the point is not whether she was aware of what was going on, or what I was doing away from my visits to her nursing home, but that I knew what I was doing, and that I would have to live with whatever decisions I made, regarding whether to seek comfort with another woman or not, etc.. I was not good with doing that, so I didn't, even tho, sure, it was lonely and very stressful. But that is what my friends were for, male and female, along with my therapist, and they all got me thru it. Did I begin looking to date fairly soon after she died? You bet I did, with no qualms or guilt, since I had begun anticipatory grieving almost two years before she actually died, because by then I had already lost the person she used to be, and I knew she would probably die within two years. As for other people, who do choose to seek comfort, as you say, after becoming a dementia spouse, and becoming medically separated from their partner, as I was, I make no judgement of them and their choices, as long as they are being honest with themselves and others about it. I have also seen at least several women on dating sites that were in this situation, as dementia spouses, and they were open in their profiles about their situation and what they were seeking. I chose not to message any of them with any interest in dating them, simply told them I understood their situation, and had been there myself.

I am sorry to hear about your late wife. That must have been very difficult.
Dementia is a horrible affliction and I have known a few people who have died after a slow decline . I wish my friend and her new husband well and they seem to be happy but I think he was being a bit hypocritical preaching about sexual morality and all the people who have failed to live up his high moral standards when he was according to the church teachings being anything but moral,

1

Typical hypocrite asshole, but they come in all stripes, both religious and non religious.

3

NOMB

6

My problem wit this is the holier than thou thing.

You mean, like the OP?

@annewimsey500 Yep. I doubt that anyone with dementia and in a home knows what their spouse is doing and maybe has not enough mental ability left to care. Dementia does not heal itself.

9

Like @annewimsey500, I also don't have a problem with the spouse of a dementia patient seeking comfort with someone else. It's often a long, arduous, torturous disease for all involved that alienates the patient's loved ones, sometimes for years. I know someone whose husband was bedridden with it for almost 12 years.

I do, however, have a problem with the hypocrisy, but I find that to be synonymous with the hierarchy of all churches. Perhaps you are more disappointed in your friend?

Lauren Level 8 May 26, 2024
8

I actually have no problem when one's spouse is permanently in a nursing home (with "severe dementia" leading obviously to death) with seeking comfort......that is completely personal and none of anybody's business.
I would have a problem with him being holier-than-thou but I have not read the actual piece you cite.
I Must figure that you have no problems in your own life and you are perfect in every way,

Ha ha. Of course I am perfect. I am very happy for the couple who are now happily married. It was his sanctimonious tone that I found nauseating. Talking about other church members who had strayed.
He also talked about pornography and how he had helped other church members. Not sure if that was to get some or stop watching it. Next time I see him I will ask him πŸ˜‰

1

look things in the face and see them for what they truly are.

9

Hey, do as I say, not as I do.

3

I just prayed that your friend dumps his ass!! πŸ™πŸ˜‡πŸ™

1

Whatta pos…..πŸ˜’

6

Well, so much for honoring his wedding vows eh???

11

I remember when I was growing up, my parents punished us not by the wrongness of our deeds but by the embarrassment they experience if people found out. Religion is all about projecting a righteous image, not about actually living th teaching of whatever church it is.

The main problem is that churches stated ethics, for the most part, don't match up very well with actual human behavior. Thus, people will commit "sins" and they can used guilt shame and fear to manipulate and have power over their members.

LOL My mom would actually say - 'what will the neighbors say?' When she realized how truly deeply I did not care what the neighbors thought she feared me. She was not a church goer nor terribly religious just very concerned about appearances.

@silverotter11 Well, I have often said that humans evolved instincts to gather in groups for safety. A sense of belonging to a group generally gives a persons a sense of well being. I can see how your mother would have been disconcerted by your not caring what the neighbors think, as from an animal instinct perspective, it endangered her standing in her "village", which caused her fear as she might be judges as not fitting in or belonging.

Humans do act on animal instincts a great deal, and are often motivated by instincts and make decisions based in emotions (how our animal instincts get expressed). Humans are not even nearly as evolved as we generally like to believe we are.

My parents were religious, but were not happy. Mostly because even though they did everything the church told them to, the promised rewards of family harmony never came about.

@silverotter11 My parents were always very concerned about appearances, which caused a great amount of conflict between them and me, since I didn't give a damn about that, and it also angered me that they kept such a phony public image of themselves and their marriage, compared to the reality that I and my siblings witnessed at home with them..

10

Hypocrisy seems to be a common trait in the religious. Makes their lives sooooo much easier!

So they think….πŸ€”

@Aaron70 There are times (not many but a few) when I wish there really might be a "hell!"

@pamagain I wish that every day!! I want them all to burn, especially Oompah Loompahβ€¦β€¦πŸ™πŸ˜‡πŸ™

I open my door some days just to see if everyone got raptured up…..I figure things will be much more peaceful for a few years at least after they all float off up into the sky!?!😎

@Aaron70 I've always promised to rescue their pets....and their jewelry. πŸ™‚

Write Comment More
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:756895
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.