My Take of this "Messiah" On Trial
The first time I saw Wayne Bent in person, he was stepping through courthouse security in Taos, New Mexico. As he walked through the metal detector, he smiled at the heavy-set security guard watching the x-ray machine. Bent appeared skinnier and much frailer in person. He looked more like an unassuming elderly man you would find casually browsing through a grocery store aisle. Certainly no security threat, I thought.
And then I saw his power.
After making his way through security, Bent stood in the small, cramped courthouse lobby, surrounded by twenty or thirty of his followers. They encircled him like mute paparazzi with stoic faces. Some of the women focused upon him with an obvious deep admiration. Bent spoke quietly among them, often focusing on one person at a time, talking with them as if they were the only person in the room. This guy is God among these folks, I thought. They honestly believe he's divine.
As the courtroom doors opened for the first day of his trial, Bent and his followers stepped into the hallway. The women and men followed behind him like a scene from the New Testament. I thought to myself, all this guy needs is a pair of sandals, a staff and he could part the Red Sea.
"I saw the sadness on his face when he expressed disappointment that he couldn't sit next to his wife. He spoke of her as if she was a million miles away."
For the next six days of the trial, I watched Bent's followers obsess over him like this. Where he would walk, they would follow. When he would speak, they would listen intently. It was obvious this man was their leader and their god, even though Bent routinely denied a leadership role within his church.
Then I finally met former members of the church who didn't sit among Bent's followers in the courtroom. They sat on the other side of room, obviously segregating themselves from the church members, or vice-versa. One man who made an impression on me was Johnny Miller. He wore a beard and was friendly and jovial. He looked like he could drive a tractor well. I thought it would be fun to watch a football game with him.
I interviewed Miller outside the courthouse about his time with the Lord Our Righteousness Church. He spoke of spending years with the cult, isolated from conventional society. That was fascinating in itself, but what was even more touching was when he spoke of his wife who is still a Bent follower.
I saw the sadness on his face when he expressed disappointment that he couldn't sit next to his wife. He spoke of her as if she was a million miles away. It was then when I clearly saw the darkside of LOR. There is nothing divine about it.
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1 Comment
i couldnt find a button that would let me start a new blog,,so i'll coment here,,all those people are village idiots to follow a pervert in the name of god,,i'ld have called him out long before he put the moves on somebodies wife or daughter,,and showed him to be a fraud and a false profit,,i used to believe in god and know the bible better than most,,and the bible gives certain protocals to the coming of the messiah,,or the second coming of jesus christ,,none of those wayne bent fits,,how can people be such fools,,when i was taught about god and christianity,,i was but a young child and fell victom to the brainwashing of forced oppinion,,but as an adult,,i saw the truth of a non exsistant god and realized i had been duped into a social control machine that wasnt even part of the present,but made for a past culture that hadnt the knowlege and science we have today,,god is and was an invention to govern and control a social group,,in my book all churches and religions are cults,,people should live to enhance humanity and themselves,,not by thier guilt in fear of punishment from a god for so called sins,,but those who follow the wages of sin concept should stone wayne bent for his sins,,he's nothin more than a pervert and a pedafile with a persuasive wrap,,he obviously has some gift of gab to get some people to follow him,although hearin him speak on tv in court,,i couldnt see it,,so did that nut job that poisioned all those people on that island,,or that waco fool,,all those cults require are fools to follow thier con,,if we would teach our children to worship the human race and seek to better that through education and science,,then there would be no more cults to follow into stupdity,,wake up america,,if it smells like ignorance,,it is,,how lonely and needy do you have to be to follow such obvious bullcrap for attention or be a part of something,,i've been isolated for 12 yrs now sense i broke my back,,i know alone,,i know what it feels like to desire to be a part of life but denied at every door tried to open,,but i am in no way desperate enuff to fall for junk like wayne bent,,i'ld rather die isolated than to be looked upon like a fool and an idiot for following a fool and an idiot,,there are wise men that thier sayings can enhance the human race,,such as con fu ses,,many others,,even some of the bibles content can be used as a selfhelp book and is all it should be used for and nothing more,,too many people have used that book, or in the name of god, to destroy mankind and hinder the progress of humanity,,when we as a people decide to follow ourselves and denounce religious holds over us,,then we will truely evolve into a people that will not fall victom to cults or any other scams that lessons the value of humanity,,,,lol,,i could start a cult with as much ignorant people that are out there,,but why would i want to lesson myself by scammin folks into a belief,,taking advantage of folks is cruel and a practice used to much here in the states,,probaly in the whole world,,heard in a song once''you gotta stand for somethin or you'll fall for anything'',,sounds like those who follow cults are more crippled then me,,its just thier minds that are broke and not the body,,i've said enuff on this,,i'm back on the side lookin in
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