ReButting Libelous U*U BS On Religious Education Forums

A Google Alert on "Rev. Ray Drennan" bought my attention to some slanderous U*U BS posted by a Unitarian*Universalist U*U going by the handle 'Trey of Diamonds' on Religious Education Forums in response to a reasonable query about how U*Us respond to my ongoing protest against U*U injustices, abuses and hypocrisy posted by another member of said forum.

Herewith is my point-by-point rebuttal of Trey of Diamonds' insulting and defamatory U*U BS -

Trey of Diamonds is busy spreading the usual U*U misinformation and disinformation about this conflict. I will rebutt his U*U BS point-by-point below -

:I don't know all the history here but it sure looks like one persons crusade against the UU church and a minister he feels has slighted him.

For someone who starts out claiming not to know all the the history of this conflict, and it is obvious from his ignorant comments that he knows very little of the actual U*U history involved here, Trey goes on to pretend that he knows more than he does. . . If I am engaged in a "one person crusade" against U*U injustices, abuses and hypocrisy it might be because so few U*Us are prepared to support people who fight against internal U*U injustices and abuses. Trey could just as well say that "uugrrl" who started the 'Speaking truth To Power' blog is involved in a "one person crusade" against the UUA's pathetic response to clergy sexual misconduct committed by U*U ministers but, the fact that she is fighting alone in no way invalidates her "crusade".

http://uutruth.blogspot.com

All it proves is that U*Us are no better at supporting good people fighting against clergy sexual misconduct than people fighting against the anti-religious intolerance and bigotry that is way too prevalent in the "tiny, declining, fringe religion" known as Unitarian*Universalism aka U*Uism.

Trey engages in what Dee Miller calls DIM Thinking by trying to Deny, Ignore, and Minimize the legitimacy and seriousness of my grievances by suggesting that I was only "slighted' by a U*U minister. Sorry Trey but Rev. Ray Drennan's intolerant and abusive behaviour went well beyond just slighting me. He deeply insulted me and maliciously defamed me and he is guilty of deeply insulting many other people with his intolerant anti-religious bigotry. But this is only the tip of the iceberg because the Unitarian Church of Montreal, the UUA, and thousands of individual U*Us have chosen to condone and even effectively endorse the anti-religious intolerance and bigotry of Rev. Ray Drennan and indeed other Atheist Supremacist "Humanist U*Us". Anti-Christian, and more broadly anti-religious intolerance and bigotry is a serious problem within the U*U "religious community", one that U*Us are now reluctantly acknowledging in various ways. . .

:He is obviously self righteous and is incapable of considering the fact that he might be wrong.

Actually that description would be better applied to Rev. Ray Drennan and no shortage of other U*Us who are obviously self-righteous and chronically unready, obstinately unwilling, and pathologically unable to consider the fact that *they* might be wrong. . . Wrong about labeling me as a "crazy" "psychotic" "nutcase" etc. etc. ad nauseum, wrong about falsely and maliciously labeling Creation Day as a "cult" and even insinuating a possible link between Creation Day and the notorious 'Solar Temple' suicide cult, wrong about mocking and ridiculing my own and other people's monotheistic religious beliefs, wrong about a whole host of other issues which most people of intelligence and conscience will agree that U*Us are dead wrong about. . .

:His actions have obliviously caused a great deal of pain and suffering to innocent people and he could care less.

Trey presents little or no evidence to support his brazen *self-righteous* assertion that my actions, which consist almost entirely of writing legitimate letters of grievance, peaceful public protest against well-documented U*U injustices, abuses and hypocrisy, and blogging about them on The Emerson Avenger blog, have caused "a great deal of pain and suffering" to U*Us. Trey can present even less evidence that would show that these U*Us are "innocent people". . . nor can he prove that I don't care about any suffering that some U*Us may have actually incurred as a result of my legitimate protest against diverse U*U injustices and abuses and not just those that directly affect me personally. To put it bluntly Trey is just blowing it out his U*U here. . . I can provide plenty of evidence that U*Us have caused me and other "innocent people" a certain amount of "pain and suffering" and that U*Us clearly behave in ways that strongly suggest that they could not care less about the pain and suffering that they cause to me and too many other people, including victims of U*U clergy sexual misconduct.

:All he cares about is holding up his victim status like a badge of honor

ROTFLMU*UO! At least I am not paying thousands of dollars to shamelessly and hypocritically advertise my "victim status" in the New York Times and other U.S. newspapers and magazines etc. Trey. . .

http://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/117829.shtml

http://www.uua.org/documents/stew-dev/knoxville_ad.pdf

I might add that I am hardly playing the poor beleaguered victim in either my public protest against U*U anti-religious bigotry and other U*U injustices and abuses or in my blogging on The Emerson *Avenger* blog am I Trey? No, if anyone is "playing the victim" in this matter (to say nothing of others) it is outrageously hypocritical U*Us who pretend to have been victimized by yours truly. Indeed Trey is trying to pretend that far from innocent U*Us are "innocent people" who I have "obliviously caused a great deal of pain and suffering to". . . N'est-ce pas Trey?

:and hammering away at those who he feels have been unjust towards him.

Actually I am "hammering away" at outrageously hypocritical U*Us who I *know* have been unjust towards me and a good number of other people who they have not so obliviously caused various degrees of "pain and suffering" to Trey. . .

:He's a classic Narcissist and possibly a sociopath. A true challenge to the inherent worth and dignity principle.

Here we go again. A foolish U*U self-righteously, and more than a little bit self-servingly. . . "diagnosing" me as being seriously mentally ill in order to further marginalize me and to further the U*U agenda of presenting themselves as victims rather than victimizers. Isn't this how this conflict began when Rev. Ray Drennan falsely and maliciously labeled me as "psychotic"? I had no trouble obtaining letters from a qualified psychiatrist stating that he could find "no traces of psychoses" in me but correctly noting that I had been "distressed" by Rev. Ray Drennan and other intolerant and abusive U*U "casting aspersions" on my sanity even though I never sought that statement from him. If Trey wants to talk about classic Narcissists he would do well to rake a closer look at some of his fellow U*Us. I dare say that U*Uism as a "religious community" exhibits a more than a little bit of classic Narcissism. . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism

http://www.narcissism.operationdoubles.com/

As far as me being a sociopath goes there is rather more evidence that Rev. Ray Drennan and other U*Us fit that bill to say nothing of the Unitarian Church of Montreal and the UUA acting in ways that can be justifiably described as being sociopathic at the institutional level. I dare say that Trey just might be well be engaging in some psychological projection by labeling me as "a classic Narcissist and possibly a sociopath."

:As to his religious beliefs, I'm happy he found a path that works for him but that doesn't excuse his behavior.

What behavior Trey? What about the behaviour of Rev. Ray Drennan, Frank Greene, John Inder, and other U*Us who falsely and maliciously labeled Creation Day as a "cult" and even insinuated a link to the notorious "Solar Temple" suicide cult? What about the well-documented behaviour of the Unitarian Church of Montreal's Board and congregation who not only turned a blind eye to this and other intolerant and abusive behaviour that made a total mockery of U*U principles but who even sought to silence and suppress my legitimate grievances and punished me with expulsions because I refused to shut up? What about the UUA and its very aptly named Ministerial Fellowship Committee who pretended that Rev. Ray Drennan's anti-religious intolerance and bigotry "seemed to us to be within the appropriate guidelines of ministerial leadership? Believe me Trey the very well documented behavior of U*Us is far from excusable and much of it makes a total mockery of the purported principles and purposes, to say nothing of other fraudulent claimed ideals of the U*U "religion". In fact, over the course of this conflict from its earliest stages right up to the most recent developments, U*Us have repeatedly and quite flagrantly disregarded and flaunted their claimed principles and ideals when they have not knowingly and willfully broken their fraudulent "covenants".

:Yep, that's exactly what happened.

Wrong. Try again. Enter into a genuinely free and *responsible* search for the truth and meaning of this "war of words" and learn some shameful U*U history Trey. . .

:The church in question spent a decade trying to reconcile with the man and in the end asked him to leave the church.

Wrong again Trey. The Unitarian Church of Montreal, to say nothing of the UUA and CUC. . . did nothing of the sort. From Day One of this conflict the UCM did everything that it could to pretend that Rev. Ray Drennan had done nothing wrong and repeatedly pretended that the "case" was "closed" in order to avoid holding him accountable for his unbecoming conduct. The Board of the Unitarian church of Montreal set up a so-called Disruptive Behaviour Committee whose sole task was to threaten me with expulsion from the UCM for doing nothing more than calmly and peacefully distributing legitimate letters of grievance to "church" members following Sunday services. Does that sound like trying to reconcile with me Trey. You are either stunningly ignorant about the true history of this dispute (as your opening statement would suggest. . .) or you are a brazen liar Trey. Just where did you get it into your head that the alleged Unitarian Church of Montreal "spent a decade trying to reconcile" with me prior to asking me to leave the church? This is pure unadulterated U*U BS. They only question is whether or not it is ignorant delusional thinking on your part, or misinformation and disinformation that has been fed to you by the Unitarian Church of Montreal or indirectly by other U*Us who themselves may have been lied to by the UCM.

The fact of the matter is that I was threatened with expulsion from the Unitarian Church of Montreal in the earliest stages of this conflict by none other than Rev. Dr. John Buehrens who was president of the UUA at the time. The UCM set up its Disruptive Behaviour Committee which misused and abused the UUA's Disruptive Behavior Policy in a deeply misguided and outrageously hypocritical effort to silence my legitimate criticism in January of 1997, less than 2 years after my initial letters of grievance. I was expelled for six months later in 1997 for doing nothing more than submitting an important letter of grievance to the UCM's Board that could have led to a genuinely just, equitable and compassionate resolution to the conflict in mid-1997 had they responsibly acted upon its contents rather than unjustly expelling me for six months. Upon my return I made it clear that the conflict remained unresolved and that I expected to Unitarian Church of Montreal to practice what it so hypocritically preached about justice, equity and compassion in human relations. When the UCM refused to change its position of pretending the matter was closed I began my peaceful public protest against the anti-religious intolerance and bigotry that I had been subjected to by rev. Ray Drennan and other Atheist Supremacist Montreal Unitarians and the related injustices, abuses and hypocrisy of the Unitarian Church of Montreal and UUA in May of 1998.

http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1998/060498/news5.html


I was soon expelled for an additional full year by the UCM' s Board in violation of the bylaw that they had created which called for a congregational meeting to vote to permanently expel me from this alleged Unitarian church. One of the motivations of my decision to publicly protest was to force the Board of the UCM to engage in a more open and democratic process in the dispute by calling for a congregational meeting but they balked because they knew that they might not win if it came to a vote at that stage of the conflict. They spent more than a year building up resentment in the congregation and then finally help the congregational meeting that they should have held in mid-1998 in late 1999. They had carefully manipulated this U*U "democracy" and had fed the congregation a pack of lies that I had little opportunity to challenge and, when their lobbying and polling of congregants assured then that they would get the majority needed to permanently expel me they held that fateful meeting on November 22nd of 1999. So just where is that alleged decade of trying to reconcile with me Trey? I was permanently expelled from the Unitarian Church of Montreal less than five years after filing my initial grievance against Rev. Ray Drennan. Allow me to repeat that you are either delusional, a liar, or uncritically passing on bullshit that has been fed to you by Montreal Unitarians or other U*Us who have been fed the same U*U BS and swallowed it hook, line and sinker without engaging in a free and responsible search for the (lack of) truth and meaning of that and other U*U BS. . .

:His choice to use the Catholic term excommunicated was to a deliberate attempt to highten his victim status.

Wrong again Trey. First of all it is a legitimate use of the word. I have been excommunicated, according to the dictionary (definition) of that word, by the Unitarian church of Montreal. I also used that word as a play on words in that my expulsion had everything to do with Montreal Unitarian U*Us and other U*Us wanting to X my communication with them. Right? I have no need to heighten my victim status when U*Us go out of their way to enhance it on an ongoing basis. . .

:The entire story is a travisty and I feel for the church who has to put up with this man's abuse and abuse it certianly is, boh m0ntally and spiritually.

Well that sentence would work just perfectly if the "this man" referred to Rev. Ray Drennan or some other abusive U*Us at the Unitarian Church of Montreal. The entire story is indeed a travesty and it is outrageously hypocritical Unitarian*Universalist U*Us who have caused it to be a travesty. Through their outrageously hypocritical words and actions U*Us have made a travesty of everything that U*Uism fraudulently pretends to stand for. Montreal Unitarian U*Us, UUA officials, no shortage of U*U clergy and plenty of other individual U*Us like yourself Trey have made a complete travesty of U*U principles and ideals.

http://www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml

Let's see now. . .

Just how have U*Us affirmed and promoted my inherent worth and dignity in this matter Trey?

Just how have U*Us affirmed and promoted justice, equity and compassion in their human relations with me?

Just how have U*Us affirmed and promoted acceptance of me and encouragement to my spiritual growth in U*U congregations?

Have U*Us engaged in a genuinely free and *responsible* search for truth and meaning in this matter Trey? I think not and your own ignorant spouting here is a fine example of how U*Us have abjectly failed and obstinately refused to *responsibly* search for the truth and meaning that is the proverbial "root cause" of this conflict. Not only have U*Us refused to look for the truth and meaning of this matter but they have repeatedly done all kinds of things to try to cover-up and hide the truth and distort the meaning of this conflict. U*Us have told no shortage of highly misleading half-truths and outright lies throughout the course of this dispute and other willfully ignorant U*Us who could not care less about the truth happily propagate these U*U lies and indeed U*U defamation and slander.

U*Us have trampled all over my right of conscience and have misused and abused the democratic process within U*U congregations. Indeed U*Us have misused and abused Canadian law in society at large in their misguided attempts to censor and suppress my legitimate criticism and dissent.

And what about that "goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all" Trey? Heck, Unitarian*Universalist U*Us abjectly fail and obstinately refuse to do what is necessary to work towards (let alone actually achieve) that goal within the "tiny" and "declining" U*U World. So how can U*Us expect to set an example for the whole wide real world Trey?

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which U*Us are a part? Most U*Us don't have a clue just how interconnected and interdependent that "web" is let alone genuinely respect it. If they did this conflict would have ended well before I began publicly protesting against intolerant and abusive U*U disrespect for that web in 1998 and it certainly would not still be unresolved in 2008 with little hope for being resolved before the beginning of the second decade of the third millennium. . . No, if U*Us actually practiced any of the foregoing principles with even half-hearted sincerity and only half-assed integrity this conflict would have ended over a decade a go but because U*Us are so oblivious to the pain and suffering they cause to innocent people and so obviously self-righteous and chronically unready, obstinately unwilling and pathologically incapable of considering the fact that U*Us might be wrong about a few things, this conflict will likely continue for several more years if not a few more decades. . . In fact it will continue until U*Us responsibly acknowledge the pain and suffering they have caused me and other innocent people and admit the wrongdoing that they are clearly and unequivocally guilty of perpetrating, and indeed irresponsibly perpetuating. . . against me and other victims of diverse U*U injustices and abuses.

Allah prochaine,

The Dagger Of Sweet Reason aka The Emerson Avenger aka Robin Edgar

For the record, you will not find the above post or any other comment posted by me in that thread since the "moderators" aka censors at Religious Education Forums decided that they constituted "personal insults" and deleted them all. They also permanently banned me from posting to Religious Education Forums for pointing out the hypocritical double standards they were exercising in their "moderation" aka censorship of my comments. More about that later.

Comments

Anonymous said…
blah, blah, blah

Trey of Diamonds
Unknown said…
This Trey guy is rather smug isn't he. It doesn't matter what the merits of your complaints are, nobody claiming to a caring and compassionate person should be so dismissive of another person's pain nor should they take such a cavalier attitude. I hope he never has reason for complaint that falls on such deaf ears as his own.
Anonymous said…
Hi Mystic,

I suppose I could come across as smug. After all, a complete stranger joined a forum I was a long time member of and proceeded to attack and slander me with no regard what so ever to the rules of the forum. I'm happy that the moderators took swift action to maintain a respectful location for intellectuals to discuss their religion and the religions of others without having to put up with the ravings of madmen.

There are also rules of conduct within a society and a community as well. Robin broke the rules of the community he was a part of and was asked to leave. Now he persecutes them while screaming that he is the one being persecuted. I only hope he doesn't escalate to the point of breaking the rules of society as well. We don't need another Knoxville.

Trey of Diamonds
Unknown said…
Trey, I wouldn't be talking about respectful when you are trying to imply that the owner of the blog you are currently posting on is unstable and likely to commit such an act. Why should that site be considered respectful when people like you are allowed to post and not Robin? Why can you post about his situation there but he cannot? Were you involved in the situation or are you here to assert that Robin is a liar on hearsay? What am I supposed to think when most of your comments are ad hominem attacks? You cast aspersions as to his character when he has a track record of non-violent protest. All you do is convince me that there is substance to his claims.
Anonymous said…
You're welcome to your opinion my friend. Robin isn't alowed to post at RF because of his actions, plain and simple. I don't believe I have said that Robin is a lair, only that he attacks first and never asks questions. This is a man who uses the symbol U*U to describe me and my religion. You do know what that symbol is referencing don't you? Aren't I simply involved in my own non-violent protest of said protestor? My observations of Robins actions may seem like attacks but I'm merely calling it like I see it.

Trey of Diamonds
Unknown said…
I am also a UU and I have no problem with his use of U*U. You may think that you are involved in a non-violent protest but to compare his actions to the events of the Knoxville tragedy is disgusting. I don't see it as non-violent when someone is willing to use such a tactic to discredit another person. If your observations lead you to such conclusions then I don't see how you could ever listen someones complaints without fearing for your life.
If he truly attacks first then he may have reason to as it seems no one ever listens. All I hear from his opponents is that he did wrong. What I hear from him leads me to beleive that he was wronged and although he may not have handled it well it was the responsibility of the minister and lay leadership to lead the way to reconciliation. This kind of never ending resentment and conflict can do the church no good.
I come from a congregation where the implementation of UUA guidelines lead to the suicide of a member. There was no compassion shown at that time by the committee responsible and the church has been deeply scarred ever since. Our new minister wants to address the issue rather than ignore it the way the old one did.
I am lucky that in recent years the membership of my congregation has truly diversified to include many beliefs and lifestyles or I suspect that it may have ended the same way as the church in Montreal.
Anonymous said…
Mystic,

I'm sorry to hear about the tragedy in your church and I'm sorry if my speaking in my own defense upsets you as well. And I am speaking in my defense. Robin did not come to me and say Hey, you don't understand what's going on. Here are the facts. He attacked me in a very aggresive manner. He was beligerent and disrespectful not just to me but to everyone who was reading his tirade. If he wishes to be taken seriously then he will have to tone down his responses and approach people with respect and maybe he will get some in return. It is too late with me and I suspect it is time for me to bow out and let Karma take over. I leave you with a quote from Shaw. "Never wresle with pigs, you get dirty and the pig likes it."

Trey of Diamonds.
Unknown said…
I did say that I felt Robin didn't handle things the best way, but I also felt that your methods were unacceptable. I know people who are enamored with the UU church and it worries me that they can't see that the church is made up of fallible people who commit horrible acts the same way any other church does. Many people defend the UU church purely because it is a liberal church and claims to be supportive of open minded ideals. Many of the most closed minded people I have ever met are liberals. Just as they can be conservatives, whether it be religion or politics.
I just want to give Robin a chance to have his say to me and to defend himself.
Anonymous said…
Mystic,

Robin had his chance and his actions are what has made it difficult for people to hear him. You seem willing to discuss things reasonably and if you wish to champion Robin's cause you should have every right to be heard. Feel free to join RF and participate in the discussion that is still ongoing. You will not be banned just because you agree with Robin and since you are able to hold a respectful conversation you will be welcomed.

Maybe Robin just needs someone a little less passionate to explain his case. I admit the possiblity.

Trey of Diamonds
Chalicechick said…
((I know people who are enamored with the UU church and it worries me that they can't see that the church is made up of fallible people who commit horrible acts the same way any other church does.)))

Yeah, to me the fundamental truth of the matter is that UU churches are made up of human beings like any other church. Sometimes human beings do great things, sometimes they make mistakes.

I've never understood denying UUism's faults completely, but I've never understood focusing on UUism's faults completely the way Robin does either. I try for a balanced view to be critical when criticism is deserved and to praise when praise is deserved. It seems the most reasonable way to go.

And yeah, Trey probably is doing the same thing Robin did. I wish everyone involved could be a little quicker to listen and keep in mind that coming off as a jerk doesn't help people see your point of view.

CC
who suspects anyone who would commit suicide over an issue of church guidelines had many deeper problems, but certainly wishes your minister luck in resolving what sounds like a terrible wound, Mystic.
Anonymous said…
Doesnt anyone remember 'question everything'? Soo fed up w hoolabalooba spiritualism. By the way, the spirit (holy if u may along w every otha one)is our soul, soul is within n' thats who we r. N who r we? Our consciousness is aware of who, in our mind at least. Our psyche says how we r, n how we r says our psyche. But it it is materia, funktioning accordin physical laws.
Anonymous said…
religion is an obsticle in the way of human development