Christian Leaders Appalled at Hurtful Responses to Rick Warren's Family Tragedy

Colin Dye — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:34:42 +0000

Well-known Pastor Rick Warren’s personal tragedy of losing his son Matthew as the result of suicide last Friday has not only garnered sympathy and condolences from around the world, but also online vitriol from his detractors. Perhaps most disturbing to Warren and many in the Christian community is that some of the attacks have come from people professing to be Christians, as well.

Matthew Warren, son of pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.
Matthew Warren, son of pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California has taken his own life after years of struggle with mental illness

Warren posted through Facebook and Twitter: “Grieving is hard. Grieving as public figures, harder. Grieving while haters celebrate your pain, hardest. Your notes sustained us.”
Upon learning of the news of Mathew Warren’s death and the response on the Internet by some Christians, Beth Moore, founder of Living Proof Ministries, wrote in her blog post that after a mixture of emotions on Saturday, she became “madder and madder at the bullies in the Body of Christ.”
“I thought how much it turns out that the Warrens have been through personally and, if they are like most leaders, all the while putting out fires and putting up with a bunch of trash-talk from people who would call the same Jesus Lord,” Moore wrote. “God help us. In the words of James, these things should not be so, my brothers and sisters.”
Moore stated that she believes that no one in the Christian community thinks that leaders should be immune to questions, constructive criticism, and accountability.
“That’s not the kind of thing I’m talking about here. I’m talking about bullying. There are Scriptural means for going to a brother or sister to reason with them about matters we genuinely consider to be off base, misleading, or in error,” she said. “You and I both know that much of what happens out there in public forums is the furthest thing from biblical.”
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Her name was Amanda Todd…

Colin Dye — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:06:00 +0000

Tributes from across the world are being paid to a 15-year-old girl from Canada who killed herself after being bullied online.

Tributes from across the world are being paid to a 15-year-old girl from Canada who killed herself after being bullied online. Her name was Amanda Todd.

A memorial for Amanda Todd was held overnight in British Columbia, five days after she was found dead. It comes just five weeks after she uploaded a video to YouTube describing years of bullying that drove her to drugs and alcohol.
In the nine minute video she told her story with a set of handwritten notes. The recording, described as “haunting”, showed the cheerleader going into detail about what happened to her.
She said she was persuaded to expose her breasts to a stranger who then sent the photo to her school friends.
‘I need someone’
These images were then used to torment her on social media, she adds. The teenager changed schools repeatedly but this did not stop the bullying and she was physically attacked by classmates.

After a violent encounter with another girl, she wrote that she went home and drank bleach. “It killed me inside and I thought I actually was going to die.”
The last card on the YouTube video reads: “I have nobody. I need someone. My name is Amanda Todd.”

Link to the video? [warning-contains graphic images]

Deeply troubling. Her last words; “I have nobody…I need someone.” We can’t help but thinking that this tragedy could have been avoided. Brothers, sisters, pray for those around you and love them. This world is hurting. Many feel unloved and lonely..tell them that Jesus loves them and show them His love…

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” 1Peter 3.15

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suicide Archives - Colin Dye

Christian Leaders Appalled at Hurtful Responses to Rick Warren's Family Tragedy

Her name was Amanda Todd…

Tributes from across the world are being paid to a 15-year-old girl from Canada who killed herself after being bullied online.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” 1Peter 3.15