Christian Hypocrisy News - Christian Apologist Sye ten Bruggencate Abused a Vulnerable Woman

Sye ten Buggencate,
(former) presuppositionalist apologist for Christianity

Christian Apologist Sye ten Bruggencate Took Advantage of a “Vulnerable Woman” | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | Patheos

Anyone who has spent much time 'debating' with fundamentalist Christian apologists in social media will be familiar with the Canadian apologist, Sye ten Bruggencate, a leading proponent of the infuriatingly intellectually dishonest and childish 'presuppositional' school of apologetics.

Well, maybe no longer (at least for a while, anyway).

Someone dobbed him in regarding his inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable women and he has announced his withdrawal from 'ministry'. In other words, he's giving up lying for Jesus and suckering people with false arguments, because he's been caught... er... lying.

The details of the woman and who exactly dobbed Buggencate in to the elders of his Faith Presbyterian Church in Tillsonburg, Ontario, are sketchy and still emerging but he announced his 'retirement' on his website with a terse:

It is with great sadness that I must inform you that I have been guilty of moral failure and will no longer be involved in public ministry. I have spoken with the elders of my church, and they have determined that my sin disqualifies me from the ministry. This means that I will no longer be involved in teaching, preaching, or apologetics. I am sorry for the shame my sin has brought upon the name of Christ and for the hurt I have caused. Please pray for me.

I have submitted myself to the care of the elders of Faith Presbyterian Church, Tillsonburg. If you have any questions please email my elders at faitharpelders@gmail.com

This was followed by an equally terse and detail-free statement by two members of his Faith Presbyterian Church in which they confirm that his victim made a formal complaint and provided evidence:

Faith Presbyterian Church update regarding Sye ten Bruggencate

March 10, 2021

Following admissions by Sye ten Bruggencate of fornication with a vulnerable woman, and following a formal complaint (with evidence) by the woman concerning the particular admissions given by Sye, the Session has begun a full and thorough investigation.

Sye has been suspended from all privileges without limit of time while the church judicial process is followed.

Aaron Koning & Steve Richardson On behalf of the Session of Faith Presbyterian Church

Note that, according to this statement, the victim only made the complaint after Bruggencate's admission, suggesting that someone else had initially accused him of the abuse of this woman.

Here we have another fundamentalist Christian with self-license exemptions from the rules he commanded others to abide by - until he got caught, then he realised how wrong he was and how much he regretted his behaviour.

Bruggencate debating with Matt Dillahunty

Basically, Buggencate's brand of apologetics is entirely based on the arrogant presupposition that his god exists, as though presupposing something can magically make it true. His arguments are thus the ludicrously circular and intellectually dishonest "If we presuppose that the Bible is the infallible word of God, then the Bible is the infallible word of God because God said so in the infallible Bible", and Bible verses become 'proof' of their own validity and there are no contradictions or errors in the Bible, even when there are - case closed!

In other words, "If God... then God", or, to put it another way, "I'm right and you're wrong! Because I say so! Nah nah na nah nah!"

In the absence of detail of the woman involved, one can only speculate over the use of the word 'vulnerable' in this context. Is she someone over whom Bruggencate had authority? Is she someone with an emotional dependence on him and maybe others? Is she mentally incapacitated or too young to give legal consent?

Whatever, the elders of Faith Presbyterian Church obviously recognised that Bruggencate, like so many other Christian priests, preachers and pastors, abused his power and authority and took advantage of another person for his own gratification, probably with little concern for the long-term effects his abuse of that person would have on them and their future welfare.

No doubt in the time-honoured tradition of professional Christian apologists, after a suitable period of a month or two, Jesus will have responded to his contrition and forgiven him, freeing his to resume, fully cleansed of sin, his career as a professional liar for Jesus and earner of useful income for himself and the Faith Presbyterian Church of Tillsonburg, Ontario.

And of course, still suckering vulnerable people into positions of emotional dependence and pandering to those who lap up Christian apologetics, no matter how childishly circular or intellectually dishonest they may be, proving they tell them what they want to hear and make them feel better about not have any real reasons to believe what they pretend to know.

Strangely, the supposedly superior God-given morals that these people purport to get from their faith which they believe puts them above others and feeling entitled to condescend to us, regularly seems to fail them. It's almost as though they don't believe a word of it and are just using piety as as cover. As I have said many times before:

Religions provide excuses for people who need excuses!
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