Authorities Raid Polygamist Ranch in Texas
In the News:
Based on allegations of child abuse, Texas authorities last week removed 416
children from a fundamentalist Mormon compound near Eldorado, Texas, called "Yearning for Zion" (YFZ). The raid was prompted
by a phone call from a 16-year-old girl who told authorities that she and girls younger than 16 were being forced into marriages
with much older men. She also told of being beaten and sexually assaulted by her husband.
Authorities allege that young girls at the YFZ ranch were often forced into
"spiritual marriages" with older men as soon as they reached puberty. Despite being called "spiritual," however, the unions
were physical right from the start.
The girl who made the call already had one child and was pregnant with another.
She reportedly told authorities that she had looked for opportunities to escape, but had been warned that in the outside world,
she would be forced to cut her hair, wear makeup and have sex with many men. All of these things would be especially frightening
to females raised in a faith that makes modesty a rule of the community.
Authorities said the girl is likely among the 416 children removed from the
1,700-acre YFZ compound, though, as of this writing (on Thursday), she has not identified herself. A number of the teen girls
taken from the compound are pregnant.
The girl said her husband, Dale Barlow, beat and sexually assaulted her. She
also said that the husband had gone to the "outsider's world." An arrest warrant has been issued for Barlow.
Authorities said that boys at the ranch were being groomed to be ready at adulthood
to marry underage girls, becoming the next generation of perpetrators.
For discipline, according to reports, children were denied food and forced
to sit in closed closets.
The YFZ complex was built by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints (FLDS), a group not connected to the mainstream Mormon Church.
The mainstream group disavowed polygamy in 1890. The FLDS had been led by Warren Jeffs, who was convicted last year of being
an accomplice in the rape of a 14-year-old girl who had been forced to marry her cousin. Jeffs is currently serving a 10-year
to life sentence at Utah State Prison.
The adults in the YFZ compound are not being held, but if they leave the property,
they are not permitted to return before the search of the grounds is complete. Nearly 140 women have left voluntarily and
are being housed at a historical site in San Angelo, Texas.
Authorities are having difficulty determining the identities and parentage
of many of the children, some of whom are unwilling to provide that information.
FLDS leaders are calling the raid religious persecution. Merrill Jessop, who
oversees the ranch and is a presiding elder in the FLDS, said, "There needs to be a public outcry that goes far and wide.
What's coming we don't know. The hauling off of women and children matches anything in Russia or Germany."
A Texas grocery chain has helped to provide food for the women and children,
and Goodfellow Air Force Base sent cots for them. Eldorado community members and a local Baptist church have also been providing
food. The Baptist group is cooking for the displaced.
More on this story may be found at these links:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/08/texas.ranch/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/08/texas.ranch.ap/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/us/08raid.html?_r=2&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1207761121-Zzw2myEsDmivszejkoxyHw
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,348148,00.html
http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=10330
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/09/texas.ranch/index.html
The Big Questions
Here are some of the questions we will
discuss in class:
1. Due to the nature of the
charges against the FLDS sect -- child abuse -- many Christians agree with the state's decision to intervene in the activities
of the religious group. But at what point is it appropriate for churches to resist the state? For example, suppose an activist
group became convinced that baptism by immersion on children under the age of 12 was a traumatic form of abuse and succeeded
in having a law passed against it. Should churches practicing immersion meekly cease doing so for those under 12?
2. When religious principles
or biblical interpretations are used to sanction abuse of children and/or adults, does that mean the principles are wrong
and that the interpretations are mistaken? Explain your answer.
3. Is there an overarching biblical
teaching that can be applied in support of the state's action in this case? If so, what is it?
4. How far should your church
go in supporting the religious freedom of groups with whom you disagree over matters of doctrine or practice? What might be
the result of such support? What might be the result of nonsupport?
5. Regardless of the reason,
taking children from their parents is traumatic for the children. What resolution would be in the best interests of the children
now that the raid and removal have occurred?
Confronting the News with Scripture
We will look at selected verses from
these Scripture texts. You may wish to read these in advance for background:
Genesis 4:17-22
Colossians 3:18--4:1
Luke 17:1-4
1 Peter 2:11-17
