A reader here with impeccable sources made the following comment:
Steve Allwine wanted to keep his position in the church. Do you know how we know this? Because he stayed in the church during the two years he was actively attempting to kill his wife through a series of failed attempts, because he didn't just divorce her, because he kept giving sermons after he had killed her, and he has promised to preach COG doctrine in prison going forward. To say that for Steve, in his brain, that the church wasn't any kind of consideration in his plans to commit this atrocity, is completely delusional, and the prosecution was correct to call attention to that into their arguments.
I get that church people feel hurt by the notion that their community culture could be entangled in the origins of such a terrible crime, but these things don't happen in a vacuum. Steve Allwine didn't just instantly become evil. His thoughts are actions were influenced by the various presences in his life, as it is with all of us, and the church was one of them. Adulterous dating websites were another. An unhappy marriage yet another. There's no telling what else he was up to and what else was leaking into his brain. But to try and disconnect him from the church, as UCG has desperately been trying to do, is completely missing the mark.
When I asked this person if Allwine actually said such a thing, I was referred to an article on the site for Fox9 News.
Stephen Allwine sentenced to life in prison for wife's murder
TAKING HIS BIBLE TO PRISON
Allwine did not take the stand in his own defense during the trial. His defense attorney said they spoke exhaustively about the decision. Allwine’s rambling and disjointed eight-minute statement before sentencing represents his only public comments.
“I never went to sleep, and I never woke up without kissing her,” Allwine told the court before he was sentenced. “The grief of losing her is tremendous.”
“No one ever talked bad about our relationship,” said Allwine. He said they never even argued.
Allwine said he has met drug addicts, child molestors, and kidnappers while in the Washington County Jail, and he’s been conducting Bible study.
“I’m going to take my Bible to St. Cloud (Prison), and see what happens,” Allwine said.
The salacious nature of the case has attracted the interest of news networks like CBS’s “48 Hours,” NBC’s “Dateline,” and CNN.
But Washington County Assistant Attorney Jamie Lynn Kreuser said prosecutors remained focused on the victim. “At the end of the day justice was served, and I’m glad for Amy and her family.”The defenders of UCG will lash out in anger saying he won't be teaching UCG doctrines, but really, what else does he know? The only Bible knowledge he has was from United Church of God, a legalistic subgroup of Armstrongism.
He will teach the restless prisoners all about the Sabbath and holy days.
He won't eat pork in the prison cafeteria or participate in Christmas events, even though it was OK to poison his wife and then shoot her.
He will teach his fellow prisoners to look forward to the kingdom where they will be free at last, just as he will be. Though he will have a planet to rule over and they won't.
Months will go by and UCG ministers will start visiting him, encouraging him to witness to the disenfranchised lost souls in the prison. Gradually he will earn enough merits through good works to be allowed back into the fold. UCG will quietly tout its new found prison minister and soon all will be forgiven.
37 comments:
Will he be teaching tithing to the inmates (which he will collect) and will the Minnesota prison become an official FOT site?
He will freely receive, from Bubba, who'll make Stevie his prison bitch.
Prisoners have their own moral code, in which abuse of children makes a prisoner the lowest of the low. When his fellow prisoners learn of how Stephen Allwine used his son in his "find Mom dead" scheme, it will be remarkable if he isn't shanked in prison.
I’m sure we are all waiting with baited breath in anticipation of the great and awesome work that Stephen will be doing! (Not!)
BB
Hopefully the inmates will teach Allwine a few lessons too.
Let me recommend a story by an author that Gerald Waterhouse harped about in nearly every sermon. He was obsessed with the notion that we can learn nothing at all from worldly authors, and the two he shouted out most scornfully were SHAKESPEARE and CHAUCER. Me, I learned more about human nature and morality from Shakespeare and Chaucer than from the Bible. Not that there's no good stuff in the Bible, you understand. It's just scattered hither and yon among genealogies and hysterical rants and bad dreams.
The secular story I recommend is The Pardoner's Tale, in *The Canterbury Tales* of Geoffrey Chaucer. In it a corrupt churchman motivated entirely by greed preaches a sermon against greed. Odd thing is, it's a damn fine sermon. If Chaucer hadn't given us the Pardoner's backstory in the Prologue to the Tale, we could take it at face value and could believe the Pardoner was a paragon of morality.
The tale raises an important theological question: Can an ungodly man carry out the work of God? Chaucer does not settle that question for us.
It's the same question contributors to this forum bandy about concerning HWA. Could our god have used a sexual deviate filled with greed to carry out the divine plan for individual lives and the fate of nations?
Many here are satisfied by the example of King David that the answer is Yes. Others are not. I suppose if one accepts the premise that there actually is an omnipotent, omniscient creator mandating everything that happens in the Universe, then the answer has to be Yes. That answer places on the creator a heavy weight of guilt for injury and anguish among his creatures.
Allwine symbolizes for me everything that has gone wrong with the COG especially UCG.
He will take his bible with him to prison to see what happens. The same bible that was from his house when he murdered his own wife. The same bible he took to church every Sabbath whilst dwelling on poisoning and murder and only God knows what else.
It is all empty words not living words. He is a mouth piece of talking the truth but not a advocate for living it. The judge was correct actors on a stage. playing a character.
Allwine playing the role of the apostle Paul in prison.
That is what UCG and the corporate COG are producing especially in Many of the speakers and leaders. Actors on a stage.
In my experience when visiting men who murdered in maximum security prisons, the compartmentalize their normal life/thinking from the crime. When I asked why they were here in prison, EVERYONE said "they say I murdered my wife" No one ever said "I" did such and such. It does not surprise me at Alwines religious intentions. He was out if his mind when he did what he did. Now he reverts to better times mentally . That's just my experience with high crimes and denial.
UCG might not "disfellowship" him officially, since they're not big on that sort of thing anyway, but that doesn't mean he won't be excommunicado on the downlow.
Provided his biblethumping bluster wasn't just posturing for the media, I suspect that Allwine can do what he likes within the prison walls, but he'll be doing entirely on his own and won't get any moral support or sponsorship from UCG brass for doing it.
And assuming he'll carry on trying to be a minister in prison, why would he be any better received on the inside that UCG has proven to be on the outside? Whatever he winds up preaching when left to his own devices will still be fringe, heretical, fundy judaizing legalism, which isn't all that appealing these days if you haven't already been entrenched in it from infancy.
In addition, as a convicted murder, he's not well positioned to say he's got much going for him in the "spiritual dept." that the other inmates don't, so why should they listen to him rather than an outside, more mainstream prison ministry, whose preachers at least have the credibility of so far not having been convicted of crimes. As Bubba's new wife, I can just see him preaching out against homosexuality to all of Bubba's other wives.
Besides, I have a feeling other inmates won't tolerate a smug, condescending, hypocritical, heretical blowhard for long, and as soon a the backlash (persecution) starts, he won't hesitate to pack it in as a bad idea.
If he's going to "teach COG doctrines," he'd better start with repentance. And make it personal.
As for UCG taking him back as a minister: its recent history leads me to conclude it won't. Read some of Melvin Rhodes's recent blog posts for evidence of that.
Well, really, who knows anymore? The Fox news report on the PCG a few years ago was highly inaccurate. Only 19% of the people trust the legacy media. And most of those 19% are probably only saying that because they like the biased phony narratives on the legacy media. So, while they might be right in this case, again, who knows, they don't have much credibility left.
If he planned it in advance, how far out of his mind could he be?
They can never take him back as a minister. He lacks credibility as a teacher of morality.
"They can never take him back as a minister. He lacks credibility as a teacher of morality."
While I agree, I don't think this would be the impediment. They all lack credibility as teachers of morality.
if indeed he was guilty of murder, this means he was not led by the Holy Spirit; hence he is still under the Law, and the Law says he will die...
c f ben yochanan
Does anyone know his sermon topics leading up to the murder? And any sermons after?
"...with baited breath ..."
actually, it's "bated breath"....a shortened form of "abated breath", or "breathless"...
but since we're talking about prison life here, "bated" seems especially nauseating...
(for anyone that doesn't get that....good for you!)
Anon 6:36 Who knows ? Well we know one thing for sure your comment is hogwash. People don't poison themselves and shoot themselves in the hallway, wipe the blood away but leaving traces around the house and then pose themselves in another room, whilst putting the gun on the opposite side.
Typical slimy remarks completely disjointed from the truth.
Retired Prof asks, "Can an ungodly man carry out the work of God?" I submit the actions of Oscar Schindler. If God only had godly people to carry out his work, well . . . . .
From all the evidence that has been compiled against this monster, and now being found guilty of 1st degree murder, he should be executed immediately. Of course, this never happens. It's doubtful that somewhere like MN would even carry out any kind of death penalty.
He would still have years to preach the gospel to prisoners. Who would want to learn anything from this jackass? Maybe, he should have been watching more episodes of Forensic Files if he thought he could get away with this? Really, this whole thing is totally bizarre. It's the kind of stuff that movies are made of. Maybe, the royalties could go to do the work of UCG. This way they may let him be considered a member in good standing again.
hahaha, ministers are to be of good reputation in the world.
Husbands of one wife, which, in Orthodox Christianity precludes divorced men.
Now the church has a man who viciously, wantonly and without remorse murdered a lovely woman and let his own child find the body. A man devoid of Christian love in any sense of the word.
He is not fit to preach anything, even the false gospel of the so-called church of god.
Stephen Allswine To Preach UCG Doctrnes While In Prison
Why can't the worst perverts around ever just shut up?
Any chance he was framed and somebody else poisoned her and faked her suicide?
"Well we know one thing for sure your comment is hogwash"
Because I don't trust Fox news? Wow, amazing. Somebody on here is defending Fox.
People don't poison themselves and shoot themselves in the hallway, wipe the blood away but leaving traces around the house and then pose themselves in another room, whilst putting the gun on the opposite side.
Who said they did?
Typical slimy remarks completely disjointed from the truth.
Hey Sherlock, you need to go back to elementary school for some lessons in reading comprehension. So you're not so completely disjointed from the truth.
Who ? The invisible man ? Cameras on all outside doorways none except allwine coming and going. Gunpowder traces on his hands.
Doesn't the Bible have examples of murdering people in order to advance "God's Work"?
Sure, there's that OT commandment thingy- but there are also lots of biblical examples of God commanding 'His' people to murder others.
How 'bout them apples?
Anon at February 5, 2018 at 4:02 PM asks, "Any chance he was framed and somebody else poisoned her and faked her suicide?"
I very much doubt it, but I suppose if you yourself have doubts, you could investigate by obtaining a transcript of the trial and also interviewing the many people who testified, too. I'd also think that speaking with the prosecutors would yield some valuable insight, as would speaking with the defense team and jury members.
My guess is that it's all been covered by professionals as much (or more) than need be, already.
What a vile attitude you have.
How 'bout them apples?"
That was snowwhite sir.
Another fairy tale.
nck
"Can an ungodly man carry out the work of God?"
Wasn't there something about a gentile group called "the rod of MINE anger"?
But hey I shouldn't be commenting on this topic thread. I think the murderer is a freak and I don't deal with freaks.
nck
The crime was committed by a one armed man. Stephen has been framed.
It is just me, or does the media seem to be quoting the prosecution a lot more than the defense?
I blame the law and the insurance companies for letting people take out $700,000 life insurance policies on people who are (so far as I know) not bread-winners or not the primary bread-winners. It gives people an incentive to do away with someone. It works out well for the insurance companies because they don't have to make a pay-out but they got to take in all those payments.
If convicts become converts he'll have a bigger church than BB.
I’m happy for him, 8:04! Back when I was an AC student, first viewing the Armstrong farce up close, I decided that I did not want to be a minister, and didn’t want to have a church. Nothing that has happened in my lifes’ experiences since then has changed those opinions.
BB
“Stephen Allswine To Preach UCG Doctrines While In Prison”
Some major doctrines of the disUnited Church of Godlessness:
Thou shalt murder (especially thy wife).
Thou shalt commit adultery (especially with multiple women met on cheating websites).
Thou shalt steal (especially from insurance companies).
Thou shalt give false testimony against thy neighbor (especially to the police).
The other inmates probably already know all this stuff. They have probably heard it all before. There is no need for Allswine to preach it to them yet again.
First off I just want to say that I grew up in the World Wide Church of God listening to Mr. Herbert Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong was chosen by God to run the 6th era of God’s church. As for UCG, you couldn’t be further from the truth. After attending church services at UCG for 18 years I finally figured out they have their own set of rules and if you don’t follow those rules regardless your out of the church. God clearly states in more than one passage that he hates divorce but he also goes on to say that the only exception to that rule is adultery. When I found out my husband was committing adultery behind my back I chose to leave the marriage because it had been going on for over 10 years. I was told by the minister that if I moved out the church wouldn’t lift a finger to help me and that I would be kicked out of the church. They stood behind him and treated me as if I was in the wrong. What Steve did goes totally against God’s laws but that is going to be between him and God. It is just as much a sin to sit in judgment of this man. We might not have committed murder or adultery but we have all sinned in the eyes of God. I am currently attending the 7th and final era of God’s church and I hope that someday I can consider myself worthy to sit in the same room as God the Father and his son.
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