Wednesday, January 23, 2013

"The Sinister Minister"

That's a song by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.  It's also the nom de press of the Rev. Arthur Schirmer, a parish pastor in the United Methodist Church who (per the LA Times) has just been convicted of killing his wife Betty in 2008.  It also seems likely that he killed his first wife, Jewel, years earlier.  And yes, he was cheating on them when he did it -- which led an embittered husband to commit suicide in Schirmer's office.

He beat Betty to death, and then faked a car accident.

Need we say that the word "reverend" is here used in its least literal sense?  In this case, it means that somebody, long ago, had the poor judgment to ordain him.  It does not mean that he should be held in reverence.  Quite the contrary.

The guy is obviously a fiend from hell.  We rejoice in his mandatory sentence of life without parole.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That's what placing (The Rev.) in parentheses is to remind: it's a judgement call. web