A few months ago, the pastor of a local (Montgomery, AL) Baptist church was found dead in his home:
Lt. Mark Drinkard, a police spokesman, said the Reverend Gary M- Aldridge was found about 10 a-m by a member of his church who became concerned after he failed to show up for church services.
[...]
Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright, in a newspaper interview, hinted that the minister may have been the victim of foul play.
Other reporting at the time indicated that Aldridge had been strangled and that the crime scene had odd elements to it, but few details were released. Some suggestions were made that there was a killer on the loose, but others indicated that there had been no forced entry. At the time the few details that leaked out in the press were suggestive either a bizarre murder or, I speculated at the time, a sexual encounter gone bad.
Much of this was of specific interest to me given that the church in question is less than ten minutes from my home and the neighborhood in which Aldridge lived is even closer. As such, the notion of a gruesome murder nearby was somewhat disconcerting.
However, it ends up that the sexual hypothesis was more on target, although instead of it being an encounter gone awry, the Smoking Gun now has documents to suggest that the event was of the, well, solo variety.
Indeed, the Montgomery Advertiser reported yesterday: Police: No foul play in Aldridge’s death
Police have closed their investigation into the death of the Rev. Gary Aldridge.Detectives determined that no foul play existed in the case and therefore no crime had been committed, according to a news release from the Montgomery Police Department.
[...]
Forensic results indicate Aldridge was alone at the time of his death, the police release states. A report by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences states the final pathological diagnoses for Aldridge’s death as “accidental mechanical asphyxia,” according to the release.
I note this story for three reasons:
First, despite one’s politics or religion, it really is unseemly to make fun of the story, despite the absurd (if not comedic on some levels) elements of the situation. However, the fact that event ended in a needless death should drain the humor out of the story. Nonetheless, some have been unable to resist (for example).
Second (and this was the original reason I started the post): the reportage of this story was, in my opinion, somewhat irresponsible. The initial suggestions were that some very terrible thing may have happened and that a very violent criminal might, therefore, be on the loose. Even if foul play was suspected, the evidence at the scene, as detailed in the autopsy report, clearly would indicate that death was likely the result of a sexual encounter/event, not a violent crime that would potentially threaten others in the community. While it wasn’t necessarily the case that reporters needed to provide every sordid detail, the stories could have been written in such a way as to give a better picture of what might have happened. Either local reporters were blinded by the fact that the victim was a pastor, or they sought to protect his reputation because he had been a pastor. Either way, I would argue that it was poor journalism.
Third, this is yet another example (which leads to the ridicule noted in point one) of a pastor who clearly was not as wholesome as he presented himself to be to his congregation. Yes, this behavior in question is certainly better than visiting a prostitute or engaging in an affair or any number of other actions that clergy have been found guilty of in recent years. Still, this is yet another example of the disjuncture between the power of God to transform man that is preached weekly in Baptist and other evangelical churches and the apparent lack of transformation of the men preaching those messages. I cannot say for sure what Aldridge had preached from his pulpit, but having spent most of my life in Baptist and like churches, I have a pretty good idea. At a minimum, it is no wonder that so many find the Christian faith to be unappealing, as there are so many examples like this. I don’t know what the appropriate fix is, if there is one. Certainly, part of the issue here is the simple fact that human being are imperfect, and remain such regardless of their religious predilections. And, of course, the issue isn’t just sexual. There was the report earlier this week about money and likely corruption at Oral Robert University and probably most church goes have experienced pastors who became overly fond of their positions, letting themselves become the focal point of the church.
I don’t really know what my central point is here, per se, aside from the following: a) each of these stories is rather disappointing, b) it is no wonder that many find religion in general problematic, and c) it raises question about key issues within the church including central theological tenets (how can pastors preach the power of God to change lives, if the pastors themselves have their own dark secrets that are never changed) as well as the structure of churches wherein pastors are in positions of power for long period of time with all the focus an adulation being on them.
Update: I didn’t notice this earlier, from today’s Advertiser:
The medical examiner who conducted Aldridge’s autopsy said Friday the long wait for the autopsy findings was not unusual.
“These things happen,” Boudreau said. “We see probably two of these a year. If you’re not used to seeing that sort of thing, it’s probably unusual.”
Egads–and that’s in little Montgomery, AL. One can only imagine what MEs in large metropolitan areas deal with…
October 10th, 2024 at 9:34 am
[...] UPDATE: Dr. Taylor has an interesting post on this as well. I strongly disagree with one of his points however. It was the police and the mayor who misled the public about the nature of the crime. The local media had tried desperately to find some confirmation for the rumors that everyone heard, but no one would release the concrete information or even go “off the record” to confirm the rumors. If anyone is at fault for misleading the public, it’s the mayor, the police department and the district attorneys office. Posted Alabama Politics, General, Montgomery Politics on Wednesday, October 10th, 2024. [...]
October 10th, 2024 at 10:05 am
Dr. Taylor – your assumptions are just that, assumptions.
One issue the press and media local to you have failed to mention are the following facts;
Portions of this post were removed due to the fact that specific allegations were made against a person by name
What type of accountability is there with your local police department? Can we see published a detail record of how exhaustive their two month investigation was, who they questioned, was there any DNA evidence left at the crime scene. Hard to believe that if this was a supposed sexual trist that there was not hair samples, etc. left in the room.
Some have indicated to me that perhaps the police were paid off to make this case dissapear. Woudn’t surprise me a bit given the south, the number of crimes and how small the criminal investigation dept. is. Something is not right here.
The last time I checked, it is impossible to tie up yourself in a hog tied fashion.
There is a clear cut motive here for murder over family issues and money.
The police have dropped this case and I doubt the authenticity of what type if any investigation was truely done in this case.
The Atty. General has already been called to task on this matter and now the FBI will be brought in.
You overtures about Christianity are offence at best.
You do not have all the facts and to assume anything at this point is immature at best.
I would suggest you put your sling shot down and pray for the family who is greiving and ask God to purge out the murderer.
October 10th, 2024 at 10:25 am
I am rather sceptical of organized religion in general.
But, I think it is important to recognize that there is a long history of people in religous leadership being scoundrels–hell wasn’t the corrupt practice of selling indulgences what motivated Martin Luther to tell the pope to bug off?
This, of course, does not mean that creepy behavior like we see with this unfortunate guy and Ted Haggard, is emblematic of Christianity.
October 10th, 2024 at 10:58 am
Mr. Let the Truth Prevail:
I am all for the truth, and hope it prevails. I am not sure where my slingshot was aimed, save at the press, and quite frankly, it would seem to me that you are ultimately agreeing with me that this story hasn’t been well reported, if not for different reasons than I.
In regards to whatever offense I may have given over Christianity, sorry but I have been an active churchgoer and Christian long enough to have some right to comment.
Ratoe:
Granted. I certainly am not suggesting that this is emblematic of Christianity. However, if oen takes the Catholic priesthood’s problems and any number of other problems, not to mention lower level issues that I have observed at a number of churches over the years and it causes one to be a bit jaded on the subject.
I know, however, that I am not expressing myself very well on topic, and perhaps should have left that final point off the post, but it was on my mind and therefore there it is.
I will reiterate one clear point, and it is that these types of story don’t do the Christian faith any favors, and illustrates that perhaps a lot of people who are in the clergy ought not be. Ted Haggard, of course, is an even better example.
October 10th, 2024 at 11:23 am
Yeah, I understood, Steven, what you meant.
My basic point is that–while these incidents “do no favors” to the Christian faith–the track record of “sinful” Church leaders is centuries old, yet the faith prevails.
So maybe these incidents don’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things.
I am quite interested in the larger issue of religiousity within the context of increasingly secular West–although the US seems to hold on to Churches more than the Western Europeans.
However, I am thinking of joining up, if I can find one of these Churches that are using Halo as a recruiting tool!:
http://tinyurl.com/2rusnj
October 10th, 2024 at 11:30 am
There is no doubt that far too many clergy and other Christian leaders do not lead Christ-like lives. Yet I think people make a mistake to extrapolate their behavior to Christianity itself.
In Catholic theology the Church is considered holy; its members are not. We are, in fact, a bunch of knuckleheads who regularly screw things up and took centuries to figure out a few simple truths that now form the foundation of our faith. St. Peter himself denied Christ three times and had to be rather sternly corrected by Paul for his misdeeds. Only the grace of God keeps us from making an even bigger mess.
Truth is Truth, even if the person speaking it doesn’t believe the words he is saying and fails to follow them in his own life. Of course, the truth is much more persuasive when you are living it as well as speaking it. Our clergy would do well to keep this in mind.
October 10th, 2024 at 11:32 am
My basic point is that–while these incidents “do no favors” to the Christian faith–the track record of “sinful” Church leaders is centuries old, yet the faith prevails.
I think that this is key. To me, at least, it is clear that if the Church was built solely on the clergy, it would have failed centuries ago. There is something about the faith that transcends man, thanks goodness.
Part of my problem, I will confess, is a personal disillusionment with the clergy in general (and it has nothing to do with the more sensational stories, although they don’t help). This is not to say I am off on the clergy overall, however.
October 10th, 2024 at 12:28 pm
I can identify with your thoughts on the clergy for some personal reasons, as you know.
It is true that the church has survived many scandals involving priests and popes and the like, and by most accounts I’ve seen Christianity is still the largest religion and is a growing religion. However, Islam is growing at a faster rate and one has to wonder if many of the current issues with clergy have affected that at all. And I know that birth rates figure into the equation as well.
October 10th, 2024 at 11:48 pm
#2: “The last time I checked, it is impossible to tie up yourself in a hog tied fashion.”
Well, check again:
http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/9361/basic-hogtie.html
Bert