Kenneth Lay compared favourably to Jesus Christ by minister at his funeral
Charlene
George H.W. Bush, James Baker among attendees at packed church for the
Enron founder; reverend compares fallen energy titan to Jesus.
HOUSTON (Reuters) -- Houston's political and business leaders,
including former President George H.W. Bush, turned out for Kenneth
Lay's memorial service Wednesday, less than a week after the Enron
founder's sudden death.
Friends and family lauded as a devout Christian and family leader the
man who built Enron into an international energy powerhouse before its
collapse in the biggest corporate scandal of its time.
Lay's stepson David Herrold told the nearly full First United Methodist
Church that Lay was wrongly convicted, and he was angry about the
portrayals of his stepfather in the media.
"He did have a strong faith in God and I know he's in heaven, and I'm
glad he's not in a position anymore to be whipped by his enemy,"
Herrold said.
Lay, who was 64, died while vacationing in Colorado on July 5, just six
weeks after a jury convicted him and former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling
of conspiracy and fraud in the 2001 collapse of the energy company.
Lay was found guilty of 10 counts of conspiracy, fraud and misusing
personal bank loans on May 25 and was facing decades in prison at his
sentencing, which was scheduled for Oct. 23.
Lay was a longtime friend of the Bushes, contributing to their
political campaigns and was nicknamed "Kenny Boy" by President George
W. Bush.
The former president and his wife Barbara entered and exited the church
by a rear exit and did not speak to the media.
Among the other luminaries at the service were former Secretary of
State James Baker, former Secretary of Commerce Robert Mosbacher Sr.,
several corporate heads such as Reliant Energy Inc.'s Joel Staff, and
baseball team owner Drayton McLane.
The ceremony started slightly late after former Houston Mayor Bob
Lanier collapsed in the aisle as he entered the church. He was taken by
ambulance to the hospital, and an announcement made later in the
ceremony said he was in stable condition.
Lay was cremated in Colorado, where a memorial service was held for him
on Sunday. Skilling attended that service but was not seen at the
Houston memorial.
One former Enron employee wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Enron's
crooked "E" logo came by the First Methodist Church of Houston but did
not attend the service. She said she came out of respect for Lay.
"He was a good person who did a bad thing. Justice was served by
finding him guilty," said Marie Watkins, a former tax analyst who
worked with Lay at Enron and Florida Gas for 27 years. She said she
lost 90 percent of her retirement portfolio when the company imploded.
The Reverend Dr. Bill Lawson compared Lay with civil rights leader
Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ, and said his name would
eventually be cleared.
"He was taken out of the world right at the right time," he said.
"History has a way of vindicating people who have been wronged."
--
wd42
Do Protestants consider it acceptable to compare mortals to God? I'm
not trying to be sarcastic; I'm asking.
alfansome
It's certainly not acceptable to compare Ken Lay to Christ or MLK. In
another discussion elsewhere someone compared him to Meyer Lansky. I
said that was an insult to Lansky.
Al
David Carson
wrote:
>Do Protestants consider it acceptable to compare mortals to God? I'm
>not trying to be sarcastic; I'm asking.
Jesus rode a donkey, and so have I. I just compared myself to Jesus.
I know that's different from what was said at the funeral, but perhaps not
by much. Jesus was convicted of sedition against the Romans, a crime He
didn't commit. Plenty of other people have been convicted of crimes they
didn't commit, so in that sense, those people have something in common
with Jesus. That's all the minister was saying. It isn't a comparison I
would have made, and it does strikes a dissonant chord in my mind, but I
don't find it to be blasphemous, if that's what you were wondering.
David Carson
--
Why do you seek the living among the dead? -- Luke 24:5
Who's Alive and Who's Dead
http://www.whosaliveandwhosdead.com
aka Bob
magnanimously proffered:
>On 12 Jul 2006 17:24:31 -0700, "Charlene" <charlene...@gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Do Protestants consider it acceptable to compare mortals to God? I'm
>>not trying to be sarcastic; I'm asking.
>
>Jesus rode a donkey, and so have I. I just compared myself to Jesus.
>
>I know that's different from what was said at the funeral, but perhaps not
>by much. Jesus was convicted of sedition against the Romans, a crime He
>didn't commit. Plenty of other people have been convicted of crimes they
>didn't commit, so in that sense, those people have something in common
>with Jesus. That's all the minister was saying. It isn't a comparison I
>would have made, and it does strikes a dissonant chord in my mind, but I
>don't find it to be blasphemous, if that's what you were wondering.
Frankly, I don't think Christianity as it's practiced by people like
Kenneth Lay and George W. Bush, and their ilk, has much to do with
Jesus Christ or his teachings anyway. Somehow these hypocrites have
been allowed, even encouraged, to take "Christianity" and ethical
traditions like democracy and pervert them into vehicles for their own
self-interests and those of their fellow travellers. IMO they wield
"Christianity" like the terrorists wield "Islam."
--
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
R H Draney
>
>George H.W. Bush, James Baker among attendees at packed church for the
>Enron founder; reverend compares fallen energy titan to Jesus.
Outraged fans set about burning his record albums....r
--
It's the crack on the wall and the stain on the cup that gets to you
in the very end...every cat has its fall when it runs out of luck,
so you can do with a touch of zen...cause when you're screwed,
you're screwed...and when it's blue, it's blue.
doc
> You rode a donkey?
> I haven't seen one of those in a long time.
> You really haven't compared yourself to Jesus simply by saying you did
> something he did. Unless you did something extraordinary like turn water
> into wine, walk on water, etc.
Those sanctimonious Texican protestants are notorious for making
comparisons between themselves and their crew-cut Jesus. I daresay that,
in the midst of his ordeal, Lay often comforted himself with the assurance
that "I just know Our Lord didn't have to suffer like this."
Frankly, I don't want to hear a goddam word from unctious assholes on this
group who condemn Roman bishops for burying mafiosi dons with the
sacraments. The southern protestants have their own style of hypocrisy.
I mean, how many widow's mites does one have to steal, how many orphans
does one have to pickpocket, before one is considered a public sinner?
Richard Hertz
"doc" <terr...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:pan.2006.07.13....@yahoo.com...
>
>
> I mean, how many widow's mites does one have to steal, how many orphans
> does one have to pickpocket, before one is considered a public sinner?
>
of context but i'll venture into those waters just the same; romans 3:22-24
(NIV), quoted below, answers your question. in God's eyes we're _all_sinners
and from the best to the worst none is worthy.
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that came by Christ Jesus.
of course, none of this matters if you're not a believer but i believe it
addresses your (rhetorical?) question.
doc
> of course, none of this matters if you're not a believer but i believe it
> addresses your (rhetorical?) question.
And, despite my better judgement, I'll respond by stating emphatically I
was not attempting to judge Ken Lay's state of grace when he departed this
Vale of Tears. What I was addressing were the sanctimonious paeans
delivered at his funeral and the self-righteousness of a community which
will justify each and every malefaction of its constituents as the
misunderstood sufferings of the sanctified.
Jesus had very little to say about the issues of private morality which
energize these communities: homosexuality, abortion, promiscuity and
"family values". OTOH, he had a great deal to say about social justice
and the way we are called to treat the poor. But, apparently, in Texas
there is no sin in appropriating the beloved lone sheep of the struggling
tenant in order to provide the midnight banquet at the rich man's table.
It's just business.
And it makes me want to puke.
Just a modicum of contrition would have gone a long, long way toward
redressing the abuses of Enron.
John M.
wrote:
>On Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:29:07 -0500, David Carson <da...@neosoft.com>
>magnanimously proffered:
>
>>On 12 Jul 2006 17:24:31 -0700, "Charlene" <charlene...@gmail.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>Do Protestants consider it acceptable to compare mortals to God? I'm
>>>not trying to be sarcastic; I'm asking.
>>
>>Jesus rode a donkey, and so have I. I just compared myself to Jesus.
>>
>>I know that's different from what was said at the funeral, but perhaps not
>>by much. Jesus was convicted of sedition against the Romans, a crime He
>>didn't commit. Plenty of other people have been convicted of crimes they
>>didn't commit, so in that sense, those people have something in common
>>with Jesus. That's all the minister was saying. It isn't a comparison I
>>would have made, and it does strikes a dissonant chord in my mind, but I
>>don't find it to be blasphemous, if that's what you were wondering.
>
>Frankly, I don't think Christianity as it's practiced by people like
>Kenneth Lay and George W. Bush, and their ilk, has much to do with
>Jesus Christ or his teachings anyway. Somehow these hypocrites have
>been allowed, even encouraged, to take "Christianity" and ethical
>traditions like democracy and pervert them into vehicles for their own
>self-interests and those of their fellow travellers. IMO they wield
>"Christianity" like the terrorists wield "Islam."
Hell, I'm an atheist and I consider myself more christian than them and many
others who profess themselves to be so.
--
John M.
infor...@kenlayisalive.org
Washington Post), an informative website devoted to tracking the
movements of the "late" Kenneth L. Lay, convicted felon and former CEO
of Enron Corporation.
You may send all of your reports to sigh...@kenlayisalive.org
Americans for Equal Justice is providing this site as a public service
for all of those who demand that Ken Lay and other white-collar
criminals be brought to justice. We welcome and will publish any and
all relevant information on the whereabouts of Kenneth L. Lay.
Americans for Equal Justice strongly suggests that you not only report
your findings to us, but most importantly, to your local news outlets.
Please send any links to news outlets reporting your sightings to our
organization as well.
If you were personally affected by the collapse of Enron or the
California Blackouts, we want to post your story. We at Americans for
Equal Justice would like to make your story available for the world to
read so we may all know the true costs of greed and corporate crime.
Please send your stories to infor...@kenlayisalive.org
We here at Americans for Equal Justice feel strongly that the
possibility exists that Mr. Lay, like Hitler, Elvis, and Tupac before
him, has faked his own death in order to avoid any more unwanted public
scrutiny. If this is true, then it is our responsibility as good
Americans to bring this criminal to justice by reporting his
whereabouts to the proper authorities.
Thank you for your support,
Americans for Equal Justice
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071001107.html
http://www.wsbtv.com/money/9513207/detail.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/11/blogophile/main1790141.shtml
http://blogs.dfw.com/startle_grams/2006/07/who_knew_that_k.html
doc
> There are millions of honest businesses that provide services and
> goods, and then there are those relatively few dishonest businesses that are
> prosecuted for fraud and aggressive force that is immoral.
> Know the difference, knucklehead.
I can always count on you to add the last, definitive and completely
gratuitous word from the lunatic fringe, Roy.
Aren't you late for your Vitter Amendment rally? Surely there are some
gun nuts there who'll be sympathetic to your defense of robber barons.
Wendy Chatley Green
: Americans for Equal Justice is providing this site as a public service
:for all of those who demand that Ken Lay and other white-collar
:criminals be brought to justice.
After he's buried, you can dig him up, hang the corpse, cut it down,
draw-and-quarter it, then send the pieces around the country as a
warning to other corporate executives.
--
Wendy Chatley Green
Brad Ferguson
Green <inv...@verizon.none> wrote:
He was cremated.
I don't blame these people for being suspicious. Better start checking
Mexican fishing villages for somebody called "El Gringo Nuevo."
PirateJohn
Brad Ferguson wrote:
>
> I don't blame these people for being suspicious. Better start checking
> Mexican fishing villages for somebody called "El Gringo Nuevo."
Wonder if he'll be sharing a condo with Olivia Newtron (sic) John's
former boyfriend?