Thread: Moral Failure.

Originally Posted by A.J.

Allow???? She was a CHILD!
It's called grooming. Any lawyer worth their salt will bring that to the forefront with professional testimony.

Yes, she wasn't even a teenager yet. Morris was a regular staying overnight at the Clemishire house while in town holding meetings. This gave him time to groom her. Maybe to convince young Cindy that what he was doing to her was normal behavior between a man and a child. Why didn't her parents warn Cindy about such things that Morris perpetrated on her to immediately come forward and tell someone if she was ever touched in an inappropriate way by an adult? I should have never used the word enjoyed it. The only thing I can think of is that Morris had so much control over her that he actually convinced young Cindy to keep it a secret and not tell anyone. As she started getting older, she must have realized this was wrong and that she had been manipulated, duped, and lied too. Four years of enduring molestation by a grown man without her telling anyone until she was 17 just goes to show how much Morris had brainwashed her. I wouldn't doubt it when the sexual abuse finally came to light that Morris may have tried to pin guilt on her and say it was her fault. I hope he doesn't get off lightly. There is no statute of limitations for the crime Morris committed against a child. There are men doing 20-50 years in prison for molesting children. Why shouldn't Morris get a long sentence of incarceration? He's no different than any other pedophile doing time in prison.
Even worse, he used his "clergy title" to gain access to Cindy's home. What happened to Cindy Clemishire should be treated the same as if this crime occurred in recent years. The crime should be punished accordingly regardless if it was committed 43 years ago. Cindy deserves justice. Morris deserves the maximum sentence as allowed by law. Not probation and financial restitution only (emotional and mental suffering) which would only amount to a slap on the wrist.

Originally Posted by Colonel

It's perfectly possible for a child to decide of its own accord to attempt to have an adult have sex with him or her. It's obviously always the responsibility of the adult to make sure that that doesn't happen. There were several professional groupies that stalked major bands in the 60s and 70s that were in their early teens. Professional in the sense that that was their livelihood.

Today 12 year olds are often wallowing in porn, both boys and girls. Some times from when they are prepubertal. Some of them have already had sex with each other. This (especially the former) is unlikely to have been the case with Cindy in the 1980s but anything may have been going on inside her head.

So anything is technically possible with the Morris case, from A through Z. Morris is still guilty of course, because there is no way that he was doing anything against his own will.

I don't think that Morris made an instant decision to encounter Cindy on one of his overnight evening stays in the Clemishire house.

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust (v.14).

Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death (v.15). James wrote this to all Christians, and not to Morris only.
The origin to give into evil and commit a sinful act that is offered by the temptation readily dwells within our hearts. Even though our spirit has been recreated (new creation) our flesh is still fallen. When lust is conceived in the heart (desparately wicked) then comes the downward spiral to commitment (which has been devised within) to fulfillment. It means when the desire is quickened in the heart, plans for gratification are formed in the mind, which then plans when and where to act. The result will always lead to an actual doing the sin that has been calculated and planned out (in Morris' case, to exploit Cindy).

The result of sin when its fully carried out and completed, death---death in all forms.
Anyone who decides to indulge in sinful thoughts, or unclean and corrupt desires should reflect the cost (weigh the consequences') that it may end in death---death temporal and eternal. Since this thread relates to the Robert Morris "moral failure," the birth of sin in Morris' heart produced an inner conflict within his will to give into the temptation to perform the outward act of actually doing what he what he did. The thinking of lust, and prolonged dwelling upon it, will produce an overwhelming temptation, or bait if you will as the enticement of the fallen nature gains the upper hand. When full content is joined in the imagination to act in fulfillment, the planned sinful scheme of doing the outward act is brought forth as a tangible experience.

Morris' fall didn't happen overnight. He made an agreement with lust (desiring Cindy) and instead of resisting and rejecting the temptation in the beginning, his unclean thoughts overcame him to the point of no return. Morris cherished fantasy in his thoughts contrived a way and means on when and how to go about on his planned physical exploitation of Cindy in her own home. In the end, bringing forth sin, consenting to it, and performing it, when it is finished, will bring forth shame, regret, and remorse when it is exposed. The temporal and eternal ramifications of such an act that was committed by Robert Morris is difficult to put in words. What about Cindy Clemishire? She has suffered phycological and emotional pain and dysfunction for all these years as a victim.

1 Cor 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

The idea here is of a person who thinks he's standing firm in the faith, could in reality be overconfident (in natural self) that he would never fall. Look at Peters self-confidence. "But Peter said to Him (Jesus), "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not (Mk 14:29).

Later: Peter began to curse and swear, "I don't know this man you are talking about. Then the cock crowed and he remembered what Jesus had said to him (Mk 14: 71-71).
Peters' denial should be a warning to all believers who are convinced there is no way they could fall. Temptation in our lives are no different from what others experience. Christians should avoid becoming over-confident on our own spiritual merit of accomplishments. If (and when) tempted to sin, the Lord promised a way of escape if we would rely on His strength to endure it. I know by personal experience that being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin is a sure way to set yourself up for a fall. Sure, we can post about the Robert Morris scandal, but in the long term of things, I must always remember to walk out my own salvation in fear and trembling in the fear of the Lord.

Originally Posted by Romans828

I'm glad you corrected yourself, because unless one has experienced sexual abuse and/or violence such as rape, you will never understand how demoralizing, painful and humiliating it is.

It is NOT enjoyable!!!

Trust me, I know.

I am very sorry for what a horrible and treacherous experience that you experienced in the past. You're absolutely correct. I can't even begin to think what an attack involving sexual violence would do to a person in the immediate, and in the long run (years after it occurred). My sincere condolence goes out to you Romans828 for the pain that you endured. May the Lord continue to bring healing to you dear sister in Christ.

My wife suffered extreme physical violence 25 years ago at the hands of the man she was married too. She was beat numerous times. He also shoved a 9mm into her mouth. She survived that incident because when this man pulled the trigger, the gun jammed, and she was able to break free and escape out a back door. This man also threw her out of a two-story bedroom window as she landed on top of the motor hood of her Trailblazer that was parked in the driveway below. She was bruised, broken, and traumatized, but survived. After the EMP medics arrived, they told her she must of had an angel that kept her from breaking her neck. They also commented that it was a miracle that she wasn't killed. Sharon, has come a long way in recovery and healing since those violent attacks that happened to her over two decades ago.