That power dynamic, he said, was evidence that what happened actually was nonconsensual. There's no such thing as a pastoral affair. It's abuse.

A few more words about it all here: scottlatta.substack.com/p/a-washingt...

Finally, it's important that the judge called out how Carter manipulated Jones's faith and trust in him:

"Jones considered Carter a father figure. A pastor’s taking sexual advantage of a parishioner constitutes not only a violation of the parishioner’s body but a violation of a sacred trust."

Carter denied he was a public figure. The judge disagreed, since other churches rallied to his aid to restore him to the pulpit.

Church of the Highlands, ARC, Chris Hodges, Dino Rizzo, and Kevin Gerald are all rightly named in this opinion. Their actions made the story publicly relevant.

Carter’s lawsuit was meant to punish Mary Jones for coming forward. The entire thing was needlessly defamatory and punitive. Thankfully, the court saw through it.

Of note, the judge picked up on how Carter was protecting his own interests, having sought the limelight "with vigor."

More:

substack.com/home/post/p-...

And the study:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

What does it all add up to?

Sitting in a megachurch service spikes our oxytocin, promoting feelings of love, calmness, trust, and a deep need for social interaction.

That’s why they felt that way in the service—because the room had been designed for them to.

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“The sermons are understood through the emotions—on a level of intuition that ‘just feels right,’ or that ‘just makes sense,’” researchers said. “Members ... constantly praised the accessibility of their pastor’s preaching, repeatedly testifying that ‘even a child could understand’ his message.”

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“The stimulation of emotion comes by way of the lyrics of songs that are emotionally charged, often setting up a need (sinfulness) ... The music is loud and emotive ... [people] raise their hands, close their eyes, and even rock back and forth to the music...”

But the sermons do this too!

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Emotional energy is like the collective energy you feel in a stadium, rally, or concert. The room rises up and creates its own shared emotional mood. And it’s the SIZE of these large churches that creates it. It’s much harder to get it in a small church.

Megachurch music plays a big part:

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What does that feel like? Here’s what they found:

“Attendees come ‘hungry’ for an emotional experience and leave energized; in fact, many describe a physical need for the experience like a ‘high,’ a ‘drug,’ or an ‘energy’ that they don’t want to live without.

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Many people told me their megachurch felt like home, but they couldn’t quite explain why. But researchers found back in 2014 that megachurch services create “emotional energy”—feel-good emotions like confidence, courage, connection and emotional experience.

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