Strange, potentially dangerous, people at prayer/bible meetings

BuilderPlumber

A friend of mine brought to my attention that a strange man who could be dangerous has infiltrated a prayer meeting in an Irish town. Due to legal reasons, etc. I cannot say where and what meeting as that is the job for the Gardai. This man can follow people around the town and no one knows his real name or his background or where he is from. Some friends of my friend do not seem to find anything wrong with him but my friend is worried for their friends' safety. I checked out his fake facebook sites and there is nothing to indicate he is a religious person and everything to indicate he could be a sex predator infiltrating the group as his site is full of smut and dirt. Should my friend be worried for the safety of his friends? And is this common in other such groups? Thanks.

ScumLord

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

A friend of mine brought to my attention that a strange man who could be dangerous has infiltrated a prayer meeting in an Irish town.

Be careful approaching them, someone that can circumvent the security checks of a prayer group could know kung fu too.

This man can follow people around the town and no one knows his real name or his background or where he is from.

But..

I checked out his fake facebook sites and there is nothing to indicate he is a religious person

and everything to indicate he could be a sex predator infiltrating the group as his site is full of smut and dirt. Should my friend be worried for the safety of his friends? And is this common in other such groups? Thanks.

No, I think most prayer groups aren't nearly this paranoid.

Absolam

This looks like yet another example of media stirring up anti-stranger sentiment and subverting liberal populism. Strangers are people too, people!

Peregrinus

A socially inept sinner seeks Christian fellowship in a prayer group? That's pretty standard stuff, BuilderPlumber. The prayer group should engage with him. If not, what is it for?

BuilderPlumber

Peregrinus wrote: »

A socially inept sinner seeks Christian fellowship in a prayer group? That's pretty standard stuff, BuilderPlumber. The prayer group should engage with him. If not, what is it for?

The problem is this guy clearly does not want to change his ways and with all these attacks on women and the discovery of a body recently (2 of which events are near to the town that this guy's prayer meeting is in), one has to conclude he is infiltrating this group and god only knows what he is up to. He has followed at least 1 person around the town and it scared this person very much. I advised my friend to tell the person he scared to report all to the Gardai. Evil predators live amongst us, abuse prayer/bible study meetings and the like, hide behind fake facebook profiles and fool the gullible who then become their victims.

solodeogloria

Good morning!

This is a matter for the police and not a matter for a discussion forum.

If this is genuine you should be reporting this to the Gardaí.

If the person hasn't committed a criminal offence then I agree with Peregrinus. The gospel of grace is for all.

I also hate when people say he doesn't look religious. What does that even mean? I suspect if I didn't tell people I was a Christian / they didn't know me well that they would conclude I was as secular as the next man.

Much thanks in the Lord Jesus Christ,
solodeogloria

Peregrinus

BuilderPlumber, your case against this guy boils down to two things; (a) he's a stranger in town, and (b) his facebook page, which for some reason you describe as "fake", is "full of smut and dirt".

I don't know what you regard as smutty and dirty, but presumably This material passes muster by reference to Facebook's standards, and is therefore unlikely to be the worst of the worst. It may be regrettable that his tolerance for lewdness is greater than yours, but that is rather thin evidence for hypothesising that he is a sex predator, and the hypothesis is, to say the least, uncharitable.

The scriptures are very clear about how we are to threat "the stranger among you". There a sharp contrast between the attitude the scriptures call for, and the attitude manifested in your post. Maybe this is the Spirit's way of calling you to greater fidelity to the scriptures. Perhaps your prayer group could spend some time reflecting on how the commandment to love our neighbour calls you all to treat this man? And, remember, the commandment most frequently repeated in the gospels is "do not be afraid".

Mancomb Seepgood

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

The problem is this guy clearly does not want to change his ways and with all these attacks on women and the discovery of a body recently (2 of which events are near to the town that this guy's prayer meeting is in), one has to conclude he is infiltrating this group and god only knows what he is up to. He has followed at least 1 person around the town and it scared this person very much. I advised my friend to tell the person he scared to report all to the Gardai. Evil predators live amongst us, abuse prayer/bible study meetings and the like, hide behind fake facebook profiles and fool the gullible who then become their victims.

I've no idea what is meant by a fake Facebook profile, but if you have any evidence that this man has been up to something illegal then you should go to the Gardai. Otherwise, this looks like backbiting and gossip about a stranger who should be welcome at a church or prayer group.

BuilderPlumber

Mancomb Seepgood wrote: »

I've no idea what is meant by a fake Facebook profile, but if you have any evidence that this man has been up to something illegal then you should go to the Gardai. Otherwise, this looks like backbiting and gossip about a stranger who should be welcome at a church or prayer group.

A fake profile on facebook means that in this case he is saying he is from somewhere else but he is ethnically Irish and is not using his real name. I know this to be the case. It is not gossip or backbiting but a genuine concern. He is not just a stranger in a town but a person who has something to hide and cannot give his true identity. One has to be way of infiltrators in this day and age. Of course I have advised my friend and his friends to go to the Gardai and one has to act on these things in the light of what happened to the 2 women recently attacked and a body found elsewhere not to mention the Graham Dwyer situation.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

BuilderPlumber

Peregrinus wrote: »

BuilderPlumber, your case against this guy boils down to two things; (a) he's a stranger in town, and (b) his facebook page, which for some reason you describe as "fake", is "full of smut and dirt".

I don't know what you regard as smutty and dirty, but presumably This material passes muster by reference to Facebook's standards, and is therefore unlikely to be the worst of the worst. It may be regrettable that his tolerance for lewdness is greater than yours, but that is rather thin evidence for hypothesising that he is a sex predator, and the hypothesis is, to say the least, uncharitable.

The scriptures are very clear about how we are to threat "the stranger among you". There a sharp contrast between the attitude the scriptures call for, and the attitude manifested in your post. Maybe this is the Spirit's way of calling you to greater fidelity to the scriptures. Perhaps your prayer group could spend some time reflecting on how the commandment to love our neighbour calls you all to treat this man? And, remember, the commandment most frequently repeated in the gospels is "do not be afraid".

The problem is that the man follows people around a town is what is of most concern to my friend. The fact he does this along with having a fake name and address on facebook and has bad stuff on it taken as a whole sets alarm bells ringing. In this day and age, we need to take heed to these things.

A stranger and someone who cannot be honest with their country of origin (in this case, the man is Irish but pretends to be from Eastern Europe and pretends to live in the Far East when he currently lives in Ireland) makes a complete mockery of the prayer group. He is up to no good for sure and one has to be aware of predators among us who infiltrate things. My friend is very concerned for the safety of his friends who go to this group this strange guy frequents and my friend is not normally someone who would raise alarm over things.

BuilderPlumber

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Everyone uses fake ids on Boards. That's its nature. I use my real name elsewhere. And I am ethnically Irish and do not pretend to be from Eastern Europe.

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

BuilderPlumber

solodeogloria wrote: »

Good morning!

This is a matter for the police and not a matter for a discussion forum.

If this is genuine you should be reporting this to the Gardaí.

If the person hasn't committed a criminal offence then I agree with Peregrinus. The gospel of grace is for all.

I also hate when people say he doesn't look religious. What does that even mean? I suspect if I didn't tell people I was a Christian / they didn't know me well that they would conclude I was as secular as the next man.

Much thanks in the Lord Jesus Christ,
solodeogloria

I know this man is not religious. It is nothing about how he looks. It is about what he does. Following people and infiltrating groups where trusting people accept him and then after that anything could happen. Because people do not know his real name, his background or he won't admit his country of origin (Ireland), he has something big to hide. He could be a criminal and probably is. We need to remember that those who commit evil live among us and infiltrate our activities.

alexonhisown

If people are concerned because they are being followed, they need to contact the gardai.
No point coming on boards to get answers from strangers with fake names :rolleyes:

draiochtanois

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BuilderPlumber

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

On Boards yes. In real life no. I don't think I could call myself Builder Plumber in real life. I think that prayer groups and bible meetings should vet those who go to them. I know some do for the very reasons I described but it is my understanding this one doesn't and that's the problem. The clergyperson in charge is kind and nice but too trusting and guys like this man take advantage and my friend is right to raise the issue and recognise a threat. Lives could be saved by doing so and one cannot turn blind eyes to strange men in this day and age. We are well aware of all the women who disappeared without trace in this country. Most of the time, they probably were killed or captured by people they knew who infiltrated their lives or events they went to.

BuilderPlumber

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

But one has to be cautious and recognise dangers. What kind of friend would my friend be if he did not show concern about a man acting strangely who could be dangerous? It is not judging it is about showing caution and protecting oneself.

BuilderPlumber

Absolam wrote: »

This looks like yet another example of media stirring up anti-stranger sentiment and subverting liberal populism. Strangers are people too, people!

There are plenty strangers and we meet them everyday. Not all of these strangers follow people around towns at night, pretend they are not Irish and act weird though. That's what makes this man different to millions of other strangers be they Irish or not. A man following someone around a town in the night is hardly normal.

Peregrinus

If your suppositions are correct - and I don't assume they are - the guy may be a fantasist, but fantasists are mostly harmless. Nobody, from what you say, has reported an improper advance, an improper comment, a threat, an insinuation from him, still less anything approaching violence. You seem determined to believe the worst of him and, to be honest, this may say more about you than it does about him.

As already mentioned, your prayer group should be seeking to engage with this man, and to build the kind of relationship in which people could have these discussions with him rather than behind his back, without him.

weldoninhio

You keep saying "infiltrated" like he's a spy or something. Do you think he may be one of those protestants or muslims, infiltrating a catholic meeting???

On a more serious note, it sounds like he has mental health issues or something along those lines and is looking for acceptance or friendship but doesn't realise he is overstepping social boundaries by following people. If he was really a criminal mastermind who infiltrated groups with bad intentions he'd be a lot more careful I'd imagine and your friend would never have known he/she was being followed.

pilly

This thread caught my eye and I can't believe what I'm reading. The word "infiltrate" has been mentioned I don't know how many times as if a prayer meeting is a terrorist organisation that someone is trying to worm their way into. To be honest this would make me stay away from prayer meetings with a vengeance.

I've recently moved to rural Ireland and attended mass a few times in an effort to meet people and all I've gotten are strange looks.

Now I know why, they think I'm trying to "infiltrate" their organisation.

BuilderPlumber

Peregrinus wrote: »

If your suppositions are correct - and I don't assume they are - the guy may be a fantasist, but fantasists are mostly harmless. Nobody, from what you say, has reported an improper advance, an improper comment, a threat, an insinuation from him, still less anything approaching violence. You seem determined to believe the worst of him and, to be honest, this may say more about you than it does about him.

As already mentioned, your prayer group should be seeking to engage with this man, and to build the kind of relationship in which people could have these discussions with him rather than behind his back, without him.

There is nothing harmless about someone following or stalking another person. Nothing at all harmless about it. How many evil perverts were dismissed as 'harmless' initially? This man suddenly appears on the scene and then has a facebook page where he claims to be another ethnicity and has dirt on it rings alarm bells for me. My friend's friend will report him to the authorities.

Secondly, this is not my prayer group, and I have never been at it. It is my friend's friend who goes to it. Infiltrators are everywhere and it is too late if this guy killed or raped someone or committed a terrorist act. These things ALL happen in this world and ALL happen often because someone didn't take notice or turned a blind eye to strange behaviour. Call him a 'harmless fantasist' at one's peril. Satan is real and evil is real and one has to be on guard always.

BuilderPlumber

pilly wrote: »

This thread caught my eye and I can't believe what I'm reading. The word "infiltrate" has been mentioned I don't know how many times as if a prayer meeting is a terrorist organisation that someone is trying to worm their way into. To be honest this would make me stay away from prayer meetings with a vengeance.

I've recently moved to rural Ireland and attended mass a few times in an effort to meet people and all I've gotten are strange looks.

Now I know why, they think I'm trying to "infiltrate" their organisation.

There is an important distinction to be made between petty cronyism and not welcoming of decent strangers and a man who follows people around scaring them. Remember the Luke character in season 2 of Love/Hate? That's the type I am talking about here. He may have mental health issues and he needs help and he could be dangerous but he scares the hell out of people akin to Mary in Love/Hate.

weldoninhio

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

There is nothing harmless about someone following or stalking another person. Nothing at all harmless about it. How many evil perverts were dismissed as 'harmless' initially? This man suddenly appears on the scene and then has a facebook page where he claims to be another ethnicity and has dirt on it rings alarm bells for me. My friend's friend will report him to the authorities.

Secondly, this is not my prayer group, and I have never been at it. It is my friend's friend who goes to it. Infiltrators are everywhere and it is too late if this guy killed or raped someone or committed a terrorist act. These things ALL happen in this world and ALL happen often because someone didn't take notice or turned a blind eye to strange behaviour. Call him a 'harmless fantasist' at one's peril. Satan is real and evil is real and one has to be on guard always.

You seem quite paranoid.

Peregrinus

"Following" has suddenly turned into "stalking", and you've given us no detail on either. We're getting information at fourth hand from BuilderPlumber's friend's friend, and heaven knows how it has grown in the telling.

If there's an issue here, report it to the guards. If there's nothing here to report to the guards, then I don't know what you hope to achieve by passing on this kind of scuttlebutt. From a Christian perspective there's only one thing we can say to you; if this guy seems to be troubled, then Christians should seek to help him. The notion that we should run away screaming because he might be a sexual predator infiltrating a prayer group in the hope of finding a victim when there really is no evidence that he is anything of the kind is a call to live in fear, and that is completely the opposite of what Christians are called to do.

BuilderPlumber

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

A friend of mine brought to my attention that a strange man who could be dangerous has infiltrated a prayer meeting in an Irish town. Due to legal reasons, etc. I cannot say where and what meeting as that is the job for the Gardai. This man can follow people around the town and no one knows his real name or his background or where he is from. Some friends of my friend do not seem to find anything wrong with him but my friend is worried for their friends' safety. I checked out his fake facebook sites and there is nothing to indicate he is a religious person and everything to indicate he could be a sex predator infiltrating the group as his site is full of smut and dirt. Should my friend be worried for the safety of his friends? And is this common in other such groups? Thanks.

Be careful, he could be an atheist....

BuilderPlumber

weldoninhio wrote: »

You keep saying "infiltrated" like he's a spy or something. Do you think he may be one of those protestants or muslims, infiltrating a catholic meeting???

On a more serious note, it sounds like he has mental health issues or something along those lines and is looking for acceptance or friendship but doesn't realise he is overstepping social boundaries by following people. If he was really a criminal mastermind who infiltrated groups with bad intentions he'd be a lot more careful I'd imagine and your friend would never have known he/she was being followed.

The likes of Graham Dwyer had serious mental health issues but that does not excuse the evil deed he did and the evil he was into. He not a Muslim and he is going to a protestant prayer group meeting. Not a Catholic one. My friend does not believe he is into any religion.

He is like the Luke character from Love/Hate perhaps. But if he is 'harmless' and seeks help and friendship, he should not be acting strange and following people or saying he is from Eastern Europe when he is from Ireland.

He is not some criminal mastermind for the reasons you describe but he could be a mentally disturbed person who nevertheless could be dangerous. Stalkers and predators and peeping toms exist and that's what their agenda is. If he was a spy seeking info, he'd be careful or if he was a terrorist, the same. I do not believe he is a paid spy or a terrorist but anything else is possible.

Hrududu

Lots of people put false names etc on their Facebook page. Particularly if you want to have Facebook but don't want potential employers snooping on you. So I wouldn't read too much into that.

As to him following people. Are you sure that's what's happening?

looksee

OP, how do you know he follows people around, have you been followed? Or is this something you have heard? Unfortunately, even if you are correct there is not a great deal you can do about it. Who is going to 'vet' anyone going to a prayer meeting? Or indeed any other kind of meeting. And if you have reason to doubt him, how are you going to force him to leave? You can pass your concerns on to the gardai, but they cannot do anything unless something happens that they can react to.

Since you are aware of the potential dangers (as you see them) you would be an ideal person to reach out and help him, and that may be all that he is looking for.

BuilderPlumber

weldoninhio wrote: »

You seem quite paranoid.

Paranoid, no. Cautious yes. Why wouldn't one be cautious? Look at what happened to that student recently? Look at Graham Dwyer. In the next week we will hear more such things. All this is done by real people who live among us and who are part of society and 'befriend' their victims often. This is the real world and it is not someone from outer space doing these things. These types are mentally ill but in a depraved way and know how to manipulate their victims and ruin people's lives.

Big Bag of Chips

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Secondly, this is not my prayer group, and I have never been at it. It is my friend's friend who goes to it.

So, it's not your prayer group. It's not even your friend's. It's a friend of a friend's? Have you or your friend ever even met/seen this fella, other than a Facebook page that you think is his fake one? It all sounds like hearsay and gossip and stories being told and gathering legs.

The situation has nothing to do with you. It doesn't even really have anything to do with your friend. I don't know what you think you can achieve by posting here on behalf of a 3rd(4th?) party. It sounds like small town gossip. The man might be evil. Who knows? He also might be a harmless oddball. He might also be completely average and it's the friend of your friend who is a bit of a fantasist who imagines all sorts. I have a friend, perfectly normal woman, who could retell a story of a night out we've been on together and her night out and my night out would be two completely different experiences. She sees conflict everywhere! I don't see anything other than the people I'm enjoying a night out with. You know nothing about him and joining in on the evil talk is just giving leverage to others to continue to judge him.

If he is stalking/harrassing someone and they feel unsafe surely they know to go to the guards without getting a friend of a friend to get advice off the internet to bring back to the friend to bring back to them. They could possibly even seek advice themselves. But of course not telling people who then can't tell other people who then won't tell even more people isn't as much fun as being the source of a good gossip story.

BuilderPlumber

Big Bag of Chips wrote: »

So, it's not your prayer group. It's not even your friend's. It's a friend of a friend's? Have you or your friend ever even met/seen this fella, other than a Facebook page that you think is his fake one? It all sounds like hearsay and gossip and stories being told and gathering legs.

The situation has nothing to do with you. It doesn't even really have anything to do with your friend. I don't know what you think you can achieve by posting here on behalf of a 3rd(4th?) party. It sounds like small town gossip. The man might be evil. Who knows? He also might be a harmless oddball. He might also be completely average and its the friend of your friends who us a bit of a fantasist who imagined all sorts. I have a friend who could retell a story of a night out we've been on and her night out and my night out would be two completely different experiences. You know nothing about him and joining in on the evil talk is just giving leverage to others to continue to judge him.

If he is stalking/harrassing someone and they feel unsafe surely they know to go to the guards without getting a friend of a friend to get advice off the internet to bring back to the friend to bring back to them. They could possibly even seek advice themselves. But of course not telling people who could then tell other people isn't as much fun as being the source of a good gossip story.

My friend requested me to help with advice and that's all I did. Nothing more. I never met this man but I believe my friend as my friend is a reputable and intelligent person who does not engage in idle gossip. As regards the facebook site: it is 100% fake. My friend's friend (who I know as well but would not consider a close friend but who I can vouch for is also a decent, honest person) is going to the Gardai about this today. We will know more next week.

It is my business to help friends who want my help. That's all I did. This man may be anything from a 'harmless clown' to a murderer and it is up to the Gardai to look at his profile, listen to the scenario about him, reveal his real identity and then see what he is. The fact that my friend and I did not stand idly by has to be commended. It would be the same if I saw someone who had what looked like a gun in a shopping centre in a town. Even if it was not a gun or a toy, one cannot ever take the chance in today's world. Simple as.

weldoninhio

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Paranoid, no. Cautious yes. Why wouldn't one be cautious? Look at what happened to that student recently? Look at Graham Dwyer. In the next week we will hear more such things. All this is done by real people who live among us and who are part of society and 'befriend' their victims often. This is the real world and it is not someone from outer space doing these things. These types are mentally ill but in a depraved way and know how to manipulate their victims and ruin people's lives.

You've quite a strange way of looking at things. You're overuse of "infiltrate" and mild obsession with Graham Dwyer who you have mentioned numerous times is quite worrying. Statistically we live in the safest times in recorded history. Take a chill pill and stop worrying about things that will probably never happen.

ZeroThreat

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

A friend of mine brought to my attention that a strange man who could be dangerous has infiltrated a prayer meeting in an Irish town. Due to legal reasons, etc. I cannot say where and what meeting as that is the job for the Gardai. This man can follow people around the town and no one knows his real name or his background or where he is from. Some friends of my friend do not seem to find anything wrong with him but my friend is worried for their friends' safety. I checked out his fake facebook sites and there is nothing to indicate he is a religious person and everything to indicate he could be a sex predator infiltrating the group as his site is full of smut and dirt. Should my friend be worried for the safety of his friends? And is this common in other such groups? Thanks.

Just curious, if some stranger arrived in town and had no presence whatsoever on facebook or social media, would you be as apprehensive or even more so?

BuilderPlumber

ZeroThreat wrote: »

Just curious, if some stranger arrived in town and had no presence whatsoever on facebook or social media, would you be as apprehensive or even more so?

Would have nothing against the person as long as the person did not do anything strange. I have friends who are Irish, non-Irish, new and old, from settled and traveller communities and so on and they are all wonderful people. One meets strangers all the time and unless they prove otherwise, I accept them and welcome them. Simple as. But if someone followed me or was loitering around my house, I naturally would be wary and would want answers.

weldoninhio

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Would have nothing against the person as long as the person did not do anything strange. I have friends who are Irish, non-Irish, new and old, from settled and traveller communities and so on and they are all wonderful people. One meets strangers all the time and unless they prove otherwise, I accept them and welcome them. Simple as. But if someone followed me or was loitering around my house, I naturally would be wary and would want answers.

What if a dog followed you home?? There are always reports of dogs biting, mauling and killing babies, children and sometimes adults. Would you be suspicious of the Jack Russell, if that's even his real name!!!

pilly

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Would have nothing against the person as long as the person did not do anything strange. I have friends who are Irish, non-Irish, new and old, from settled and traveller communities and so on and they are all wonderful people. One meets strangers all the time and unless they prove otherwise, I accept them and welcome them. Simple as. But if someone followed me or was loitering around my house, I naturally would be wary and would want answers.

But this guy hasn't followed you! He has followed the friend of a friend of a friend!! Really, you've never heard of Chinese whispers? He could have been walking in the same direction as someone or anything. There are people out there even more paranoid than you who think everyone is following them. You haven't even heard this story 1st hand. I know if someone was definitely, without a doubt following me I'd call the police straight away on the spot. Not after a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend came back to me! Cop on seriously.

BuilderPlumber

pilly wrote: »

But this guy hasn't followed you! He has followed the friend of a friend of a friend!! Really, you've never heard of Chinese whispers? He could have been walking in the same direction as someone or anything. There are people out there even more paranoid than you who think everyone is following them. You haven't even heard this story 1st hand. I know if someone was definitely, without a doubt following me I'd call the police straight away on the spot. Not after a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend came back to me! Cop on seriously.

No, not the case. Happened a few times and it was obvious. I am well aware of 'Chinese whispers' etc. I know the person who is my friend all my life and the people my friend trusts are genuine. I know. And I never heard this type of thing from my friend before. When it happened first, my friend's friend ignored it and wrote it off as just coincidence until it was revealed it wasn't. One knows. If a person followed me the first or even second time chances are I wouldn't notice. But if it happened 6 or 7 times in places where the person has no business different story. I believe my friend and my friend believes his friend and is worried about his other friends and that is good enough for me.

Absolam

All in all, this doesn't seem to have anything particularly to do with Christianity though, does it?

screamer

Maybe he's just a lonely lost soul and the only way he has to speak to others is to join a prayer group. Maybe he has mental health issues and finds solace in prayer. You don't know anything about him. How about your friend invites him for a coffee after the prayer group and trys to get to know him a bit and then he can make a more informed opinion on this person.
Honestly dude not everyone is out to get everyone else but people would rather think the worst of others than bother their ass to get to know anything about someone. BTW id expect a prayer group to be a bit more inclusive welcoming and understanding than your friend is showing them to be.

BuilderPlumber

screamer wrote: »

Maybe he's just a lonely lost soul and the only way he has to speak to others is to join a prayer group. Maybe he has mental health issues and finds solace in prayer. You don't know anything about him. How about your friend invites him for a coffee after the prayer group and trys to get to know him a bit and then he can make a more informed opinion on this person.
Honestly dude not everyone is out to get everyone else but people would rather think the worst of others than bother their ass to get to know anything about someone. BTW id expect a prayer group to be a bit more inclusive welcoming and understanding than your friend is showing them to be.

Maybe he is and maybe he is not. His behaviour was wrong no matter what. Sure the Luke character who was stalking Mary in Love/Hate seemed to be 'harmless' (unless you were a swan!) but he scared the hell out of her.

I'd advise my friends to bring the matter to the attention of the organiser of the group and the organiser talk to him about these concerns.

pilly

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Maybe he is and maybe he is not. His behaviour was wrong no matter what. Sure the Luke character who was stalking Mary in Love/Hate seemed to be 'harmless' (unless you were a swan!) but he scared the hell out of her.

I'd advise my friends to bring the matter to the attention of the organiser of the group and the organiser talk to him about these concerns.

So you're basing your concerns on Love/Hate? I'm out of this discussion, ridiculous. I actually think it's made up. As I've already stated if it was obvious someone had followed me 5 or 6 times they'd be arrested by now.

I agree it's nothing to do with Christianity at all, complete opposite actually.

alexonhisown

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

On Boards yes. In real life no. I don't think I could call myself Builder Plumber in real life. I think that prayer groups and bible meetings should vet those who go to them. I know some do for the very reasons I described but it is my understanding this one doesn't and that's the problem. The clergyperson in charge is kind and nice but too trusting and guys like this man take advantage and my friend is right to raise the issue and recognise a threat. Lives could be saved by doing so and one cannot turn blind eyes to strange men in this day and age. We are well aware of all the women who disappeared without trace in this country. Most of the time, they probably were killed or captured by people they knew who infiltrated their lives or events they went to.

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Maybe he is and maybe he is not. His behaviour was wrong no matter what. Sure the Luke character who was stalking Mary in Love/Hate seemed to be 'harmless' (unless you were a swan!) but he scared the hell out of her.

I'd advise my friends to bring the matter to the attention of the organiser of the group and the organiser talk to him about these concerns.

I agree with screamer, he is probably just lonely and looking for company.
Why do you keep mentioning "luke, from love hate".
What has a tv character/storyline got to do with anything? Thats soapland, this is real life

if so many people were getting followed 6/7 times, why didnt they call the gardai by now?

And you mentioned that people joining bible/prayer groups should be vetted. Why?
Do you think everyone going to mass should be vetted?

eviltwin

Its okay to be cautious but so far you have nothing to be cautious about apart from some second hand information and your own judgements about him based on his FB page. So what if he is not decorating his page with religious references? That doesn't mean anything, he might choose to keep that kind of thing private. As for "smut", what does that even mean? How does it point to him being a possible sexual predator?

You need to be very careful here that you don't let this get out of hand and have a man who has so far done nothing labelled as a dangerous individual because that could end very badly.

GarIT

I'm reading this literally as "I found a random facebook profile and am attributing it to some guy"

You say you found his facebook profile but this facebook profile has a different name, different country, different ethnicity and different personality. Is there anything about this one of the billion profiles on facebook that actually link it to the guy you are talking about?

Mancomb Seepgood

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

I think that prayer groups and bible meetings should vet those who go to them. I know some do for the very reasons I described but it is my understanding this one doesn't and that's the problem. The clergyperson in charge is kind and nice but too trusting and guys like this man take advantage and my friend is right to raise the issue and recognise a threat. Lives could be saved by doing so and one cannot turn blind eyes to strange men in this day and age. We are well aware of all the women who disappeared without trace in this country. Most of the time, they probably were killed or captured by people they knew who infiltrated their lives or events they went to.

The idea that churches, prayer groups, or Bible study groups should vet those who attend them is ridiculous, unless the personal attending will be working with children or vulnerable adults. For a start, it wouldn't be something that they would be equipped to do. Secondly, should a person who might have been on the wrong side of the law in the past not have the opportunity to worship or associate with others without having their past raked over? You're painting a very dark picture of the world - the world can be a very cynical place but we should try to leave that aside when we worship with others.

Your bizzare obsession with Love/Hate and Graham Dwyer makes you sound more of a threat than the supposed stranger.

Calm the **** down.

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BuilderPlumber

I don't see why all this hostility towards me. No wonder we have criminals getting away with things when one does not take things seriously !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All I did was sought advice about a potentially dangerous situation that could lead to something bad happening and everyone gets on my case. No wonder we have all these disappeared women and the rest of it. These evil <snip> exist in our society and no one seems to care or take notice.

I just HOPE ISIS are not taking note of this!

):

Advbrd

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

I don't see why all this hostility towards me. No wonder we have criminals getting away with things when one does not take things seriously !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All I did was sought advice about a potentially dangerous situation that could lead to something bad happening and everyone gets on my case. No wonder we have all these disappeared women and the rest of it. These evil <snip> exist in our society and no one seems to care or take notice.

I just HOPE ISIS are not taking note of this!

):

Oh dear, ISIS are now going to infiltrate Christian prayer groups.
Well, we are becoming a more multicultural society.