This has got to be in the category of truth that is stranger than fiction but here it is:
An Edgewater city councilwoman and her husband face criminal charges after their daughter accused them of battering her during an effort to exorcise "the demons out of her."
The story is just too bizarre. Apparently, this is a common practice in their home:
..."it is common for the family to gather together to pray in times of tension and also to anoint the children with olive oil to cleanse their spirits."
Count me among those who think "anointing children" is creepy. Think about it.
Rogers went on to say on the night of June 27 the family gathered in the kitchen to pray after Danielle and her twin sister Christina got into an argument. When her husband began to "put a little dab of oil on Danielle’s forehead" she "went crazy and began flailing about "causing the oil to spill. "
In her statement, Danielle Rogers disputed that account saying her 47-year-old father poured oil "all over her’’ while her mother and sister held her.
The wife and sister physically restrained her while the father anointed her! That goes beyond creepy - actually, the police think it's criminal.
I know this is not "national" news. It's not a big issue like Iraq. But, make no mistake. It reeks of the same religious extremism that has put our troops in harms way.
I would say "Only in Florida" but, unfortunately, I know it's not just here.
