Holy cow! When ‘faith’ preys on vulnerability - Ep. 18

A Swedish man joins a Pentecostal church in 1989 and soon becomes a pastor. But he has a unique way of fighting off the devil: with sex – and sex with women who aren’t his wife. (Spoiler alert: she’s a pastor, too, and claims to be the “bride of Christ.”) In time, their love triangle starts to look more like a love hexagon, and the body count begins to grow. 

Plus, co-host Charity shares her own story of seeking out a church where she thought she could belong, only to find a religious sect using scare tactics (and pet bunnies on Easter?) to try to influence a small child. It’s a pretty crazy story too! So jump into the Escape Pod this week for a wild ride of “religion” gone very wrong! 

 

DISCLAIMER: The Escape Pod and its cohosts are, in no way, passing judgement (pun intended) on ALL churches or faith leaders. The first story in this episode is shared in keeping with our focus on tales of true crime; the second is a co-host's personal experience trying to find a spiritual home but being sorely disappointed with her search. 

 

Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 

• Topic #1   6:30 Introduction of key members of church in Sweden 
• Topic #2 13:31 Woman used to “ward off the devil” is shunned  
• Topic #3 23:49 6-year-old Charity goes on an ill-fated faith journey 
• Topic #4 40:33 Escapism, cohost-style! 

Resources & Links 

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9462799/How-Pentecostal-pastor-convinced-lover-murder-wife.html  
• https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Man-guilty-of-sending-murderous-messages-from-God-1668112.php  
• https://www.news24.com/news24/priests-murder-plot-sickens-20040730  
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282224820_The_Life_Story_of_Helge_Fossmo_Former_Pastor_of_Knutby_Filadelfia_as_Told_in_Prison_A_Narrative_Analysis_Approach  
• https://www.thelocal.se/20111214/37938  
• https://www.religionnewsblog.com/8939/i-was-a-sex-slave 
• https://infosekolah.net/en/Helge_Fossmo  
• https://infosekolah.net/en/%C3%85sa_Waldau  

 

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