(04-23-2010, 10:15 AM)calicatholic Wrote: The Catholic Church is the only reliable source for proper interpretation of the Bible.  There must be a Catholic source of intense translation of the Bible that someone can point you toward, but I would recommend avoiding Melissa Scott, especially if you don't believe there's a danger there.

Quote:Well, I have a number of problems with Melissa Scott ... firstly, she has absolutely no formal training or credentials in theology or linguistics (both fields in which she professes to be an expert). Her late husband (Dr. Gene Scott) was somewhat of a cook too, but at least he had a Ph.D ... even though it was in the 'Philosophy of Education'. She has no more than a high school diploma ... while that doesn't necessarily mean she can't know anything it certainly is doubtful she could master ancient Greek and Aramiac through self study. Myself, I am a Doctor of History with a professorship at the University Copenhagen (Denmark), and I can tell you that while her translations are somewhat accurate they also have many blatantly amatuerish errors and reek of naivete.

I have never seen Pastor Melissa Scott write/speak in Greek or Latin on the fly ... the texts are already written on the whiteboard before the 'lecture' starts, and she merely 'translates' them (no doubt prerehearsed). In the linguistic community this is extraordinarily unusual!!! I cannot stress this enough -- people who really are scholars and fluent/proficient in ancient languages are constantly writing and translating things as they pop into their head. They are not confined to what was written on the board before they started lecturing -- I have never seen Melissa Scott do this once.

This should be a red flag to anyone with even a shred of critical thinking skills.

This is beyond the fact she jumps from one non sequiter to the next, using circular logic, and unsound syllogisms (in an epistemological sense). She starts off saying exactly what question she going to address/answer, and then she never answers it! She just rambles on and on trying to impress and dupe her audience into seeing past the obvious flaws in her message -- she is a master B.S.'er. As Plato would have said " [this type of] rhetoric is little more than art of convincing the ignorant," because if you had any expert knowledge of what she is talking about you'd realize how fallacious her thought process is.

...

*I have a Post Doc. in History with a specialization in 20th Century Scandinavian History (from Brown University - 2003). As all other professional historians at the doctorate level I am required to be proficient in several modern and ancient languages -- I can speak 6 modern languages, and have officially studied Latin and Greek at the university level.

(05-01-2010, 10:23 AM)DesperatelySeeking Wrote: Doesn't the name "Pastor Melissa" tip you off right up front?

(04-23-2010, 09:51 AM)WoundedHealer Wrote: Has anyone had the opportunity to catch her message?

(04-29-2010, 12:41 AM)SoCalLocal Wrote: No I hadn't heard of her until minutes ago, but all of the sudden, it makes sense. "Her late husband (Dr. Gene Scott)"

Him, I know of. He used to be on UHF TV 24/7, ranting and glaring at the camera, wearing a pith helmet and two pairs of sunglasses, smoking cigars while haranging for money, all sorts of weird behavior. One time he gave a talk about how some book in the Bible had the exact number of words that there are steps in the Great Pyramid in Giza, and how it pointed out something else. All very conspiracy-theory sounding. But he was always fun to watch and made sense when I was drunk. 

Quote:Pastor Melissa Scott, widow of Dr. Gene Scott, has taken over the Los Angeles University Cathedral after Dr. Scott died in February 2005 from terminal prostate cancer.

Melissa Scott was born April 12, 1968, as Melissa Pauline Peroff in Italy. The family moved to Canada then to Massachusettes where Melissa met and later married Paul J. Pastore, an aspiring adult movie producer. The couple moved to North Hollywood and wed in Las Vegas in 1992 then began their work as pornographic producers and directors. Melissa performed as Barbie Bridges in adult photos and videos produced by Vivid Productions. The two formed Barbie Bridged Entertainment which has grown to an international producer and web producer of pornographic video movies featuring teen agers and every conceivable combination of erotic thrill.

Melissa became coupled with Dr. Gene Scott in 1995 during his pony girl phase of paying models to attend his church in the front row, while requiring the rest of the audience to stand and give the ladies an ovation when they entered. Melissa was one of the group who vied for Dr. Scott's attentions and assets.

In 1996, Melissa divorced Paul Pastore and Gene Scott divorced his second wife Christine.

Some doubt the credibility of Dr. Scott's claims that Melissa spoke 15 languages and has an IQ of 186, particularly when Dr. Scott's doctors had to tell her to stop feeding Dr. Scott herbs which were interfering with his prostate cancer test results and treatment. Dr. Scott died of terminal prostate cancer in 2005.

Controvery surrounds Pastor Melissa Scott as she hammers volunteers for free servitude, demands money to pray for callers and insists that those who have stayed in her church double and triple their monetary giving and time to help her make ends meet. This is amid court documents and reports that she has been liquidating cars, horses, and real estate that Gene Scott acquired through church donations, to buy herself a downtown L.A. swank condominium and further her own celebrity preacher and singing acclaim.

Religious group watchers are baffled with her methods of banning loyals and harrassing newcomers for their time and money. While preaching to be a messenger and steward of Dr. Scott's teachings, Melissa Scott has removed the internet archived teachings Dr. Scott always make awailable for free.
The new broadcast locations and times are filled with Mrs. Scott's novice sermons, replacing the classics of Dr. Scott.

Recently, Pastor Melissa Scott raised eyebrows within her church by an about face plan to teach the prosperity doctrine, with a catch. It's prosperity for her church and the most
loyal who have devoted their lives to it, not for the poor,
homeless, meek, weak or disenfranchised.