First, before we begin, let us assure all that only IF you have a free month of 24 hour days, can you possibly have the time to hear about the stupid things that the Kuhlmeyers have done in their lives...errors they have made.  Some of these things they have no excuse for...they knew better.  And not all of these situations are OLD situations...some of them are recent.  But those who have proven themselves to be truly "family" and have consequently been gifts from the HOLY ONE for our lives have loved us through them all and most importantly, they were always ready to believe the best of us.  Yes, more than once, to our shame, this hard-headed Seminole and his red-headed wife have given power to the "man of flesh" that we wrestle against and have ignored their words of counsel.....but these "family members" have continued to believe only the best of us.  Eventually we lived up to some of their expectations.  :-)
 
When this matter of Trimm/Kathryn/Bet-Din was brought to our attention, we were blessed by the fact that we don't and wouldn't know any of the principals were we to bump into them on the street.  We did not WANT to become involved in the matter but felt, as believers, that we were COMMANDED to.  What follows is OUR opinion derived after MUCH study and prayer and much time reviewing the documents on Kathryn's webpage, some documents from James Trimm, a few email correspondences with members of his Bet-Din,  and questioning of witnesses as to their assessment of Kathryn's and James' character.
 
In all matters, both Kathryn and James Trimm are spoken highly of by the questioned witnesses as far as having impressed others that both of these two truly love their LORD and desire to serve HIM and only HIM.  We are convinced that this is the situation.  Only Kathryn and James individually know whatever personality deficits they might individually possess but interestingly enough, no one has questioned their dedication to carrying out what they perceive to be Yahweh's commands to us as HIS people.  We have not looked for witnesses as to the character of his Bet-Din because we have not chosen, as has James, to subject ourselves to their authority; therefore it is sufficient to us to ASSUME that they are people of good repute.
 
To summarize the situation as we understood it; Kathryn brought charges against James Trimm for fraud; to wit:
 
Kathryn claims that she brought these matters first to the attention of James Trimm, then to his Bet-Din and when she was not satisfied, brought them to the attention of the BODY by emails to Messianic congregational leaders as well as by her website  http://home.flash.net/~purnhrt/truth/
 
Kathryn's charges against James Trimm, summarized as we understand them are as follows:
 
1.  That James Trimm committed fraud by appearing on various email forums under the name of Rabbi Yosef
 
2.  That James Trimm committed fraud by claiming he has a doctorate when in fact, his credentials are from
non-accredited sources.
 
3.  That James Trimm committed fraud by "birthing" and encouraging a Yeshiva that is an "illegal" entity and that as a result many Yeshiva students are being defrauded
 
4.  That when these situations were brought to James Trimm's attention, he accepted no culpability and made no appropriate efforts to RESTORE.
 
5.  That when James Trimm's response was less than she had hoped for, Kathryn then took the matter to the
James trim's Bet-Din  Kathryn submits that his Bet din made no investigation of the charges even though she admits that they "found" James Trimm "loosed" (not guilty as charged) from the charges against him.
 
6.  Kathryn submits that James Trimm's Bet-Din is a "kangaroo court" and is nothing more than a rubber stamp for James Trimm and that she was therefore justified in bringing this matter before the BODY.
 
These are the basic issues as we understand them and what follows is our opinion based on the investigation we have done.
 
Issue #1
That James Trimm committed fraud by appearing on various email forums under the name of Rabbi Yosef
 
We have found that the pseudonym in and of itself does not constitute fraud anymore than does
Kathryn's pseudonym of tatorah or our occasional one of unworthy2die4.  Pseudonyms and even aliases are expected; even encouraged under some circumstances on the web.
 
On the other hand, we see James Trimm's posts as Rabbi Yosef as indicative of a greater problem within the
Messianic community in feeling that they have to achieve some sort of recognition for a personal body of knowledge so as to achieve a degree of "respectability".  Undoubtedly this is due to the fact that the Orthodox community Yeshivas who heretofore had been the ones to award degrees do not recognize anything "Messianic".  Only DURING and after the Babylonian captivity, did the term "Rabbi" come into "vogue" within Israel.  Prior to this, the teacher was known to his students in a personal way and there was no issue of "accreditation" by the community at large. Israel's response to the clergy-laity controversy of "Christianity" appears to be the term "Rabbi".
 
We find James Trimm's use of the pseudonym of Rabbi Yosef not inappropriate on the Mormon forums within James Trimm's frame of reference.  We find James' use of pseudonym of Rabbi Yosef on his own forums as a "means of evangelizing" as "stupid". Stupid is not fraud however.
 
When confronted...his initial denial was a lie and a Torah-observant Bet-Din should have  sanctioned him for this.  ESPECIALLY should "teachers" be held to a higher standard.
 
Kathryn was informed by James' Bet-Din that they found no fault with his actions and for her to say that they did not investigate the charge is a lie and she owes restitution to James Trimm.
 
Issues #2 and #3
2.  That James Trimm committed fraud by claiming he has a doctorate when in fact, his credentials are from
non-accredited sources.
 
3.  That James Trimm committed fraud by "birthing" and encouraging a Yeshiva that is an "illegal" entity and that as a result many Yeshiva students are being defrauded
 
Because a non-elected, non-representative bureaucratic body assumes authority of accreditation over all
educational intuitions within a given area (Texas) does not negate the fact that this country is a republic, not a democracy,  and regulations including bureaucratic regulations of any type against a "religious body" are patently illegal on the part of the bureaucratic body.  This is a matter of the constutional law of the United States.
 
There is no evidence that would suggest that James Trimm used his earned doctorate in any matter intended to deceive; i.e.; apply for a position at a State-supported institution claiming that he had credentials that they recognized as accredited.
 
There is no evidence that would suggest that James Trimm intended to deceive the Yeshiva students and Kathryn was so informed by James trim's Bet-Din.
 
For her to claim contrary is a lie as is evidenced even on her own webpages and she owes restitution.
 
Further, the most basic of high school civics covers matters of constutional law as does a web search done for accreditation.  If Kathryn is capable of doing the research she has done to find bureaucratic entities to file complaints against James Trimm, she was surely capable of checking out this matter of constutionality.  In our opinion, Kathryn has committed Lashon hara against James Trimm and owes restution.
 
 
Issue#4
That when these situations were brought to James Trimm's attention, he accepted no culpability and made no appropriate efforts to RESTORE.
 
We see evidence to the contrary; that is; we see evidence that James Trimm has made clarifications on his website so as to make clear the "accreditation" issue.
 
Issue #5
That when James Trimm's response was less than she had hoped for, Kathryn then took the matter to the James Trimm's Bet-Din.  Kathryn submits that his Bet din made no investigation of the charges even though she admits that they "found" James Trimm "loosed" (not guilty as charged) from the charges against him.
 
Kathryn's own webpages show the lie in her allegation that his Bet din made no investigation of the charges.  She owes restitution to James Trimm and his Bet-Din
 
Issue #6
Kathryn submits that James Trimm's Bet-Din is a "kangaroo court" and is nothing more than a rubber stamp for James Trimm and that she was therefore justified in bringing this matter before the BODY.
 
The whole purpose of a Bet-Din is to try matters of law, render judgments and communicate those judgments to interested parties. Although they appear to have investigated these charges of Kathryn's, the people serving on James Trimm's Bet-Din have a great deal to learn about communication.  In our experience, their communication skills are, to put it kindly, deficient.  Having deficient communication skills does not however make a body a "kangaroo court" or "a rubber stamp for James Trimm".
 
Kathryn appears to have committed Lashon Hara against both James Trimm and his Bet-Din in this regard and owes restitution.
 
Our findings in summary:  To have a viable Bet-Din modeled on a Hebraic model, the initial court must be (1) the Bench of Three in the synagogue (2) over which is the Bench of Twenty-one in the district  (3) over which is the Bench of Seventy-one -- the Sanhedrin in the Holy Temple; the judges who "sit in Moses' seat."  Anything less cannot be construed to be a viable Bet-Din.  IF James Trimm's Bet-Din answers to a Bench of twenty-one, it was the obligation of the local Bet-Din to tell Kathryn and direct her to the appropriate place to file her appeal.  We have not seen evidence that this was done.  If James Trimm's Bet-Din is just a body to whom he chooses to hold himself accountable, then it would probably be better named something less confusing.
 
In either case, when the charges Kathryn made against James Trimm did not elicit the desired effect (supposedly, one of sanctions against James Trimm), Kathryn apparently felt justified in taking this matter before the BODY of believers.
 
We have been impressed by the witnesses who have spoken for Kathryn's character as a woman who attempts to operate in a GODly fashion and we can understand why, coming out of "church-anity", she would feel that this matter of Trimm/Kathryn should go before the Body of Believers in accordance with Matthew 18.  We are equally impressed however, with those witness who have counseled with her advising her that her website and continued emailings to the BODY of Messianic believers is Lashon hara.
 
Jo herself has seen Kathryn commit lashon Hara against James Trimm on the IsraeLight forum.
 
It is our opinion that Kathryn finds James Trimm's Bet-Din lacking.  That in and of itself is ok....we do too.  She has the same choice we do....to not subject herself to their authority.
 
While we have no doubt that Kathryn started off with the purest of heart and best of intentions, it seems to us that at present she has forgotten that as a claimer of the covenant promises, (1) she has an OBLIGATION to believe the best of her brothers and sisters even when their actions make you wonder AND (2) She has an obligation to never bring a brother or sister to public shame.  We find that she has been deficient in both these areas.  She needs to recognize that James Trimm has solid legal grounds to bring a suit for (1) Defamation of character as well as (2) slander and liable against her and that the courts would probably award him punitative damages.  In our opinion, Kathryn needs to make restitution and thanksgiving to James Trimm.
 
Because this is the season of introspection and restitution and repentance, we will allow Kathryn fellowship on our forums until after the HOLY DAYS are over.  However, if she has not attempted to restore James Trimm and the member of his Bet-Din and has not taken down her slanderous website immediately after or before Sukkot, she will be disfellowshipped from our forums and we will mention her name no more.
 
Bill and Jo Kuhlmeyer Graftedin@saintmail.net
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