Bobbi Kristina Goes Missing After Mom Whitney Houston’s Funeral

Us Weekly – Sun, Feb 19, 2012 3:56 PM PST

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Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown had her grandmother, Cissy Houston, at her side during the 3.5-hour long funeral for her mother, Whitney Houston, held in Newark, NJ Saturday.
But once the services ended and her mother’s casket was carried out of the New Hope Baptist Church to “I Will Always Love You,” the 18-year-old alarmed her family and friends when she went missing. Meanwhile, it was being speculated that she was using drugs at that time.
PHOTOS: Whitney and Bobby’s family album
“There was some confusion about Bobbi Kristina’s whereabouts last night for a short time, but she’s OK,” a Houston family spokesperson told The Daily Beast on Sunday, adding that drugs were not part of the equation. “She needed some time alone.”
No word if Bobbi Kristina (Whitney’s only child with her ex-husband Bobby Brown) attended the repast held for Houston’s family and friends after the funeral.
NEWS: See what Kevin Costner, Alicia Keys and others said at Houston’s funeral
On Feb. 11, Bobbi Kristina, who was at the Beverly Hills hotel when her mother’s body was found in a bathroom inside her hotel room, was rushed to the hospital following the tragic news.
PHOTOS: Whitney Houston, 1963-2012
At Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, the teen was treated for stress while a psychiatric evaluator was brought in to determine if she needed to be placed on a 5150 (an involuntary psychiatric hold).
“Everything [was] stressful,” Billy Watson, an extended family member, explained to Us Weekly. “Her mama died, so she broke down. Nobody expected her to pass as quickly as she did. [Bobbi Kristina] had a nervous breakdown.”
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Bullied into suicide
MCKEED KOTLOLO | 21 February, 2012 00:33

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Bullying on the rise

David “MoDav” Hlongwane became South Africa’s latest victim of school bullies when the Grade 10 pupil hanged himself rather than return to school and face his tormentors again.

This is the story of a 16-year-old mercilessly punched by four classmates at Lethabong Secondary School, in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria.

A day after being bullied – which experts say is increasing alarmingly – he hanged himself at home.

Tuesday, February 14

On StValentine’s Day, David is bullied by four other Grade10 boys aged between 18 and 20. They pick on him and beat him up.

During the lunch break, the youngsters approach David and ask if his nickname is “Killer”.

When he says “No”, they attack him, grabbing him by his clothes.

He manages to escape, bleeding, to the staff common room.

The school principal, MZ Serwadi, gives David and his attackers letters to take home to their parents, asking that the parents visit the school the following day.

The pupils return to their classroom but, after school, one of the boys – who has previously been suspended for slapping a teacher – attacks David again.

David again manages to escape.

When he gets home, he does not tell his mother, Sheila Hlongwane, about the bullying, merely saying that he is tired and wants to sleep.

Wednesday, February 15

David’s stepfather, Sam Mabuza, who did not go to work that day, wakes the teenager after when he realises that he is going to be late for school.

As on any other weekday, David puts on his uniform, eats breakfast and leaves for school.

Mabuza goes to visit relatives, deciding later to return home on foot instead of paying the R7 taxi fare.

David has, in the meantime, returned home and played a recording of his favourite gospel song.

When Mabuza opens the door of his home, he finds David hanged from the rafters.

“He was still breathing. I immediately cut the electric wire with a side cutter and quickly arranged transport to take him to the clinic.

“He was certified dead on arrival,” Mabuza says.

Searching through their son’s clothes, his parents find the letter from the principal, which he has not shown them.

“You are urgently requested to come to the above-mentioned school on February 15 at 8am in connection with your child David Hlongwane,” it reads. “Your immediate response would be much appreciated.”

Aftermath

David’s parents meet the principal, the four bullying pupils and the pupils’ parents.

Hlongwane says the youngsters admitted bullying her son.

But, she says, the principal insisted that only two of the pupils had participated in the attack. Instead of allowing the boys to speak for themselves, Serwadi spoke on their behalf.

Bullying David was not the boys’ first misdemeanour at school.

In November, one of them became rowdy during examinations. When he was silenced by a teacher, he made jokes about her, then slapped her face. He was suspended for seven days.

Nearly a week after David committed suicide, the chairman of the school governing body, Reginald Maganxa, says he did not know about the suicide.

He promised yesterday to call an urgent meeting of the executive committee of the governing body to discuss the teenager’s death.

Several attempts to reach Serwadi yesterday failed.

Charles Phahlane, spokesman for the Gauteng education department, said the department was “shocked” at the news of David’s death.

“We will investigate the circumstances of the assault.”

The department said it would send counsellors to David’s family.

Gauteng Childline director Lynne Cawood said bullying was on the increase but it was difficult to substantiate this because there was little research or baseline history.

“It is difficult to [prove] but bullying is definitely on the rise and this is concerning. It is exacerbated by the fact that bullying is taking a new form with the invention of communications technology . it is a worrying phenomenon.”

Johannesburg educational psychologist Melanie Hartgill echoed Cawood’s sentiments, saying technology made bullying easy. – Additional reporting by Sipho Masombuka

What is Christianity? One dictionary defines Christianity as “a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.” This is certainly a good definition, but we need to go further.

Even though Christianity relates to the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, the word Christian did not exist until after Christ’s time. Christians got their name based on being followers of Christ.

What is Christianity – Doctrinal vs. Denominational
One of the important distinctions is between the doctrinal religion of Christianity and the denominational religions of Christianity. Once the canon was complete and the scriptures identified, the definition of doctrinal Christianity was based upon the literal interpretation of Scripture. One problem in the early church was that Scripture could not be easily duplicated so Christians did not really have direct access to the Scriptures. This gave the denominational Catholic Church the job of interpreting the Scriptures for the common folk. Although today everyone has access to the Scriptures, the fact is that individual denominations still interpret the scriptures for their parishioners.

What is Christianity – Bible-Believing or Pick-and-Choosing?
During the very early apostolic period, the apostles had to continually clarify the Christian doctrine that seemed to get corrupted often. Today, even with our well-documented Scriptures that are accessible to all, the belief in true Christianity (the literal interpretation of the Bible) has been corrupted to an even greater extent. The current percent of Christians who believe in the literal interpretation of Scripture, and do not pick and choose Scriptures to their liking, is about nine percent (Barna).

Most of Christianity today has embraced many humanistic and anti-theistic beliefs. The Christian denominations have accepted many cultural ideas and blended them into their doctrine. Generally, many concepts of sin, judgment, and the wrath of God have been put aside in favor of a religion of love, unity, and tolerance. One example is the New Tolerance philosophy.

In many churches today, Christianity is a doctrinal buffet, including selections from both the biblical and secular menus.

A 73 year old deacon was charged with breaches of the Child Care and Protection Act after he was accused of having sex with an 11 year old girl at the church.

The Deacon, who had been under investigation following an incident in December, is alleged to have attempted to bribe the child with $50 and sweets to keep her quiet about the alleged assault.

According to reports, the complainant was at the church in December when she went to the rear of the premises and was fondled by the high-ranking church member. He then offered her sweets and $50 to keep it a secret. The child, however, reported the matter to her family and a subsequent report was made to the police. An investigation revealed that she had also been assaulted on three previous occasions.

He has been charged with sexually touching a child and having sex with a person under the age of 16.

The deacon is scheduled to appear in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.