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Baptist Pastor Says He Punched Teen Called 'Ben' in Chest for 'Not Taking the Lord Seriously' and It Saved Him

Pastor Eric Dammann.
Pastor Eric Dammann. | (Photo: Screen Grab Via YouTube)

A Baptist pastor from Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, who says he once punched a teenager in the chest for "not taking the Lord seriously" and it led to his salvation, is now apologizing for his actions after the video of his confession went viral.

The clip of the confession posted to YouTube about three weeks ago features Dammann, pastor of at Bible Baptist Church, talking about the teenager called "Ben."

"There was a young man in Calgary, his name was Ben … he was a nice kid, but was one of those kids who was always just, he's a real smart alec. He was a bright kid which made him more dangerous," said Dammann in the clip.

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"We were outside one day at youth group and he was just trying to push my buttons, kinda not taking the Lord serious, and I walked over to him and I went BAM!" said Dammann, motioning how he lunged into the teenager.

"I punched him in the chest as hard as I, I crumpled the kid, I just crumpled him and I said, I leaned over and I said Ben, when are you gonna stop playing games with God? I led that man to the Lord right there. There's times when that might be needed," Dammann ended in the clip.

While the video has been viewed more than 2 million times, it has also been voted down significantly more than it has been up voted with many decrying the pastor's actions.

Dammann has since posted an apology for the incident on the church's website saying he "deeply regrets" his actions.

"I deeply regret my actions of 13 years ago. I do not condone abuse in any form. I chose a very poor example from my past and very poor wording to describe it and deeply regret using it," he noted in his apoplogy.

"By viewing the clip it is certainly understandable how outraged people are. I acted out in one moment many years ago, it is not how I believe people, especially a pastor, should act. My actions were not reflective of Christ and the teachings of the Bible. I was wrong, there are no excuses to be made. I was forgiven by Ben many years ago and can only ask the same from my church, community and the world," he ended.

Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost

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