...for a divorcee who remarried. Somehow, I doubt it.
The letter Hancock received from the church states that because she has refused to end her sexual relationship with her boyfriend, "you leave us with no other choice but to carry out the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ" … "In accordance with Matthew 18:17 we intend to 'tell it to the church.'"
Technically, it is also a sin to divorce and remarry. But hey, who am I to judge? All I have to say, is if they're going to call her out on this sin, I certainly hope they're willing to call out others on their sins too. Or what about gossip, which seems to be a favorite pasttime of many church women?
If we're going to start judging people on their behaviors, then let's judge everyone. If not, have some mercy. There was a reason that Jesus said "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her".
Anyway, that's my random rant for the day. Church hypocrisy ticks me off more than a lot of things, so I thought I'd share.
3 comments:
I agree that one should not pick out one sin and not another but I truly believe that accountability is a good thing. And if you are ok with doing the dirty with the boyfriend why do you care if the church knows?
Inless of course you are ashamed of what you are doing, in that case the threat of telling the church may be exactly what that person needs to get back on track.
What do you think.
JMHO, Leticia
I agree, accountability is a great thing, and something that is rarely or poorly used in the church anymore.
I heard a story once, and I know most of this is true, that there was a man who chose to have an adulterous relationship. The priests called him on it, and even after being informed of the sinful nature of the relationship, he chose to continue it. The priest decided to excommunicate him. One year later, the man came back very much the worse for wear, and very repentant. He sought forgiveness and repented of his sins, and was received back into the church.
Excommunication is something that is much more powerful than most people realize. I don't know if it would be quite the same in a non-liturgical church though. It's hard to say.
That is really thought provoking. Hypocrisy in church coupled with letting "lesser" sins go by unnoticed and "bigger" sins only being mentioned, at times, with certain people, in certain circumstances is one reason why we don't go to a conventional church anymore. I really, really want to find a good church to join but around here it is like you say, gossip, etc. and that is all. :(
If church was goverened how it is outlined in the New Testament, I think a lot of problems would be resolved. A lot of bad things happen when churches try to be politcally correct and not "offend" anyone and only choose to notice sin in their less important, lower-key members. :(
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