How bad can you be, and still get away with it?
Posted in Uncategorized on November 6th, 2006 by His HolinessRecently, an influential pastor of a large church in Colorado was removed from his congregation due to what is described as “sexually immoral conduct.” More about the story can be found at the following link:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/05/haggard.allegations/index.html
The question for you to consider this week is this: Is one sin greater than another?
If so, then why is “sexually immoral conduct” worse than some other sin, and yet better than a different sin?
If not, then was it appropriate for this pastor to be removed from his position? Would it be appropriate to remove the pastor if instead of sleeping with a prostitute he had received a speeding ticket? What about if he had killed someone?
When formulating your answer, keep the following three things in mind:
1)
John 8:2-7 (NRSV) “Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?†They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.â€
2) The “icky ness†of “sexually immoral conduct” is irrelevant.
3) Either side of the question can be both right, and wrong.
November 8th, 2006 at 6:45 pm
I don’t think that on sin is greater than the other. Sins are sins and anything you do that can be considered one is bad. Everyone is a sinner and if they were treated better or worse according to their sins that is just wrong.I think that it was appropriate because what he did was a very bad thing to do. It wasn’t awful but i think he got his just punishment. If they just gave him a speeding ticket, it wouldn’t teach him a lesson. He has to actually know, feel, and realize what he did was wrong. If he killed someone it still isn’t worse. He slept with a prostitute and that can be just as bad as killing someone is a way. Whenever someone sins they feel gulity and realize what they did wrong. So I think the punishment was right, even if he was a pastor. All people sin and all people get punished for what they say or what their actions were.
November 8th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
Jessica,
Thank you for your engaging a difficult topic.
You begin your argument by suggesting that all sins are equal.
In your answer to the follow up question, about why it might be appropriate to remove the pastor from his position, you seem to focus on punishment as the reason that necessitates the pastor’s removal.
You say that this pastor “has to actually know, feel, and realize what he did was wrong.â€
The pastor, judging by his statements about his actions, seems to know that what he did is wrong. If the purpose of punishment is to express to him that what he did is wrong – then why punish him when he is already aware that what he did is wrong?
Is it possible that punishment serves a different purpose than to express the wrongness of an action?
Is it possible that the pastor was removed for a reason other than punishment?
November 9th, 2006 at 3:27 am
I agree with what jessie said that one sin is the same as any other sin. with that being said this minister commited a lot of sins as it said in the artical on cnn he called himself “sexual immorality”and “a deceiver and a liar.”,, he knows what he has done and prolaimed that he was wrong. he also had possession of drugs and he commited adutlary witch is a commandment but i belive he was christan so its not a sin but it still is in gods eyes and in the bible it says that gay couples are not looked on as right and he was having a 3 year paid sex relationship with another man. the numbers game may play a huge roll in this senario because all of those sins are equal to god but to humans they see it as imoral or unhuman so they judge by the level of how wrong it is. he has a wife and 5 kids and his wife said while my hearts broken, I remain committed to him until death do us part. even after having 5 kids with her and then paying a man to have sex with him. i think the wife gets the whole god concept she understands about the way im coming from (its no the amount or the level of sin its the level forgiveness). i think the people that dissmissed him from his job think that since he is a minister for the church of god he should be held to higher standerds. to answer your question above for jessica “Is it possible that punishment serves a different purpose than to express the wrongness of an action?” i think that yes there would of been another way than firing him, it may of had him removed from the church for a while to straighten things out but yes i do belive that there was a way around firing him.
November 9th, 2006 at 11:59 am
I think that one sin is the same as another sin.I think that what he did was terrible but so is using drugs which he also had possesion of.He commited adultry which in the 10 comandments says not to do,and he was a christain so the 10 comandments don’t apply to him.But the bible also says that same sex relationships are wrong and apply to everyone.I think that his wife gets the God thing more than him because her husband comited adultry and she is forgiving him but he comited adultry with a man so that to me is just as bad as killing someone.The church did the right thing to remove him for awhile.I think that there is another way to punish him without firing him.What he did was gross and most people are are judging him for that.If they could all think like or see throught the eyes of God then they might change their minds because God sees all sins as equals.I feel sorry for his family because they had to know about what he did and I feel really sorry for his five kids they probably do not like him right now.And his wife I think that she has a right to leave him if she wanted but it is great that she can forgive him and still be with him after what he did.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
No one sin is not greater!!! Its wrong to do that to anyone definately if its a pastor he should know better! She has a right to not talk to him or do anything. If i was her i would do anything i could do to get him in trouble because this is not the best thing you can do. I agree with Jessica,and Ryan say that one sin is the same as any other sin. Like micheal said I think that there is another way to punish him without firing him. I agree with Michael too. I dont think this was the best thing but then why did he do it?