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Why or why not? How do you reconcile the ideas of forgiveness and ministering to all people with the idea of protecting the least of these (i.e. keeping children safe)? Any thoughts or experiences in this issue? Thanks.
Mostly interested in what Christians think/feel on this issue, but other perspectives are welcome too. No hateful comments, please.
Kev: No, I understand the broadbrushing thing too. I have a relative who is disabled and mentally challenged and was unable to defend himself against the false accusations of a teenage girl, and so is now a "sex offender". I understand there are all kinds. But I think you (and everyone else) got the INTENT of the question without having to get too specific.
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July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Of Course. If we limited who we let into our churches, then we wouldn’t be able to call ourselves christian.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
By the way what happens with super Christian pastor Ted Haggard? where is he?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
If the man who raped me repented, and was "saved", it would make me sick to think he would go to Heaven, and spend eternity with me…. if I were a christian.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Man, what a good question. The balance appears to be with "protecting the flock" and "forgiving others as He has forgiven us."
To me, the protection of the members of the church (especially children) is the main issue.
Of course, this is probably an answer for the pastor/clergy to decide.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Yes, but precautions should be taken both for his (or her) temptations and others. This person should not serve in a teaching capacity. But if a church isn’t for sinners it isn’t for anyone. Tear it down and plant some trees.
Question: Would King David’s act of adultery be a sex offense? Would the author of the Psalms be allowed in your church? Does Paul’s murderous past keep you from reading the New Testament? Would you share a pew with him?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Depends if he’s truly saved and has asked for forgiveness.Try to get to know him talk to him at church.Pray for him trust God.And good question by the way.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
well i think a true christian should allow anyone into the church…. if god doesn’t want them there he will take care of it himself
vengeance is mine says the lord…
we are none to judge
but personally i wouldn’t sit next to him or have my kids near him….
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
If you’re interested in a practical response, a recent study showed that when sex offenders are offered support and supervision, they have a lower recidivism rate. By shunning a sex offender, however, you’re increasing the odds that they’ll feel hopeless and do something stupid. If you’re really a Christian, then you’re supposed to believe in forgiveness, right? Does this mean "forgive unless you don’t want to"? Or do you take it more seriously than that?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
NO. definitely not. Christ can forgive him and thats okay with me, I’ll see them in heaven .but I really don’t think giving them a shot at reoffending with the kids in my church is a good idea.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I would allow them to attend church and services as well as social functions run by the parish. However, I also feel it would be imperative to make sure this individual has no opportunities where they would be allowed to be with a younger person alone. I don’t think there is a more Christian concept than forgiveness. However, that forgiveness should come with caution.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Yes, why not? They still human, and they are just as lost as the atheists. God can forgive all. Don’t put limits on my God; yes he can save sex offenders and atheists who drag his name down, curse Him, deny him, JESUS DIED FOR ALL.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
As a christian I would accept him in my congregation. I of course would let him be a children’s leader or anything that involves one on one with other members. That could damage him or the congregation especially if word got out. The bible says to forgive and forget but not to be stupid either.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
HONESTLY I CANT DENY HIM THE RIGHT TO PRAISE GOD AND GOD KNOWS HIS HEART AND IT ISNT OUR RIGHT TO JUDGE, WE DONT ALWAYS KNOW THE STORY BEHIND THIER OFFENSE AND WE DONT NEED TO GOD IS IN CONTROL AND HE WANTS THE SINNERS TO TURN AWAY FROM THE LIFE OF SIN AND RUN INTO HIS ARMS SO PLEASE DONT SCARE OFF THE ONES WHO WANT GOD! HELP THEM TO FEEL LOVED AFTER ALL WHO IS FREE OF SIN? NOT YOU OR ME.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
More importantly, how do you know one isn’t there already?
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July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
The word sex offender is such a wide word. My 18 year old friend was jailed for 2 years for having sex with his 17 year old girlfriend who was turning 18 in less than a month. She is a daddy’s girl and let daddy go along with the lawsuit and pressing charges and all. Now he is labled as a sex offender for what. For someone that is an adult and sleeps with little kids, that is a different story, I wouldn’t feel comfortable myself bringing my kids to church if I knew he was there. Not because he might try something, cuz that would never happen with me there, but he could be looking at my little girls in a sexual way in church none the less, and I could not handle that. It may be cruel, but if you want to be a sick person, you have to accept that society won’t accept you either, keep him out of church or creat a new time like a late night mass where people like him can go or others that may not want to be seen in church, they can go late at night.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I would fear God more than I would worry about what people might think about that. People who describe sex offenders say that they are ’sick’. Well if they are sick ( and I agree that they are), when did it become okay to treat sick people poorly?
If that person was incapable of offending while in church, then other facility would be made available for that person to hear the message. I could analogize that, but I wont unless prompted.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
The short answer is yes, but they would not be allowed near the children. That said, what if a victim of their’s was in the congregation? That’s a situation that would require a lot of prayer.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
i believe that if we were to discriminate against people b/c of their past then there wouldn’t be nearly as many christians as there are today. if we don’t reach out to everyone then we could be losing out on saving more lives to Christ. so the answer is yes i would allow it, if we save this person their life can be a testimony to those who struggled w/ this lifestyle and they can come to realize and understand that everyone has a chance to get to heaven and that God loves them too!
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
we are all sinners who (hopefully) are repenting.
If the sex offender was a recovering offender, why not? But if he is still living in his dark state, what would be the point? to put ourselves in danger? I don’t think we have to be fools to prove we are loving and caring people.
There is an example Paul used of a sex offender that refused to repent and they put him out of the church.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Yes. When Jesus picked his disciples he picked sinners because they needed him most. What would it mean if you didnt let someone in your church because of mistakes they made in the past?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I assume that people in Christian congregations have contact with those outside the congregation as well, so I would be looking at educating the children outside church (I’m a woman), rather than get involved in somebody else’s business.
The main thing is that children have to learn to be givers, not takers. Therefore, they have to know what they’re allowed to give. Giving people space and time by not trying to rush them (the archaic meaning of the word "deceive" is "to while away the time" and this happens when they try to rush you through something that needs to be repeated because it sounds iffy) is a good safety mechanism. There are two guns that I know of that are warning shots in the air. One is: "I don’t feel comfortable with that." The other is: "I don’t want to get involved." Any child who thinks that the world owes them something will run into trouble all the time.
I think people need to realise the physiological health bases of criminal behaviour. I do think that criminals train themselves for crime in terms of what their bodies can handle. Therefore, there’s that moral component. One thing that Jehovah’s Witnesses are supposed to do (official teaching might be different from what happens in practice) – by the way, I’m not one anymore, but used to be – is to avoid advocating any health method as being "the one" that people should try. They don’t believe in using party plan businesses to pressure fellow believers into supporting their business concerns. Everybody has their own decisions to make in regards to health. Why some churches have big emotional services with little regard to teaching I don’t know. There’s heaps in the Bible, but people seem to be determined to water it down for profit.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Yes I would. We all struggle with sin just not the same sin. Sex offenders can repent just like everyone else. I would feel best if this person had a few close christian friends in their life that they could confide in and also confess any inappropriate sexual thoughts.
I would be careful and probably never leave them alone with my child. I think this is just being wise. Just like if I knew someone used to be an alcoholic, I would not stick a drink in their hand at a get together. You want to trust but also be wise. Sex offenders are HUMAN just like all other 6 billion people on the planet and need to keep control of their sin, just like all other Christians.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
His sin is no worse than any of our own. The church is exactly where he needs to be so God can touch him. All sin is equal in the eyes of the Lord, it is only society that puts levels to them. Jesus came for the sinner and in fact hung around them and taught them the way.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
If that person had repented and was living a good life then yes. However, if that person had no regrets and carried on putting people at risk, he would be asked to leave. I am sure you have heard of excommunication. It is a rare thing to do in a church but it does happen. Not only in Catholic churches. We had a man who molested his child "put out" of our church, until he could get help and truly repented. We do not put our kids at risk anymore than you would put your kids at risk.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Anyone can change by the true power of Jesus. We wouldn’t turn him/her away.
Would he/her be allowed to work with the children? Of course not. At our Church, those working with the children, even volunteers, go through a background check. We also have tight security to even get into the children’s area. You must have an ID with yourself and your child’s picture on it with a family number on it as well, issue by the church. We do have security check points to check these id’s at all entrances and exits.
Aside from the Children’s area, they would be welcome to participate in the adult studies, etc. Adults would need to use there own discretion as they do anywhere else they go in life.
We will minister to all people and help them find forgiveness in Christ, if they are serious, Jesus will do the rest. Meanwhile, we always protect the least of these, the children, at all times.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Sometimes I think that the safety of children comes to play on this one. Most commonly, some habits are hard to break, and it is best not to tempt someone into a habit. I mean should something go wrong, then the church can be held accountable. And really, one can work within the confines of the law if he wanted to understand God and Jesus. There’s tv, Radio, etc.. And if one can work within the law, one can work within society. Yes?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Churches are SUPPOSED to be hospitals for recovering sinners. So we’d have to take them in.
But in the words of Ronald Reagan, "Trust, but Verify". ie, I’d make sure they were being carefully watched by their accountability partners.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
that is a biggie-it is the pastors decision-with true repentance and changed life-most I believe would -yet a caution to all memebers-until a test period is complete-the bible says divorced women who divorced other than for adultry-her husband would have been executed thus she would be a widow -to the others under a certain age were not welcomed-and had to learn outside the church till the right time yet tested today its all good-in the bible the homosexual or opposinte gender child abuser would have been stoned to death-
yet I would be friends and have in the past ouside a clustered Church with them, and work with them in Jesus-if they were not interested in Jesus-I would only share with them in passing. this material was helpful to me=well Mohamad took some of Jesus teachings -he missed the new birth and love even your enemy as yourself-he had his own issues with sex his wife he took at 40 years old Aisha was only 9 years old-when Jesus said one man to one woman-and grace too-pray for these people please–good info to know- thanks
and For anyone who is a trolling pedophile you can report them to http://www.cybertipline.com/ and the police will shut them down this is some good info to know too=yet blinded spiritual people by religion or lust have trouble seeing those areas=grace=
sex is pushed today alot out of marriage and more-then again I let Jesus into my heart so that covered that.
this helped me see the light Marriage commitment and care-it has offspring-and sex is part of that-Jesus had toilet paper invented for cleaning the rectum-and marriage for the joy of sex, the thing i think is it is up to each to make their own choice
this is what helped free me from Romans 1-addicted to unthankfulness and worshiping the created rather than the creator-set free in I Corinthians 6:9-13 and homosexuals/effeminate and such were some of you but you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
this helped me =In Jesus we are perfect-at the same time-we will fail at times yet in repenting and forsaking the sin letting Jesus help us do better-he perfects us.
please pray for my Jewish people to find perfection too=his crime ‘love’ yes every time we hate him or anyone its death-Jesus said to hate is to commit murder in ones mind. "He will be dispised and rejected by our Jewish people. All we like sheep have gone astray and the Lord will make to light on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53 predicted
the Torah is the first 5 books of Moses in the Jewish Scriptures also in the bible Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy–Isaiah is in the prophetic books in the middle section of Jewish Scriptures and then the writings.
that is the start and the way to the Messiah as I quote from it too=some yes maybe -it was said that the other way around too–anyone can believe as the desire-hate helps wrong belief-I was taught as a Jew that Jesus was a liar and deciever and to have nothing to do with him -now he is my Messiah and best friend.
and about life and death in truth for my Jewish and all people
=Kadesh is what you are refering to-and it is chanted as many of the Psalms are also and they are considered songs-and about the depth of this-and about Muslims that claim that the messiah came to earth born a miracle of a virgin as predicted to be God with us/emanuel (Isaiah 7:14) yet reject his salvation in order to think they can earn heaven.
Kadesh="Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen. JESUS SAID THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL BE WITHIN YOU. TRUELY THE MESSIAH TAUGHT TRUTH.
May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF HEAVEN YET LEAVES OUT HELL AND THE MESSIAH TOO. HE SAID "i AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE Life, no one cometh unto heaven but by me." John 14:6
He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen." FIND ME A PERSON WITH THE MESSIAH JESUS IN THEIR HEART AND I WILL SHOW YOU A PERSON WITH INNER PEACE AND AWAITING THE PRINCE OF PEACE BODILY.
if you see this -we dont just die=Daniel 12:2 Those that have died, shall arise some to everlasting life and some to abhorance forever.
bear with me and you will understand this issue=
you cannot convert to Judaism without coming to the Jewish Messiah Yeshua/ Jesus
Judaism today is ichabod-we lost the temple and those that had the blood atonement in Messiah Jesus continued on in true Judaism -the others made new religions calling them orthodox conservative or whatever Judaism only Messianic Judaism believes Moses and the prophets
Moses said "Without the shedding of blood there is no atonement for sins." Leviticus 17:11
so rejecting truth they for the most part rejected hell too-if you could earn salvation-erase sins-even one lie-we never would have needed a blood sacrifice for sins-if you die rejecting the Messiah you go to hell-he died as promised for our sins-so its not about sins its about salvation at the point of death. He taught more about hell too Revelation 1:1 & chapters 19-22 where he describes hell as gnashing teeth torment forever & weeping for rejecting his salvation and heaven as he describes here too in joy and peace.
the Messiah is my best friend-and savior and I dont fear death anymore -I welcome it -helping others to the Messiah till then-I have had my life threatened by both Jewish & Muslims -one put gun to my head and said if i say another word about Jesus they would blow my head off- I said you cant even pull the trigger unless the Messiah Jesus lets you-and he put the gun away..
they say we dont missionize-yet Jonah went to the gentiles and brought them to God.
Isaiah 9:6 promised "Unto us will be born a child, a son will be given and he will be the almighty God and the prince of peace."
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 He will be exalted. He will be despised and rejected and lay down his life as a lamb to make atonement for our sins.
and try where the Bible is taught and believed there they receive the Messiah Jesus into their heart as he asks us to do Revelation 1:1 &3:19&20 otherwise you miss the joy of salvation and knowing the Messiah personally as a best friend as we do in Messianic Judaism.
very good question too, thanks David
Messiah Jesus came for a reason, but also the creation of the world "By Jesus doth all things consist" Colosians , and the Jewish people to bring the Messiah and the Jewish Scriptures by Moses,
the Jewish and also new testament written by all Jewish people too these books were found intact as Isaiah was too in the dead sea scroll finding-once it was said Isaiah was 2 or 3 persons that wrote his book-why would Isaiah and mOses lie
-Moses couldnt enter the promised land because of his sin. Messiah Jesus born and died there to forgive our sins
my own mom Jewish told me that Jesus was a deciever and liar and to have nothing to do with him. pray for her please (Molly) I dearly love her-she said when I came to believe -if you dont denounce him I am having a funeral for you and you are out of the family will- I told her I cant take Messiah Jesus out of my heart even if I wanted to, He said "Once you are saved, I will never leave thee nor foraske thee" Hebrews 13
then I reconciled with my mother Jesus made me bite my pride and ask forgiveness for my rebellion against her growing up and offered her all I had should she need it-I am still out of the family will-but what is money? lol from a past religious-when that didnt satisfy then greed and lust person once it was my god-and my mom and me are best friends.
for each that believes-he said "If they hate me they will hate you too" this does not relate to Sunnis and Shi’ Shiite Muslims blowing up each others Mosques since the Golden Mosque January 2006 blow up and dragging each others spiritual leaders in revenge out into the street and murdering them
& Messiah’s crime? He fulfilled the prophecy and said "No man taketh my life from me, I lay it down that you may believe."
thanks again for your question, a friend to all mankind
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
It would depend, Is this person truly committed to living a different life style? Are there measures in place to help make sure they won’t use the opportunity to find new victims? If it can be done without endangering others then yes.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
It depends on what you mean by sex offender. There are sex offenders who are not dangerous (such as a guy that got drunk and touched a woman inappropriately) and some that are (such as pedophiles and rapists). I am not part of any church but I would guess most would accept non dangerous offenders seeking salvation. Some might even accept dangerous ones seeking salvation.
I just hope that if they do, they are prudent about protecting the rest of the congregation, too. But in my world, dangerous sexual predators should not be allowed out of custody.
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July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Great question. You’ll get a star from me.
When I was looking for a daycare provider, I often saw ads in the paper for "Christian lady wants to babysit for children under 6", I skipped over it immediately.
Trying not to be too hateful, but just the word Christian these days to me means "corrupt".
I was baptised in a methodist church, and went to bible school, and I have had wayyyyy too many first hand experiences of the silence that a congregation has when one of their own has committed an offense.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Possibly…. If I did, I would tell all the adults in the congregation, because they need to know. And I would (try) to ensure that he was never left alone (without another adult). I would use my own judgement, and ask God, to see if I thought he was actually repentent or not and had changed. If he had prior convictions I don’t think I’d let him in the congregation.
Actually, this is what I think I would do (IF he seemed ok enough, repentant, changed) – I would let him join a home group/cell group (with only adults, in an evening at someones home) but not be involved in Sunday services or anything else.Because I would find it difficult to think that he had "truly" changed, and safety of others is more important than him attending church.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Interesting question. At a church I used to go to, the music/youth director was accused of molesting boys. He was accused much later after he had left that church and became the music minister at another church. Once it was found out, he was asked to leave. Out of embarrassment, he willingly left.
Both churches sent letters to every member of the congregation, even to those who didn’t know this man and informed us all of the situation. I believe the churches handled it well and did right by getting the word out.
Last thing I heard, there was a court case against him.
I’m not sure he’ll be welcomed at any church because of the danger to young boys and possibly even to himself because even Christian parents may feel the need to defend their chidlren. He’ll probably have to move out of state to fit in anywhere. God is gracious, however; I hope he doesn’t turn away from God completely, but repents and gets some serious therapy. Then, he needs to stay the heck away from children.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I’ve only seen this question posted once before, and thought it was awesome then–me, I don’t have a congregation, but I would have to ask, what is the sex offense? it could be a technicality, statutory–21 yr old to 17yr old
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
This is a question for ALL people not just Christians. Sex offenders are supposed to be registered and NO I would not allow them to get out of jail if it were up to me.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I asked a Christian therapist this question once.
"if the last moment laying on his death bed my {omitting relationship of attacker} repented, then I died, would I have to spend eternity with him." He explained to me that if {the man} truley repented that all that was evil would go away and what would be left would be his good side.
Later I took several classes on forgiveness and it took a long time to get there.
Some churches offer classes for "sexual deviants" (those who have commited sexual crimes or indicreptions) If your church is responcible and at first restricts tempting oppertunities (such as he would not be able to be a Sunday school teacher if he is a petifile) and they have classes and support groups then yes.
No person van be denied the chance to change or be redeemed, but your family needs to be safe too.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
There is no such thing as "allowing" a member of a congregation…if a person chooses to congregate, they are a member of the congregation.
David – WOW! What a response. I don’t think anyone is THAT interested!
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
In answering this question – one must first ask if this individual is truly repentant, or if they are using Religion as a basis for early parole?
The heart of the individual is what is important and not the past actions of that person.
I would accept a truly repentant individual and work with them to create a life for them outside of the baser needs and hope to open the lines of communication and trust for that person should those desires ever wish to return.
I would not condemn an individual but work to help them should they truly which to be something different then what they were.
From my understanding and teachings of the "New Testament" No person is beyond change or forgiveness.
A Christian & Mother of two
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I don’t see how you can tell a sex offender he can’t be in your congregation. How else are you going to minister to him? Isn’t it better that he is there hearing the Word of God than out on the street re-offending? Should he/she be allowed to teach Sunday School? Absolutely not! He/she should be allowed to sit in the chapel, sing, listen to the sermon, worship God, etc. and that’s it. But how can you throw him out on the street and expect to win him to Christ.
Honestly, I think we are on a witch hunt against Sex Offenders. Don’t get me wrong, what they do is horrendous, but it appears to me that our courts are so quick to stick that label on someone. Then society says they can’t live here, they have to have special license plates, can’t work here or there and then they change the rules and you can’t live here or there.
If these people are so dangerous, lock ‘em up and throw away the key. Don’t stick them out amongst us, tie their hands and expect them to be productive, normal citizens.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I think that by denying the person in your congregation would go against the very principals that you’re probably there to worship. God died so we could be forgiven. If you deny forgiveness, you’re, in effect, compromising your faith. Assuming the person wants to join your congregation in an effort to repent for his sins and to lead a moral life, it seems that is exactly what the purpose of Church is. You cant only want to save the "good" people.
I understand your hesitation and concern…I am a parent myself and would be concerned. It would also matter to me what the nature and degree of the previous offense was. Perhaps the thing to do would be to set up some guidelines with the individual privately. I don’t think it would be unfair or wrong to approach the individual and explain that his past makes people uncomfortable and raises alarm with other members of the congregation.
Maybe one-on-one faith sessions would be an alternative or finding him an all adult religious study group, etc.?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
The shocking truth is this.
You already have sex offenders in your congregations everywhere in the world. In the West studies show that one in three girls are molested and one in six boys. These fathers and step fathers have reponsible positions in churches.
One lot of interviews of sex workers who work the streets as prostitutesin the USA found that over 50% of them came from Sunday worshipping Christian families.
Many sex offenders are men and women who were once sexually abused and often abusing children at the same age of when they were abused. Their inner child is just trying to re-connect in some way. This is sick but true.
Paul admonshed that anyone in sexual immorality should be barred from the church till they have stopped, but they were allowed presumadly to return when they had.
Sex offenders need grace, love and support. They can’t abuse the churches children if they are not left alone with them at any time.
Someone who has a weekness for young pretty women should not go home to young pretty women’s houses and put themself in a tempting situation, so too a child sex offender might be tempted if put in a situation where they can re-offend.
I have met a child sex offender at a Christian camp and he told me giving up offending was very hard for him to do and when he confessed his weekness at churches he was shunned and treated bad. The good news is that he did give up and had been clean for years when I met him.
As a victim of child sexual abuse I know that us victims have to forgive and the church needs to be open to loving and embracing these men. They also have to know and be able to have these men recieve prayer minsistry and have the demon responsible cast out.
I have met many prostitutes who came from churches and whose dad is a respected member of a church in my times of ministering among street workers so all of you who would not accept child abusers in your church might be surprised that you already have undetected abusers in there.
Child abusers need healing for the abuse they recieved, only then will they go to Jesus for healing and comfort rather then a child.
May you be blessed
I know I’ll get a few thumbs down, but hey the truth has to be told
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Yes absolutely!
Just because they are sex offender doesn’t mean they don’t deserve God. Whatever sin they have done as much as I detest it, does not give me the right to deny him communion or confession.
As a leader of a church I am there for the spiritual well being of the flock. No matter who it is.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
For all I know, there’s one sitting near me every Sunday. Who am I to judge?
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
In some large churches how would identify a sex offender?
Do you think they would identify themself to a whole congregation of people?
Iam not going to tell a sex offender that God would not forgive him because that would be a lie.
However a sex offender is entitled to go to church as long as
that in no way violates any part of his parole.
If in some way that does violate his parole because of the
contact with children issue then a church should have a visitation program in this persons home and be ministered to that way through the love of God.
If the person is legally able to go to church and the leadership of the church is aware of this then this person should be extended the love of God as well as close monitoring from the leadership of the church. 1:1 bible study and prayer sessions should be done. The person should not be involved in any childrens ministry but he could be used in other areas of outreach. This person and the leadership should not broadcast the individual’s past sin but at the same time the leadership would have the spiritual responsibility for monitoring and assisting this person’s spirtual development through the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in love yet also through wisdom.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Well you have many things to consider. State law might prohibit the person from being within a certain distance of children. If its more of a small bible study group say ten people and theres no children it shouldnt be a problem.
With a larger group where theres children to consider this question is a more difficult one. Does the majority of the congregation have it in their hearts to forgive and trust God will do a work in that persons life.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Everyone is welcome into the family of God and into the Catholic Church. I would not however trust anyone with my sons or young family members.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
I’m not Christian, just answering hypothetically:
Yes, I would. If he/she had repented, and were open and honest about who he/she was, then I don’t see why not. I don’t think it would be cool to keep his/her identity a secret, because you’re right – children’s safety would be compromised. But I think anyone who has done something like that and wants to repent should be open about who they used to be!