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In Reply to: Why are some simple principles so hard to get? (NT) posted by CB on October 11, 2006 at 09:00:45:
I accidently hit enter before posting content! The following part of the article interested me:
"Another former member alleged that confessions of child abuse within the Exclusive Brethren were hushed up rather than reported to police.
Joy Nason, who left the church in 1968, said she had heard other members confess to child abuse.
"I have heard people confess to molesting children," Ms Nason said.
Ms Nason said during the time she was with the Exclusive Brethren the church forgave the perpetrators of the alleged abuse.
She said the abuse was not reported to police.
So what if the perpetrators repented and the church forgave them? So what if God forgave the perpetrators?
The issue here is that a crime was committed and that children continue to be at risk from the "loving" attentions of repentent perpetrators, who like Catholic priests, may be very devout Christians with a sexual preference and impulse control problem. In other words, they're predatory and dangerous despite their faith in God.
Moreover, there are religious groups in the world, TFI most notably, that do not believe it is a sin to sexually molest children. So what if they apologize for their mistakes?
The thing about sinning and repenting a sin that involves consenting adults is that adults are responsible for making their own choices and decisions. Children are not, and that's why they have a special legal status.
Adults can forgive, and so can children, but children have to live--at a minimum--with a lifetime of stolen innocence. And so what if the child forgives her perpetrator? Someone still has to pick up the pieces every time she's hospitalized or tossed into jail for turning tricks or dealing drugs. You see, that's what happens to many abused kids. They grow up to become chronically mentally ill, prostitutes, and/or drug addicts.
The lifelong personal damage and widespread social costs of child abuse are a crime requiring recompense and restitution. When a perpetrator's debt to God is wiped clean through forgiveness, their debt to society remains outstanding.
