Isn't this rather strong language coming from a professed Christian? 
What an opportunity to address a long festering boil that pervades Adventism!!!
The premise that we never speak untoward of our fellow man lest we breach the softer temperment of “Christianity” would virtually paralyse our church into an era of “let the Lord deal with the issue”… Oh, yes you are correct, we have been there!!! It didn’t work!!! Apostacy now reigns as a prevalent problem within a Faith that is suppose to be a “peculiar people” not full of scientific and societal conformists. And we are to be giving a serious warning defining sin by its name to a carnate world heading head-long into oblivion!!!!
Instead, we have adopted a new theology that if we simply live to be 101 because of lifestyle that our neighbors will flock into the pews!!! And it does not work!!!!
The concept that we cannot deal with serious issues and express our disdain for the “sin” has far too long left us in a paralysis of never holding those accountable who have wronged our church or Society. Never calling “sin” by its right name!!!
This new theology goes even further to declare one “undermines leadership” to give open criticism of the wrongs by those in any leadership role, those sitting in the pews or are otherwise “anointed of the Lord”. And Lord forbid we call sin by its right name!!!
And so, we allow open error and violations of Counsel, not to mention open and notorious sin, to go undefined, unchallenged, uncharged and un-reformed.
1)Thus the La Sierra University mess, just to mention a contemporaneous issue!!! If Gerrity had been properly challenged at AUC from 1985 to 1990 he would not have established an institution that is a haven for “evolutionaries” and now must be met head-on.
2) And if Danny had been properly challenged by the church and his own board as each warning sign arose over 25 years, it is unlikely that he would ever have been allowed to burn wastefully through millions of donations, become a haven for a pedophilic non-adventist pastor and brother, not to mention a haven for miscreant workers and become outright rebellious of any oversight by church administration or the stockholders in the pews, not to mention the setting aside of Linda for the new young philly. And now must be merged or dismantled to achieve real reform!!!
3) Nor would we have had to deal with so many instances of outright apostacy in the past fifty years as our hospitals, built with the hard work and contributions of hundreds of thousands of Adventists and their supporters, were leveraged into oblivion, our educational institutions became ineffective and our churches have failed in its calling!!! Yes, Laodicea is alive and well…and has anyone really noticed the punishment for Laodicea???YES “… SPEWED OUT…”!!!
And on we could go for pages;
In the subject case, Darryl is concerned with the my straight opinion of self imposed punishment by a sexual predator that nearly killed a victim of his implicitly vicious violation of another human being. It is logical to conclude that the open and notorious sin and crime against the peace and dignity of the state was a final straw in a heart that had long since grown cold from the unpardonable sin…so much so he chose to take his own life rather than face the consequences of his actions. The pathetic wimp took an easy way out and closed the door on his own probation. OUTRAGEOUS you say??? It is a factually correct and accurate summary of the consequences of his open, notorious, coddled and unchallenged sin against himself, his fellow man, his society and ultimately his God.
While I understand the premise that you do not like the way this is “portrayed” and would prefer a “kinder and gentler portrayal” with expressed “sympathy for the sinner”, it is exactly this premise that I choose to challenge.
It was my privilege to join an evangelist in a visitation of a dyeing man, at the request of his parents, who was the victim of his own extreme sexual perversions. The evangelist made a solemn appeal for him to give his heart to his Saviour and told the man with great fervor of the Love Christ had for his soul and extended an invitation to take his stand and accept the gift of eternal life to this former Seventh-day Adventist. He told the man of his parents desire and begged him to seek forgiveness and repentance.
His response was coldly perverse as he proudly related his life of self seeking pleasure utilizing every human being, male or female, that was a willing partner in every perversion one could imagine and some you could not. He relished in the accomplishment and the “notches” in his bedstead, and proudly declared there was barely a woman in his home town he had not had his way with…and then stated he could not accept the invitation because if he had it to do over again, he would do it ALL again. He ended with a rendition of how he would like to go out, if he had ONE MORE CHANCE to ravage yet another victim.
The evangelist yet again pled with the disinterested perpetrator and he responded with a cold stare and a declaration that he would never be happy in a monogamous Heaven. It was very clear he would not respond to the call for repentance and allowed a prayer then declared it a waste of time. He died about a month later and we held a funeral but it was clear he had not come to terms with his Saviour. His soul, although soon to pass to his death, was of absolutely no concern and he “looked back” as did Lot’s wife, at his life of sin with clear and un-satisfied desire. He had committed the unpardonable sin!!!
As we prepared for the Funeral, his parents recounted how they had blocked the church from dealing with their son’s life of sin some 20 years before and wept as they struggled with the guilt that their failure to deal with the wayward son may have cost him his eternal life. They then gave a heart-felt appeal at the funeral for all church members to call sin by its name and to call violators to repent and reform while pleading for forgiveness for the error of their misguided protections.
We would do well to be much more pointed in defining open and notorious sin and the results that we will reap if it continues. Instead we coddle the sinner and allow the insidious grasp to close the soul to repentance and reformation.
So, Darryl, I leave it to you to determine if it is the “rather strong language” but I must assume we will have to adopt a much stronger language in the days just ahead. Else we will find ourselve "spewed out"...
Gailon Arthur Joy
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Topic: Tommy Shelton Trial Outcome... (Read 116151 times)
