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There has got to be a degree in all types of sin.

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The topic was about how WE judge severity and hypocritically alienate people for thiers sins. God will judge us based on our sins, He is to decide what will happen and what penalty we will pay

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ORIGINAL: deliveredarling

We as Christians are such hypocrites. We have double standards about everything. We hold those sins that we think are not so bad while we condemn others because they are such abominations.
What it really boils down to, are our standards of right and wrong, to what degree we attribute the atrocity.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

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ORIGINAL: deliveredarling
I even see this behavior presently in some threads and am so tempted to say, "And you call yourself a Christian and act that way..".

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"AYCYAB!" ("And you call yourself a believer!")

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ORIGINAL: zamdad

I was going to bring this up in the post I wrote last night, but decided not because it seems that I always referance it and many simply don't like the topic, therefore shut it down. But, since Covann mentioned it. I might as well too.

Because I have spent many years working with criminals, I have noticed how we like to categorize criminals. We see the worst of them as being sex offenders. Even in jails/prisons, other inmates view sex offenders as being the lowest of the low. Yet, many convicted of sex crimes never make it to prison, they are supervised on probation in the community.

I know most don't like this discussion because there is an inherant danger. For the majority of us, that danger is unknown. The media plays into the fear by categorizing all sex offenders as being equal. yet, as someone who has supervised a sex offender caseload, sat in on countless hours of sex offender treatment, exploring the thinking/thoughts that go into setting up an offense, I find that most of us should be keenly aware that we can all say, "But by the grace of God go I."

Through my particiaption with these offenders I was able to see that my own life has been filled with thoughts and subsequent actions that are, pure and simple, sin. Sin that not only affects me, but sin that impacted others. My selfishness, my wants and desires being fulfilled at the expense of others.

All too often I hear others, men and women, who claim the name of Jesus Christ say things that don't reflect the character of Christ. Being someone who has worked in the business of confrontation, I have chaleenged brothers and sisters in the thinking behind their comments. Frequently the response is, "I didn't mean it," "I was only kidding," etc. What's on the heart come out of the mouth. No one acts or blurts out something unless their mind has entertained the thought.

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Seems to me that we all need to be aware of our own personal thought lives. When those things that are not Christ honoring enter our minds, we need to capture those thoughts and surrender them to Him.

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It is interesting that pedophiles are so hated by other prisoners. Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps because they were victims themselves? Or perhaps because even those who are the bottom of our moral barrel still recognise it for the evil that it is. When you steal a young one of their innocence...the enemy has half the battle won.

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I remember your previous posts. The problem I see with what you present is misplaced sympathies. No doubt, due to your line of work. Once someone crosses the line and inflicts their sin upon another, then they have relinquished certain rights of citizenship. And it is then our responsibility to protect society from them.

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You will say that we need to restore the criminals and the victims. But, there is no restoration for those who have been murdered, and it is impossible to restore innocence lost. Quite frankly, I just do not care as much for the criminals as I do for the victims. It is not that the offenders sin is greater, but that the consequences are. Both to themselves and to their victims. Is that a thought I need to take captive or a thought that is in keeping with the crime? Jesus Himself said...

Luke 17:2
It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

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ORIGINAL: zamdad

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It is interesting that pedophiles are so hated by other prisoners. Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps because they were victims themselves? Or perhaps because even those who are the bottom of our moral barrel still recognise it for the evil that it is. When you steal a young one of their innocence...the enemy has half the battle won.

Pedophiles are hated by all. The general public as much as by fellow inmates. My comments, however, were not geared toward pedophiles, rather sex offenders in general. One of the unintended consequences of sex offender registries is that all offenders are lumped together with no differentiation for type of crime. Another thing is that, under the law, any adult caught having sex with anyone under 18 years old is labled a pedophile. Yet pedophilia is medically defined as sexual arousal (attraction) to prepubescent children.

Part of the reason that inmates choose sex offenders as the bottom of the food chain is for comparisonitis. Just like so many of us they look at them and say, "I'm not as bad as that one."

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I remember your previous posts. The problem I see with what you present is misplaced sympathies. No doubt, due to your line of work. Once someone crosses the line and inflicts their sin upon another, then they have relinquished certain rights of citizenship. And it is then our responsibility to protect society from them.

Thank you for your input. I can see where you and others might see it as misplaced sympathy. Why do we differentiate so greatly, though, in relinquishing certain rights of citizenship from one category of ofedners over another? Why are we so quick to restore the rights of someone convicted of burglary when the motive for the burglary may have been for sexual gratification/conquest? I agree that we have a responsibility to protect society from the worst of the worst. One of the questions I frequently asked in pre-sentence reports was, "Who are we mad at versus who are we afraid of?" We tend to lock up more of those we're mad at than we do those we're afraid of because we categorize offenses by severity. Burglary is not seen as severely as a sex crime even if the motive for the burglary was for sexual purposes.

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You will say that we need to restore the criminals and the victims. But, there is no restoration for those who have been murdered, and it is impossible to restore innocence lost. Quite frankly, I just do not care as much for the criminals as I do for the victims. It is not that the offenders sin is greater, but that the consequences are. Both to themselves and to their victims. Is that a thought I need to take captive or a thought that is in keeping with the crime? Jesus Himself said...

Luke 17:2
It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

True, a murdered victim cannot be restored. Yet, the murdered person still has family that must deal with the loss and move on. When any of us suffer a loss, we are never fully restored. But, we have to find ways to be restored with the community. Likewise, offenders have to be restored. While you may not care about the criminal, chances are the criminal will be released back to your community. If the criminal understands that you and the rest of the community don't care, the criminal is not going to care and the cycle repeats itself. The law has prescribed a consequence and that consequence has been served as directed. Now the criminal has to move on. When we let criminals know we don't care, it's all too easily reciprocated. And then we get mad at the state for not fixing them.

I also think you may be misapplying the verse you cited. Seems he is talking about leading fellow believers astray. Not specifically about physically/mentally/emotionally harming a child.