I’ve still been mulling this over, especially as we have been experiencing life with one of these now perpetually condemned by society. I have to say that my heart aches for this person. While this person definitely did something stupid (I’m guessing out of anger, but that’s just a guess), to get where they were, at the same time, I wonder what the church and the system could do better. A lot, that is for sure. I really wish there was an easy answer, but there never is.

But on a spiritual level, you raise an important question: how complete is his redemption and what does that mean? If I remember my Sunday School lessons correctly, sinners are supposed to be forgiven of their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. If the sinner is sincere, his sin is literally “covered” from view in God’s eyes. That doesn’t, however, mean that the rest of “fallen” humanity will automatically ignore the incident of sin as if nothing happened. One does not, for instance, get to walk out of prison the moment one confesses Jesus as Savior — there is still a societal debt to pay in the form of jail time, fines, restitution, etc.

Business owners routinely ask job applicants if they have ever been convicted of a felony and, while they still *might* hire an ex-con, generally those applications don’t rise to the top of the stack. There’s always a question: will this person repeat their criminal behavior?

So… from a spiritual perspectictive, it seems to me that this new minister has found absolute redemption with regard to his eternal soul. The church leadership seems convinced of his sincerity enough to stick their necks out for him, after all. From a practical (flawed, sinful, fallen) Human perspective, he has a lot to prove to those who don’t know him well. Perhaps they can have him work with the Senior Citizens Bible study group or something.

Humbly submitted,
Your friendly neighborhood Atheist.