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Monday, January 16, 2006
Man Sentenced to Attend Church
This from ChannelCincinnati.com:
CINCINNATI -- A judge sentenced a suburban Cincinnati man to attend services for six weeks at a predominantly black church for threatening to punch a black cab driver and using racial slurs.
Brett Haines, 36, of Anderson Township, picked church over spending 30 days in the Hamilton County jail. Judge William Mallory Jr. offered Haines the choice Friday after Haines was convicted of disorderly conduct.
Haines was arrested in November for threatening cab driver David Wilson and Wilson's wife and telling them he hated black people. Prosecutors said Haines was drunk.
The church services could expand Haines' cultural awareness, Mallory said. He told Haines he must go to six consecutive Sunday services and get the minister to sign a church program to prove he attended.
The judge said he was concerned about maintaining a separation of church and state, so he asked Haines whether the option would offend him.
Haines said he would like to try it, although he does not usually attend church.
Wilson, the cab driver, said he would have preferred the jail sentence.
"Church don't change everybody," he said.
"It seems readily apparent to me that you don't like black people," Mallory told Haines. "That's OK with me. But you have to understand that you are at the whim and authority of a black judge."
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January 16, 2006 in For What It's Worth | Permalink
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Comments
Interesting alternative solution to the jail overcrowding issues...
Posted by: Bernie Dehler | Jan 16, 2006 5:28:07 PM
Sounds like a good deal to me. Maybe this is the start of something positive.
Posted by: Clairvoyent 1 | Jan 16, 2006 6:10:47 PM
Hey, maybe we should all take six weeks and attend a church that we strongly disagree with theologically! It might not change our views, but it might actually get us to understand them better.
Seriously, I like this sentence. It's creative, but I suspect it won't be popular.
btw, does the guy have to tithe to that church for that six weeks? (Bernie says HECK NO!)
;-)
Posted by: Peter Hamm | Jan 16, 2006 6:49:38 PM
Peter said:
"btw, does the guy have to tithe to that church for that six weeks? (Bernie says HECK NO!)"
I wonder if the mafia has ever considered moving into the "church business." You know, the give-to-get message. That's a great racquet. And the State can't come after you... just cry persecution... seperation of church-state.
Some "ministers" have quite a racquet. Multi-millionaire preachers... but I'm just jealous, as many people always point out... They think that I'd like to aspire to be such a drag and cancer on the church, too...
...Bernie
Acts 8:20
Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
Matthew 6:19-20
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Posted by: Bernie Dehler | Jan 16, 2006 7:38:25 PM
Peter: I applaud you dear brother for the comment you made. I do believe that it would do a world of good to visit those churches who differ in theology. I have been to different ones in my life. Why? Because these people where my friends and I loved them and they invited me to go. Even Jesus was invited to a wedding and went didn't he. I know, I know... I opened up a can of worms. However I believe they ought to do this with everyone, who has some sort of sentencing. It would be alot better than sending them to jail for drug and alchol and then signing them up for AA classes where they do not here about Jesus Christ at all. As for the tithing part. That is between God and him. The way I see it and correct me if I am wrong... But Jesus praised the widow with her mite instead of everyone who gave in abundance. She gave her whole life savings. BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART....
Posted by: Clairvoyent 1 | Jan 16, 2006 8:27:20 PM
Bernie says [I wonder if the mafia has ever considered moving into the "church business." ]
AWESOME Idea, Bernie! They oughtta try the RC Church, since they have so much Bingo going on. Can you say "numbers racket"?
And then if they get caught, they just get sentenced to attend a different church, and I'm sure thay can find some "in" there, too. There's so much sin in churches. That's why I'm glad I work in one, 'cause I'm such a sinner myself.
;-)
Posted by: Peter Hamm | Jan 17, 2006 12:28:41 AM
Peter said:
"There's so much sin in churches. That's why I'm glad I work in one, 'cause I'm such a sinner myself."
Hi Peter,,, just wondering how you view yourself. Do you think you are a saint, in the biblical use of the term? (Hope that's not too heavy for a lite topic... ;-)
...Bernie
Posted by: Bernie Dehler | Jan 17, 2006 1:00:09 AM
Regarding tithing and the money-making racquet of some Christian ministers, read this from mega-Pastor John MacArthur (I like this!):
http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/tithe.htm
Snippet:
"So, we have a mentality, and of course, what we have done, see, we justified our materialism by developing a theology to accommodate it--you know, "Jesus wants you healthy and wealthy."
There was a book called "Prime Time Religion" about Oral Roberts, and it showed how he has become a multimillionaire by the way he works things. In the book it points out, for example, he writes a book or has someone write it for him, and then he publishes it with his own publishing house (it describes all this, one of the guys on his staff wrote the book--unhappily for them); it shows how he publishes the book and then sells it to the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association--sells them about two million copies so they can send it out to all the people on their mailing list, who send them twenty-five bucks, only he sells to them for a dollar profit on each book. So he writes a book, publishes the book, makes a buck profit selling it to his own organization, pockets two million dollars and then they distribute it.
Now, those are the kinds of people, for the most part, who are on television begging you for your money, and telling you that God is going to make you rich and so forth."
Posted by: Bernie Dehler | Jan 17, 2006 1:03:38 AM
May catch on in some communities. I am sure the ACLU will go bonkers on this and say that the man was coerced into having to attend and that the judge should have seen the separation of church and state coming here.
Would offer to spend time with those of unlike faith to understand them better, naw... already know why I am a Christian and they are a cult... wrong Jesus.
Hope the guy sees the error of his ways and brings his family to services also.
Posted by: RevJay | Jan 17, 2006 1:52:59 AM
Ah, so much like childhood, when attending church felt like punishment....
Posted by: John | Jan 17, 2006 7:43:19 AM
Bernie,
[Hi Peter,,, just wondering how you view yourself. Do you think you are a saint, in the biblical use of the term?]
Of course I do. I'm a saint just like Peter, Paul, Stephen... a bunch of people who made lots of mistakes, sinned just like I do, and were totally covered in the blood of Christ. I could never lead worship on a Sat nite/Sunday morning without knowing that.
Peter
Posted by: Peter Hamm | Jan 17, 2006 8:16:16 AM
I wonder if the judge thought before giving such a sentence. To my understanding it is a privileged for one to attend Church. I know that in some of the services many feel like they are being punished. Yet this is because of the focus, If indeed the church is a place where the true and living God has put His Name and the Blood of Jesus has washed away the sins of the believers; then to attend such a Church is an honor.
I know that the Judge though that this bigot could be redeemed by such a move, however this type of person is out of touch with any Godly behavior! People like this man thinks that he has earned something by his birth; he and many like him think that they had a choice in the hue of their skin.
The scripture that says "how can you say you love God whom you have not seen; and hate people you can see. Are you by your action calling God for being stupid in creating people with different skin tones.
This then is the stupidity of bigotry, how can one say with pride I am better than you because I am a this or that. What did you have to do with it?
Posted by: geo_06 | Jan 24, 2006 2:07:40 PM
Pioneering screenwriter Nigel Kneale, best known for the Quatermass TV serials and films, dies aged 84.
Posted by: Trevon Parr | Jun 22, 2007 2:42:15 AM
Pioneering screenwriter Nigel Kneale, best known for the Quatermass TV serials and films, dies aged 84.
Posted by: Trevon Parr | Jun 22, 2007 2:43:23 AM
