This week, at my church, it was discovered that two of the pastors, one male and one female, had an affair. what would you do if you were the church, do you forgive them? or condemn them?
by 
Mr. Knowitall- The Poli Sci Guy
ANSWERS: 25
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i would forgive them.
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Both. They stepped over the line and broke their congregation's trust in them. There has to be consequences. Once the consequences have been paid, then they are to be forgiven.
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are they married to other people? If not, who cares?
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Depends... how have these two pastors, or the church, judged or diciplined the least-of-these within the church on similar (or even lesser) behavior? What does it say in your church consitution on such behavior? I tend to hold people to the standards they hold me to, and hypocrites don't like that.
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Let the one without sin cast the first stone. Was it wrong? Probably. Was it God's plan - we don't know. Best to let bygones be bygones and leave the question of judgement to a higher power.
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Forgiveness.
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I would forgive them and never talk about it again. ....but inside know they're a bit hypocritical. And God forbid they ever drew attention to someone else's mistakes in the church...i would probably have something to say about that.
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Condemn Here they are having affairs while they teach the church about the bible and how to be faithful to their partners. It's just not acceptable.
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You gave no indication that they have any kind of a vow of celibacy, so assuming they don't, I'd pat them on the back and wish the couple well.
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First the whole church broke one of the Bible's rules by having a female pastor. Second, They must be fired or risk the chance of hurting the whole churches reputation. That is not being judgemental , it is being practical. They can not continue to be the spiritual leaders of the church with that stain on their records. Forgiveness is expected, but forgiveness does not mean there will be no consequences to our actions. Fire them, but don't shun them.
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I see that you answered the question of whether they were married to other people in a comment thread, and indeed, they are. That changes things. I wouldn't be able to have any respect for those leaders, especially since they live to preach to others the sanctity of marriage, living a Godly life, and so on. It becomes utterly ridiculous in my eyes. In fact, it's contemptable to me. The ultimate hypocrites. Had they stopped on thier own, or confessed their sin, or done anything of their own volition to correct the situation, I would be much more likely to move on from the situation and see where the future leads. But they didn't do any of that, apparently. I don't see how anyone could possibly see the actions of two people as a reflection on the entire church, however.
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They made the mistake of having a woman preacher,cause that is forbidden in 1Timothy,and second yes forgive them,but they are not to preach again.Cause God would not allow it.He forgave David,but still judged him.Being a Pastor is not a joke and they represent Jesus,so they must becareful of that.Fornication is the only sin Paul said to flee from,all the rest he said to battle.That says something about sexual immorality.We cannot condem anyone,we are not God,but they are not to Pastor again.Also if your divorced you are not to Pastor a church,you may preach but not Pastor.
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What did Jesus do when the Phariseas brought the woman who had been caught in adultery to him? What would Jesus do? There's your answer. God bless us, everyone!
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Since I'm an atheist I would consider myself a neutral observer so here's my answer: Why is it your or anyone else's business if they had an affair? First of all, unless they announced the affair from the pulpit, it's just gossip. What they do on their off time, unless they're robbing banks, it's nobodies business. You should instead, ask yourself, are they able to inspire you to do good? Do they manage the church responsibly? Would have any objections against them if you hadn't heard about the affair? Your job, if you are a christian, is to neither forgive, nor condemn. I'm pretty sure you guys are supposed to leave that to God.
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Here are direct quotes from the bible.That Eve or the woman was made from from man or Adam,and deceived first by the serpent or Devil states Genesis. God said Her desire would be unto her husband and that pain in child birth process would greatly multiplied (As result of sin and disobedience). The head of every women is the man says 1Cr11:3. Also again in 1Cr11:8-9 states that woman are made for men not vice-versa. 1Timothy2:11 Women to be silent in church and not to teach or usurp (overthrow) the authority of a man. So we should live by every word of God or not at all. They called Jesus a wine biber or drunk and said he casted oput devils by Satan. Do you really think people who sincerely living for God are not going to be called outcasts,holy rollers and four letter words!
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You forgive them, expecting them to never do it again, since it is public, and they know it was wrong. While they are not to be condemned by anyone at any time for any reason, both should step down, ie resign from being pastors. Let the shame fall on them personally and not on the pastor position.
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I'd mind my own business and probably not care in the slightest anyway. Then again, I'm not christian, and I don't think it's my job to condemn or condone the actions of consenting adults.
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What I'd do is..nothing. It's not up to me to judge anyone else. As far as forgiveness, neither one did anything to me, so there's nothing to forgive.
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condemn!! what horrible hypocrites! i feel terrible for you that you had to endure the shaming of your church leaders! on multiple counts, they erred: -premarital sex -adultery -hypocrisy -lust of the deadly sins (and women are not supposed to be pastors in the first place) i'd have them kicked out of the church.
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I think it's more about you, the congregation. Do you ignore hypocrits and the tenets of your church or do you look for a diff church/faith?
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Condemn the sin; forgive the sinners. Jesus would. Should they be allowed to teach? Not sure......
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I wouldn't go to a church with a woman pastor to begin with. No, I'm not being sexist. It's just against scripture. I find it wrong for a church to claim they are following the Bible while they are disobeying how it says a church should be run.
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Both would lose their position as pastors, and be subject to the standard disciplinary actions. Then they would be treated as any other sinner seeking perfection.
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#1# - They shouldn't be allowed to continue as pastors. "The blind leading the blind". #2# On the other hand, of course they should be allowed to remain members of the church, and to repent (to God and whoever else was offended) for their sins
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Christianity believes in forgiveness, so any serious Christian HAS to forgive them. However, being forgiven doesn't exempt people from paying a penalty. You still have to accept whatever consequences of your actions may ensue. For example, the victim of a crime may forgive the criminal, but the criminal still has to go to prison. In this case, the people involved could reasonably lose their jobs because their behavior doesn't represent the values and morals of the church.
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