Posted on 11/14/2007 5:15:06 PM PST by Graybeard58
Rowan Ford’s pastor urged mourners at her funeral Wednesday to put away anger and hate over the death of the 9-year-old girl who authorities allege charge was raped and murdered by her stepfather and another man.
Speakers remembered Rowan as a “sweetie” who loved everybody at her church in her southwest Missouri village of Stella and was always the first to show up for services and youth activities.
More than 300 people filled the Gospel Lighthouse Church in Neosho, about 15 miles from Stella, a larger building than her hometown church that was chosen because of the anticipated crowd.
Rowan’s mother, Colleen Ford, 44, did not speak during the service. She sat with her four adult children — two daughters and two sons — in the front facing Rowan’s closed white casket that bore a bouquet of red and white roses.
The service program, featuring a photo of a smiling Rowan, did not list stepfather David Spears among the surviving family.
Spears, 25, and his friend Chris Collings, 32, are in jail without bond on charges of first- degree murder and rape after investigators allege they both admitted attacking Rowan. A judge entered a not-guilty plea for the men at a court hearing Tuesday. Both are applying for public defenders.
“Many of you, if it was up to you, you’d organize a vigilante committee today and go after them,” the Rev. Glenn Ennis said during the funeral service. Ennis is pastor of Stella Baptist Church, which Rowan attended in her hometown of about 170 people.
Ennis urged mourners to remember that Rowan “is in a place today that is full of love, joy and peace.”
“If we focus on the evil in the situation, guess what? Who gets the glory? Satan
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
I don't see him suggesting that their lives should be spared.
I think the good Pastor is full of sh!t.
You don’t understand what this dude is saying,,,Shhhh,,listen,,,,you hear that..?I hope so,,..
Now bitterness is another issue, the kind that causes one to be angry at the wrong people and take it out on them instead.
The Pastor hasn't said otherwise.
You are right. I stand corrected. I hope he is not in tune with the anti-death penalty people.
I didn’t say he hadn’t.
I agree with your post #20.
As you’ve noticed, we’re experiencing keyword glitches. I have no idea why the keyword “rowanford” never appears (which I verified for myself). It’s not a matter of too many characters, the limit being twenty.
He is when he counsels people to give up hating. Nowhere does he say that these evil men should be allowed to go on living.
thank you.
Solomon said to everything there is a season. Even for hate.
“Hating” these killers at this time is a correct and even Christian emotion—otherwise many of the Psalms would not even be there. A little girl’s funeral...before her killers have met justice...is not the time to try to remind people to trust God for ultimate justice and yes, revenge. As that’s what Christian forgiveness when crime is involved is all about....trusting God—and His agent, the government in this case, to mete out proper judgment for terrible crimes like this.
This is a fundamental world-view issue. God NEVER merely passes over sin. Either because of someone’s trust in Christ, He bears the punishment on the cross, or, without such faith, the individual (eventually) bears it themselves. To say such vapid things in the face of such horror...like “if we hate only Satan gets the glory” is a neutered Christianity, not found in the bible.
Forgiveness is required...but so are justice and judgment. The latter two trump the former. Punishment by death can still occur even if the creeps are forgiven.
There are bad times to trust in God? Nonsense. Utter nonsense.
In a situation like this I think all the love should go to the dead girl if for no other reason than to protect other little girls. I don’t really like the word hate and I guess it would depend on the definition. I think it is right to hate evil and I would include evil people in that. A Christian must never judge a person’s soul by keeping knowledge of the gospel from them for whatever time they have remaining on earth. But I think the love of justice sometimes requires civilized society to end the physical life of monsters who rape and kill little girls. Certainly execution is not an act of love. But even an executioner will say, “May God have mercy on your soul.” I see no need for anything more than the truth about their soon to be coming meeting with their Maker. That’s it. Oh, and civil treatment and a just trial. Now THAT is it.
A murder is different then what justice calls for in this case.
I could be wrong here:::
If someone breaks into our house and threatens us,do I have to hate the Perp to kill it..I can hate what the Perp is doing ,,don’t have to hate the Perp..And yes There is a Time for Everything..
ping~~
OH MY GOD!! I remember reading about this on FR last week.
What happened???
It’s in there now....
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