[copwife]

Of course there are incidences of abuse in Protestant churches. All pastors are human and all humans sin. The question is and alway has been, in my mind, how do these people respond to this problem? Do they perpetuate a coverup, do they ignore it, or do they treat it in a Biblical way and admit their sin, repent and beg God's grace and forgiveness? I believe that God is refining and purifying His church in preparation for the trying times ahead.If these people are not held accountable in this life, they will surely be held accountable in the next life, and in case we forget, ALL sin is equal in the eyes of God.

[Blue Screen of Death]

admit their sin, repent and beg God's grace and forgiveness...

That in addition to answering to the civil law. This is a "render unto Ceaser" thing no matter what denomination.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

It happens whether the person is rich man, poor man, indian man or thief. While an important issue, it is not the main issue.

The issue is agenda driven----this will be used to reduce any religious organization as well as its leaders as irrelevant. [a la the Lions Club or the Junior League] Sure they do good things, but they are dispensible.

[DennisR]

No, all sin is not equal in the sight of God. Yes, a sin is a sin, and all sins separate us from God, but if you look in the Old Testament, various sins had diverse consequences. And it appears that those sins which involve hurting others are particularly abhorrent to God. For example, in the New Testament, those who would offend a child would be better off if they had a millstone hung around their neck and were thrown into the sea. That does not sound good. However, if you allow yourself to be jealous, envious, and so forth, these are not sins which necessarily affect another person directly, so there is not such a severe renunciation as the previous example. Even in the secular world, there is one punishment for murder, another for stealing.

That said, of course there are going to be people who somehow get into leadership in the church that are perverts. This is why churches need to be ever vigilant to not let this happen. And if it does, to deal with it appropriately. Yes, the person needs to be forgiven, but they should be immediately removed from their leadership role and not allowed to be in that position again. One strike and you are out. Period.

[Conservative til I die]

Ah, see, I'm not concerned in this instance on how they respond to sexual abuse scandals. My point here solely is that the bigoted non-Catholics on FR have assured me that this never, and I mean, eeeeEEEEEVER has happened in the Protestant world.

I think that is an absurd statement and needs to be exposed for the idiocy that it is.

[Salvation]

All pastors are human and all humans sin.

Just like priests are human and all human priests sin, did I hear you correctly?

[iconoclast]

ALL sin is equal in the eyes of God.

Not quite 'mam, there's venial and mortal.