SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN*
These “Christians” need to read their Bible a bit more closely.
Frustrated with widespread drug abuse — especially of easily accessible prescription painkillers — a handful of mountain churches are moving away from their traditional role as a refuge for the poor and addicted. Now they’re more interested in law enforcement.
The Community Church of Manchester is leading the way through “Court Watch,” a program in which volunteers attend court hearings to monitor judges overseeing drug-related cases…
The Rev. Doug Abner, pastor at Community Church — whose slogan for a 2004 anti-drug march was “get saved or get busted” — said the presence of Court Watch volunteers puts “mild pressure” on judges “to do the right thing.” The volunteers collect information for a database and look for trends in drug crimes…
Abner said his church hasn’t neglected its prison ministry or other counseling programs. Still, he added, “we believe in giving people chances, but how many chances do you give them?”
*Or seventy-seven times. Both are accepted translations.
2 Responses to “SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN*”
Comment by Skip Oliva August 5th, 2007 at 11:03 am |
What point is there to organized religion if you can’t use it to demand vengeance against your fellow man? |
Comment by Nance Confer August 5th, 2007 at 12:15 pm |
Is it about money? They’d rather the prison system take care of the addicts they have been helping before this? A sad commentary. . . Nance |