This young girl brought on her own troubles. Though her sin is more visible, and preganancy doesn't make her years of good work or knowledge go away, it does call for some consequences. If I rob a bank, after having worked well at it for 30 years, does that help in my case? No, I would have still robbed a bank, and disciplinary actions must follow. Yes, she *should have been allowed to walk down the aisle and receive her diploma, no, she should *not have been allowed to be the valedictorian, nor should she have been considered for it, with all 'voting' and 'approving' parties to that post having full knowledge of the pregnancy prior to bestowing that honor upon her, then removing it... if that is the course of events. I would assume though, that she was made to be pregnant after the decision was made and the honor bestowed, therefore, only rumor would have allowed that everyone 'knew' of her pregnancy, having not been able to show in so few weeks of knowledge). Many variables, many arguements, but one thing remains... wrong is wrong, sin is sin. We must be careful in assigning priority value to sin. In God's eyes, sin is sin. There is no 'this is better' and 'this is worse'. Using MAN's values to prioritize punshment for our man made 'levels' of sin is inconsistent with the very nature of God. God HATES sin, but he loves the sinner. He sent his Son to take on those sins to offer an atonement for those sins. We may accept such forgiveness of sin, but it doesn't always wipe out the consequenses of our sin. We are to love the sinner, but never accept the sin. At times, God uses consequenses of sin to help build us into a better, stronger relationship with him.... at other times, he simple erases it all. His call not ours. In the case of Jimmy Swaggart... he too brought on his own troubles. But his case was different... HE is the one who insisted on punishment for Jim Bakker and Marvin Gorman, but refused to submit to the same council that he demanded 'justice' from in Jim and Marvin's case. He chose instead to disregard any suggestions made by the General Council to follow the standard 12 month 'no direct pulpit ministry', knowing that it would ruin him financially. There's a big difference when there is rebellion in the picture, as in Mr. Swaggart's case. Am I saying that Mr Swaggart has not repented? IMHO, Swaggart's television showmanship was revisited with the Clinton 'apology'. Aside from that, it's not my place to even wonder. I am called to bear up my brother's burdens and pray, God handles the details.... remember, God even used a Donkey to deal with his preachers in the New Testament... so why can't he use us in spite of ourselves? Granted, he probably shouldn't, but he does anyway. It's called Grace.... unmerited favor. Blessings, Andy. -----Original Message----- From: Keith Brooks [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 1999 10:47 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [RR] RE: school takes away valedictorian First of all I am in agreement that what she did was wrong. But what some of you are telling me is that one mistake wipes out 4 years of hard work. When you make a mistake at work on Friday, you are willing to give up your whole weeks paycheck. You do not have former drug addicts or alcoholics speak in your church. You do not have former prostitutes speak either. They have all make mistakes. In my opinion, they are worse mistakes than being pregnant. They put their bodies through abuse. You are giving the wrong message when you invite these people to speak. Yes, its OK to take drugs, drink, and abuse your body as long as you accept Christ before you die. I think that this girl could have done more good if she was allowed to stand in front of her class, parents, and everyone else who was there and speak of her sin and show her embarrassment. She could tell everyone that she was wrong and explain that they should not follow in her footsteps. NO, we are going to sweep it under a rug and cover it up as best as we can. In a year or two though we will let her speak to people and give the same message that she could be giving now. Maybe she could change some lives NOW instead of later. Maybe she could prevent this from happening to 2 or 3 other people. If she would have come to the school as a sophomore, pregnant, and said she has sinned and was wrong, they would have probably let her enroll. Because she was already enrolled, we kick her out. This is worse punishment than Jimmy Swagart received. We have lost more people in the A/G this way than what we probably have. Keith Brooks -----Original Message----- From: Steven Cullifer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; John Evans <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 05 26 99 1:21 AM Subject: Re: [RR] RE: school takes away valedictorian >I believe that this should have been handled differently. Yes there is >consequences that we have to bear when we commit sin, but it seems that the >school is trying to set a precedent, that if you attend a Christian school, >you should bear the fruits of a Christian. I believe that the school does >not want to show that they condone a pregnant valedictorian speaking to a >crowd of parents and future graduates in a Christian school. This would >throw the wrong message that we as Christians are no different than the >world that we are trying to reach. Remember that Christ told Israel to set >themselves apart from the surrounding countries, but what did they do? They >fell to the flesh. As I said in the beginning, I believe they handled this >situation wrong. I believe they should allow her to graduate with her >class. She did earn that! We can all learn from this, that God wants us to >cast down sin and bear his cross daily. I do feel for this young lady, >because there is the possibility that she may stray from God's word because >of the way that this was handled. As one of you said, that we as Christians >kick other Christians when they are down. How true this statement is! But >we preach that we need to reach out to this dying world, because the end of >time is drawing near, but as we see in this situation, we don't practice >what we preach. So no wonder why people mock Christians, because they say >that we don't live what we preach. This is hard to swallow, because they >are so true. We must start living the way Christ has called us to live, a >separated life. For we are to bring forth light so that all might receive >the gift of eternal life and be saved. > >In His Service >Steven Cullifer >West Florida District >Sectional Commander >Outpost #28 >-----Original Message----- >From: John Evans <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 2:54 PM >Subject: Re: [RR] RE: school takes away valedictorian > > >>Y'all, >> Here is my two cents, I read the pro >>on this and the cons. Did the school do it right? I belive they shouldn't >have. I agree with one that broung up, why didn't they do it long time ago. >I mean >>I ain't a doctor, so I really don't know. However after so many mnths, >like 3mnths I think. Don't you notice someone pregant. Also I agree >someone said, if you have no sin, cast the first stone. The school did >that. >>John >>-- >> >>On Mon, 24 May 1999 22:30:23 AZOutpost wrote: >>>I agree, if she made the grade but also made a mistake, she if backed by >the >>>school she would probably let the other know to avoid the mistake she and >the >>>young man made. >>> >>>And some other questions come up. >>>What about the father? >>>Has the school helped her avoid aborting the baby? >>>Where are her parents in this time of need? >>> >>>Just a thought >>>Kevin >>>_______ >>> To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks!" RTKB&G4JC! >>> Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rangernet.org >>> >> >> >>CCNmail for your free web-based e-mail. http://www.ccnmail.com >>_______ >> To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks!" RTKB&G4JC! >> Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rangernet.org >> > >_______ > To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks!" RTKB&G4JC! > Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rangernet.org > _______ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks!" RTKB&G4JC! Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rangernet.org _______ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks!" RTKB&G4JC! Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rangernet.org
