Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Go to Church or go to Jail.

In the news today is a story about  an Alabama town that has started an alternative sentencing program that would give non-violent offenders a new choice:
Go to jail, or go to church.


"Starting next week, the program will allow a city judge to sentence misdemeanor offenders to work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine, or go to church every Sunday for a year. Offenders who select church can pick the place of worship but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department. If the one-year church attendance program is completed successfully, the offender's case will be dismissed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/offenders-in-ala-town-can_n_977687.html

“This is a simply offensive idea, that both violated the "Separatio­n of Church and State", while denigratin­g Christiani­ty.

We need to begin with the basic truth that "America is a Secular nation, populated by predominan­tly by Christians­".

To force non-Christ­ians to go to church violates their right to freedom of religion. Remember America was founded in large part by Christians fleeing a Christian country, on the basis of religious persecutio­n NO AMERICAN SHOULD BE FORCED to attend church.

I am amazed that all Christians are not deeply offended by the idea of going to church being use as a "Punishmen­t" Going to services should be a JOY, not a form of discipline­. This is an insult to all of those attending services out of true belief.


Our founding fathers designed a form of government that kept the Church and the state separate, not to punish religion but to protect it from government­.”