what do you think?

Question

I was involved in a church and it was known that there was a man in the church that beat his wife. I told the pastor that the men of the church should get to gether with that guy and let it be known that if he EVER hits the woman again, these men would beat him sensless. If it still continues then the men of the church will give him worse than he gives until the creep either stops, leaves or dies.
The pastor said that we should PRAY.

The Bible says that if we see someone with a need and only say (for example) "be well fed or be warm, and we do NOTHING to help this person's need that our Faith is empty and in vain.

What do you think?

Answer 1

That just illustrates what is wrong with the church. Pray and do nothing, shift the resonsibility to someone else even if he doedn't exist. Meanwhile the woman is getting the cr@p beaten out of her.

People need to take responsibility for each other's welfare.

Ask, Am I my brother's keeper? The answer is supposed to be yes.

Answer 2

Actually, you should look up C.S. Lewis articels that are in a book called, C.S. Lewis, A Mind Awakened, or something like that. Anyway he was answering a question about whether he thought the death penalty was good. He answered that he really didn't know for sure, but that he thought there are clearly people who will just never get better and only continue to hurt themselves and others, and that death might ultimately be a release to that person. Now I am not saying we should ever kill anybody, but sometimes, just sometimes, the end justifies the means. God had the Israelites slaughter men, women, children, and infants just to get to the promised land. Thats a pretty drastic means, but it ultimately ended well. Praying is always the best start, but a race can't be won if you never leave the starting line. Anyway, this was the most worthless answer of all! Yippee!

*Edition~ To the person who answered just after I did, hilarious! To the person who suggested hardcover bibles, good idea, but the leather ones get such great whipping action, especially when the wielder is yelling about satan. And just for information, I am a youth pastor, and if anybody ever tried to hurt one of the youth under my care you better believe that I would do what I could to restrain them, with as little injury as possible to them, but enough to let them know its not worth struggling.

Answer 3

Beating him up will do nothing to fix the problem inside of him. A man who would beat anyone on a regular basis must have severe psychological problems - which won't go away by getting beat up by a bunch of guys from his church. In fact it will drive him away from the church and lead to worse consequences for those around him (especially his wife).

Praying might help you with the anger you feel about this..but treating god as a genie who will magically drop a solution into you lap in regards to this is right on par with doing nothing. Be proactive. If you really feel the woman is in trouble, then talk to people who a friends with her in your church - have everyone get together with her and talk to her about the situation and how worried you are about her. Come up with a solution. If need be, help her with a divorce.

Answer 4

I think the Pastor was right to pray, but the Bible teaches accountability in the church as well. The Pastor and deacons should confront the man. The police should be notified as well.

Answer 5

Absolutely the church needs to do something about this! I don't know if beating the guy up is a good answer, but maybe someone needs to press charges? If there are kids, perhaps someone ought to alert the children's protection services?
Has anyone thought to give this woman shelter in their home until this problem can be solved?

Answer 6

I think when you become the Pastor, then you can make decisions that involve the people under your care.
Until then; pray. And befriend the family. Especially the husband. Maybe he needs a friend with some good character.

Answer 7

I think prayer is valuable, but at the same time used as a way to skirt responsibility. I believe that the church needs to be there to give him what he needs, and that could possibly mean jail time (reporting it to the police). I think they need to be attentive to God and what would be wise, but also act out in love to correct the situation. Even if it means tough love for him by careful love for his wife.

Answer 8

I admire your compassion!.....my answer is someone should report this to the police!.....Pray!...yes, faith without works is dead!....contact some of the woman in the church to talk to her or maybe you could convince her to get a restraining order against him and try to get her away from that man before he kills her!...I'll be praying for that situation!

Answer 9

Sounds good but your preacher does not want to get into the guys business. Something should be done to help the lady. If nothing else have you wife talk to her and try to get her help

Answer 10

Have you ever seen the movie 'Boondock Saints'? The opening scene is of a priest giving a sermon againt the indifference of good people.It's a good sermon.And the movie kicks ***.