Have you heard about Brazilian church leaders that got jail in US?

Question

Have you heard that the couple Hernandes, Brazilian church leaders got jail in Miami US? What do you think about?

Answer 1

I think that they should have followed what the Bible teaches.

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.

MIAMI - A married couple who lead one of Brazil's largest evangelical churches were sentenced to nearly five months in prison Friday after pleading guilty to smuggling more than $56,000 into the United States hidden in luggage, a child's backpack and a Bible case.

Estevam Hernandes Filho and his wife, Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes, must serve an additional five months of house arrest in the United States and pay $60,000 in fines under a sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno.

Hernandes, 53, is to surrender Monday to begin serving his prison term. His 48-year-old wife will serve her house arrest term first at their home in Boca Raton and then report to prison Jan. 21. Both must also serve a probation.

Both were given credit for 10 days they spent in custody after their initial Jan. 8 arrests at Miami International Airport. Their lawyers had asked for probation, and they each faced as much as 16 months in jail.

The couple pleaded guilty in June to failing to declare on a customs form that they were carrying more than $10,000 into the United States. They have been under house arrest at their Boca Raton home since Jan. 19.

The couple — known as Apostle Estevam and Bishop Sonia to their followers — lead Brazil's Reborn in Christ Church, which they founded in 1986 and now claims hundreds of thousands of followers. Brazilian authorities are seeking the couple's extradition on charges of looting parishioners' donations for their own use.

Moreno said he did not base his sentence on the possible Brazilian prosecution and accepted the couple's explanation that the $56,467 they illegally brought into the U.S. was not taken from church donations. That money will be forfeited to the U.S. government.

The lengthy hearing took place in a courtroom packed with about 60 family members and supporters, many of whom wept loudly when Moreno delivered his sentence. Dozens of followers also wrote letters to Moreno asking for a lenient sentence.

"They've done a lot of good," the judge said. "Sometimes, you've got to do penance."

Sonia Hernandes cried in court and said she was sorry for what happened. Hur husband asked the judge for forgiveness.

Albert Krieger, one of the couple's lawyers, said they brought the money to the United States as part of a plan to gradually move their permanent residence from Brazil to Boca Raton out of fear they and their families might be targeted by kidnappers. He said the money was hidden in various belongings because the couple worried about thieves at airports.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Armando Rosquete said it was "bizarre" for the church leaders to hide money in a Bible case. "What I see in this case is an element of greed," he said.

The Reborn in Christ Church said in a statement: "We shall continue praying for our Apostle and our Bishop, knowing that once they complete their sentence they will return to guide us. They know that until they return ... their flock will continue walking down the path they have pointed out," the statement said.