Christians Bring Honesty/Integrity to Communities. Three Examples.

A recent American Family Association poll stresses that the most important thing Christians bring to a community is “honesty/integrity”. Today’s Christian Headlines provide three prime examples.

Last week, we reported on Mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster, California declaring his a “Christian community“. The American Family Association wrote on the same story on their OneNewsNow site. Rather than any reference to the separation of church and state, they focused on how evil Muslims were “irked by ‘Christian’ comment“:

The Greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has denounced the comments. The chapter says it plans to file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Justice Department. Executive director Hussam Ayloush says elected officials shouldn’t be using their public positions to impose their religious beliefs.

Naturally, the AFA folks had to run a poll. They asked, “What characteristic of the Christian faith is most beneficial to a community?”

Is it Forgiveness? Christians are commanded to forgive, and a forgiving spirit helps build community. Nah.

How about Repentance? It’s important for Christians to demonstrate that we are all disgusting sinners who should grovel before God as unworthy. Meh, not so much.

I know! I know! It’s Self-Control, right? Christians should be models of moderation, and show people how to avoid a hedonistic lifestyle.

5.57%? No self control here.

Click thumbnail for full-sized image.

A whopping 72.89% said “Integrity/Honesty” was the most important thing Christians bring to a community.

Here are three news headlines demonstrating that honesty and integrity. All are culled from today’s christianheadlines.com, a news aggregator site.

Pastors Use Church to Commit Mortgage Scam:

Philadelphia pastor Jamaar Manlove, along with wife Rhonda and uncle Larry Manlove, used the Vision Builders Christian Fellowship as a front for a scam to steal home equity from desperate homeowners facing foreclosure.

. . . desperate homeowners would go to the Manloves’ church, after allegedly being told there was a buyer who would purchase their home and lease it back to them.

“They’re unable to buy it back, or get the financing to buy it back, and in the meantime, the perpetrator has stolen whatever equity remained in the house,” Biden said.

All three are wanted by the state, but have yet to be located.

Pastor sentenced jail time for embezzlement

Compton, California pastor Eugene Joshua Sims, former pastor of the Double Rock Baptist Church, was sentenced to one year in jail, five years of probation, and full restitution for embezzling $800,000 from the church.

Prosecutors say Sims set up a private bank account and between March 1, 2000 and Sept. 30, 2008, he diverted $800,000 in church donations to his private bank account and threatened parishioners who questioned his finances.

Finally,

Woman accused of stealing $91,000 from church

Paulette Dumont volunteered to handle financial and administrative work for the Assumption Catholic Church of Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. While there, Ms. Dumont helped herself to $91,000.

RCMP say a woman who did financial and administrative work for the Assumption Catholic Church has been arrested over the writing of unauthorized cheques.

Paulette Dumont, 64, is charged with fraud and theft over $5,000.

Police say the cheques were written between 2002 and 2004.

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2. Christians to Gap: Promote Our Religion, or Else!
3. Glenn Beck's paranoid thriller, "The Overton Window"
4. Why Christians Should Support Abortion
5. Barton: If Christians Ran Things, Schools Would Institute Prayer & Government Wouldn’t Help The Poor

Jenny Donati is webmistress and co-editor of Secular News Daily. Jenny is an outspoken secularist who believes firmly in the separation of church and state. She demands evidence to support arguments, and holds herself to the same standard. She doesn't write about herself in the third person . . . but there's a first time for everything.

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