John 7:53- 8:11

a.k.a. what I think is a good response to the whole City Harvest thing.

Now, before we begin, I must make my position clear.

• I am no expert on legal, or even on Biblical matters. I am merely stating what I feel is the best course of action based on what I know of the Bible.
• Neither am I saying that this should be the course of action all people take. 
• I am personally not terribly enamoured with City Harvest church in general.

Alright. Now that we've got that out of the way, we can go on to what I would like to talk about.

Now, just in case you do not own a Bible (or more likely than not, are too lazy to open your own), here is a link to the passage.

It is a fairly well-known passage I believe, since it gave rise to a phrase that is still in use in the common vernacular. Here's a rundown:

• A woman commits adultery.
• Said woman is caught in the act of adultery.
• Said woman is brought before Jesus by various temple significants, along with a mob, who ask Him what they should do.
• Jesus promptly ignores them and starts writing (I like to think He starts randomly doodling but that's probably not the case) on the ground.
• The leaders and local authorities ask Him again.
• This time, Jesus says the 'well-known' phrase: "Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
• The angry group of people grows less angry (perhaps) and gradually dissolves away till only Jesus and the lady are left.
• He then forgives her and tells her to leave her life of sin.

When the woman was caught in adultery, I imagine it must have been quite an ordeal. The sin she thought was secret was suddenly and unpleasantly brought to light, she was dragged about by a bunch of people and local notables, and they were screaming for her to be stoned, which was perfectly within their rights. But when she was brought before Jesus, He did not condemn her, neither did He discipline her. Instead, He forgave her and gave her another chance.

I am not suggesting then, that the government release those guys who have done wrong stuff; if they did wrong, they have to face the consequences. But it seems people have taken to casting stones at City Harvest and the congregation there as well.

I understand that some of their doctrine is not correct, and that in the past, they haven't exactly proven to be Mother Teresa, but surely now is not the time to be condemning them. Shouldn't we, as Christians, be looking to encourage those who are feeling lost and depressed because of this situation? (And no, I know what some of you are thinking, I am not advocating encouraging them that their doctrine is right, or that their leaders will be freed miraculously.) Instead of beating them down more, shouldn't we be bringing them up and telling them to look to Christ who is the hope for all the world?

We pray for non-Christians to be saved, we pray for those doing wrong to be convicted by the Spirit that they are doing wrong, so shouldn't we then also pray for Christians who are hurting because of what is going on?

And so I pray, that the people there will find comfort in God, that they will look to Him instead of looking at the situation around them, that their faith in Christ will remain strong, and that in the end, He will make something good out of all this mess.