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Church Minister jailed for life - 35 counts of abuse including rape
dunkman
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/5223624.stm
A church minister who pleaded guilty to 35 counts of child abuse, including two charges of raping an 11-year-old boy, has been sentenced to life in prison.
The Reverend Simon Thomas, 44, of Hythe, Hampshire, admitted the charges at Southampton Crown Court.
The court heard he had used internet chatrooms to groom his victims.
A judge said Thomas, a former minister at United Reformed Church, must serve a minimum of seven and a half years before he is eligible for parole.
Thomas, who had worked in Hythe for 10 years and was married, was suspended by the United Reformed Church pending disciplinary proceedings.
Most of the offences took place during the last three years, the court heard.
The charges against him included inciting children to engage in sexual activity, meeting children following sexual grooming, indecency with a child, sexual activity with an 11-year-old and making indecent photographs of children
According to some on here.... he'll still get into heaven, yet some of the abused kids wont... hmmmmmm thats great
A church minister who pleaded guilty to 35 counts of child abuse, including two charges of raping an 11-year-old boy, has been sentenced to life in prison.
The Reverend Simon Thomas, 44, of Hythe, Hampshire, admitted the charges at Southampton Crown Court.
The court heard he had used internet chatrooms to groom his victims.
A judge said Thomas, a former minister at United Reformed Church, must serve a minimum of seven and a half years before he is eligible for parole.
Thomas, who had worked in Hythe for 10 years and was married, was suspended by the United Reformed Church pending disciplinary proceedings.
Most of the offences took place during the last three years, the court heard.
The charges against him included inciting children to engage in sexual activity, meeting children following sexual grooming, indecency with a child, sexual activity with an 11-year-old and making indecent photographs of children
According to some on here.... he'll still get into heaven, yet some of the abused kids wont... hmmmmmm thats great
oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
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And your point is?
Christians believe he can be forgiven and therefore can go to heaven.
Christians do not believe that being abused will keep the victims out of heaven.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
You can't think of heaven in terms of earthly experience...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Don't you mean 13 guys--what about Rufus?
cross the river to the eastside
So then god knows that this jerkoff just ruined some young innocent boys lives. Good to know that religion has been warped enough that you actually break a commandment and you are welcomed into the arms of god when you repent. Makes great sense. A good way to keep on doing wrong and then just dismissing it because you will get in on saying sorry. And no I don't buy the BS about it all coming from the heart when you repent. You have a brain to know right and wrong while commiting the act. Does it just get smart because your time is near and you really, really, want to get into heaven now? :rolleyes:
Wasn't Rufus the guy that you would only see his sandals from under the table in all the paintings?
Of course! He was the black one and so was naturally subjugated.
cross the river to the eastside
or with any kind of logic...or reality.....or sanity.
Is that why the book of Rufus was the last one in the bible?
Where is this "tolerance" people (religious and non-religious) speak so highly of?
You're clueless about Christianity, huh?
I'm thankful that there is a God who can forgive all my imperfections. I'm also thankful there are people who try to pass along that forgiveness as well.
I'm sorry that you don't believe in forgiveness.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
So you think if there was a God, this God wouldn't be just a bit more intelligent or see things and understand things different than humans?
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I wonder the SAME THING!! I've never seen more blasphemy than I do here on the train by the same ppl that claim they are tolerant and respectful of everyones religious beliefs!
But then again, it does say in the end times, all Christians will be persecuted, so it looks like the time is drawing near!
Thank God!
Which is why I am worried about going to this Christian Heaven... I mean, just about every convicted murderer in prison seems to find Jesus... I picture Heaven as the Rikers Island or San Quintin exercise yard, except there are clouds and shit all around. It just don't seem fair to me... if the person they raped and murdered had not repented yet... they end up in the lake of fire.
...
And by this logic... Adolph Hitler is up in Heaven because he was Christian (Catholic) and who knows if he repented?
Hail, Hail!!!
Must have been a glitch in the perfection of god that it allows such mistakes to just go unpunished.
Yes, he was a member of the Catholic church, but his actions certainly spoke far louder than his words and actions. On the flip side, it IS scary to me as well that for all I know, there's a chance he's in heaven. Extremely scary.
But if he did truly and earnestly repent out of contrition and love rather than guilt and fear of his fate, well..........that's why I'm not God.
Or maybe a glitch to allow people the free will to not believe in God at all...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
was he in the Madonna video... :cool:
Still... you see my point, right?
I mean if the victim of this murderer doesn't fit the criteria set by the church... they end up in Hell. Is that what God deems as 'Just or Fair'? Like, if you think about it... O.J.Simpson has time to repent and get in, but Nicole and Ron do not. Why should O.J. get the chance and not the persons he murdered (and we all know he did it... he was aquitted, not innocent)?
And as for Hitler... he never technically killed anyone... his soldiers did. He actually believed he was helping rid the God Fearing Europeans of the Jewish scourge that had killed his Savior.
This is why i have all of these questions. I don't want my God to be held to the restrictions of Man's religions. I am hoping that He will judge me on the character of my being and my acts, rather than the doctrine of an organized tax-exempt institution.
And don't get me wrong... I believe in the whole forgiveness thing. But, I also believe in personal accountability for your actions. We all know it is wrong to kill... religious beliefs aside... yet, we do it all the time. I believe we should be held accountable for our decisions and our actions. Certain religions let you get away with it, as long as you follow the right procedures and believe in them.
Hail, Hail!!!
I know - that was my point.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Glad you believe that. Wouldn't his soul (since he was a priest) be filled with goodness that he should have known what he was doing was only good for the internet. Maybe that is what god really wanted him to do and you and I are not in tune with that crazy thing some refer to as god.
If the guy strings himself up. He may be tormented by his soul. If not. He must have enjoyed destroying some young lives.
Who would want to be in a heaven with that. If I was one of those kids fathers and got to heaven. I would search that prick out and kill his soul. Just to add more punishment to his life in paradise.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Now, on to your post........ I do see your point(s). As I said (and by no means is this meant as a cop-out from trying to come up with some deep theological answer), these are points/questions many Christians struggle with. Besides the examples you bring up, there are questions about infant deaths, people who never had the chance to hear about God (as opposed to people who have and reject Him), etc. The best answer I can give you right now (I just woke up after a really late night) is that we are all part of a fallen race, and mankind as a whole lives in a state of sin, no matter how hard we try to do good things to make it right--hence my (and a lot of other Christians') opposition to a works-based model of salvation. I will gladly revisit this later when I have more time to think about it if you'd like.
God isn't limited to the restrictions of man. That's not His nature. However, it is very much in our own human nature to try and put "God in a box" (so to say).
We believe in accountability for our actions, too. Saying "Jesus, please save me" one time and accepting the gift of salvation comes with the caveat that our lives from that point on are meant to be changed lives hopefully changing others. There is a verse in Scripture that reads "faith without works" is dead, and yes, that is in opposition to a works-based salvation. Those "certain religions" you speak of are elements that have begun to creep into "postmodern" Christianity, and it's yet another thing for Christians to struggle with today.
Bottom line: we WILL be judged for the character of our being and our actions. And how we respond to Christ's sacrifice for our salvation.
I'm sorry if that was too preachy for some of you. That was a direct (albeit public) response to Cosmo, and if anyone would like to break down that response, you're of course free to do so. All I can ask is that you do so with a spirit of respect, as I have tried to be gracious.
Another example is Bush. I sure as hell dont want to go to heaven if hes going to be there. People hide behind religion far too often which is why so many people have a negative view of it.
Ummm... I can't speak for everyone... but, the reason is... because I am human. I am not God, so i don't have God's perspective... I'm hoping He'll set me straight when i finally get to meet Him.
Hail, Hail!!!