Stone sinners or love them?

Ever tilting at windmills, The Questing Parson offers a conversation among pastors where he asks what he considers the fundamental question, "Are we going to stone sinners or love them?" The question is not what we label sin, but how we will respond as a church to sinners. It's online at The Fundamental Question.

Now in fairness to the Gospels, while Jesus does not want the woman caught in adultery stoned to death, he does want her to go and sin no more. Yet, I'm sutr the Parson knows the "Go and sin no more" part of the story and I suspect he is more interested in our welcome and the tone of our churches, while leaving judgment to God. But I could be wrong about that. He writes in part,

"The fundamental issue is whether we are going to stone each other or love each other. And I don’t really give a damn what you do or do not define as sin. It won’t change the fact that the fundamental issue of our faith is whether we are going to stone those we consider sinners or whether we are going to love them."

“It’s not that simple,” said Phil.

“No it’s not,” said Mike in a hushed tone.”

“But it is,” said the parson. “Why would you want to make it more complicated than that?”

Is he right? Is it that simple?

Is the question for a church (and for individual Christians) not what we call sin, but how we respond to sinners?

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor