Something Feral

Digging up the flower-beds.


Tuesday, December 22, 2009

RTFM

Just which book is he reading from, exactly?
Poor people who are desperate for cash have been advised to go forth and shoplift from major stores - by an Anglican priest.

The Rev Tim Jones said in his Sunday sermon that stealing from successful shops was preferable to burglary, robbery or prostitution.

He told parishioners it would not break the eighth commandment 'thou shalt not steal' because it 'is permissible for those who are in desperate situations to take food that they might not starve'.
Rev Jones later added that the worship of Baal, Baphomet and Mammon would be acceptable in the interest of diversity in faith, and that murder would be condoned in cases of "necessary social justice".

Perhaps the Anglican Church should start encouraging its congregation to provide for those in their community in some sort of charitable capacity, on an anonymous donor level to be managed and distributed by the clergy, if necessary, rather than encouraging them to sin.

Nice suit there, Rev. How many bushels of wheat did it run?

5 comments:

Triton said...

Par for the course for the Anglicans. They wouldn't know the Ten Commandments if they fell off Mt. Sinai and landed on their heads.

Something Feral said...

C'mon, Triton. Everyone knows that Jesus was the fifth Beatle, and that the summary of the Commandments are the lyrics to "Imagine".

(Sarcasm aside, I'm going to side with Ripley on this one.)

Something Feral said...

Oh, and since your blog is gone, Merry Christmas. :)

Mike said...

In his defense, it was always legal in Israel for the poor to steal some food to eat, and he basically referenced that caveat when he said that the only way to justify it would be to take what you need **for survival**.

Still, he should have spent his time lecturing his congregation on charity.

Something Feral said...

For survival, yes. As a last option, always.

The best leaders lead by example; Jones, if he accurately estimates the scope of the need for food, should himself be spearheading the charitable giving to those in the community in need of sustenance. Lecturing is a great way to disseminate the information to the congregation, but reinforcing the lecture with action would have a multiplicative return.

Furthermore, knowing that the larger chain-retailers have anti-shoplifting measures in place, is Jones willing to accept the consequences of congregation members experiencing additional hardships for being caught attempting to do so? The state has made it quite clear that they have no sense of humor regarding his advice.

Given the circumstances, I'm willing to believe that Jones just jammed his foot in his mouth, but given the responsibility he bears at the pulpit, Jones should be more mindful of his recommendations.