Do as I say, not as I do

[thool]

So I just learned that a guy I grew up with, who became a pastor, ended up committing adultery.

This guy found Jesus while we were in high school, got his god degree, started up a mega church in Kentucky, got married, had 2 kids, and published a couple books. From what I've read and heard, he was seen as some sort of charismatic leader, and the "church" was borderline cult with the way they held him on a pedestal and treated him as a celebrity. When the affair was discovered, he offered a public apology (which said the multi-year affair didn't go as far as intercourse...whew! kudos on the willpower bro!), and stepped down. It was discovered after that the church's books were cooked, and over a dozen people were laid off.

I'm curious about this obsession with sin: the attempts to prevent it through teachings, the free pass people get if they sound sincere enough, and the judgment from others that comes naturally. In this case, this guy and his mistress (also a church pastor or sorts) must have known he was "sinning" but only came forward when the affair became known to others. Some of the comments supporting him included phrases like "the devil is strong" and "hate the sin, not the sinner."

I don't believe in sin; it is made up to control people, and they can get booster shots at your local church. I do believe that if two people get married, they should take whatever vows they made seriously. If they wish to loosen things up, fine. If they aren't happy, see if it can be worked out, and if not, get separated or divorced.

[Foxaèr]

The obsession with sin is that theists are attempting to make it into something real when it is not, just like their god.

Human nature is not sin, after all.

[brewer]

Your guy is not unique. I can think of a few others just off the top of my head. It's not uncommon that religion becomes a means to a non religious end.

[Minimalist]

Religion has nothing to do with any fucking god.  It has to do with power.  When men get powerful they think they can stick their dicks anywhere they like.

To wit:

[vorlon13]

Why wouldn't we consider willing membership in a conservative religious franchise constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions for such misbehaviors as delineated in their Holy tracts?

IOW, as the local county prosecutor, I might decline to prosecute any members of the flock that might have participated in a burning at the stake, pressing under stones, or garroting that might have been committed in order to appease their deity of the outrage and depravity committed in His house.

I might also take note if such a church does have specific scriptural guidance governing punishment of such essentially disordered and anti-family crimes and they do nothing instead; the obvious conclusion being the congregation is devoid of members with any discernable sincerely held beliefs.

[Neo-Scholastic]

The best of men are men at best.

[vorlon13]

The best of men are men at best.

It's not  like the pastor was unwillingly coerced into joining his particular schism.

And it doesn't look like the entire congregation was implicated, so the institution would have continuity, it would just persist without it's adulterous pastor.

Might be rather easier to explain to the children the pastor was willing to atone for his inequity to set a good example for them than to instead let the cancer of adultery continue to corrode the structure of the community.

What better place to staunch the tide of moral decay and cultural rot than in God's house ??

Might impress some of the slatterns and horndogs running amuck outside on the streets.

[Amarok]

The best of men are men at best.

Bullshit institutional  excuse making

[Harry Nevis]

The best of men are men at best.

Empty platitudes?  Geez.

[Neo-Scholastic]

All I'm saying is the the moral failures of one man do not necessarily reflect on whatever social group or cultural institution to which he might belong. The other members must decide whether or not to retain him in a leadership position which is their right.