... On the other
hand this woman was not acting on behalf of the church, the Lord,
or anyone but herself in removing the picture. I would never help
myself to something posted for the benefits of all and I suspect
neither would you.
Absolutely, Lisa (though none of this relieves the church
authorities of their due responsibility for concerned and active
mediation). That was so obviously the whole point of your original
post, and it has both amused and saddened me to watch the way this
thread has been turned into a politico-religious football. Any
question of whether you were using "tithe" in its literal,
numerical sense couldn't be much further from the real issue; nor
is it anybody else's business.
Not only is it risibly hypocritical of a church member to act the
way the offender did in appropriating your work, but it represents
behaviour that I've seen far too often for comfort within church
communities -- from those involved as administrative, pastoral and
congregational members alike. That's the rub, and it has caused me
increasing scepticism through roughly the last 40 of my 58 years
(since I learned to get my head above the hype and think honestly
and clearly for myself about it) in the matter of what our churches
really stand for.
I'm afraid that christianity -- with a small "c" (my preference),
in its secular sense of ethics, civic responsibility, general moral
values and goodwill -- is something I never count on finding
reliably in churches. Less likely as one looks towards their senior
echelons of membership, least of all in their leaders.
If that sounds too harsh or sweeping to some, better believe it's
born far more of historical encounter and observation than of pure
cynicism.
You are to be commented for the way you've managed to retain your
poise in this discussion!
Good luck with it,
Mike
