Rob and vandalize a church...Get a free xbox 360

[reaper]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6184820.stm

While I understand the notion of forgiveness, turning the other cheek and all that, but this is just stupid to me. Don't press charges if you want to be forgiving, but don’t give some stupid punk kids rewards for being hoodlums.

Am I alone in thinking this is just ridiculous?

[Doot]

Positive reinforcement for negative deeds.

It's good to know their idea of mercy, forgiveness and love is in the form of material objects.

[Minosheep]

I love how people who know nothing about games write captions about game-related things (in this case the picture's caption which states that the Xbox is a game).

[BK]

Not really rediculous, just relatively unheard of. Scripture tells believers that if someone demands your shirt, give them your coat also. This is people putting that into practice. I, for one, think that it's great that this church wants to reach out to them and am impressed with the steps they are taken to get the kids attention. If you read the whole article, the material objects aren't the only things being offered; they're just what's being used to try and get the kids to listen to the whole offer.

[Silver Adept]

An interesting thought - and while it warms my heart to see the congregations practicing those virtues that were preached, I worry that the message they're trying for won't get through. Still, kudos for trying. Assuming the kids escape jail sentences, that is. I suspect the judge is not going to necessarily be so forgiving.

[Doot]

Thing is the kids would need to believe in those teachings in the first place to really get the idea of it.

And if they had - then they wouldn't be in the position they are in now.

[BK]

Not really. An act of compassion like this could be what opens their eyes to what they did. It may not be an immediate thing, it may not happen at all, but the fact that the church took the effort creates enough potential.

[FawkesFyre]

This is kind of an odd one. They never mention whether they are pressing charges but if they mention "If the teenagers escape a jail sentence" it sounds like they are.

I suppose this means if they have to serve jail time they can just be locked away in a cell with all their electronics to play to pass the time?

I can understand the notion to get these kids off the streets by giving them something else to do (like sitting on your butt all day playing video games) But I don't really see this as such a vast improvement. They could sell it all to buy more drugs...or they could just waste away playing games and be high the whole time. Now what would that accomplish?

I'd say to find out the reason behind why they did it and treat them for that problem. If its drugs, get them clean and make them work off their debt from all the damages. I guess in this situation crime really does pay.

[Gekko]

Not only are they putting the Beatitudes into practical practice at this point. The church really seems to be reaching out to the teens in the area, they have a SkatePark for them to use, as well as other facilities. I've been to churches that had larger youth groups than main congregations, theres a church in Louisville, KY that had to build a new church for the congregation because the youth group was twice as big as the church. Ppl that dont have faith cant understand turning the other cheek, or if they do, they do it to feel good about themselves, that is not the point.

[Al the DLOE]

if they are going to vandalize a church for a prize, why not break out the gasoline and have them torch black churches for racial equality?
the whole point i mean is that this is ludicrous.