?Good Christian? defense is tiring
I?m not in the business of judging, but I do have the right to form an opinion.
For example, I think someone who is labeled a ?good student? would excel academically and be a person other students could turn to for homework help.
I think someone who is labeled a ?good athlete? would excel on the court or on the field and be a person the team could turn to for a clutch basket or first down.
Then we come to the label of ?good Christian,? a label that gets tossed around rather loosely. While I might describe a good Christian as someone who places the Bible and the laws of our country in high regard, it?s become obvious this label is open to wild interpretation.
I remember about a dozen years ago when a certain Warren County basketball coach (who shall remain anonymous because there?s no reason to keep bringing up his name) went to jail. Despite being convicted for molesting several of his male basketball players, this man still received a great deal of support from his church and community, and was widely described as a ?good Christian.?
Surprise, surprise ? he received what I would call a joke of a sentence for the heinous crimes he committed.
Our next example comes about three years ago when a beloved furniture store owner had a nasty habit of failing to pay the great state of Tennessee sales tax. Over the course of at least a year, this man reportedly failed to pay sales tax on more than 150 transactions.
When he was finally caught and brought to trial, his church did everything short of singing hymns of praise in his honor at the courthouse. This ?good Christian? was described as a man who simply had a moment of weakness (or 150 moments of weakness, depending on how you look at it).
Nevertheless, he was given a diversion and has probably already had his criminal record erased by now.
That brings us to two cases in the past year ? the highly publicized Mary Winkler murder trial, and the Joy Slatton misappropriating of taxpayer dollars trial.
As most of us are aware, Winkler?s attorneys made her the poster child for the Good Christian Network, depicting her as a poor abused wife who was pushed to the edge by an evil husband. And for the folks following along at home, you?re probably seeing a trend emerge. ?Good Christian? Mary was convicted of voluntary manslaughter (three to six years), a sentence which should make her turn cartwheels.
Likewise, Slatton was called, and I quote, a ?good Christian? in one of many letters recently written to the court on her behalf. Slatton is accused of stealing around $34,000 in taxpayer dollars. Her trial is Aug. 6.
All of this makes me wonder exactly what it takes to be a ?good Christian.? If I didn?t know any better, it appears on the surface that Christianity is some crazy cult established to further the cause of child molesters, thieves and killers.
It disgusts me how the ?good Christian? label is being tossed around like a horseshoe on a Fourth of July picnic. Quite frankly, I?m tired of every criminal who is paraded through the justice system being described as a ?good Christian.? They might be pleasant people who are friendly enough in conversation, but they are not good Christians.
People who continue to make such claims are only weakening Christianity. It?s like allowing ?D? students on the dean?s list. It takes away the prestige.
If this keeps up, the good Christian defense will be worthless because every bank robber and sexual predator will be a ?good Christian.? People need to use better judgment before slapping the ?good Christian? label on every criminal looking for a get-out-of-jail-free card.
James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191.