Should We Burn Sinners at Stake or Growing Through Free Choices?

Shahram Sedehi
October 7, 2012

Many people are making approval and disapproval of what Ben [Lorentzen] and In Jin [Moon] Nim did. The key issue is letting people have their own realizations, instead of forcing them to have one!... Hyung Jin Moon said:

"Freedom is given by God, not government, so that we can resemble God in his creativity, love and goodness. The maturation of the human spirit cannot be coerced, compelled by government or any organization but must be developed through the process of making free choices and learning from their consequences.

Members have even asked that all the mistakes of the Ben and In Jin to be posted for the public record. Hyung Jin Nim response was, what good would that do?! That would only isolate those two members and block them from coming back to the church.

Hyung Jin Nim in his early ministry, pointed out the damaging attitude of many leaders toward members, accused of committing sins, which prevented them from coming back to the church.

Hyung Jin Nim continued to say, that we need to give a chance to the person accused of the sin, to respond on their own; let them confess out of their own realizations.

A forced confession, is the attitude of the Old Testament era. In Completed Testament era, people are encouraged to take individual responsibility for their mistakes, based on following their conscience. How else would we close down government sponsored prison system, which does not liberate anybody from their sins. Are we to construct prison cells for sinners, and not let them out until they confess? How is that different from the Medieval Inquisition Era of burning the accused alive!? How many innocents were burned at stake? We all know that history. Let's not repeat it!