Due, there are MANY ways to help someone in need that don’t put your family in the path of PROBABLE danger. This pastor has a good heart, but poor judgment and decision-making capacity.

this man raping and killing a young boy tells me he is homosexual , or i would think he is, i would not want the man around my children ,if it was just the pastor and his wife it might be somewhat alright, but i would not put my children in harms way, you know when satan tried to get jesus to jump off a building, jesus said do not test the lord, i do not know if this would be the same or not, but i,m sure some of you pastors would know.

No, I would not do this.  It seems to me that this might be a lack of judgment as well.  This was not the person Jesus wanted us to speak for, since in Jesus day this man would not have served 35 years in prison, but rather been killed.

Brian, I’d go further.

There is no way that I can fathom that God would instruct this man to take this person into his home with his kids.

No way.

Wow! What a tough situation. We do not have all the information needed to make a decision like the pastor has. The relationship points out that he was introduced to Raymond Guay by way of the prison chaplain, How long ago was that? What kind of relationship has this pastor developed since that time? Did the pastor include his family in the decision?

We have to remember that Jesus reached out and touched lepers. This man would be considered a leper in our society. At least we know where he is located. What about the thousands of potential killers out there that we do not know about? I commend this pastor and family for this bold step, but in all honesty, not sure I could do this myself.

Steve, Jesus reached out to lepers and healed them.  He did not take them in, nor would he have done so.  There are and were places for lepers in the days of Jesus.  While leprosy was considered the reult of sin and unclean, it was not as we know always the case.  A leper was not a pedophile and a murderer..  In my opinion, this man is not a leper in our day, he is a murderer and child rapist in both Jesus Day and in our Day. 

Forgiven?  Sure.  Invited into a home where there are children. Never.

Peter,

I agree with you.  My theology would not see this as possible.

But if this guy thinks God was directing him to do it, then he is acting out of obedience to what He believes God is requiring of him.

I don’t see God actually doing that, myself.

Leonard,

Agree with you 100 million billion gajillion percent!

Stuff will hit the fan big time if this convict fails. According to one story, Guay made a profession of faith in 1993. I sincerely hope he has been changed and not merely using jailhouse religion to gain trust.

First and foremost, I agree with those noting that we’re so far removed from the situation that making a truly accurate assessment of whether the pastor made the right call is near impossible.

While I myself would be hesitant to take this man into my home with my wife and infant son, I’m equally troubled by the views expressed that there is no way Jesus would condone taking him in.  Jesus did regularly interact with outcasts, and while he didn’t take them in (the Gospels suggest that he was itinerant, often relying on the hospitality of others), he did share meals with them, which had major cultural implications in those days. 

Moreover, we’re told that Jesus interacted with “sinners,” usually denoted as tax collectors, prostitutes, and adulterers.  And while there are no stories specifically about murderers or rapists, is it that hard to imagine that such people would be the next logical step; would also be included somehow?  After all, Jesus does teach several times to visit those in prison.  I suppose some will want to split hairs about visiting prisoners vs. taking ex-convicts into one’s home, but that brings us back to the specifics of this situation, and the pastor’s closeness to the situation vs. our abstract judgments.

Dave Z, first of all a healed leper is not a leper.  He is a former leper.  A former leper is also not a threat to kids, to a wife, to a family.  A former leper did not murder and molest a child.  He had a disease he was not a criminal. 

That said I believe the connection with a leper and this man is tenuous at best.  It is not a straight line, not a parallel line, not even a close facsimile thereof.  It is an apple and an orange. 

As for getting a word from the Lord, no, can’t say that.  I just have a strong opinion.  I hope that is okay.  It certainly is not formed in naivete or a lack of biblical understanding. 

Jesus would at times violated the standards and laws of the day to help the sick, he hung with prostitutes and tax collectors and some of his friends were drunks.  But the taking in a leper was so not an option in his day because he then would have to live outside the city too as unclean.  Now if the bachelor pad you describe Jesus having was outside the city walls, and Jesus wanted to live his whole life as unclean, then sure maybe he would.  By the way, you added the “Healed” portion to the equation.

I wish those of you who are casting judgment on this pastor would shut your mouths. This is a public forum and, as has been noted above, YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION to judge whether or not this pastor is being wise.

The relevant reflective question is the one Jeremy answered: would YOU host a murderer?

And of course, the proper answer is: it depends. Is there person repentant? reformed? defiant? etc.

The apostle Paul had been a terrorist. Would you have taken him in? Do you stand in judgment over the early Church that did?

By all means, use discernment, but don’t so limit the grace and transformative Spirit of God by imagining that a sin committed 35 years ago stains a person forever. Can we not be washed clean and sanctified by the blood of the Lamb?

Peace,
-Daniel-

Daniel,
Not much criticism here for the pastor except to say we disagree and aren’t sure of the judgment.  So not I will not shut my mouth. 

what Paul did was much different that than what this man did.  It is not the same thing.