Fake weddings scam..

What joy, I have read the paper 3 times this week. will wonders never cease?! anyway today I was rather annoyed by this little number…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/29/vicar-convicted-fake-weddings

Several times recently I have had conversations with people (mostly friends) about the church and they have all raised negative points about ‘The Church’ at large. Frankly the church doesn’t need to do anything to get a bad name, it has had one for centuries in some circles and any little thing like this simply adds fuel to the argument that all churches are money pits, priests are child-molesters and those who believe are naive and stupid. And it irritates the crap out of me. When will the church wise up and get a new image? I don’t feel it is my place to stand up for the church, frankly I can’t anyway, how can you defend it from all the stuff we read in the press. All I can do is defend my faith as I see it and thats is very different. Shouldn’t the church reflect the love and attitutdes that Jesus showed? I mean that seems like quite a basic assumption, right? So why does it so often not reflect that?

I guess than it is down to the individuals in question. This Vicar seems to have been particularly stupid. The number of weddings at his church has increased 30 fold (having done just 13 weddings in the preceeding 4 years). 30 fold – thats not just a little increase, that is fairly noticeable. Not only that but the couples often didn’t speak the same language and in some cases met just before the wedding. Err…. something seem a bit fishy to you?

The bible is clear that being in ministry is a high calling, and one where people will be judged more harshly than others. So why does this kind of thing happen? Being stupid is one thing, but being dishonest is another, and bringing not only the church, but with it Christ,into disrepute? Well I wouldn’t want to be in those shoes at the pearly gates…