Quote:
Originally Posted by n david
Read the Bible and tell me if it's okay to sue a brother. It's not a rule the UPC made, or one that I made. Both Jesus and Paul taught and wrote against it. You say you're on the side of right, not wrong. If this is true, then you cannot possibly support this lawsuit against another believer.
Even if the Bible wasn't clearly against it, I would still say a believer shouldn't take another believer to court over internal church discipline as a matter of allowing a precedent to be set. Again, I doubt the court will rule in this man's favor because of prior court rulings refusing to get involved with internal church disputes. But should a court choose to ignore that, and get involved in an internal dispute, it will be a bad precedent.
I do agree one should value facts and evidence over one's word.
As a man who grew up in the home of a Pastor, and who has served under several Pastors, I will say the decision to disfellowship or excommunicate someone is not taken lightly. Especially if the person has been in the church for a while and has friends and roots in the church. In the cases I've known, the Biblical pattern for disputes was followed, and only after the person refused was he/she removed from fellowship. Removal was always a last resort, and only because of continued discord.
Again, there has been no proof or evidence provided against the Pastor which would show he was wrong for kicking the man out of the church.
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The proof will appear in court