Uck
One of my co-workers posted this. It is really a travesty of the worst kind this kind of occurrence has become commonplace in this dysfunctional country.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051206/METRO/512060440
Excerpt:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051206/METRO/512060440
Excerpt:
Upon the recommendation of a probation officer, Judge Robert Ransom sentenced Hanas to the state-sponsored rehabilitation program - the Inner City Christian Outreach Residential Program, run by a Pentecostal church.
Hanas said the program did not offer drug treatment or counseling, nor did it have any organized program other than reading the Bible and attending Pentecostal services.
He said his rosary and prayer book was taken from him and his religion was denounced as “witchcraft.” Hanas said he was told his only chance of avoiding prison and a felony record was to convert to the Pentecostal faith.
1 Comments:
This is the second such story I've seen the Detroit News do on my former home state's programs mixing church and state in rehab.
What's really insane about this is how the churches have not been wise enough to see that at some point, the state will intervene in their practices. By accepting money from the state and by becoming dependent (or, dare I say, "addicted to") that money, churches open themselves up to a wide range of regulation. The state will impose regulation at some point (it may take a while, but the pendulum will swing) as that is the nature of governments. Some of those regulations will not be to the liking of some churches.
Even Pat Robertson warned his fellow ministers not to accept money on exactly these grounds.
Naturally, I applaud the ACLU for taking up the case. I abhor the state of Michigan for going down this path in the first place.
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