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“The Scarlet Letter,” the 1850s novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is about a woman named Hester who is shunned by her community because of her sin of adultery, which results in the birth of a child. She is forced to wear a scarlet-colored letter “A” as a badge of shame.
How far have we come?
Don’t get me wrong, I consider sexual offense a serious crime; one that destroys lives and makes victims out of society’s most vulnerable.
But, the recent reaction of the majority of campus to the removal of a well-known sex offender harkened back to 17th-century Puritan Bostonians.
As petty as it is, I saw several statuses refering to “Scary Jerry” and others joking of how they’ll keep their rape whistle close at hand. When I went to class the following day, the halls and lounges were no better.
I will admit, at first I joined in. The laughter and joking relieved the fear and tension that the sex offender’s presence created. But then it kept getting worse.
It got me to thinking about how we are treating our brothers and sisters in Christ who struggle with sexual sin.
For the most part, we can’t talk about sex. This is in part because we are Christians and the matter is usually kept under the rug. I also believe that being in the Midwest adds to the shame that comes with that particular sin.
Despite all the hush-hush, Christians struggle just as much as anyone else. Seventy percent of adults admit to viewing pornography each month. One half of all evangelical pastors admit to viewing pornography within the past year (Christianity Today Survey, 2000). Thirty-seven percent of pastors admitted to a “pornography addiction” in a 2001 Christianity Today Survey.
Some of you may say that pornography is a victimless crime, while sexual abuse or harassment obviously has a clear victim. But, I would outright disagree with you.
Sin hurts the offender as much as the victim, not to mention the men and women whose bodies are taken advantage of and demeaned for profit by the porn industry.
If the isolation, ridicule and self-righteous pitter-patter that has happened to Mr. Hillegas would happen to 50 percent of the church, would anything change?
If you were considered beyond hope and compassion, would you be able to see Jesus’ love through your persecutors?
I may be wishing for daisies in November, but I expect Christians to show compassion and give sex offenders a second chance because so many of us have been given a second chance by the love and healing of Jesus Christ.
Tabitha,
Thanks for making this good point: that many of us are sex offenders in at least some of the ways you describe. It’s a humbling thought for me. Your piece reminds us that Christ at Center means even our institutional reaction to someone like Jerry must grow not out of fear but out of love–which casts out all fear. It is easy to lob verbal stones at Jerry but much harder to kneel down beside him even as many have stones in hand, ready to cast. What does a Jesus response to someone like Jerry look like at the institutional level? I’m sure it means being wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove, but the specifics–how our resources of counseling, say, or of simply hearing him in some kind of venue might work–I don’t know. I do wonder if our response is any different from what he receives at a secular university, and if it isn’t, what difference does being Christian really make on these issues.
Kevin
Thanks for writing this, Tabitha. I kinda wondered along those same lines… and kinda felt sorry for Jerry.
The term “sex offender” is also a problem. Right now, in many states a sixteen-year-old who posts a self-made sexual photo is guilty of the production of child pornography and must therefore register as a sex offender. This can happen in Indiana. An eighteen-year-old engaging in sexual behaviors with a sixteen-year-old is a sex offender. I am not saying that these behaviors are okay–but should the persons involved be regarded by law as sex offenders? I think not. I don’t know what Hillegas did, and some caution may be warranted, but by legal standards, we can’t always assume we know what a “sex offender” has done.
“Hillegas was convicted in 1985 for criminal confinement and in 1986 for rape, for which he was required to serve 22 years. However, he was released in 2000.”
(http://www.huntingtonian.com/?p=4338)
However, I think we should forgive him. It happened about 25 years ago. He was just here to use our school’s computers, not to hurt anyone. But he gave the police something to do.
I’m all about second chances and forgiveness in general… For those who actually have remorse and seek forgiveness for their sins. This man, however, continues to harass women on a regular basis. He has attempted to lure women recently, but is again out on the streets! I have family who live in Roanoke and Huntington, IN, and this man, right after being released from jail for questioning about his attempted abductions, whistled and shouted at my teenage niece who was out walking.
It’s not about persecution- it’s about promoting safety from those people who would intentionally and maliciously harm women and children. This is not a man for whom anyone should “take a stand.”
Thank you for this bold article! Appreciate your responses Dr Miller, and Heller.
I agree that our reaction should always be from the motivation of love.
It’s too easy to make enemies of people as it is, but on issues like this we are way to quick to chime in with the rest of the world in condemning people.