I’m fed up with people thinking that someone must be a good person just because they’re involved with their church.

This reference commonly comes up when a woman decides to start dating a man:

“He’s well-educated, nicely dressed, seems nice and is involved with his church.”

Or, a detective on a documentary about a murder says about the convicted killer, “At the time, those who knew him thought he was a great guy, he’d do anything for his neighbors, and he was involved with his church.”

Will someone kindly produce for me the evidence that church involvement means that a person is NOT capable of committing a serious crime?

I didn’t know that sitting on a wooden bench and listening to a minister prevents a man from murdering or raping.

I also didn’t know that a man (or woman) who’s capable of homicide would never step foot inside a church.

How can people be so naïve?

If someone goes to church or is “involved” with it, this should NEVER be taken as a sign that he (or she) is harmless.

Plenty of evil people attend church every week and even go beyond attendance by being “involved.”

Why Would an Evil Person Be Involved in the Local Church?

• To hunt for victims. The predator knows that church activities are a fertile ground for easy prey.

• To gain trust by the community, a la “He’s involved with our church; you can trust him.”

• To rank very low on the suspect list once the heinous crime is committed, as in, “Oh, Robert CAN’T be the killer; he’s always at church and holds doors open for all the old people.”

• To look good in God’s eyes, believing that all he has to do is attend church and God will forgive him for any crimes. Just because someone is evil doesn’t mean they’re an atheist.

It’s time for people to stop qualifying others for safe behavior just because they go to church.