It was an astounding turn of events when the Bishop of Milan brought the Emperor of the Roman Empire under church discipline! The Emperor capitulated to the preacher and for the first time in history, the civil government surrendered to the authority of a church leader!

In 390, in the Greek city of Thessalonica, authorities imprisoned a charioteer of that city for homosexuality; however, the charioteer was one of the city’s favorites. Riots broke out when the governor refused to release him and the Roman Governor and a few others were killed in the brawl, and the charioteer was released.

Theodosius, Emperor of the Roman Empire, was livid and was determined to exact revenge over the death of one of his officials and the flaunting of the law. He announced another chariot race, but after the crowds arrived, the gates were locked and the Thessalonians were massacred by the emperor’s soldiers. Within three hours 7,000 men, women, and children were dead.

Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, sent a scalding letter to the Emperor. Ambrose was convinced that this parishioner, the Emperor, had committed a grievous and public sin that had to be dealt with by the church. In his letter Ambrose told the Emperor that until he repented publicly he would not be allowed to receive Communion. Ambrose had excommunicated the Emperor, not an ordinary church member; however, the Bible teaches that all Christians are on the same level. No special treatment should be given to a rich or powerful person. Theodosius was both rich and powerful–the most powerful man on earth!

Theodosius had done what emperors always do. He sent in the army to teach a lesson to the Greeks of Thessalonica, and by extension the rest of the empire. Ambrose was not a pacifist, but he knew that the emperor’s actions needed to be condemned even if it meant the very real possibility of being sent to prison or killed. Emperors don’t usually like to be challenged. Against all odds, Emperor Theodosius repented and publicly sought reconciliation with his bishop. And a few years later the Emperor died in the arms of the Bishop who had disciplined him!

Church discipline has been practiced for over 2000 years; although in recent years, it has been one of the least important practices of any church, especially when powerful people are the perpetrators. It is noteworthy that both Hitler and Mussolini died “in the arms of the church.” The Catholic leaders were very lax in doing their duty in bringing discipline upon them.

Many churches today are as weak, wimpy, and wobbly in this matter as the Catholics who preach against abortion and homosexuality but never deal with major proponents of those sins. Baptists and Protestants are just as guilty as the Catholics.

Bill Clinton grew up in Southern Baptist Churches, a group that touts its adherence to the Bible; however, they sure looked the other way when it came to Bill’s sexual activities. His pastor should have called him into his office without any secret service men present and told him that his numerous affairs as governor of Arkansas and as President of the U.S. could not be justified or countenanced. That would be a very long appointment as each affair is discussed and admitted. In fact, his sins must be repented of, confessed publicly in a church service, and restitution made to any woman who was harmed.

Bill had no intention of repenting of his sins. That would have meant that he would have to stop his predatory lifestyle.

Hillary’s pastor would tell her, “Hillary we love you but you are embarrassing our church when you curse and throw things at the President of the U.S. Your cursing fits are legendary especially the one where you threw your Bible at the head of a secret service agent and used the most vulgar curse word. That was one of the most disgraceful episodes in White House history. It requires a private confession and a public apology. Americans must understand that such actions are damaging and disgraceful, if not demented. Moreover, it is not seemly to curse, scream, and throw lamps at Bill. Obviously, you two should have attended our Christian Couples’ Conference last month. You would have found especially helpful the session, Why a Christian Wife Should Never Throw Things at Her Husband! and Bill could have been helped by the session, Bad Things Happen When a Man Doesn’t Control His Zipper.

“Mrs. Clinton, God condemns lying as a horrible sin and you seem to have a graduate degree in lying. One of the Ten Commandments condemns and forbids lying. That is a command of God to the President of the U.S. or his wife the same as it is to any member of this church. Even if you are sorry for that sin, it must be confessed to our church so our youth and the general public will understand that Christians don’t talk that way, not even the President or his wife. You are not an exception.

“You were far from acting like a Christian when you empowered Bill in his role as sexual predator and even hurt, harassed, and harangued Bill’s victims. You added to their victim-hood by your defense of him and intimidation of those innocent ladies.

“Finally, Hillary, you are one of the biggest promoters of baby killing in the world. How you can sleep at night is beyond my comprehension. You must stop any promotion of abortion and do what you can to stop the slaughter of the innocent ones. Your abortion position repudiates your membership in this church and frankly in the human race.

“Now, will you pray with me as you confess your litany of sins and leave this office a forgiven sinner walking the path that millions have walked before you?

“Hillary, where are you going?”

Well, at least her pastor can be pleased that she didn’t throw a lamp at him.

Donald Trump says he is a Presbyterian although he said he attends the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. He seldom attends any church as was true of Reagan. It should be mentioned that it is a sin to miss church without a good reason. In fact, churches in the seventh century put members under church discipline if they were absent from church three services in succession without cause!

Trump’s pastor should commend Trump for his success in business and politics then tell him that he must conform to Biblical teaching. “Donald, I am very glad to see you since I don’t see you in church very often. Seriously, Donald, you joined our membership and because of your high visibility, you represent us in everything you do; therefore, I must hold your feet to the fire as I do all our members.

“First of all, you are a bad example for youth when you curse and boast. Your use of hell, damn, and the like are totally unnecessary, uncivil, and unchristian. Also, a display of humility would be a good example to others.

“You also must repent of having a baby out of wedlock many years ago. It was wrong, a sin that must be repented of as an example to others. You are not above any other member of this church. Being President of the United States and leader of the free world is a temporary position but being a member of this church is spiritual in nature. You do not have a right to sleep around. You must repent and give evidence of that repentance. It will not be acceptable to say, ‘I made a mistake,’ or ‘If I have offended anyone, I’m sorry.’ No, you must admit that you broke your marriage vows, lusted after a woman, and then satisfied your lusts in an ungodly, wicked way.

“Donald, you and Melania missed our Christian Couples’ Conference last month and it would have been a great help to your marriage. And Donald, you should have attended our session, It is good for a man not to touch a woman–unless you’re married to her. You have boasted about not only touching women but grouping them. You must not give the impression that such action is acceptable. It is not and you must repent.

“Donald, you are doing great damage to families with your casinos where people go to try to get something for nothing. That is not a Christian concept. Moreover, your hotels and resorts sell booze which is forbidden in Scripture. We are warned not to provide strong drink to others. So, if you want to continue membership in this church, you must sell your casinos and stop selling booze in your hotels. Now, will you bow your head in genuine sorrow for your sins, confess those sins to God, and apologize to the church membership this Sunday night for your wicked, willful, and worldly behavior?

“Donald, where are you going?”

All right, that’s enough. I could go on and on and on. Everyone knows neither Trump nor Clinton will stand at the church altar sobbing uncontrollably–confessing sin–as did King David thousands of years ago when he cried, “Have mercy upon me, O God…blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin….Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Heads of state are simply sinners in powerful places.

It is my opinion that many Evangelical churches are an appendage of the Republican Party, and their pastors are aging and graceless cheerleaders for the GOP. They are strong on preaching and soft on principle. Churches used to be the moral compass of America; but instead of a force to be reckoned with, they have become a farce to be ridiculed. Almost all churches fail in exercising church discipline.

Clinton and Trump’s pastors should develop spines and tell each of their famous members, “Either get right or get out.”

With that foundation, what have the churches done to convince the famous sexual predators to confess, repent, and make things right with the women they have abused? I can’t find any church pressure brought to bear on anyone for any cause.

Harvey Weinstein, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeremy Piven, Steven Seagal (grandfather was Jewish) Matt Laurer (father was Jewish) and Al Franken are Jews but I’ve not heard that their rabbis have called upon them to repent and weep copious tears as did King David over his affair with Bathsheba.

Ben Affleck is a “lapsed Protestant.” Tavis Smiley grew up attending a church of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Paul Haggis is a former member of the Scientology cult. The religious background of Charlie Rose, and others is unknown.

All religious groups have standards their members are expected to follow and that is only right for them to enforce their own standards. Outsiders can agree or disagree with those standards but have no right to seek a change in them.

Male sexual aggression against women should result in disapproval by friends and family, discharge from employment, disgrace and loss of reputation, damages in the form of money, and dismissal from a local church if repentance is not evident.

The message: there is a high cost for low living.

Boys’ book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

All major church denominations teach church discipline when members go astray or, more correctly, live ungodly lives. Roman Catholics have always taught that concept but have been very reluctant to practice it as seen by their permitting mass killers such as Hitler to die in the church as well as major South American dictators and Mafia dons.

Baptists aren’t much better, especially large churches. After all, they don’t want to make waves, embarrass the innocent family members, destroy the ministry, disrupt the work, and other excuses for disobeying clear scriptural directives.

Frankly, the issues have been the same down through the ages. It has been common for members to sin then refuse to confess and forsake their sins and church leaders have used the same lame excuses listed above. However, there have been times when courageous leaders demanded church discipline, sometimes going to extremes as a case during the Middle Ages shows.

It seems a drunken baron stole an expensive chalice from a parish church, and was seen riding away with it. The following Sunday, the bishop draped the church in black and rang the bells as they did for major funerals. The congregation gathered and the bishop and the area priests who surrounded him, all held a lit candle. To a hushed crowd the bishop stood at the altar and called out the name of the thief and said, “Let him be cursed in the city and cursed in the field; cursed in his granary, his harvest, and his children; as Dathan and Abiram were swallowed up by the gaming earth, so may hell swallow him. And even as today we quench these torches in our hands, so may the light of his life be quenched for all eternity, unless he do repent!”

Each priest then threw his candle to the floor and stamped out the light. The thief was now an outlaw, worse than a leper or Jew! The thieving baron heard about his judgment and it brought him to a place of repentance!

His first step was to give his entire fortune to the bishop! Then he appeared at the altar barefoot, and lay prostrate praying for 24 hours. The next step was for him to kneel while 60 monks and priests beat him with clubs! (Is this where we get the idea of “beating the devil” out of a person?) Every time a blow would fall, the victim yelled, “Just are thy judgments, O Lord!” (Of course, those were not the Lord’s judgments!)

Then, with bones broken, lying on the floor bleeding, the bishop absolved him for his thievery and kissed him with a kiss of peace. He was now back in the graces of the Roman Church; however, they did not get their “church discipline” from the Bible.

If modern-day Baptists do anything, it does not compare with the above discipline as proved by the case of Dr. Bob Gray, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, a megachurch in Jacksonville, Florida. He was considered one of the major leaders of this generation among independent Baptist preachers. He built a large church, Christian school, college, camp, and other ministries and was one of the top orators of any church group. However, he liked to French kiss little girls (according to his arrest report) in his church and school office.

Now the little girls are big girls and have come out of the closest and told their stories. Gray resigned and fled to Germany as a missionary and his assistant, Dr. Tom Messer, became the senior pastor. Before Gray left the country, the church felt a need to exercise church discipline so Gray admitted to “an indiscretion that was not sexual or moral.” He was given a standing ovation, a $220,000 home, monthly support of $500.00 and a going away party before he sailed for Germany! Just a little less severe than what the baron got from his Roman Catholic Church!

When Gray’s victims started talking, the city started acting, and Gray was arrested while in the states for a visit. His trial was scheduled for December; however he died today of a heart attack. Since his arrest in May, he has been living well in his expensive home where he entertained visiting friends declaring that he did nothing wrong. Furthermore, Trinity’s present pastor declares that the church did nothing wrong. I don’t think they did anything right! They declare that they did not mishandle the church discipline. There was no cover-up.

The legal case is totally irrelevant to the biblical responsibility of a church. Gray admitted to French kissing little girls. The church was responsible to act upon that confession. They botched it and covered it up for whatever reason.

The victims should not have to go to court to get an acknowledgement of wrong done and an apology, or financial support for all they have gone through since they were small children.

Compare how the church in the Middle Ages reacted to a thief and how Trinity (and many other Baptist churches) reacted to Gray. Maybe we moderns can learn something from the early church discipline. Pastors, maybe the Medieval discipline would be worth trying because what you are doing now is sure not working! (Written with tongue placed firmly in cheek.)

Come to think about it, maybe we should try the biblical method!