Calvin Wayne Inman — a youth minister at Elim Church in Houston — used a kitchen knife to stab a convenience store clerk to death during a robbery 14 years ago. Now Inman’s fellow church members are calling him a hero and a role model for youth. Huh? From the AP story:
“He’s a hero, really,” said Kelley Graham, 24. “I don’t know how many people would do what he did. The Bible says you just need to confess to God. Calvin took an extra step.”
I would appreciate it if some evangelical out there — maybe Kelly Graham — would point out where the Bible contains this teaching.
Inman went to authorities on February 5 and admitted that he stabbed Iqbal Ahmed, 64, nearly 14 years ago in suburban Pasadena.
According to police, Inman said he and a 13-year-old friend planned to rob the convenience store. When Ahmed asked to see identification before giving them tobacco, Inman stabbed Ahmed in the chest with a kitchen knife, police said. . .
“The debt he’s paying to our society is teaching our young people to do the right thing,” said Cheryl Ellis, a member of the church’s youth staff. “To lock him away someplace and say he owes it to society is robbing the next generation of a mentor.”
Wouldn’t “doing the right thing” be avoiding murder in the first place? Do all evangelicals share this view that Inman is a suitable “mentor” for youth? Maybe he might be a mentor for other youth who have murdered but not confessed. But a mentor for youth who are already headed in the right direction? Doesn’t Inman owe something to the man he murdered and to that man’s family? If this is really how evangelicals view the world, why shouldn’t we reject outright any attempt by an evangelical to hold any position of responsibility in relation to crime and punishment in our society?
Robin Thac said her 17-year-old son was active in the youth group that Inman led.
“I am thrilled my son has a role model to accept responsibility the way Calvin has,” Thac said. “There are way too many men who don’t accept responsibility.”
Thrilled? What kind of kid is Robin Thac’s son that a brute like Inman should be his role model? We hear a lot about the social pathology of Islam. What about a theology that distorts a kitchen-knife murderer into a hero and role model?
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a. sandstrom 02.19.08 at 12:51 pm
Your take on this is supported by the fact that Huckabee released violent sex offenders simply because they had “accepted” Christ as their Savior.
Speaking of paying debts to society, that should include making whatever restitution is possible. Where he can’t restore the life he took, accepting responsibility means he should be compensating Ahmed’s family for their loss in whatever ways are still possible. Including their financial losses. Did he write them a check?