Huckleberries Online

Priest: OK For Poor To Shoplift

Posted by DFO

Dec. 22, 2009 5:55 p.m. • 14 comments

For a priest in northern England, the commandment that dictates “thou shalt not steal” isn’t exactly written in stone. The Rev. Tim Jones caused an uproar by telling his congregation that it is sometimes acceptable for desperate people to shoplift _ as long as they do it at large national chain stores, rather than small, family businesses. Jones’ Robin Hood-like sermon drew rebukes Tuesday from fellow clergy, shop owners and police. More here.

Question: Do you agree with Rev. Tim Jones that it’s okay for the poor to shoplift sometimes, as long as they do it at alarge national chain store and not mom-and-pop businesses?

14 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

JamesBond on December 22 at 6:07 p.m.
Gawd, this makes me want to become a brain surgeon.
hmoffsuite on December 22 at 6:12 p.m.
He sounds like a liberal.
BrandonHansen on December 22 at 6:13 p.m.
Hmmm at first I thought he was taken out of context, perhaps going along the lines of “People that shoplift because they are in dire need shouldn’t be look down upon” but upon reading the article, this is just a weird, weird statement by a priest.

Brandon Hansen
Just South of North
http://justson.blogspot.com
Phaedrus on December 22 at 6:19 p.m.
You sound like an ###!
bpoole on December 22 at 6:29 p.m.
Dec 22 at 6:12 pm : “Sounds like a liberal.” Educated or Uneducated? Hmm, I wonder.
mike_s on December 22 at 6:36 p.m.
Reminds me of a man I once knew from Doris’ Bar in Twin Falls named Lou. Lou was missing several teeth, had kind of an Ozark smile and was often broke. His wife told my wife that he was in jail for shoplifting, the story went. Shoplifting aspirin for a toothache got him several months in the county lockup. For some, it can be more difficult to find justice.
Charlie on December 22 at 8:08 p.m.
Maybe Rev. Jones needs to do a brush-up course on the 10 commandments. Pick and choose the ones to be followed.
elcee1987 on December 23 at 8:14 a.m.
Sounds like the Rev. Jones is not going to the place he thinks he will. The law is the law!
Fixer on December 23 at 9:38 a.m.
I seem to remember St. Thomas Aquinas making a similar statement in his “Summa Theologica”. St. Thomas dealt with the concept that stealing food was acceptable if a person was starving but couldn’t afford to purchase it.

I think, however, the priest in this case missed the point.
DCR on December 23 at 9:55 a.m.
Classic “act” versus “rule” utilitarianism debate in philosophy 101.
ShoshoneConservative on December 23 at 11:33 a.m.
If you’re absolutely starving to death, and it’s either steal a morsel of food or die, that’s one thing. However, in places like Britain, one would hope that is relatively rare.

If there really are people starving in the streets in Rev. Jones’ parish, perhaps his efforts would be best put toward starting a food bank or a soup kitchen?
ejs on December 23 at 2:08 p.m.
Leave it to protestants to change the rules, again.
Escapee on December 24 at 10:24 p.m.
So the preacher is gonna re-write the ten commandments? Can’t wait ‘til he gets around to adultery…
Stickman on December 26 at 4:19 p.m.
I used to steal anything and everything I could when I was a young teen. For want of food, no. I stole because I wanted attention from the ones that never gave it to me, my parents. I was very good at it, and never caught. Do I regret my young days, no. Do I regret them now, still no.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.