My church has just taken a step into the modern era with a piece of technology I am admittedly ambivalent about: security cameras. After several incidents where unauthorized and unknown people appeared in the church after it was supposed to be locked up for the night, the Elders and Trustees decided a new security system was needed. They put in a new system with keycards and the works. But they also installed security cameras in common areas which record for 48 hours and which can be accessed remotely via the internet.
Now, I do not have a problem with the security system, per se. It makes sense that in our current world, we have to protect the people working in the church and even the "stuff" that God has blessed us with. There is a pastor's residence nearby in case someone desperately needs to get into the church or needs help. However, I do have a problem with the cameras. A security system is to protect. A camera is to record, and be used to prosecute, if needed. It is a semi-permanent record, which can be easily misused in the wrong circumstances.
To illustrate my point, I am going to use a few admittedly extreme examples:
+ A battered wife comes to the church for sanctuary from an abusive husband. Husband gains access to the camera footage and uses it to track her down.
+ A wrongly accused man comes to the church for help while fleeing an unjust judge. Church offers it to him, but police use the camera footage to track him down.
+ An ex-con comes to the church seeking counselling. He sees the cameras and decides not to walk through the doors, fearing the footage being used against him by his parole officer or other authority.
It seems to me that these kinds of people are exactly those who need the church the most, and whom the church has historically offered a sanctuary from the world. Aren't we threatening a valid and vital ministry of the church by installing these cameras?
What do you think? Am I onto something here? Or have I been watching too much LAW & ORDER?
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Request for an open debate: Security Cameras in Churches
Posted by Nomad at 8:17 AM
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1 comment:
It's a shame that there's been no comments on this until now. (I myself only just discovered it.) Here's my two cents -
Installing security cameras on the inside of a church - the latest "trend," it seems - is wrong, period. Completely wrong. And there's no way around it. Why? It's simple, and in my opinion the fact that this is being deliberately ignored is symptomatic:
Christ - God on Earth, that is, in "human form" - said not to. Don't believe me?
Read the Bible. God's Word on Earth. Christ said to trust each other, *no matter what.* Period. There weren't exceptions offered. There weren't extenuating circumstances mentioned. And it wasn't a request. It was a command.
God - in the Bible - told us to trust each other no matter what. Installing security cameras in "God's house" deliberately circumvents that. And it's not a minor thing. The church has said, flat-out, that a) some people can't be trusted and b) we encourage making moral exceptions when money is at stake. Then it claims to do the opposite. And then it refuses to acknowledge its mistake and fix it.
All four of those are sins.
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