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OUR VIEW: Some people make it hard not to cast stones

The transgressions of people in positions of trust can shake faith in institutions they represent
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The Bible tells us to permit only the person who is without sin among us to cast the first stone. The idea is, that would be none of us. Fair enough.

Still it’s hard not to want to throw a brick or two at those who profess to be spiritual leaders, or hold positions of authority, but instead bring harm to people who’ve invested their trust in them.

Alan Braun, a Surrey resident and former senior pastor of Royal Heights Southern Baptist Church in North Delta, along with his son Jerry Braun and White Rock resident Steven Maxwell, was found guilty by the B.C. Securities Commission of committing fraud in a real estate investment scheme, taking $450,000 from investors. The BCSC described their conduct as “predatory.”

The panel also noted the Brauns “preyed upon a shared spirituality” with an investor.

READ ALSO: Former North Delta pastor, son ‘preyed upon shared spirituality’ to defraud investors of $450K: BCSC

This newspaper has published many a story about this teacher or that police officer, this preacher or that border guard, who squandered the public and personal trust that was invested in them. As they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Public condemnation is often profound in such cases. That’s because the damage that people in positions of trust and authority can do, when they break that trust, can not only wreak havoc upon their victims as well as themselves, but potentially also the general public’s faith in the very institutions that they were held to champion.

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