I don't think it can really infect them if they didn't know about the crime until recently. That being said, I understand your concern. Christians are meant to be built different, though. Jesus was a friend of sinners. We're not assumed to be corrupted because we hung around someone who was corrupt.
The way my church's denomination does it, when a pastor steps down, they pull in a new pastor from another church, which also alleviates this concern. I say this not to defend Gateway Church (their new pastor is the old pastor's son,) but to demonstrate that not all churches have the problems you hear about.
It's not just about good vs evil. It's about love and forgiveness. That's not to say pedophiles should get off scot free, because it's also wisdom - it's very unwise to keep a pedophile in a position where they have access to kids like that.
But I digress. If the org is imploded, all the churchgoers will have to find a new church, and many won't bother. Unless the church has serious theological issues (which just about no church would think they do,) that wouldn't be good. Instead, it's possible to remove the bad apple and replace them with someone else. The way my church's denomination does it, whenever a pastor steps down, the new pastor comes from another church, which helps to make sure there isn't lasting corruption. From what I read about this one, the new pastor is the old pastor's son, so...
At least one person in the audience is there to take a picture and point out how many people are still there ; )
What do you expect, the church to completely dissolve? I wouldn't be surprised if this church had some serious theological issues given its association with Trump, but one pastor, even the lead pastor, doing an evil doesn't mean the whole church is faulty.
Yeah, but road trips can be expensive. Suppose you want to go from Harrisburg PA to Rockford IL with 2 adults and 1 teenager from November 15 to 22.
By car that's about 1500 miles. An average car gets 21 mpg, so that's about 71 gallons. Gas is around $3.5 per gallon, so the trip costs about $250 in gas. You'll need a hotel. I picked a random one in Ohio. $110 for the way up, $185 for the way back. I guess that's a Thanksgiving price hike. $545 total.
By train, let's say Amtrak because that came up first. $438 up, and that includes boarding a train at midnight and sleeping on the train, and then riding a bus from Chicago to Rockford for 2 hours. $483 back down, and this time when you sleep on the train you have to wake up by 5 AM to get off. Also this is coach class, and those seats aren't great for sleeping. At least you don't need a hotel. $921 total.
By plane, it's $650 round trip, simple as, but you have to leave at 6 AM on the way up and 5 AM on the way back. It can cost $200 more to get a more convenient time, but let's assume you're going for economy alone. $650 total.
That's not accounting for food prices along the way. That could bring the car ride up to the same price as the plane if you don't pack food, but if you're spending extra on convenience there, you're probably willing to spend extra for convenience on the plane too.
So it's probably safe to say that, for this group, the car saves about $100 per year, but helping to protect the environment is worth that price. On the other hand, there's something to be said for the flexibility and ease of planning on a car. For a bigger family, cars would be a way better option, and for a family without kids or a lone traveler, planes are the way better option. Trains are right out.
Quick Google says a great majority of Americans take road trips. Even though it's a tiny fraction of their driving, it's still a deciding factor for many when choosing a car. Not all people have the luxury of affording a second car just for road trips.
Public transportation would be good, but there's less flexibility to it. For example, just yesterday, on a return from a roadtrip, I got stomach sick and had to request frequent stops. That wouldn't fly on a train.
I'd love it if we had affordable and flexible public transport for getting all across the country, though.
I can see it making sense. If you're blind and you hear the sound of a waterfall approaching you, you're not going to immediately think "that's a car."
Electric car batteries have 270 Wh/kg (converts to 0.97 MJ/kg)
Gasoline has 46 MJ/kg
So the math here says electric gives you (0.97 * 77%) 0.75 MJ/kg output and gas gives you (46 * 30%) 13.8 MJ/kg output. Plus, as someone else said, spent gasoline no longer weighs you down.
I like the idea of electric, and I want to see it replace gas as soon as possible, but fair is fair.
