<Satire>
Religious leaders in the temple have been caught in a huge scandal that rocks the very foundations of their faith...
The two leaders were not only ignoring the rules of temple ceremonies, but also seduced women into sleeping with them.
The abuse of power is made worse because of the way that the head of the church has handled the situation, giving them nothing more than a verbal reprimand, possibly because of their close relationship.
The scandal has undoubtedly damaged the credibility of the church in ways that have never before been seen, and it seems unlikely that the church can recover from it. How can faithful members ever trust in church leadership after such a blatant disregard for ethics?
"If God were in charge of this church, he would never have let these men do this..." said Katie, a concerned member.
"Even if God killed the two temple workers, and the prophet who ignored their behavior, I don't think I could continue being a member of the church," said Big Mike, who has left the church over the incident. "I mean, I thought they were supposed to be called of God to begin with..."
Inexplicably, some members of the church seem to defend their leaders.
"No I don't think that the actions of Phineas and Hophni in 1 Samuel 2 are the end of the faith... it's not even the end of 1 Samuel," said one apologist.
When pressed about the favoritism shown these leaders at the highest levels, they could only offer this weak excuse: "God literally removed and replaced Eli over this... did you read 1 Samuel 4?"
"This is the kind of cherry-picking that has soured many people toward the church," said Big Mike. "They want to answer a problem in one area of scripture using the stuff around it..."
We expect fair-minded individuals to flee from the hypocrisy of faith and throw their support behind those who truly serve others... government bureaucrats.
</Satire>
