I would submit that our fear of alienation has caused our Christianity in its practice to become weak and useless. I will love conditionally and label it unconditional. I will be quick to administer justice and selective to whom I grant mercy. By the sugar-coating of our faith and the many allowances in interpretation and practice we give ourselves, we have reduced God to being our buddy and His word to mere suggestion. I am also convinced that if we would allow God to bring us into a humble walk with Him, doing justly and loving mercy, this would not bring us to difficulty and strife.
Introspection is a difficult thing.
It causes us to examine our motives, thoughts, and desires, and to reprove our very self-concept and substance. And I would venture to say that if we really believed that all sin is simply sin in God's eyes, and that we have all sinned, we would acknowledge that we are often much more like the adulteress' accusers ready to throw stones than like a Christ-like example. It is true that the arson committed that Thursday was damaging and hurtful and carries serious consequences which must be addressed. But only God knows the hearts of His people. Therefore, I feel that it would be a much more beneficial thing for us as a community to soberly embrace and love the parties involved in this incident instead of, by our example, pushing them further from the Creator who loves them eternally and unconditionally.