Its OK to rape if the victim doesn't remember?
I used to belong to the Jehovah's Witness religion. At the time I believed that the suffering and death that mankind experiences were temporary, and that at some future time God would bring back to life all those who had died and provide them with eternal happy life.
This or something like this is a central tenet of a number of mono-theistic religions and its something I've been recently dwelling on.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that God is allowing these things (suffering/death) to continue for the time being as part of his plan to vindicate his name due to a slur against it by the devil. Gods allowing of these dreadful things is OK because in the future the bad effects of them are undone.
Whilst I was taken in with this logic for most of my life it was only after allowing myself to question the fallibility of religion and God that I really realised just how flawed and grotesque this argument is.
Allow me to illustrate in a way that may be easier for even practising Christians to visualise.
In the UK dental work is relatively cheap but imagine that it isn't (as is the case in most of the world). Now imagine that a dentist starts doing work for free but secretly whilst his patients are under anaesthetic, he rapes them. Would anyone agree this his actions are OK because his patients don't remember what he did to them? How many people would agree to send their children/loved ones to this dentist knowing that this is what he did?
However this is not a full and accurate metaphor. To make it closer we have to say that actually the dentist has a special anaesthetic that doesn't numb pain or conciousness, but rather just paralyses his patients and then causes a gradual loss of memory over time. Whilst he performs his surgery and rape his patients experience extreme pain, suffering and trauma, but eventually over time forget what it was like. Would you like to send your daughter to this dentist?
The fact that you are getting free dental treatment, and ultimately don't remember the bad things the dentist did to you would likely not be sufficient motivation for you to register at his practice, and most people would not have a high opinion of this man.
Likewise the idea that it is OK for God to sit idly by whilst the most horrendous pain suffering and death occurs to all of humanity for thousands of years, and purely for his own benefit, with the excuse that at some point in the future we wont remember them is grotesque and immoral.
This or something like this is a central tenet of a number of mono-theistic religions and its something I've been recently dwelling on.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that God is allowing these things (suffering/death) to continue for the time being as part of his plan to vindicate his name due to a slur against it by the devil. Gods allowing of these dreadful things is OK because in the future the bad effects of them are undone.
Whilst I was taken in with this logic for most of my life it was only after allowing myself to question the fallibility of religion and God that I really realised just how flawed and grotesque this argument is.
Allow me to illustrate in a way that may be easier for even practising Christians to visualise.
In the UK dental work is relatively cheap but imagine that it isn't (as is the case in most of the world). Now imagine that a dentist starts doing work for free but secretly whilst his patients are under anaesthetic, he rapes them. Would anyone agree this his actions are OK because his patients don't remember what he did to them? How many people would agree to send their children/loved ones to this dentist knowing that this is what he did?
However this is not a full and accurate metaphor. To make it closer we have to say that actually the dentist has a special anaesthetic that doesn't numb pain or conciousness, but rather just paralyses his patients and then causes a gradual loss of memory over time. Whilst he performs his surgery and rape his patients experience extreme pain, suffering and trauma, but eventually over time forget what it was like. Would you like to send your daughter to this dentist?
The fact that you are getting free dental treatment, and ultimately don't remember the bad things the dentist did to you would likely not be sufficient motivation for you to register at his practice, and most people would not have a high opinion of this man.
Likewise the idea that it is OK for God to sit idly by whilst the most horrendous pain suffering and death occurs to all of humanity for thousands of years, and purely for his own benefit, with the excuse that at some point in the future we wont remember them is grotesque and immoral.
Very honest post. The blatant emotional blackmail and abuse this religion promotes is saddening. A sect full of homophobes that refuses to recognise the equality of all - to the point of disowning their family members if they dare believe anything else. Never mind their 'beliefs' on women's reproductive rights. No wonder the don't like higher education when they can keep young people in the dark.
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