Everyone is once again up in arms over the scandal of child molestation in the church. Apparently, the past 2000 years of repression and violence by the religious across the world wasn't enough to get people angry, but maybe this will wake people up to the fact that religion is probably not a good idea. I'm not holding my breath. Being of a spiritual family I reiterate that I am referring to organized religious observation, not personal spirituality. The former involves dogmatic in-groups, out-groups, and group think which inevitably leads to prejudice and violence. The latter is personal, and entirely dependent on the will of the individual.
At any rate, let talk about child molestation. I was reading this article about the how "hurting children" was handled in the bible. They refer to a few various passages in Matthew. Here is a sampling:
If you do not become like children, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven ... Whoever humbles oneself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ... Whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me ... " (Matt 18:3-5)
"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt 18:6)
One can, however, avoid this "eternal fire" by cutting off one's body parts that might damage a child (Matt 18:7-9)
Yikes! The average reader will immediately imagine that God is particularly wrathful when it comes to the hurting of children (though many atheist authors from Dawkins to Hitchens have explained how the instinctual over-protection of children can also be explained biologically). What the average reader will not know is that this language is not uncommon in the bible. The bible is in fact a violent book full of maiming, killing, and genocide for various crimes (many of which have fallen out of favor even by the most ardently religious individuals).
What I find particularly stupid is how we immediately go to the bible for guidance, as though it is the definitive word on whether something is good or bad, and then having found something that mentions children, we immediately apply it's teachings. How about just using some common sense? Children, especially those who have not yet hit puberty (the biological point of sexual preparation), will not respond well to sexual encounters, especially those with individuals in a position of power over them. Psychological research suggests that this can have life-long consequences, including depression and suicide. Doesn't that sound like a better reason for thinking this is a bad idea? Think about it, God tells me not to vs. you are HURTING the child and possibly destroying their life! which sounds more convincing to you?
What is particularly disturbing is that we are ignoring the more pressing concern here. We are happy to place 100% of the blame on the priest (who should really know better than to take advantage of the power and responsibility vested in them). But what about the parents whose blind religious belief resulted in them vesting complete and total faith in these priests? No other individual responsible for raising and protecting children is given that much blind faith. From nanny cams to Parent-teacher associations, we seek to control all other individuals who have power over our children. why not priests? my contention is simple. The parents of these children who trained their children to respect the authority of the church above all else are complicit in this form of child abuse. They psychologically tied their children's hands, leaving them vulnerable to abuse, and then they believed (with no good reason) that the priests would not take advantage of that. We need to spread the blame around a little bit more. It's not just priests, it's ignorant "god-fearing" parents, who leave their children defenseless against a predatory priest. There is plenty of blame for both!
Common Sense
No comments:
Post a Comment