Ultimate Justice
By Carl S ~
Every society has judges and tribunals to mete out justice. The World Court was established by nations for the purpose of trying and bringing to justice those guilty of crimes against humanity. Our societies demand justice. Indeed, to be HUMAN is to clamor for justice. One universally accepted law is that a murderer must pay a severe price for taking another’s life.
Image by donsutherland1 via FlickrWith this in mind, one can understand the outrage that ensues whenever a mistrial is declared or a verdict is rendered in favor of the accused for lack of compelling evidence. The usual cry goes up from those convinced of his guilt is that he "has gotten away with it." Every Christian I have spoken to on this subject has the same basic response for this verdict: "Some day he will answer to God," or, "God will get him in the end, so he will NOT get away with it."
God is, after all, to the believers, the ultimate Judge, therefore justice WILL prevail. And they find satisfaction in their rationalized answer. How simple and how "obvious" that answer is! Don‘t trouble yourself, you did all you could to bring the perpetrator to justice, and failed, but God will get him. There is no need to revenge the victim(s), or to wallow in impotent rage . . . we offer this comfort and closure to the bereaved. The all-just Deity will judge and punish with ETERNAL torture the rapists, serial killers, murderous dictators, kidnappers, and murderers of children (unless they repent of course), who have escaped justice on earth.
The source of those beliefs is the bible of the three Abrahamic religions. The Judge of that book is detailed in his character and morals. The attitude of that Deity to humankind is expressly stated in many ways; after all, it is a book of moral instruction and example. Of what nature is this morality? We read in the book of Genesis that God says, after the Great Flood, “I will NEVER AGAIN curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth." Note that the innocent children, animals, and plants are destroyed, annihilated, because of the "guilty,“ which guilt is never described. This is the typical judgment policy of this Deity, enacted directly or through his agents: there is no trial, no arguments pro and con for the guilt or innocence of the accused. There is only the post-flood assurance of, ‘I made a mistake, but you're all inclined to evil anyhow, so why should I bother doing it again?’
There are serious problems with this Judge. He ought to be disbarred, but who shall do it? Consider that not everyone is evil, that this has never been so, that we humans have always been a mixture of good and bad spread across the spectrum of moral landscapes. It is against the very definition of "justice“ to punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty. This judge is prejudiced, narrow-minded, unfair, dangerous, and a murderer. And coming back afterwards to reassure the scraps of survivors that he will never do it again (at least by flood), is horrible. After all, he committed mass extinction without warning, without providing opportunity for the victims to change their ways to whatever he wanted.
After this, who can trust him? All of the things we know about human nature that the Deity SHOULD HAVE known, he had to wait until after mass destruction to discover? THIS is a PERFECT God? This is a Perfect Judge, to whom we must all answer?
Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and God is absolutely powerful, so what else should we expect? But the scriptures ignore this. They insist that this Judge is to be worshiped in spite of countless examples of his people, following his example and instructions, committing genocide repeatedly. In the justice of God, there are NO human rights. The Holy One is by belief and tradition unchallengeable, unquestionable, untouchable, and ultimate perfection. (And, above all, unreachable.)
By any truly just and reasonable standard, the Deity is the enemy, the antithesis of all that is just and merciful. And those who maintain and teach children that this God is "perfect" should examine his or her conscience and sense of morality, for what I have written here is fully supported in the stories of the bible. This Godly "perfection" is that of a mass-murderer, a dictatorial perpetrator of crimes against humanity more than any other before or since.
A "merciful" God? If an eternal torment in a hell created by an all-loving heavenly father can exist, then where is the "mercy which endures forever" attribute of this God? EVIL is as evil does. Actions speak louder than words . . . or beliefs.
And JUSTICE? If the faithful believe truly that an ultimate judge will prevail, then WHO will be that judge? WHO will take this evidence of scripture, together with verifiable evidence by the ton, over centuries, of the atrocities committed by the servants of this Deity with his permission and by his instruction, and bring him to justice? Who is to judge God, if not us?
If The Flood was TRULY a MORAL decision and action, then we humans have no real understanding of morality, my friend tells me. And, if God’s stand on human rights is that humans have none with him is morality at its highest, then anything goes. My friend also once asked me, "Just what is the moral of the Flood story?" Well, this is my answer.
Every society has judges and tribunals to mete out justice. The World Court was established by nations for the purpose of trying and bringing to justice those guilty of crimes against humanity. Our societies demand justice. Indeed, to be HUMAN is to clamor for justice. One universally accepted law is that a murderer must pay a severe price for taking another’s life.
Image by donsutherland1 via FlickrGod is, after all, to the believers, the ultimate Judge, therefore justice WILL prevail. And they find satisfaction in their rationalized answer. How simple and how "obvious" that answer is! Don‘t trouble yourself, you did all you could to bring the perpetrator to justice, and failed, but God will get him. There is no need to revenge the victim(s), or to wallow in impotent rage . . . we offer this comfort and closure to the bereaved. The all-just Deity will judge and punish with ETERNAL torture the rapists, serial killers, murderous dictators, kidnappers, and murderers of children (unless they repent of course), who have escaped justice on earth.
The source of those beliefs is the bible of the three Abrahamic religions. The Judge of that book is detailed in his character and morals. The attitude of that Deity to humankind is expressly stated in many ways; after all, it is a book of moral instruction and example. Of what nature is this morality? We read in the book of Genesis that God says, after the Great Flood, “I will NEVER AGAIN curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth." Note that the innocent children, animals, and plants are destroyed, annihilated, because of the "guilty,“ which guilt is never described. This is the typical judgment policy of this Deity, enacted directly or through his agents: there is no trial, no arguments pro and con for the guilt or innocence of the accused. There is only the post-flood assurance of, ‘I made a mistake, but you're all inclined to evil anyhow, so why should I bother doing it again?’
There are serious problems with this Judge. He ought to be disbarred, but who shall do it? Consider that not everyone is evil, that this has never been so, that we humans have always been a mixture of good and bad spread across the spectrum of moral landscapes. It is against the very definition of "justice“ to punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty. This judge is prejudiced, narrow-minded, unfair, dangerous, and a murderer. And coming back afterwards to reassure the scraps of survivors that he will never do it again (at least by flood), is horrible. After all, he committed mass extinction without warning, without providing opportunity for the victims to change their ways to whatever he wanted.
After this, who can trust him? All of the things we know about human nature that the Deity SHOULD HAVE known, he had to wait until after mass destruction to discover? THIS is a PERFECT God? This is a Perfect Judge, to whom we must all answer?
Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and God is absolutely powerful, so what else should we expect? But the scriptures ignore this. They insist that this Judge is to be worshiped in spite of countless examples of his people, following his example and instructions, committing genocide repeatedly. In the justice of God, there are NO human rights. The Holy One is by belief and tradition unchallengeable, unquestionable, untouchable, and ultimate perfection. (And, above all, unreachable.)
By any truly just and reasonable standard, the Deity is the enemy, the antithesis of all that is just and merciful. And those who maintain and teach children that this God is "perfect" should examine his or her conscience and sense of morality, for what I have written here is fully supported in the stories of the bible. This Godly "perfection" is that of a mass-murderer, a dictatorial perpetrator of crimes against humanity more than any other before or since.
A "merciful" God? If an eternal torment in a hell created by an all-loving heavenly father can exist, then where is the "mercy which endures forever" attribute of this God? EVIL is as evil does. Actions speak louder than words . . . or beliefs.
And JUSTICE? If the faithful believe truly that an ultimate judge will prevail, then WHO will be that judge? WHO will take this evidence of scripture, together with verifiable evidence by the ton, over centuries, of the atrocities committed by the servants of this Deity with his permission and by his instruction, and bring him to justice? Who is to judge God, if not us?
If The Flood was TRULY a MORAL decision and action, then we humans have no real understanding of morality, my friend tells me. And, if God’s stand on human rights is that humans have none with him is morality at its highest, then anything goes. My friend also once asked me, "Just what is the moral of the Flood story?" Well, this is my answer.
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