Text 21959, 127 rader
Skriven 2008-10-16 09:54:52 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 21915 av Roy Witt (1:397/22)
Ärende: Legal Strictions
========================
Roy Witt wrote to Robert Bashe on Wednesday October 15 2008 at 07:51:

RW>>> Back to God again, where he said you shouldn't kill aka murder.
RW>>> God's punishment for that was a life for a life.

RB>> "God"?

RW> First example; Cain slew Abel. Cain was banished, by God, to the
RW> wilderness.

Or at least that's what some human wrote, possibly under the influence of
alcohol or marijuana (which was commonly used at the time). "God" has never
written a single line, nor has he used some benighted human as a secretary, as
the Moslems would like you to think. Every single word of the Bible, the Koran
and whatever they all are called was written by a human being with the usual
prejudices, attitudes and opinions.

RB>> Or people who take it upon themselves to proclaim what they consider
RB>> his word?

RW> Many have done so, but that is blasphemy in the eyes of you know who.

Then the Bible and the Koran are blasphemy, and anything else that claims to
proclaim the word of "God". At the very best, call them plagerism. At worst,
simple fraud for personal aggrandizement.

RB>> And use that as a power basis for themselves?

RW> Catholic church, Spanish inquisition, to name merely one example.

One small example. But the atrocities that have been justified with quotations
from the Bible or Koran are many - and breathtaking.

RB>> That particular quote, incidently, was taken from the Hammurabi Code,
RB>> later ported into the Bible. It has nothing to do with any "god".

RW> No Bob, that was one of the original ten commandments given to Moses.

That's what some bearded, self-appointed "prophet" wrote anyway. Still
historically wrong.

RB>> Some of the most vicious atrocities perpetrated in this world over
RB>> time have been in the name of some god or another.

RW> The Hebrew God is a god of love.

That's what the Moslems say too. Only a fool can believe either one, seeing the
facts. And I don't mean just the present facts, where Moslems run amok because
of a few cartoons in a Danish newspaper. I mean the killing and looting some
self-styled christian "Crusaders" practiced in _christian_ Constantinople
because the loot was better there than in Jeruselum.

RW> A lot of evil is done in the name of God by people claiming to serve
RW> the deity. That is the ultimate betrayal, the top of the evil pyramid.
RW> God does not sanction murder, child abuse, or any other kind of
RW> destructive behavior.

Also my attitude, but you'll still find many people who adhere to the
commandment "Thou shalt not kill - unless the other guy's a bastard".

RB>>>> That's the kind of thinking I object to, particularly from people
RB>>>> who call themselves "believers".

RW>>> They're just following orders from above.

RB>> That's what the accused Nazis at the Nuremberg trials said too, and
RB>> they were hung despite that.

RW> The difference was; their above was Der Fuhrer, not any god.

Better check your facts. There was enough religious theory spouted during that
time to "prove" that all the nasty deeds were "willed by God", and that the
Fuehrer only carried out that will. You can "prove" anything you want as long
as you base your arguments on belief and not hard facts.

RW> Life is a constant struggle between good and evil and each person has
RW> a free will and must choose a side.

True, but:

- Define "good" and "evil" (and already we're talking opinions and beliefs)
- Define "higher values" - do something evil and save your family, or refuse
and see them shot.

There are a few other things involved, but those give a nice start.

RW> Most Germans weren't Nazi, but most stood by and allowed what happened
RW> to happen because they were afraid or apathetic.

Have to agree with you there.

RB>> Unfortunately, a certain Corporal Calley who used the same defence
RB>> for atrocities committed in Vietnam, was not similarly punished. But
RB>> of course, he was not on the losing side.

RW> Errr, Lt William Calley was convicted of premeditated murder of 22
RW> Vietnamese civilians at My Lai. If convicted, Calley faced the death
RW> penalty. Consequently, he was sentenced to a life sentence in prison.

The rank was my mistake and you are correct. But since when is the death
penalty so-called "life" in prison? And while we're at it, why do people use
the euphemism "life imprisonment" when they really mean (in Germany) 15 years
or so? Is that just an attempt to make the punishment sound harsher than it
really is, to satisfy the victim's relatives?

RW> In the end, Calley was released to a Georgia Congressman in 1974.

The wonder is that they didn't _elect_ him a Georgia Congressman. Hypocrisy
pure.

RB>> If there is a God, he gave people a brain and the power to use it.
RB>> Which they should do more often - and use him much less as a cheap
RB>> excuse for their own misdeeds.

RW> As I recall the Calley case from those days, there was never any
RW> mention of 'doing' those Vietnamese in the name of God. It all boiled
RW> down to his fear of the Viet Cong infiltrating every aspect of his
RW> life, including every villager he came across.

Which is true, but not what I wrote. I would have hung the SOB and scattered
his ashes in the local river the same as they did with the Nuremberg war
criminals. Fair is fair.

Cheers, Bob

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