“Could you imagine a legal system that never punished anyone for anything?” That is the question posed by a member of the growing family of people entering the ongoing dialogue at this blog about What God Wants.
Here is the entire entry, posted in the Comments Section beneath this blog on Saturday…
Would God that has no intention of ever punishing us for anything? Interesting question. Would our own souls accept such a thing? Is there ever a crime that you would stop even if it meant that you hurt or killed the perpetrator? Rape, murder, torture, abuse or genocide? The Koran says that God will intervene for justice because the human soul itself cries out for justice.
Could you imagine a legal system that never punished anyone for anything?
Of course we’re talking about the abuse of justice, right? Like punishing us for being born female or a certain race, religion or going to the bathroom.
With Love, JenSuf
I have been exploring here — and inviting others to explore with me in this space — ideas and beliefs about What God Wants (I wrote a book by this title that may be purchased online at www.Amazon.com, and which makes, I believe, fascinating reading on this subject).
Last Saturday I asked, does God need to punish us? JenSur asks…
Is there ever a crime that you would stop even if it meant that you hurt or killed the perpetrator?
The answer, of course, is yes, but this has nothing to do with God punishing us. God does not punish us with everlasting damnation in hell to stop a crime from being committed. God’s punishment, as I understand it from those who believe that God is a punishing Deity, is not to STOP crime, but to pay someone BACK for a crime (or crimes) already committed. And one of those “crimes” is, if I understand Christians correctly, the “crime” of seeking to return to God along the “wrong” path.
To put it directly, if you do not return to God through Jesus Christ, accepting his as your Lord and Savior, you are going to hell. Is this God’s way of “stopping a crime?”
The Koran says that God will intervene for justice because the human soul itself cries out for justice.
So am I to understand then, JenSur, that God punishes souls with everlasting damnation not to serve His own ends, but to satisfy the human soul’s desire to “justice”? Is it the human soul, the soul of humanity, that cries out, “If the person did not accept Christ, he must go to hell!” Is it the human soul that cries out, “A person must come to Allah, bless His holy name, through submission to Islam and to its Prophet?” Or am I wrong on this? Does Islam teach that persons who do NOT come to God through Islam likewise are rewarded with Paradise forever? Please tell me, because I want to make sure that I understand about all this.
JenSur also asked…
Could you imagine a legal system that never punished anyone for anything?
Well, actually, yes I can. Conversations with God says that “punishment” is outmoded and barbarian for an advanced or evolved society. “Punishment” is about “retribution” — the so-called “eye for an eye” mentality. I can very easily imagine a legal system without that. What I can envision in its place is a system involving “consequences,” but not arbitrary “punishment”. I see “correction” and “restitution” and “rehabilitation” as part of such a system, but not simply putting somebody away for a pre-set number of years because he or she did something in particular.
(The number of people put in jail for drug related offenses in recent years has, for instance, put a terrible stain on our correctional facilities. And it is not a coincidence that many more blacks than whites receive sentences putting them behind bars, but, rather, the result of the inability of many blacks to be able to afford the high-priced lawyers that many white defendants can afford.)
This is a whole other discussion that we could have here…but the core question, can I imagine a legal system without punishment? Yes. And I’ll go further. I have been told that in highly evolved civilizations (read that, on some other planets where sentient beings can be found), “just that” is what exists.
JenSur ends here Comment with this…
Of course we’re talking about the abuse of justice, right? Like punishing us for being born female or a certain race, religion or going to the bathroom.
Yes. indeed, JenSur, that is part of what we are talking about…and we ask the question — again: Is it an “abuse of justice” to send a persons to everlasting damnation in hell because they did not come to God along a specific and certain path? Yes, JenSur, that is what I have been asking here. Your final sentence nailed it. Should people be punished for being born female or a certain race or religion? That is the question. In short, what does God want?
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