Another Version of Biblical Literalism

[Racket_Man]

I didi not want to high jack Hyena Dandy's thread on literalism but after reading this thread by HotelMinion over at CS AN coming accross this article
Wisconsin Church Members Charged with Child Abuse

I feel this needs a seperate thread. yes I know this is in my state near the state capitol.

In short these "Church members" seriously believe in the "spare the rod and spoil the child" verse set down inthe Bible. they believe that it is VERY apporpriate to scream and yell AND strike/spank children (with wooden dowels and wooden spoons) as young as 2 months old when they are doing something the parents or caregivers do not like.

According to the sheriff's office, the dowels were described as being 12-18 inches long with a diameter about the size of a quarter. The parents told detectives that "redness and bruising" were the "common effects of the spankings."

"One person described the children being emotional, grumpy or crying as behaviors that would constitute a spanking with a dowel," according to the sheriff's office.

AND to top it all off, here is how the "Pastor" of this church is described:

John Caminiti told investigators in November that he does not allow his family to communicate with people outside his religious beliefs and has punished his wife and son by confining them to their rooms until they corrected their disobedience, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

AND they believe this is really OK. all six memeber who have been charged have entered not guilty pleas

[Greenday]

Where does the Biblical Literalism come into play with this?

I don't agree with abusing people, but I'm not sure what part religion has to play in here. I haven't read the Bible the entire way through, but I don't recall there being any parts that say it's okay to abuse children or your wife, nor that you can't talk to people outside your religion.

[Gravekeeper]

Where does the Biblical Literalism come into play with this?

Technically none in that incarnation, the verse "Spare the rod and spoil the child" is not in the Bible. It's from a poem. A satire poem. The actual verse is:

Proverbs 13:24 - He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

It goes on for several more verses, but the geist is basically if you don't teach morality and disciple, you suck as a parent and your child will grow up to be an asshole. >.>

However, "rod" actually means a palm tree branch, not an actual rod.

I haven't read the Bible the entire way through, but I don't recall there being any parts that say it's okay to abuse children or your wife, nor that you can't talk to people outside your religion.

Holy crap do you have some reading to do then. The Bible is crazy ass. Sex, lies, murder, incest, whores, gang rape, misogyny, you name it. Its actually kind of awe inspiring. Remember the entire story from Genesis onward is basically "God dammit, this is your fault woman". ;p

[BlaqueKatt]

but I don't recall there being any parts that say it's okay to abuse children or your wife, nor that you can't talk to people outside your religion.

Holy crap do you have some reading to do then. The Bible is crazy ass. Sex, lies, murder, incest, whores, gang rape, misogyny, you name it. Its actually kind of awe inspiring. Remember the entire story from Genesis onward is basically "God dammit, this is your fault woman". ;p

good place to start is this book-the harlot by the side of the road

or if you don't want to read a book this website is good

and really, the bible condones selling your children as sex slaves-how is that not abuse?

[Ghel]

The Bible basically considers children and women as property, and their fathers or husbands have autonomy to do whatever they like with/to them.

[Greenday]

Eh, I just finished Genesis. On to whatever is next.

So far I've learned that women are evil...though I think we already knew that.

[BlaqueKatt]

Eh, I just finished Genesis. On to whatever is next.

So far I've learned that women are evil...though I think we already knew that.

Oh how I loathe misogyny.....(and misandry as well)

actually, from a minister in my previous church, "original sin" was ADAM not fessing up to eating the apple, God asked him 3 TIMES if he partook of the fruit of knowledge, and ALL 3 TIMES he blamed EVE, rather than own up to what HE DID-he did have "free will" and all.....

[Kheldarson]

Actually, my understanding is that it's both, Blaquekatt. Eve, of course, broke the rule and then Adam lied about and tried to place all the blame on Eve. Who, in turn, blamed the serpent. Which is why all three of them got punished.

And yeah, the Old Testament has a lot of stuff in it that we don't agree with today. Which is why, as I pointed out in the other thread, that Biblical literalism is kind of crappy for today. It was written in a time period where survival relied on tribal unity. Of course there's going to be a lot of things done or encouraged to ensure survival of their tribes. Doesn't mean we should follow those things today.

[Gravekeeper]

It was written in a time period where survival relied on tribal unity. Of course there's going to be a lot of things done or encouraged to ensure survival of their tribes.

Frankly, not even tribal unity explains some ( heck, quite a bit of ) of the crazy shit in there. A lot of it is cultural that made its way in. You don't see the same....lets call them trends, in religions that developed in other regions around the same time period. So it must largely cultural fuckery. Just like today. >.>

[KabeRinnaul]

good place to start is this book-the harlot by the side of the road

or if you don't want to read a book this website is good

and really, the bible condones selling your children as sex slaves-how is that not abuse?

I like this one.