As bad and absurd as substitutionary atonement is, the very idea that there can be no justice unless perpetrators "pay" for their crimes is very primitive and unenlightened. It plays to basic human emotions but as enlightened beings, we should rise above those.
Anyone of us may fail to rise above our personal base emotions, of course. That is understandable as we are all fallible. That is why a victim of a crime should never be the one to impose punishment on the offender - He/she could not be trusted to be impartial.
IMO, the "someone must pay" thing is the most damning thing against Christianity and all similar religions. It is very base and primitive thinking that has no place amongst enlightened people. Revenge-think is for animals. Enlightened people rise above that - or at least understand that we SHOULD rise above it. Again, we are all fallible and anyone of us may fall prey to revenge-think at times but if we are enlightened, we rise above it most of the time.
Even assuming true monsters like the torturers of the Inquisition, does an enlightened person take pleasure in the eternal torment of another? Of course not. Better to rehabilitate those monsters or banish them from existence. Eternal torment to make them "pay" serves what? Absolutely nothing. And it makes the punishers guilty of a crime far worse than the punished were ever capable of.
A religion based on revenge-think is sick and depraved. It has no place in modern society.
Anyone of us may fail to rise above our personal base emotions, of course. That is understandable as we are all fallible. That is why a victim of a crime should never be the one to impose punishment on the offender - He/she could not be trusted to be impartial.
IMO, the "someone must pay" thing is the most damning thing against Christianity and all similar religions. It is very base and primitive thinking that has no place amongst enlightened people. Revenge-think is for animals. Enlightened people rise above that - or at least understand that we SHOULD rise above it. Again, we are all fallible and anyone of us may fall prey to revenge-think at times but if we are enlightened, we rise above it most of the time.
Even assuming true monsters like the torturers of the Inquisition, does an enlightened person take pleasure in the eternal torment of another? Of course not. Better to rehabilitate those monsters or banish them from existence. Eternal torment to make them "pay" serves what? Absolutely nothing. And it makes the punishers guilty of a crime far worse than the punished were ever capable of.
A religion based on revenge-think is sick and depraved. It has no place in modern society.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
