JoeMyGod has a story about the terrorist who murdered three people at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood.
Court Filing: Colorado Killer Believed He Could Do “Anything He Pleased” Because Jesus Forgives All
According to divorce papers filed by his second wife in a South Carolina court, Colorado mass murderer Richard Dear was an End Times fanatic who believed that he could commit any action he pleased because he would “saved” by Jesus. The Post & Courier reports:
His second wife, [Deborah] Mescher, described Dear in divorce papers filed in 1993 as a controlling, abusive, womanizing man who liked to gamble but was tight with his cash when it came to supporting his family. She stated that he threw her around the room by her hair during one argument and beat her head on the floor. She also said in a sworn affidavit that Dear “erupts into fury in a matter of seconds,” and she “lived in fear and dread of his emotional and physical abuse.”
“He claims to be a Christian and is extremely evangelistic, but does not follow the Bible in his actions,” Mescher stated in the affidavit. “He says that as long as he believes he will be saved, he can do whatever he pleases. He is obsessed with the world coming to an end.” She did not return multiple requests over the weekend and Monday for comment. Mescher had a son with Dear before she stated she caught him cheating with Pamela Ross, the woman who would become his third wife, her affidavit stated. Ross and Dear also had a son together, court records show.
According to the above-linked report, Dear was also charged with rape in 1992. For which Jesus promptly forgave him, we must assume.
That brings me to a big problem I have with Christian theology, which in its worst form, is just as toxic as the martyrdom complex seen in radical Islamist suicide bombers.
Christian Sin Forgiveness can be toxic.
I know, you’re probably asking why I think forgiveness is toxic. It’s not all forgiveness that is toxic. It is the way forgiveness is used by Christian religious extremists.
Look at Robert Dear. Last Friday, he fancied himself a warrior for Jesus, saving babies in His name. Now he’s in jail, and he got to face a judge in a suicide smock. But in his mind, he’s good with God. As far as he’s concerned, he’s already bowed his head, did his little “Forgive me, Lord” prayer, his invisible sky-daddy said “No problem, it’s all good,” so he gets to go to the Great Cosmic Amusement Park when he dies.
And that made him just as violent, murderous, and dangerous as any Islamic extremist with a suicide vest. Islam has the narrative of the martyr sacrificing his own life for jihad, going out in a blaze of glory for his fellow Muslims, and going to his Cosmic Amusement Park with the 72 virgins. But Christians have the narrative of being able to achieve redemption for even the most horrible crimes, just by praying and accepting Jesus. In more sane flavors of Christianity, that’s always accompanied by Jesus’s admonition to “Go and sin no more.” But Robert Dear, and so many others, take Christ’s forgiveness as license to do whatever they want, screw the consequences. They think it’s all good, they’ve got the Get Out of Hell card waiting for them.
So last Friday, the forgiveness of Christianity turned out to be pure poison.
But that’s not all. Forgiveness is also used to manipulate. To control people. Keep people in the faith. Keep people forking over those tithes. And one of the ways they do this is using the Guilt Cycle. I’m borrowing from Darrel Ray, author of The God Virus, The: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture. How does the Guilt Cycle work?
You start off with a definition of sin. In Christianity, sin is not just an act that’s immoral or annoying to God, it’s a state of being, and according to Christian doctrine, all human beings are in a state of sin. You don’t just commit sin, you become forever tainted with that sin, and from that point forward, you’re an evil, corrupt, and disgusting thing. Are these religious folks trying to inflict clinical depression on people? Starting right out of the gate telling people they’re pieces of shit. Yeah, that’s a positive message…
Hell, they came up with that story of Adam and Eve and the magic fruit and the talking snake to take it one step further — because two people six thousand years ago pissed God off by eating a fruit that makes them smart when they were told not to, YOU have inherited their state of sin, and that makes you a scumbag in the sight of God…
...unless you come to the church to accept Jesus into your heart, and get forgiven that way. Otherwise, you deserve death. Literally. That’s what they teach.
Robert Dear and others like him hear this message loud and clear. Not only do they use it as license for atrocity, but it makes them stop trying to improve themselves. They feel they’re garbage in the eyes of God, they feel they have no hope of improving themselves, except to get the Jesus Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card, so they do their religious ritual, and they stop trying to improve themselves. When they fuck up, it’s the devil, not them, but God forgives them, so they don’t even try to deal with their shortcomings.
The eternal state of sin is the hook. Gets people coming to church. As Darrel Ray points out, they use masturbation to get the cycle going. Masturbation is something that every primate does. It’s normal, it’s natural, it doesn’t hurt anyone, but it’s sinful. So a person will get horny, go to some of those web sites, you know the ones I’m talking about, look at some pictures, watch some videos, stroke the salami, or polish the pearl, and then feel guilty! You’re stressed out by the guilt, so you’ve got to go to church, sit through a service, pay a visit to the confessional booth if that’s the tradition in your church, and most importantly, put some money in the dish. Then you’re forgiven, you get to relax, you’re going to the Celestial Theme Park, not the Eternal Torture Dungeon (created by the God of Love), and you’re good to go…
...for about a week, then you get horny again, spank the monkey, feel guilty, just in time for next Sunday.
And now you know why Pat Robertson is a billionaire, and you’re not. He’s got God’s forgiveness all ready to be served up for you. All you have to do is call that toll-free number and get out your credit card. Masturbation is just one example of how they use the guilt cycle. Preachers know that everyone is going to screw up one way or another sooner or later, so they’re always waiting with the fire and brimstone sermons to get the flock coming to church and filling those collection plates.
Pat Robertson’s humble abode. He doesn’t pay taxes on this little shack.Forgiveness is also used to enable abuse. Look at Josh Duggar. What happens when someone like him, or like too many Catholic priests go out and commit acts of sexual abuse on women, or on children? Well, not only do they go and pray and get that Get Out Of Hell card so they don’t have to feel guilty. They demand forgiveness of their victims. It’s Christian to forgive, so if you don’t forgive your rapist, you’re a Horrible Person, and it will be you sent by the Prince of Peace to the Eternal Torture Dungeon.
Forgiveness can be a wonderful thing. We use it to restore our relationships, rebuild lives, move past our grievances, so we can relax and be happy instead of dealing with each other’s grudges.
But forgiveness can be abused. Robert Dear used it to get an idea into his head that he can get away with murder. Televangelists use forgiveness to fleece their viewers. And so many demand forgiveness as a way to absolve terrible crimes, without real consequences.
As an atheist, I, obviously do not believe in God. I don’t believe in heaven, or in hell, or in God’s forgiveness. In my mind, God is a cartoon character. He’s not real. So what do I do? I live here on Earth, not for heaven and hell. Life is very precious, because I only get one, and there’s no after-party. So make life here on Earth as good as you can make it. Not just for yourself, but for others. Make the world better. Or at least try to be decent to yourself, and to others. Sure we make mistakes. But I know I don’t get a Get Out Of Hell card, so I don’t go around murdering people. And when we do fuck up, we use the human act of forgiveness to patch things up, try to manage our errors, and live with each other without killing each other.
In my view, if you need the promise of heaven, or the threat of hell to get you to do the right thing, you’re doing the right thing for the wrong reason, and you’re not a very good person. Take responsibility for yourself and your own actions. Make a commitment to yourself to be a better person, take action to improve yourself, avoid hurting others. Do the right thing for its own sake. And if someone in your life screws up and causes harm, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to forgive if you feel he or she deserves it. But you’ll excuse me if I do not forgive Robert Dear. I don’t have to.