Atheism and Justice

Response to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsqWWsTye8g

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• theism
• atheism
• morality
• ethics
• integrity
• crime
• justice
• punishment
• retribution
• revenge
• vengeance
• reform
• comfort
• assurance
• reconciliation
• hope
• cope
• afterlife
• divine
• day
• of
• judgement
• sistersunnshine

[Cimbolic]

I agree with you that "the very act of punishment indicates the helplessness of the punisher." An excellent observation.

Yes divine punishment seems very paradoxical to me.

In a sense, all punishment is blind if it is meant only to cause suffering.

[wholethinker]

Any punishment, with or without purpose, does not make any good. The very act of punishment indicates the helplessness of punisher, does not matter a parent is punishing his child or God punishes somebody. In the last case the omnipotent God failed to avoid punishment revealing His weakness, which sounds contradicting.

[Cimbolic]

I agree. Some people must be isolated from society in order to protect society.

I would not consider that to be "punishment". It's an isolation that is unfortunately necessary.

[kanondrum]

I agree punishment without purpose seems meaningless. but thats not to say that i against with taking harmful individuals out of society not for their own sake but for ours. if some is a perpetual violent criminal then and reform is unable to be acheived then they deserve to be prison not because it helps them but because its cheaper to society to lock them up.

[Cimbolic]

I wonder if depth of suffering and lengh of suffering are ever commensurable.

From the point of view of length of suffering, I completely agree with you.

I do not subscribe to punishment for its own sake. Punishment without purpose (learning, reform, ...) seems meaningless to me, and thus, unjust.

[kanondrum]

what i meant is infinite punishment is always unjust in the context of heaven and hell. this is because murder is not permant but just a point of change of someones soul. an individual can kill an innocent person but that person will spend the rest of enternity in heaven so how can you punish them with enternal suffering.

[kanondrum]

I think kind of the reverse of what you said. no crime is infinite so infinite punishment is just. this thought is framed within the idea of heaven and hell. murdering a child might be infinite but remember that that child is going to heaven after making the crime not infinite but just a moment in time for an infinite soul. the person that commited the crime however is going to suffer for the rest of enternity. I don't see this as just.

[GreatSatan1]

Maybe not!. lo)

[Cimbolic]

Hmmmmm ....

Maybe I don't have to pay taxes on my obsessions. :)

[GreatSatan1]

That definition appears in dictionaries. Has been there for quite some time. Your comment is sort of true. Global warming enthusiasts have been referred to as part of a religious movement for example.