A Merciful God is a Vicious God
By Bernie on 10 Aug 2009
When my brother Pete was 9 years old (1957) he and his friend Bobby K. were down by the railroad tracks putting pennies on them to see what would happen when the train rolled over them. As they were lying in wait behind nearby bushes a railroad dick grabbed each of them by the collar and demanded to know where they lived.
He walked the two of them over to Bobby's house first, knocked on the door and when Bobby's father answered, he explained to him what the two boys had done. Now of course, two pennies are not going to derail any train, but the officer was concerned that these boys could get hurt playing near the tracks.
Well, Mr. K. grabbed his son and started pummeling him without mercy. Then he took out his belt and whipped him like a junkyard dog. Then for good measure, he slapped his face back and forth like a wind-crazed weathervane, all the while Bobby was crying and begging him to stop, promising him he would never do it again.
The officer began to tremble, his face turning white in shock at such an unexpected, barbaric display of punishment. He told my brother to go home by himself; the officer certainly wasn't about to complain to our father and face the possibility of seeing another child take a horrific thrashing.
So my brother got off easy because someone else was taught a lesson he'd never forget.
There may be some readers who will read this and say, "Well, I'm sure this Bobby K. learned his lesson and turned out to be a decent young fellow." But they would be quite wrong. A few years later in his teenage years, Bobby was a bully, a thief, a liar, a cheat, and was prone to force young girls to have non-consensual sex with him. In the late 50's and 60's forcing girls you knew to have sex was not a crime; today, of course, it's called date-rape.
The savage, unmerciful beating taught Bobby that violence was an accepted mode of behavior. We will never know what happened to the railroad cop. Perhaps he never brought kids to their parents ever again. Perhaps many kids were just let go instead of being properly and non-violently reprimanded by decent parents. Because of Bobby's father some kids perhaps might have died. Parents who spank defenseless children do so to satisfy their lust for violence; see Young Children Should never be spanked.
Now if I had to describe a good father, it would be a man who was smart, funny, inspirational, loving, honest, and affectionate. One could add other decent attributes. However, abused children would wish for a father who was merciful and compassionate. So when I hear Muslims call their God, Ar-Rahman (The All-Compassionate) and Ar-Rahim (The All-Merciful), I know I am dealing with a people abused by their religion.
These names are the first two of 99 of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah 1.
Sadly, we don't get to a loving God until number 47.
If I had to believe in a God, He would have to have infinitely better qualities than my father and certainly I would not want him to be anything like Bobby K.'s father, a vicious, savage, hurtful, low-life, vicious bastard who would delight in my begging for his mercy or compassion.
Likewise, I do not appreciate at all the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible. Indeed, it is the oddest book in the entire Old Testament. The basic story is this: Satan makes a bet with God that Job adores God only because he is prosperous. You know the rest, Job doesn't curse God no matter what is taken from him. The lesson here is not to question God's Divine plan, blah, blah.
This reminds me of the 1983 film Trading Places where two financiers wager on whether successful men are born or made. Unlike Job, the previously successful commodities trader Dan Aykroyd, does curse those who stripped him of everything he had in the world. In a modern movie, Job would be looking for payback against Satan and God, and rightly so.
I would never subject my son to such a cruel experiment and I am only human - imagine how much more loving and kind a God should be.
I am an atheist precisely because I cannot believe in a God so evil, so unmerciful, so vicious that he would allow a world with so much pain and suffering and misery. I eat meat, and I am certainly no PETA fan, - but if I were a God, I would certainly design a world where no life suffers to feed another.
The funny thing is, we humans when we think of how the Earth should be, imagine a place where the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatted calf together (Isaiah 11:6). If humans can imagine this, why couldn't God?
Notes
(1):
Sufism.org, The Most Beautiful Names of Allah
Ar-Rahman 1 The All-Compassionate Ar-Rahim 2 The All-Merciful Al-Malik 3 The Absolute Ruler Al-Quddus 4 The Pure One As-Salam 5 The Source of Peace Al-Mu'min 6 The Inspirer of Faith Al-Muhaymin 7 The Guardian Al-'Aziz 8 The Victorious Al-Jabbar 9 The Compeller Al-Mutakabbir 10 The Greatest Al-Khaliq 11 The Creator Al-Bari' 12 The Maker of Order Al-Musawwir 13 The Shaper of Beauty Al-Ghaffar 14 The Forgiving Al-Qahhar 15 The Subduer Al-Wahhab 16 The Giver of All Ar-Razzaq 17 The Sustainer Al-Fattah 18 The Opener Al-'Alim 19 The Knower of All Al-Qabid 20 The Constrictor Al-Basit 21 The Reliever Al-Khafid 22 The Abaser Ar-Rafi' 23 The Exalter Al-Mu'izz 24 The Bestower of Honors Al-Mudhill 25 The Humiliator As-Sami 26 The Hearer of All Al-Basir 27 The Seer of All Al-Hakam 28 The Judge Al-'Adl 29 The Just Al-Latif 30 The Subtle One Al-Khabir 31 The All-Aware Al-Halim 32 The Forebearing Al-'Azim 33 The Magnificent Al-Ghafur 34 The Forgiver and Hider of Faults Ash-Shakur 35 The Rewarder of Thankfulness Al-'Ali 36 The Highest Al-Kabir 37 The Greatest Al-Hafiz 38 The Preserver Al-Muqit 39 The Nourisher Al-Hasib 40 The Accounter Al-Jalil 41 The Mighty Al-Karim 42 The Generous Ar-Raqib 43 The Watchful One Al-Mujib 44 The Responder to Prayer Al-Wasi' 45 The All-Comprehending Al-Hakim 46 The Perfectly Wise Al-Wadud 47 The Loving One Al-Majíd 48 The Majestic One Al-Ba'ith 49 The Resurrector Ash-Shahid 50 The Witness Al-h Haqq 51 The Truth Al-Wakil 52 The Trustee Al-Qawi 53 The Possessor of All Strength Al-Matin 54 The Forceful One Al-Wáli 55 The Governor Al-Hamid 56 The Praised One Al-Muhsi 57 The Appraiser Al-Mubdi 58 The Originator Al-Mu'id 59 The Restorer Al-Muhyi 60 The Giver of Life Al-Mumit 61 The Taker of Life Al-Hayy 62 The Ever Living One Al-Qayyum 63 The Self-Existing One Al-Wajid 64 The Finder Al-Májid 65 The Glorious Al-Wahid 66 The Only One Al-Ahad 67 The One As-Samad 68 The Satisfier of All Needs Al-Qadir 69 The All Powerful Al-Muqtadir 70 The Creator of All Power Al-Muqaddim 71 The Expediter Al-Mu'akhkhir 72 The Delayer Al-Awwal 73 The First Al-Akhir 74 The Last Az-Zahir 75 The Manifest One Al-Batin 76 The Hidden One Al-Walí 77 The Protecting Friend Al-Muta'ali 78 The Supreme One Al-Barr 79 The Doer of Good At-Tawwib 80 The Guide to Repentance Al-Muntaqim 81 The Avenger Al-Afu 82 The Forgiver Ar-Ra'uf 83 The Clement Malik al-Mulk 84 The Owner of All Dhul-Jalali / Wal-Ikram 85 The Lord of Majesty and Bounty Al-Muqsit 86 The Equitable One Al-Jami 87 The Gatherer Al-Ghani 88 The Rich One Al-Mughni 89 The Enricher Al-Mani' 90 The Preventer of Harm Ad-Darr 91 The Creator of The Harmful An-Nafi 92 The Creator of Good An-Nur 93 The Light Al-Hadi 94 The Guide Al-Badi 95 The Originator Al-Baqi 96 The Everlasting One Al-Warith 97 The Inheritor of All Ar-Rashid 98 The Righteous Teacher As-Sabur 99 The Patient One
Anyone may republish this article for non-commercial use without asking my permission. I make it easy, see details here.
Comments
Hey, leave a comment - if this is your first time here, please read my Comment Policy HERE.
Subscribe to this blog's feed
