Torture
"God has never sanctioned capital punishment or torture or physical punishment. That is a corruption and a misunderstanding. It has brought religion down to the level of mean politics. It is an abomination here." [1]
"God has never condoned any kind of physical punishment for the sins and errors of the individual—no flogging, no beating, no torture—none of this is in keeping with God’s will and purpose for humanity. To the extent to which it exists and it is part of a religious teaching, it is because it has been added by people for their own satisfaction, for their own grievances, for their own unforgiveness."[2]
"Assuming that God has nothing more to say to humanity" ... "that you as an individual can define and determine the will and the intentions of the Creator of all the universes" ... "These mistakes have brought great chaos throughout human history—destruction, war, genocide, torture, slavery." [3]
"If you think people are fundamentally evil and prone to evil, then you will think of religion as a way to harness and corral them and to crack the whip over them and to threaten them with damnation and all manner of torture and misery if they do not follow what you tell them. People think this is how God is. Hah! An all-merciful God is all merciful. An all-knowing God is all knowing."[4]
References
- ↑ Religion and Politics (October 11, 2008)
- ↑ The Admonition (February 1, 2008)
- ↑ Errors in Religious Understanding (January 10, 2009)
- ↑ The Pure Religion, Chapter 1: The Pure Religion