Idea for a New religion - Chapter 17 - Punishment and Rehabilitation

PUNISHMENT AND REHABILITATION A 1) The Demonic view of punishment - Demons feed on suffering. They feed upon the suffering of victims, the suffering of the loved ones of victims and the misery of criminals in prison. They also see prison as an ideal cocoon within which they can turn petty criminals into hardened criminals. They also prefer punishment of criminals to prevention of crime or rehabilitation because prevention of crime is prevention of suffering which robs them of food and rehabilitation is a victory over them; the curing of a diseased limb; the turning of a tool of evil into a tool of goodness. 2) Punishment is not a deterrent - Punishment is no more a deterrent to crime than losing is a deterrent to gambling. If the rewards seem greater than the risk then men will always take the risk.3) God is not vengeful - Evil is a sickness and getting angry at a sickness will not cure it. We, the people are God and if God were to punish us then God would only be punishing herself. Vengeance is foolish because it feeds the demons who are Gods enemies and God is not a fool. 4) Love and Discipline - The purpose of disciplining others must be to teach self discipline. Discipline without love is mere cruelty without purpose, all who are disciplined must also feel that they are loved; discipline without love teaches nothing but resentment.

PUNISHMENT AND REHABILITATION B 5)The quick fix of vengeance - Vengeance makes us feel short term relief; incarceration or execution cuts off a diseased limb but punishment does nothing to cure the sickness that breeds new criminals and more suffering. Yet. society does not want to cure the sickness. Society prefers the quick fix of vengeance, the release of hatred rather than the struggle of forgiveness; the simplified notion of good and evil rather than the more complicated causes of crime. Several millennia of human progress have not led to a cure for the causes of crime. The reason for this is that people are sated by quick and easy, short term solutions that do not demand anything of them. However, the victims of todays crimes, if they wish to save future generations of victims must not give in to vengeance; they must be motivated to understand the causes of crime, how to rehabilitate criminals and how they can prevent future crimes. Vengeance, if it satisfies only the hearts of victims rather than helping to solve the larger problem of crime, is a selfish act which hinders the progress of society. 6) God's view of punishment - Crime causes suffering to humankind. The suffering of humankind is the suffering of God. God wants a permanent end to that suffering; a permanent solution, not another quick fix. Executions and incarcerations are just amputations of Gods diseased limbs and she feels as we do when we lose limbs to a disease which rages on and on and there is no hope of a cure.