Timothy Ciboro and his son, Esten Ciboro, both of Toledo, are living proof that extremism is not confined to any one religion. The two men are accused of a horrific series of crimes that involved the confinement of a teenage girl and repeatedly raping her. The girl, who was kept shackled in the basement is Timothy Ciboro’s stepdaughter. She managed to unshackle herself and flee. With the trial about to begin, the two men have refused counsel and demanded that they be able to introduce the Bible as the only authority that they recognize.
The men told the court that they intended to defend their action according to Biblical law and that the Bible is the only law that they recognize. Esten Ciboro said that”There’s a great deal of strategy in Scripture and I use those strategies in everything I do. It’s a vital part of everything I do.” According to prosecutors, that includes serial rape and imprisonment. They are charged with three counts of rape, endangering children and kidnapping. Timothy Ciboro also faces two additional rape counts for allegedly sexually assaulting the girl’s younger sibling.
Mespo,
Man, I really do not like when the reply function runs out of space.
“Sure they do and I have the files to prove it. I tried a case where a toll booth operator was charged criminally for pocketing $1.30 and substituting toll tokens. That was a felony charge.”
Each one of my examples never got caught. Others: Personal use of work photocopiers. Someone using WIC because the person knew how to work the system. Purchasing pirated media. Credit card fraud is rampant and only a fraction of the people who participate get caught. The law alone is insufficient to enforce ethical and moral behavior. The more people who gain an internal drive to do what is right the better, and the best way to achieve that en masse is through religious grounding. A great education, an ability to reflect, and, yes, even good health all go a long way to helping people do what is right. Having words of wisdom to try to adhere to helps reinforce the effort, as does interacting with community of people who are all trying to live a good life, too.
The law does not provide wisdom.
I’m anti-death penalty for various reasons, the most important of which are that we shouldn’t kill if we’re to be perceived as a civilized society and the inherent flaws in our justice system. Then, guys like these come around and test the strength of my convictions.
Do you think a five year conviction for grand theft should be a death penalty? Because it is if they’re locked up with lifers who have nothing to lose after they’ve been convicted of murder. I can give you numerous example if you like, although I see no reason you should doubt me. Some killers continue to kill, even when they’re locked up. Guards are in danger also. I see no reason to run the risk.
I do not support the death penalty because I think it sets an example or sends a message or some such. I support it only as a means of communal self-defense. Which means in my world it would be very rare, but most definitely legal. If a killer is sent to prison and is still a danger to other prisoners and staff, then that killer must be killed.
Prairie Rose, the singing those songs in unison, standing up, sitting down, kneeling… certain unified responses to certain statements made by the priest–it all seems very cultish to me, not having been raised in any religion (which I consider myself very fortunate for that).
Juris,
“the singing those songs in unison”
How else would you sing them? Hymns are not experimental jazz full of improvisation. Wouldn’t that be wild! Lol!
Methodists do not kneel during the service, so, I, too, am not sure about the kneelers.
I can see how it would seem cultish. I remember when I was a teen being annoyed that those responses could too easily become rote and meaningless.
Ritual plays an important part in religion because it bestows honor and solemnity to the occasion (we have a special ritual to fold the American flag, too). People are connecting their spiritual selves again consciously to the Creator of the Universe, which is a pretty important occasion. It also unites people as part of a community (pledge of allegiance, placing your right hand over your heart when singing the National Anthem). Ritual is important, too, to help solidify order, not just in the service but in our minds. It helps the person establish presence and prepares your mind to think about God. We all have bedtime rituals and mealtime rituals that prepare our minds for those activities. Many athletes have pre-game rituals to get them ready.
I like services, but I also enjoy more freewheeling discussions about God and religion. For me, there is a time for each.
Why do you consider yourself fortunate to not have been raised in a religion? Not having had that experience myself, I am curious.
Juris,
Regarding “I am curious, what didn’t you like about the Unitarians?”
I have only attended a handful of Unitarian services (in two different churches), and have not yet attended their version of Sunday School yet. However, I am not comfortable with the phrase “social justice”, which was a big point of discussion in the Unitarian churches I attended. While I agree with many of the underlying elements (Fair Trade, helping the poor), I dislike the phrase. It is too political and makes me think of activists and activism–other words and behavior I dislike. Activism is way too ideological and dogmatic and strident for me.
While I resonate with many aspects of Unitarian Christianity: God is One, Jesus was an inspired man (I am non- trinitarian) whose life and teachings are worthy of emulating and following, reason and science coexist with faith, humans have free will, etc., I prefer the hymns of the Methodist and Presbyterian church. I want my children to focus on a single perspective when they are young to provide grounding (I am not confident the Unitarians provide this). While my personal theology is very liberal, I am inclined to be a rather traditional person in some respects. For example, I am not comfortable with the contemporary worship/praise music played in many churches, preferring instead the more meditative, contemplative, traditional organ/piano hymns found in a Methodist church (even if I disagree with some of the sentiments I sing). I like communion, too, though I do not think of the juice and bread as his body or blood (even as symbolic of his sacrifice as Methodists do). I think of it as a reminder of the Last Supper, a reminder of Jesus’ integrity in the face of tyranny, a time to reconnect with my own values as expressed in the Bible. The lighting of a chalice has not lit in me the same connection, though I agree with the sentiments of God’s unity.
On a side note, my husband and I enjoy listening to Dennis Prayer’s Torah discussions and reading Jewish books (Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin are two authors I have enjoyed). These three individuals have demonstrated a greater degree of analysis and multiple levels of interpretation of the Torah/Pentateuch than I have encountered in the churches I have attended. While Methodists and Presbyterians definitely view faith, science, and reason as coexisting, and they tend to be more inclined to read elements of the Bible as symbolic or metaphorical, the Bible discussions are not as fully symbolic and metaphorical as my views and are less rigorous than Prager’s, for instance. Perhaps it is simply a matter of which Methodist/Presbyterian congregations I have joined.
There are other nuances to my philosophy, but I have rattled on too long. Hope this answers your question. 🙂
I should ask, Juris, what draws you to Unitarianism?
My philosophy is closer to Unitarianism than Methodism, yet I attend a Methodist church. You come from a nonreligious background, so what has piqued your interest in Unitarianism? What is your philosophy?