God and Torture

Last updated on: May 9, 2013 at 6:07 am by Faithful Democrats

God and Torture 2013-05-09T06:07:26-06:00 Faithful Democrats

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is torture wrong, and
does God judge it as such?

To those of us raised on the Golden Rule, the answer would seem to be an
obvious and resounding yes. So long as you find extreme pain extremely
disagreeable, "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you"
pretty clearly does not entail waterboarding or electrical shocks.

Yet for all the moral clarity we personally may bring to the issue, the fact
remains that the debate over torture is still just that — a debate. As a
recent study revealed, a significant
number of Christians in the United States believe that torture can be justified
— and presumably, that its use is ordained by God.

Regrettably, the reality of such dissent forces us to confront an awkward
question.

In short, if the American church is ever to speak with one voice against
torture, we need to ask not if torture is wrong, but if it is right — or
better, if God thinks torture is right.

Of course, that's a tough question to stomach. In fact, to my mind the thought
of God actively willing torture is even more abhorrent, than the worst machination of Steve Schmidt. (Which, for the record, is
saying a lot.)

Yet painful though it may be, if we're ever to move forward, the possibility
that God might will torture is one we must consider.

And when we do, we find two basic arguments. The first runs as follows:

a) God loves all life
b) Torture saves lives
c) God wants us to torture.

The logic here is patently shallow, so I'll be quick. The trouble isn't merely
the dubious assertion that "torture saves lives." Even more, it's
that God's love for all human beings is precisely why God would never want to
torture a single one. End of story.

Alas, the second argument runs a little deeper. At its core lies the
following:

a) Torture is justifed only in defense of a universal, divinely-sanctioned
moral good.
b) Freedom is a universal, divinely-sanctioned moral good.
c) Torture is justified in defense of freedom.

We might call this the "freedom argument." Since God desires our
freedom above all else, torture is just to the degree that it defends
freedom.

The problem here is that the "freedom argument" fails to take into
account why God wants us to be free in the first place.

As you may recall, the lynchpin of Christian faith is free will: if our faith
is to have meaning, we need to freely will it. Take away that will, and you
take away the entire structure of Christian belief.

In this view, political freedom is universally good only because it inscribes
in law our free will — or put differently, it makes free will as central to
our politics as it is to our faith.

By contrast, torture seeks to destroy free will. As
I've written elsewhere, the whole point of torture is to make someone will what you want them
to — to override the autonomy of their mind. As such, torture runs counter to
the idea that the will is universally sacrosanct, set apart by God as the locus
of our spiritual and moral lives.

Which is why torture cannot be marshalled in defense of freedom. The two are
morally incompatible: freedom is a universal good only if free will is
universally sacrosanct; torture is just only if it is not.

The Golden Rule may offer reason enough for why torture is wrong, but that is
why torture is not right. And if we're ever to forge unity on the issue, we would
do well to keep it in mind.

Chris Meserole is the editor of Democratic Vista and the founder of Thinker Media.

Featured Writers

Previous Post

September 16, 2008

Politically Speaking, Everything is a Value for a Values Voter... Like the Economy

Next Post

September 16, 2008 A National Summit on Torture in Atlanta

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Us About Us Action Center Advertise Ask a Theologian Ask a Theologian Blogs Books Campaign Blog Candidate Spotlights Commentary Donate Facebook Featured Writers Fellows Fellows From the Pulpit General Information Hillary Clinton Interfaith Blog Latest Media Center Media Center Media Center MyBlog MyBlog News Newsflash Newsflashes Our Team Reader Blogs RSS Sermon of the Week Shop Social Networking Static Items Support Talking Points Test blogs The Basics Theology Uncategorized YouTube

Select a Month November 2020 October 2020 February 2020 August 2019 July 2018 July 2017 March 2017 February 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 January 2006 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian denomination is known for circuit riders and revival meetings in America?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Methodist Presbyterian Episcopalian Catholic