Destroying fake Gods

[A Vestigial Mote]

I understand what he did and can't help but agree with it. Idols corrupt people. Idols should be destroyed. I doubt I would have destroyed my parents' idols but God judges idolatry very harshly. You are better off without them.

And you probably wonder why they aren't more "likes" attributed to your "wonderful" posts. Sheesh.

 

[DavidFirth]

And you probably wonder why they aren't more "likes" attributed to your "wonderful" posts. Sheesh.

Not at all. Even Jesus was beaten and crucified, Paul was stoned then beheaded.

"The unrighteous will always hate the righteous." The righteous being Jesus, not me, and the unrighteous hate his followers as well.

 

[Kenny]

Hi all,

I am not a believer or non believer in religion however I respect others beliefs. My son for the last year has become a Christian. A few months ago he destroyed all of my Buddha statues as he believed they were evil. My husband and I were very upset particularly with one that was given to us by my 90 year old mother.

Today I have just found our beautiful water feature destroyed. It was a type of Buddha and the only one left that was not destroyed previously.
I am so upset. I respect my sons beliefs however am upset that he does not respect my belongings or feelings about something that I own.

I feel so disappointed that his beliefs can bring on behaviour that will destroy someone elses property.

I would love your thoughts.

Barney

Hello,

I'm a Christian.

On behalf of Christianity, by I offer our apologies. Many times in the zealousness of a newfound love we loose perspective especially when we haven't been grounded in scriptures. Much like a child when they have an ice-cream and don't know when to say "enough".

Nothing in the Christian understanding of scripture does it say destroy the statues of another.

I'm sure it is giving you a bad taste of Christianity but it isn't the correct representation. I humbly ask forgiveness on his behalf.

 

[Kenny]

To be frank, your son should be taught a lesson in civility and basic human decency. A person does not destroy their parents' possessions, no matter their own opinions about said item. It's basic respect. And really, a Christian should know better than to disrespect their parents!

Get him to pay for the lot and perhaps get some counseling. Failing that, give him some money and tell him to find his own place. 19 you say? Old enough to know better than to be behave in such an appalling manner.

As a Christian, I would have to agree with this part.

 

[Kenny]

It's things like this that me lose sympathy when churches are burned down.

Two wrongs never made a right. IMO, this is the same attitude as the son--destroying other people's property. (I know you wouldn't do it, but the heart is the issue.)

 

[Kenny]

Unfortunately, he's just living up to what Christianity teaches since the early Christians did the same thing. Iconoclasm is a defining feature of the Abrahamic religions. Not that that makes it any less acceptable. Have a talk with him and give him an ultimatum. Throw him out of he doesn't come to respect your property and views.

I would disagree (unless you are talking about later Christianity). Nowhere in the Gospels, letters or Acts did Christians do that.

 

[SomeRandom]

As a Christian, I would have to agree with this part.

Oh I'm sure many Christians and many of my own Christian friends/family would react to such behavior incredulously.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Hi all,

I am not a believer or non believer in religion however I respect others beliefs. My son for the last year has become a Christian. A few months ago he destroyed all of my Buddha statues as he believed they were evil. My husband and I were very upset particularly with one that was given to us by my 90 year old mother.

Today I have just found our beautiful water feature destroyed. It was a type of Buddha and the only one left that was not destroyed previously.
I am so upset. I respect my sons beliefs however am upset that he does not respect my belongings or feelings about something that I own.

I feel so disappointed that his beliefs can bring on behaviour that will destroy someone elses property.

I would love your thoughts.

Barney

Whoa, somebody needs some therapy, stat. This type of behavior in a 19 year old isn't about religion - it's about something being seriously off in their empathy and self-regulation.

 

[Nakosis]

Hi all,

I am not a believer or non believer in religion however I respect others beliefs. My son for the last year has become a Christian. A few months ago he destroyed all of my Buddha statues as he believed they were evil. My husband and I were very upset particularly with one that was given to us by my 90 year old mother.

Today I have just found our beautiful water feature destroyed. It was a type of Buddha and the only one left that was not destroyed previously.
I am so upset. I respect my sons beliefs however am upset that he does not respect my belongings or feelings about something that I own.

I feel so disappointed that his beliefs can bring on behaviour that will destroy someone elses property.

I would love your thoughts.

Barney

Sounds like he got involved with the wrong religious folks. There's plenty of Christian groups much more tolerant of other beliefs.

They're so impressionable as young adults.

 

[Jainarayan]

God judges idolatry very harshly.

You do realize that not everyone believes in your God, much less his "judgements", right?

 

[Aupmanyav]

I feel so disappointed that his beliefs can bring on behaviour that will destroy someone else's property.

His behavior is psychopathic. He will not succeed in a job or in marriage with this psychology. Tomorrow he may take a gun and kill a few Muslims/Hindus/Sikhs. Billing him is hardly the answer. See what Nakosis says, wrong types.

 

[Jainarayan]

Except these Buddha statues weren't being used in a religious context - the OP is not a Buddhist - therefore they are not idols. Why on earth are Gentiles so stridently insistent in forcing other Gentiles to follow the religious diktats of the Jewish god? It's perplexing.

It's fundamentalists who feel they have a mandate from God. Even if they were used in a religious context he had no right to destroy the property of the homeowners. If someone deliberately damaged my shrine under similar circumstances, do believe that they would immediately regret it, ahimsā notwithstanding.

 

[Jainarayan]

Not at all. Even Jesus was beaten and crucified, Paul was stoned then beheaded.

"The unrighteous will always hate the righteous." The righteous being Jesus, not me, and the unrighteous hate his followers as well.

Stop playing the victim. This recent tactic of right wing Christians claiming persecution is getting, nay, it has gotten old. No one hates you for your beliefs, just stop the proselytizing and preaching.

 

[YmirGF]

I understand what he did and can't help but agree with it. Idols corrupt people. Idols should be destroyed. I doubt I would have destroyed my parents' idols but God judges idolatry very harshly. You are better off without them.

Ah, the American (?) Taliban speaketh...

 

[jonathan180iq]

A 19 year old is an adult...
That behavior isn't a Christian belief, nor do I think it's just a personal problem. Instead of individual counseling, I think it needs to be a family therapist that you guys visit - consistently. The problem with his lashing out is deeper than "respecting" or disrespecting another's faith.

 

[SabahTheLoner]

Hi all,

I am not a believer or non believer in religion however I respect others beliefs. My son for the last year has become a Christian. A few months ago he destroyed all of my Buddha statues as he believed they were evil. My husband and I were very upset particularly with one that was given to us by my 90 year old mother.

Today I have just found our beautiful water feature destroyed. It was a type of Buddha and the only one left that was not destroyed previously.
I am so upset. I respect my sons beliefs however am upset that he does not respect my belongings or feelings about something that I own.

I feel so disappointed that his beliefs can bring on behaviour that will destroy someone elses property.

I would love your thoughts.

Barney

I have a statue of a very controversial and considerably blasphemous deity and even though it's replaceable, I'd be upset to see it broken, because it means quite a lot to me. Being a Satanist, I don't really like Christian values, but I'm not going to smash every Jesus and Mary statue I see. As long as they're respecting me, why would I disrespect them?

I think your son needs to be shown some different religious perspectives. Buddha isn't really a considered a god or prophet by some. My mom, who likes to study Hindu-Buddhist philosophies, used the example of the Buddha walking down the street. If some would kill him because of impersonation, I don't think that's really a stance of worship, but a way to respect teachings of a person long past away. An imposter would tint the teachings by pretending he was the real deal.

Your son, although I'm sure he wants to be a good person, needs to understand what that means before he aligns himself with any religion. I don't think destroying other's things, no matter what you align with, is a good thing to do, even if you mean good. He's probably using his beliefs as justification to bring out anger or harmful thoughts to the attention of something else, without understanding what others think about it. I do agree with the others who replied, he needs to see a counselor or professional about this. The teachings he is reading isn't saying he should do things because it will make him a better person, rather it is setting examples in the forms of stories as to why as a Christian, he needs to believe in certain things. Even though I don't agree with the scriptures Christians hold high in respect, I think anyone who reads them should consider the context and background for these stories, as to why the idols were smashed and so on. Stories like those aren't saying that it's good to behave that way, rather the stories are praising the spread of the religion and showing why the minority at the time were angry, and explaining why idols are false gods. Unfortunately there will always be literalists who don't stop to think why they have all the Jesus crosses and if that in itself is an idol of sorts. Christianity is complicated.

But definitely charge your son with financial damages he caused and take him to see someone who can explain to him why his behavior is counterproductive. Hopefully he'll be respectful after he takes accountability for his actions. Maybe some of the Christians here, if you can talk to them, can give him advice of the family stuff as well.

 

[jonathan180iq]

I have a statue of a very controversial and considerably blasphemous deity and even though it's replaceable, I'd be upset to see it broken, because it means quite a lot to me. Being a Satanist, I don't really like Christian values, but I'm not going to smash every Jesus and Mary statue I see. As long as they're respecting me, why would I disrespect them?

I think your son needs to be shown some different religious perspectives. Buddha isn't really a considered a god or prophet by some. My mom, who likes to study Hindu-Buddhist philosophies, used the example of the Buddha walking down the street. If some would kill him because of impersonation, I don't think that's really a stance of worship, but a way to respect teachings of a person long past away. An imposter would tint the teachings by pretending he was the real deal.

Your son, although I'm sure he wants to be a good person, needs to understand what that means before he aligns himself with any religion. I don't think destroying other's things, no matter what you align with, is a good thing to do, even if you mean good. He's probably using his beliefs as justification to bring out anger or harmful thoughts to the attention of something else, without understanding what others think about it. I do agree with the others who replied, he needs to see a counselor or professional about this. The teachings he is reading isn't saying he should do things because it will make him a better person, rather it is setting examples in the forms of stories as to why as a Christian, he needs to believe in certain things. Even though I don't agree with the scriptures Christians hold high in respect, I think anyone who reads them should consider the context and background for these stories, as to why the idols were smashed and so on. Stories like those aren't saying that it's good to behave that way, rather the stories are praising the spread of the religion and showing why the minority at the time were angry, and explaining why idols are false gods. Unfortunately there will always be literalists who don't stop to think why they have all the Jesus crosses and if that in itself is an idol of sorts. Christianity is complicated.

But definitely charge your son with financial damages he caused and take him to see someone who can explain to him why his behavior is counterproductive. Hopefully he'll be respectful after he takes accountability for his actions. Maybe some of the Christians here, if you can talk to them, can give him advice of the family stuff as well.

I think a lot of righteous indignation comes from ignorance.

 

[LuisDantas]

He is 19 years old. I understand his belief around this and why he did it. He believes that it negatively affects our family to have it in the household. I know he means well. He will be paying for the $500 statue.

Sorry to be blunt, but his beliefs, whichever they may be, do not excuse him from taking proper responsibility for his actions.

That is true for him as it is for anyone else.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I understand what he did and can't help but agree with it. Idols corrupt people. Idols should be destroyed. I doubt I would have destroyed my parents' idols but God judges idolatry very harshly. You are better off without them.

That's just you judging and being petty. You're projecting your own maliciousness and judgment onto the world and calling it "god."

 

[eldios]

Iconoclasm was an aspect of early (eastern) Christian practises long before Islam arose so technically he's following Christian ideals.

Ever since human beings started building false gods with their human hands, there has been other humans destroying them.