Poll: Religious Law

[Exaltist Ethan]

Today I've been listening to the radio. Today's program was covering a trial in which a local man was convicted of over six life sentences. This individual killed six people and injured dozens more with his car. People are calling him a domestic terrorist and that he brought a warzone to a parade. The judge was on for over three hours sentencing his conviction.

This led me to think the difference between political law and religious law. In politics, if you break the law seriously enough you go to jail or are fined lots of money. But what happens if you break religious law? You supposedly make God angry with you, but how does this actually affect the person breaking that law, especially if they are not religious? And even more so, if there isn't a victim (besides God), what is the punishment for breaking it? Do you take religious law seriously? As serious as your government's law?

I understand in some nations religious and government law are in line with each other. Sharia Law in Muslim theocracies. But in the western world the advent of Christianity has led many people to believe that God forgives all sins, especially if you believe Jesus sacrificed himself for your own mistakes and shortcomings. There were victims of the parade tragedy who said they forgave the person in question, due to the part that they are Christian.

With the forgiveness of sins by those who simply think a certain way, I really don't see anyone taking religious law seriously. The most serious scripture in the Baha'i Faith are the Aqdas, meaning the Laws, of those who practice the faith. I listened to its audiobook on various nights years ago and found that the Baha'is have much less overall restrictions than the Muslims do, and when I talk to the Baha'is about their own laws they seem to take a very Christian approach to it, saying that if you believe in Baha'u'llah that's more important than following or even remembering what his laws are.

My point is, there are very few religions anymore who seriously take the concept of their own laws to word. While government law is supposed to imprison the person for committing felonies, the felonies of religious law can only be felt by the individuals who practice or understand their God's religion. It doesn't seem like it really applies to most people in today's societies. God can make you feel bad for being a sinner, but only if you let him do so.

TL;DR - What is your take on religious law? Should we take it as seriously as our own government's laws? Or is it simply an outdated way of punishing people who might not have done anything wrong?

Let us know what you think below.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I take religious law as suggestions rather than obligations.

 

[Quintessence]

I take law seriously. Doesn't matter if you slap the word "religious" in front of it. That said, context is important. My Code of Honor is fairly explicit in following the laws of the land you dwell in, for in prime they are made in wisdom. When they are not made in wisdom, then things get more complicated.

 

[Viker]

I don't take religious law to be as I would take government law. My religion has tenets or inner-religious protocols and then there's procedural guidelines. They're for the confines of my religious group only and no one outside is obligated to follow. It's highly recommend, however, that members respect secular law.

 

[sun rise]

TL;DR - What is your take on religious law? Should we take it as seriously as our own government's laws? Or is it simply an outdated way of punishing people who might not have done anything wrong?

What is considered right and wrong has varied with time. Different religions have different prescriptions and prohibitions. The only universal law to me is the law of karma (or sowing/reaping as the Bible puts it). That universal law happens automatically not like human justice systems.

To me it's wise to take that law seriously but it's a spiritual law not a religious one.

 

[The Hammer]

When they are not made in wisdom, then things get more complicated.

This is my issue. There are a lot of.laws that aren't made with wisdom in mind, and are drafted as a reactionary process.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

TL;DR - What is your take on religious law? Should we take it as seriously as our own government's laws? Or is it simply an outdated way of punishing people who might not have done anything wrong?

IMO, religious "law" is irrelevant except to the extent that it informs the conscience of religious people, since freedom of conscience is an important principle generally.

 

[Altfish]

I take the religious nut-jobs who impose religious law very seriosly.
The laws themselves, no.

I give you Iran --- what a mess.
Or the US's abortion laws

 

[ChristineM]

Religious law, no. Why should non religious people or those of a different religious be bound by ancient laws

Government law is for all the people,

 

[PureX]

This is all still a work in progress.

Civil laws are not supposed to be about "punishing" people for their immoral actions. They are supposed to be about protecting society from people that commit illegal acts. Those life sentences are being imposed to make sure that man never gets out of prison, in a state that will not execute him. I, personally, think we should impose execution for the kinds of crime he committed, because that kind of crime indicates an ongoing existential mortal threat to society. And the state should not be expecting society to bear that danger for the duration of that man's life. But, that's not our current law, so he gets multiple life sentences to make sure he never leaves prison as long as he is alive.

The point here is not to think of civil law as being about punishment, but rather it being about societal security. God punishes. The state locks people up that cannot be trusted to live among the rest of us while respecting the rights of others.

 

[Aštra’el]

I take the law very seriously. I have not always… but I do now.

When it comes to human behavior, “right” and “wrong” have lost all meaning to me. The law is important to me for establishing boundaries, and for getting a sense of a culture’s values. It helps me understand how I might operate as freely as possible within those boundaries, while not destroying my future.

Religious laws serve the same purpose, maybe not legally, but socially. I may not share a person or culture’s values and sense of morality… but it is important to understand them, if I am to navigate this world effectively and make the most of it.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Religion is to me what matters in the end. Science is about what it is as how it works.

Now my religious law is to love other humans even if different than me and at minimum minimize harm.
I am religious because I can't do that with just objective reason, logic and evidence and in effect I treat humans and the world as having value and that is in effect ontological idealism, hence I am religious. The world is more that just physical.