For Their Own Good: Why Not Stone Them?

A quote from this article about an Afghan doctor and his patient being stoned:

In many parts of Afghanistan, particularly in remote areas, women are customarily not allowed to be examined by male doctors except in the presence of close male family members as their chaperons. Stoning is the punishment for adultery under Shariah law, and many Afghan clerics approve of it, although it is officially outlawed here.

That just got me, “Many Afghan clerics approve of it.”

Clerics, people who are supposed to interpret the nature of God to those under their care, approve of these barbaric acts of extreme cruelty.

I presume they think they are doing good. I presume they think they are upholding unchanging and unchangeable law. I presume they think the are fighting for the greater good and for their own good of the rest of the people.

And I know that the phrase, “for their own good” has justified evil since the beginning of time.

Sure, sometimes people in authority positions must do things that others don’t like.  After all, how many parents have said to their children when disciplining them or insisting that they comply with certain standards: “I am doing this for your own good?” We’ve all done it. And I think that a horrendous amount of child abuse also arises from that statement.

I’ve been doing much exploration recently on the nature of good and evil and how easily evil can disguise itself as something good.  All are capable of immense self-deception and all of us paint ourselves with good motives even when they are not so good.

Maybe we would be better off to retire the phrase “for your own good” and substitute something like this, “There are things I know that you don’t know. With my knowledge, I am going to put limits on your behavior and also enforce reasonable consequences when you cross the lines I set. But those consequences will never, ever bring physical harm to you, nor will they take from you your dignity as one who has the image of God upon you.”  Yes, it is a longer phrase, but by uttering it, we also give time for some careful consideration of what we are about to do and why we need to do it.

Maybe then we’d drop the stone instead of throwing it.

Maybe we would be able to pull ourselves back from evil.

Maybe we wouldn’t stand and cheer when others are doing evil.

Maybe there would be less self-righteousness in the world.

Maybe people would choose humility when deciding they have the responsibility to interpret the nature and words of God to the world.

Maybe.