How do you religious folk react to this??

Question

I heard today that an appeal had been lodged in the UK courts about a 'leinient' sentence passed on a couple who admitted raping a 12 week old child. yes that is 12 weeks!!They filmed the rape.
They had previous convictions, both were 'baby sitters' , because they had both admitted the offence they were due for parole in 5 years and 8 years !!
Now according to the 'Christian' religion if they repent they should be forgiven, and Christ already died for all our sins??
Do you still stand by that?? and what about you other religious groups, what do you think??
I know as a complete non beliver what I think, but I'm asking you, what do you think??
I don't really expect many replies.

Answer 1

i cant belive all these goody goody answers, they should be nailed to a wall and left to the f.....g crows if god wants to save them let him

Answer 2

It is a a very sad and distressing what has happened to this child, and it is definitly a test of faith to have to go through this. But even if some humans make the decision never to forgive even though we should, God is bigger and better than we could ever be, God is a forgiving God whether you be a rapist, mass murderer i.e hitler etc just as long as you give your life to Jesus Christ and repent he can turn anyones life around full circle and make you new again. The problem is God is blamed for things that the devil sets up in our paths and we need to know where to place that blame and how to move forward no matter what may come our way.

Answer 3

There are two questions here: (1) would God forgive them and (2) should they be punished.

(1) Depends on the particular faith as to the likely answer, but one of the Christian tenets of forgiveness is that you must be truly repentant in order to receive forgiveness.

"Sorry you did it" is very different from "Sorry you got caught" and the guilt / embarassment / shame / penalty of being caught. Sad because you got caught doing something doesn't qualify as actual repentance.

If they are actually repentant for what they did (which I can't quite see why they would be with such premeditation unless they were heavily under the influence) I suppose that God could or would forgive them.

(2) Yes. Repentence and forgiveness and guilt are not get-out-of-jail-free cards. Forgiveness doesn't get you out of jail, it gets you out of hell. They live in a physical world, broke the rules of the world, and should be expected to accept the punishment of the world that they live in. Being forgiven is not the same as being pardoned.

Answer 4

If you repent sincerely, you WILL be forgiven. That, however, doesn't mean you can dodge penalty though. This is why there are laws in the world. God NEVER said that He forgives someone without teaching that person good lessons. For example God forgave King David for the wrongs he did, but he had to pay high prices for his wrong doings as well. Being forgiven doesn't mean you can get away with what you did. It's like between parents and children. You need to discipline them, although you're always willing to fogive them. This is the way with God.

Answer 5

ok dude, what they did is horrible. But the only way they could be forgiven first of all is with an honest heart. if in sincerity they repented they would be forgiven. however, they will still have to face the natural consequence for their sin. now what about you you are guilty of something to. Sin is Sin no matter the degree. so what you want just the real serious sins punished but want to excuse your own? you ever speed? ever driven after a couple of drinks? ever told a lie? what you don't want harsch judgement do you christ died for all for all have sinned, but God loves you even you

Answer 6

I believe we have two separate issues to address here. Divine, eternal judgement is a totally different concept from laws that a society passes to exact retribution upon or protect itself from those who would seek to harm it.

One of the major purposes much of old testament law served was to limit the retribution visited upon those who transgressed society's rules. Even so, under OT and Koranic teaching, there were sins considered so grave that the penalty was death. I fail to see that this contradicts the principle of a murderer (or anyone else) truly repenting and admitting before God and man that they are guilty of their sins, admitting that they deserve the punishment that society has awarded them and asking God, Who alone is all knowing and all compassionate, to grant us true repentance and forgiveness. Such forgiveness, however, even if granted by God (down to our faith) may not in any way influence our fate on earth.

This may not sound fair to someone who thinks that they must earn their salvation, but I thank God that He is not fair. It wasn't exactly fair that Jesus paid the price for my sins. If God had been fair, I'd have been in hell a long time ago.

Punishment or sentencing on earth? If we call ourselves Christians then we surely need to heed the Biblical injunctions to pray for judges and politicians.

Don't ask me to make sense of the UK "justice" system, but I guess you can blame me for not praying hard enough. Sorry.

Answer 7

Why wouldn't you expect many replies?
I am a firm believer and let me assure you that being forgiven by God and being punished by the law are two entirely different things! Noticed that the Pope forgave the man who shot him; even visited him in jail, but he did not ask for him to get a lighter sentence or be let out of prison. I think that what they did is terrible and that they should be punished far more severely than they were.

Answer 8

Christ can and will forgive them if they are truly sorry and repent. Mere humans have a harder time doing that. I can't sit here and say I would forgive them immediately it would take a long time for the bitterness and the anger to leave. I've always said that hell will not be hot enough for child molesters or anyone that abuses another human being. Hopefully they will repent so that another child will not be in danger.

Answer 9

In Islam, there are rules for repentance:
1. You realise your mistake and feel sorry for it
2. Take the decision not to do it again
3. Pay your debt (receive your punishment or ask people to fogive you if your sin has hurt others) - You can't kill someone and say 'Sorry, I repent! Why don't you forgive me?
4. Act upon the decision you took - not to sin again

Also, in Islam everyone is held accountable for their actions. No one, not a religious clerck nor even a prophet, can pay for my sins (contrary to the Chrisitan belief). We are free and take responsibility for our choices.

Islam also states clearly what measures should be taken against those who commit sins that hurt others (crimes in the language of today; like theft, killing, etc). Justice is one of the values of Islam.

Answer 10

Anyone can use repentance as a quick 'get out of jail free' card, and at the end of the day, it's just a word. Why should they get away with this monstrous act on the grounds of religious belief? They should have the book thrown at them, be locked away for a very long time, and be castrated

Answer 11

Matthew 7:01


1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces


I am Christian and believe that God will only give you as much as you can bear. Now if that were my daughter I would probaly want to kill the person. But see that is the point God knows how much each person can bear in life and personally I could not bear that.