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Satanism: Anton Szandor LaVey
is the founder of the Church of Satan. He taught that a Satanist should
respond with kindness to those who deserve it, and respond with vengeance to
those who attack. That is, a Satanist should react to the treatment given by
others by responding to them in the same way: LaVey wrote two main lists of rules summarizing his expected behavior by members:
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The Creativity Movement: This group was formerly called the "World Church of the Creator"® (W.C.O.T.C.) until it lost a trademark infringement suit. Unlike Satanists, they teach a virulent form of racism. They hate non-whites, Jews, and homosexuals. One of their beliefs is that: "What is good for the White Race is the highest virtue; what is bad for the White Race is the ultimate sin." Their religion is based mainly upon love of the white race and hatred of everyone else, who they refer to as members of the "mud races." There have been a number of mass murders which have allegedly been perpetrated by members of the Creativity Movement. 3 |
"Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same."
Author and freethinker Ali Sina comments:
"A much more accurate definition of the Golden Rule is: Treat others with the same consideration and respect that you wish to be treated. It does not mean do to others exactly what you like to be done to you. For example, if you like peanut butter, it does not mean you should feed it to someone who is allergic to it, which can kill him. It does not mean you should take your wife who likes concerts, to a basketball game because you like basketball or invite your Hindu friend to a barbeque because you are a meat lover when you know he is vegetarian." 4
A lot of harm has been done historically, in the name of helping other people. Some examples:
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Many individuals involved in the torture and murder of Witches
during the late Middle
Ages and Renaissance felt that their mission was to help the Witches, and
to defend the rest of society. The
Witches were tortured until they gave the interrogators what they
wanted: a confession in which they renounced their beliefs. They were
then executed before they
recanted. The church felt that they might then attain Heaven. If they
retained their beliefs in Witchcraft, it was believed that they would
inevitably be sent to Hell for endless
torture. Thus, any amount of torture was justified. It only lasted a few
days and saved the Witch from an eternity of similar treatment in Hell. |
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In past centuries Christian missionaries, both Protestant and
Catholic, invested enormous effort to convert North America's Native
population to Christianity. The missionaries generally discounted Native
Spirituality as worthless. Many thought that unless a person accepts
their European version of Christianity, they would spend eternity in Hell. But
the results were not as anticipated. Some suicidologists believe that the extremely high suicide rate among native people in
North America is a direct result of the destruction of their aboriginal faith and other
aspects of their society by Christian groups.
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Welfare and other social programs that were originally designed to help the poor, can sometimes backfire
and entrap the very people they intended to help into a lifetime of
dependency that extends to involve their children.
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Many states have passed laws that require teen age women to notify their parents or obtain permission from their parents before they are allowed to have an abortion. The legislators reasoned that when a young woman is pregnant, that she needs all the support that her family can give her. But many teens try to circumvent these laws. They may be afraid of the family disturbance that the news might cause; they may fear physical abuse; they may be concerned about the effect that the news might have on a parent who is in fragile health. For whatever reason, many seek illegal abortions. A few die from infection. |
Before applying the Golden Rule, we should take care that we are really helping people, and not harming them. This often requires more wisdom than is readily available.
Unfortunately, many religious texts contain other passages that contradict their own Ethics of Reciprocity. Most often, these texts expect believers to treat other believers with kindness and decency. But Holy Books do not necessarily extend this treatment to believers in other religions. Consider:
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