Bible Essay, Research Paper

The Bible

In the Holy Bible, teachings guide all types of human beings to a better

understanding of life. Many of these verses reach out to man through teachings

of human nature and how to create society’s moral values. A personal favorite

verse that may reach out to every man and not just those who practice the Judaeo

- Christian religions is :

” The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor

shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man

shall be put to death for his own sin. ” ( Deuteronomy p178,

vs.16)

because it tells of a rule that every man should live by – it demands justice to

isolate the criminal and thereby shield any innocent relative of any unjust

punishment. This is illustrated in the United States justice system and how

society punishes it’s wrongdoers.

This verse delivers the message that every man, despite size, color,

religious preference, or personal background, should assume responsibility for

his actions. Throughout time men who have entered the courthouses scattering

the United States, like the colorful leaves scattered across peoples’ yards

during autumn, have pleaded innocence – blaming parents and their unjust

upbringing. They scream to the jury that it really wasn’t their fault, but the

fault of their parents because if they had a perfect childhood then they

wouldn’t have committed the crime. It is true that the values that children

develop in their early years are important in influencing future decisions but

how does this explain the many adults that climb above their horrible childhood

and become successful happy individuals. This proves that the individual is in

charge of his every move and every action in life – he is in charge of his own

destiny. Sin is never forced upon anyone but merely delivered by just one

person’s choice. In the trial of the Oklahoma bomber, the jury will not

persecute his family because it was his crime, his sin. His family didn’t make

him do it and they didn’t help him accomplish it. When the men who committed

the heinous crimes against humanity during World War II under Adolph Hitler’s

direction pleaded innocence, the courts laughed. Some of these men claimed

there was no other choice, Hitler made them do it. Despite there being few

options, these men did choose to commit the crimes. They did not have to murder

the children and strip the little ones of their innocence and integrity. Hitler

was their ” father ” and they tried to use him as a scapegoat as he used the

Jews. It never worked because these men pointed the loaded guns at the victims.

These men commanded the gas chambers to continue cooking living families. These

men made their choice of sin. Society chose to punish the individual and not

their innocent family members for the crimes accomplished. Today people all over

the world try to forget previous generations’ crimes against humanity. In

Germany it took many years after WWII for later generations to even write in

history books what really happened. These younger generations felt ashamed and

somewhat responsible for the crimes their ancestors committed. It took years to

speak of the sharp barbed wire surrounding the death camps housing the innocent.

Generations should feel horror to the point where they wouldn’t let history

repeat itself. They should not take the responsibility of the crime. As the

bible says, one must take responsibility for his own actions – not one’s

father’s or previous generations’. After the war ended the prisoners from the

concentration camps were allowed back to their homes. Many of these homes were

burned to nothing. However those towns still in existence were crawling with

people who shunned these war victims – using violence and anger to push them

back out of that town. These people continued the hatred the war brought out by

blaming these victims for Germany’s turmoil after the war ended. These people

are as guilty as Hitler for they blamed the innocent for the war. They made

themselves guilty, to another degree, of the same horror Hitler , ” the father “,

displayed. They tried to blame a minority group for something everyone in

Germany was responsible for – the Jews did not ruin Germany, the government and

the general population was responsible for all of her faults. These people chose

their own path of cruelty and sin by promoting violence against innocent

bystanders; thus, committing the same crime against humanity. They treated the

victims with such anger that they made these homes graveyards for the Jews. It

was their choice, it was their sin. Unfortunately, these bitter, anti – semetic

people were never punished by society but those knowledgeable of the hateful

rejection now look back sick with this sight of injustice. Every man, no matter

the degree of injustice served, must live up to his actions. If he is strong

enough to commit the cruelty, he alone is strong enough to face it again with

consequences.

Society unites all faiths and all backgrounds. Decisions are made

combining all these different views to create a standard of values for society

to reinforce. This verse found in Deuteronomy is also found in this universal

standard society strongly upholds. One does not have to be Jewish or Christian

to understand the importance of taking responsibility for one’s crimes. Blaming

family, friends, and other innocent individuals is morally wrong and totally

unacceptable in society’s eyes. Mankind must learn to accept individual

punishment for crimes committed or else justice will never be served.