A man in New Jersey is accused of raping and beating his five daughters over a 15-year period, fathering as many as six children through them as a result. Did I mention these gals were homeschooled?
Why? Because he had convinced himself there was no god and he could indulge himself with impunity.
Ah, who am I kidding? It’s because he had apocalyptic visions that (according to his wife), “the world was going to end and it was just going to be him and his offspring and that he was chosen.”
Now, I’m not saying this nut was motivated by religion. But I am pointing out how telling it is that nuts almost never have delusions about there being no god. I’m also pointing out how the understandable reluctance of authorities to split up families often leads to years of abuse, neglect and death.
That said, I seriously doubt any jury–Christian or otherwise–is going to cut this guy much slack. I just hope his daughters can salvage what’s left of their lives.
I work in child welfare, and I can tell you that there are many occasions when splitting up a family is the right thing to do. I’ve seen children come from situations of unfathomable neglect and blossom in the care of loving foster parents. The foster system is nothing like it’s often depicted in films and on TV. People who desperately want to help children step in and give kids lives that they otherwise would never had a chance to live (and I don’t just mean in terms of material things.) We shouldn’t be reluctant to do this; we should encourage it as strongly as possible.