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In Aldous Huxley's 1952 historical novel, "The Devils of Loudon," a 17th century priest is endlessly promiscuous with local non-juvenile females and finally impregnates a local prince's daughter, while he angers a convent of sexually-deprived nuns by refusing to become their spiritual adviser and, worst of all, insults Cardinal Richlieu. As the people he has angered engage in fenzied revenge, the priest finds God -- and the great irony of the book is that the priest has shed his devils, while his haters have become them.
That kind of drama is still with us. On Thursday, May 13, 2010, Ohio's famous Hitchhiker Killer, Michael Beuke, was executed by lethal injection in his prison in Lucasville, Ohio.
Beuke admitted his crime: In 1983, to get a car to rob a bank to get the money to pay for a lawyer in a drug trafficking charge, he posed as a hitchhiker, murdered one driver and badly injured two others, when they stopped and offered him a ride as an act of charity.
He pled, and received the death penalty. He managed to stretch his life more than 25 years with legal process. Finally, he was executed.
At his execution, he apologized to the relatives for his crime more than 25 years before, and died saying the "Hail Mary."
The daughter of one victim, Dawn Wahoff, thought, "You're stalling."
Susan Craig, widow of another victim, said, "Sorry doesn't cut it."
Across the world, bloggers wrote things like, "Welcome to Hell, you bastard."
Question: Does bathing in feelings of revenge while the wrongdoer prays mean that the ones screaming that way for revenge are fellow sinners who, given precisely the same pre-murder background as Beuke, would murder, too, precisely like he did?
Our father used to say, "Pete, do you know what neighbors are like? If they catch your dog crapping on their lawn, they will want you to die, and they will hate you for years."
I think that he may be right.
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Does . . . mean that . . .
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you what something means. BUT just shooting from the hip, I look at it this way:
So, the guilty party was executed. Eventually the victims families die as well. Upon approaching the gates . . . they see, inside the gates Mr Beuke. His 'Hail Mary' and jail house spiritual conversion and final apologies were genuine. If their comments and feelings were so sincere that they say to God 'i will NOT enter your Kingdom while THAT creature is here, its either he, or I . . .
Whatever it is that they are holding on to, its not good, I would think.
I can't say that I too wouldn't give in to that mindset.
I would not take it as far as: given precisely the same pre-murder background as Beuke, would murder, too
BUT, Mr Beuke certainly did throw evil seeds on to freshly fertilized ground, that he, himself prepared. Its no wonder at all if these folks did grow a hatred inside that is willing to murder Mr Beuke in heaven, and give their God the ultimatum of 'either him or me, you cannot have both, God'.
Disclaimer: again, shooting from the hip, certainly the roots of the 'go to hell' response on part of the families of the victims is, in part, the fact that their sense of Justice has been violated. Their complacency that their loved ones would be with them day after day had been totally swiped out from under them
Who know's how understanding God is. How compelling God's arguments is, of showing us the way things ought to be, rather than the way we've made them.
God, one would think, would understand all these problems and offer a solution for us to accept.
IF its not as simple of this, lets say Mr Beuke's Hail Mary was sincere. He gets to the Gates . . . He is show how he impacted so many peoples lives, as well as the fact that, not only are his victims having issue with his coming into heaven, but also the families on earth are crying for JUSTICE and 'go to hell' well wishes for Beuke. And that These folks will Never be allowed in heaven unless they put that asside, but our all knowing God knows that some of these folks WON'T put it down, as their sense of justice has been violated by Beuke's deeds.
Beuke is told that he can come into heaven, BUT for those who just cannot forgive once they see even Beuke was in heaven will simply never enter heaven, but if Beuke were to self sacrifice and not be in heaven when the others arrive, then perhaps God can work with them, as their taste for justice was satisfied . . . If you were Beuke, what would you do, if your Hail Mary was sincere.
Well, perhaps God can be compelling and work us all through this. Beuke Victims/family or dog crap victims alike.
My comment in response was too long, and because I did nothing to save it it was wiped out.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'll just answer your question.
If I were Beuke, I would ask to pay for my crime by allowing me to spend the rest of my life in prison on a treadmill generating electicity.
And if my death pleased the survivors, I would let them press the button.
A nun who made it her vocation to care for death row inmates, Sr. Helen Prejean, said after watching dozens of victims seeing the executions of dozens of murderers that if the victims had recordings of the excutions, they would watch them again and again and again and again, never tiring of the pleasure of watching the criminal die, again and again and again and again.
This is what we are.
Actually, we're worse. Sister Prejean doesn't put it strongly enough.
In truth, people have dogs beaten by a mile. Like rabid dogs, we selfishly bite the hands that feed us constantly.
We are disgusting.
And, to answer the question posed in the title, WE are the Devils of Loudon.
ReplyDeleteThat is why we need the grace of the cross through His Church.