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Would it work better if we did the inline-spoiler in a spoiler so we can actually say what we want to say? Because mostly what I want to say would come out as antitheism and a whole lot of profanity that would make my grandmother cry if she knew I spoke like that.

Look. Let me put this to bed, because I can be perfectly scathing WITHOUT swearing.

This situation was born of misguided souls following a cryptic and archaic religion, and that's before you add the fact that they are trying to take it literally, which thoroughly makes no sense at all. A 2000 year old religion designed for farmers and fisherman who were essentially being oppressed by a dictator, based on a 5000 year old religion designed to keep wandering nomadic tribes under control, has no place in modern society as literal direct instruction. There are plenty of elements of Christianity that are wholeheartedly valuable, such as the Golden Rule. Treat other people the way you would like to be treated. Kindly, fairly, and politely. I can get behind this. Other parts, like treating people, and especially women, as property, and a bunch of other contrary and illogical bits, really don't help a modern person figure out how to live their life, and the saddest part of this is that the modern follower, of many Christian varieties, is actively discouraged from understanding the context and nuance of their religion, much less how it needs to be adapted in order to be capable of being relevant to to everyday modern life.

Add to this the general dysfunction, inherent in all other aspects of our current modern life, apart from religion, and you can see why a person could find themselves incapable of being reasonable and responsible. Have these people done horrible things? Yes. Abusing another person in any way - forcing them to do something they don't want to, for example - is morally repugnant in the strictest sense, from both a religious and a secular point of view. Are they going to get away with it? Probably - fame and other non-religious dysfunction shields them as thoroughly as their religion. Is that a problem? Yes, but not one that can be easily solved at all.

And, so, this conversation ends where all such conversations usually end, in the "Problems with Society" rant. Stupid actions, made by people that cannot or will not to look at the stupidity that they create, because they were taught stupid things by other people who refused to do anything about their own stupidity. Abuse, oppression, violence, and worse, allowed to run rampant, because that is easier than fighting to figure out something better. It is at the heart of what is wrong with our world today, that not only are such situations allowed to happen, but that most have no idea what to do about the situation in any aspect, be it taking the information in as news, or deciding what should be done to actually try to fix the situation.

I feel sorry for everyone involved, including Josh, because they are so mired in their dysfunction that they have no idea that there's anything wrong with it. And worse yet, the public in their immediate vicinity have no idea how to properly help them. The whole thing is as sad as it is sickening.

I can only hope, as I'm sure everyone here agrees, that the young children in these situations can learn from their troubles that there are seriously wrong things about the way they are being taught to live, and that they need to search for other role models and ways of life that are healthier.

The first step to that would be proper parenting though.

That's already a problem.