YouTube - Is religion battered woman's syndrome? No!

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I have heard about this very interesting video via Twitter. And iu thought it warranted a response because it is something we should consider. Do religious people suffer from a similar mental bondage as a woman abused by the man in her life who should love and protect her? Here is the video:




Let's analyze the argument to see if it makes sense. The video's author first begins to make great pains to say he is merely raising the question not making an assertion. He also says that he takes issue with being called a God-hating atheist because you can't hate what you don't believe exists. Point granted. So instead of accusing him of being an atheist, let's just concentrate on the God-hating part. It's come up later. For now I will grant his four characteristics of an abused woman.

1. The Woman believes violence is her own fault.
2. The Woman has the inability to place the responsibility for the violence elsewhere.
3. The Woman fears for her life and/or her children's life.
4. The woman has an irrational belief that her abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.

The video author then makes the argument that each of these characteristic are shared by religious people. Let's look at his argument for each one. I'm going to combine 1 and 2.

1. It is suggested that acts of nature and natural disasters is the same as woman battering if you blame them on yourself - ie "bad thing happen because of sin,lack of faith,non-acceptance of God's love"

"Meaning that you can't conceive of the possibility that god just let's bad things happen to good people for no reason (the must be part of god's plan"

The argument amazes me because the Bible nor science supports this. The Bible makes it plain that bad stuff happens and it may have nothing to do with anything we do bad or good. Natural disasters like earthquake, flood, tornadoes, hurricanes and the like are necessary for the health and well-being of the planet earth. Unfortunately, many of us die in these things, but the earth would be inhabitable without them. It's not always personal. And Christians die in natural disasters just like everyone else. However a woman can survive just fine if her husband does not beat her. Let's not just bring up natural disasters - what about human atrocities and crimes. Well Jesus did comment on this issue:

1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." - Luke 13: 1-5

3. You fear for your life or the lives of your family (meaning that if you are not well behaved according to god's rules, god will punish you with death, either via a natural disaster or as horrible disease or torture for all eternity.

If you are Biblical Christian why would you be afraid? No one is well-behaved enough to expect to have no problem. How ever we have the following promises.

1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[d] 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. - Romans 8:1-5

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[j] who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. - Romans 8:28-30

As for point 4, obviously a man who abuses his wife is not omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient although he wants his poor women to believe that. God how ever is truly all of those things and he has a word for those abuse their role as husbands.

The video's author asks a very important question and it's definitional to what being a Christian truly is.

In summary, do you thank god for the good things in your life, and blame yourself for the bad?

A christian thanks God for the good and the bad!

He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. Job 2:10

Here is something that the video author wrote that make me think he is a God-hater:

Personally, I believe that if you truly love someone, yet they refuse to love you in return you do not cast them into a pit of fire to suffer eternal torment.

He thinks that people are tormented in hell because they just refused to love God as if the relationship is the same as when a woman rejects marrying a man or passes up a date.It's not the same thing at all. It's more like a man pays all a woman's bills, buys her a house and cars, gives her the best of everything without her working and she squanders it all, has sex with other men in their bed, cursing him to all who will listen and to his face. Not just disrespect...but hatred and scorn. This what we do to God when we choose not love Him.

The video ends with:

So Is Religion equivalent to battered women's syndrome? That's up to you.

I'm not telling anyone to give up their faith but if u are going to devote your one chance at existence to worshippng a god the least you can do is think about it.

and the thought that religious people are in denial just like the abused woman who stays with her abuser is presented. God does not abuse us..so the analogy does not hold. It's not up to the one who is considering the question - it's the objective truth. The equivocation does not work if you are at all honestly thinking it true. I'd invite the one who thinks serving God as a waste of  a life to really think about it because I personally know that the you cannot afford not to serve the one who created you and sustains you! Not out of fear but love and common sense!

YouTube - Is religion battered woman's syndrome?