Joseph Conrad's dull novella doesn't hold a candle to the provocative, horrifying, and infuriating story of Furuta Junko. What happened in Misato in November of 1988 is something Jay can certainly add to his list of Epicurean arguments against God; as for Matt, and for that matter as for all of us, it serves as a harsh reminder that the human capacity to do good is matched by the human capacity to do evil. Torture (i.e. killing for sport or amusement) is not a uniquely human feature, but it is in fact only seen amongst the most intelligent of animal species. It is a perversion of our great intellect, the dark side of human wonder and curiosity.
I saw this story on a rather seedy website tonight. What was remarkable to me was that the story knocked the wind out of everybody there. Normally somebody would reply with a smartass comment, either trying to be contrary for the sake of contrariness or else sickly, sincerely voicing a differing opinion from the rest of us who were shocked and disgusted by the story. And yet not one single person joked about this story. Because there is nothing at all funny about what happened to Furuta Junko. There is nothing amusing or good about it. There is no redeeming value to her suffering, to her death. Nothing new was learned that we did not already know -- that people are sometimes sick, that people have great capacity for evil, that people have the power to take others' lives prematurely and cruelly. And so with no redeeming value to be found in the story of the Concrete-Encased High School Girl, for my own Epicurean part, I have to say that this ranks pretty high on the list of reasons to write off "it's all a part of God's plan" as a cheap and insubstantial comeback in theologic discussions.
But you know? You know what? If you really want to know what the heart of darkness looks like, then I have to tell you the whole truth: that this story came up in discussion on a pornographic website; that the link to the story was accompanied by a link to a pornographic comic based on the story; and that at least one human being -- the person who wrote the comic -- thought that this made for great "fapping material." Now that, my friends, is what the heart of darkness really looks like.
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7 comments:
These stories really try my belief that "in his heart of hearts, man is good." Universal claims just don't work, do they? How sad.
The religious defense here is fairly strong; after all, it is a case of man's free will doing evil against another, not God. But the argument against a loving God who refuses to lend a helping hand sure applies. And what's worse, we're expected to believe this young girl endured what must have seemed an eternity of suffering on earth only to be very likely thrust into an eternity of suffering in death. What a cruel and vile thought.
in his heart of hearts, man is good
Who has claimed that? Are you familiar with the idea of Original Sin or the Fall?
we're expected to believe this young girl endured what must have seemed an eternity of suffering on earth only to be very likely thrust into an eternity of suffering in death
According to whom?
It's strange. I'm not sure if I've made up the memory, but I could have sworn I picked up the quote or some variation from my class on Japanese culture and the way of the samurai. Its meaning was more along the lines of "every person has a sense of good that an be appealed to." However, I can't find any trace of it online, so maybe I'm losing my marbles.
Regardless, it is a personal belief, not one I'm attributing to the Abrahamic religions. And as I said, I'm not sure how strongly I believe it. But I do think there is some truth to it and I do think it is at odds with the morality derived from the Fall mythos.
As for the second point, it's true I haven't explored the facts of the case too deeply, so I've only assumed that the victim is an unbaptized, unrepentant, un-confessed, non-christian and therefore a likely candidate for hellfire. And considering the damnation threat offered by all the other religious sects and denominations, I think a believer in life after death and the real-world possibility of revelation would have to agree that we all share a high risk factor for eternal punishment.
The odds are in Jay's favor that she was not a Christian; while the Church no doubt exaggerates the missionaries' success over the centuries in Japan (I say this because I have encountered this in the form of misinformed Catholics and Protestants alike in college and medical school), and while there has been a "resurgence" of Christianity in post-shogunate Japan, less than 7 out of every 1000 Japanese today is Christian.
So I think Jay's point is that, because Junko most likely did not welcome God into her heart in the strictly Catholic interpretation, because she was not baptized, because she was not ordained as a Catholic, etc. etc., she's in Purgatory right now if not Hell outright.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find any Roman Catholic willing to defend your version of "Every non-Christian goes to hell". It's simply not consistent with Church teaching.
There are some Calvinists who would probably be comfortable with that position, but that's probably about it.
Come on, I didn't say, "Every non-Christian goes to hell," I said in this particular case she is "a likely candidate for hellfire."
Are you saying in your estimation that she is not a likely candidate for hellfire? Do relatively innocent victims of immense evil on earth get a free pass to heaven? I don't think that's the case. I believe the most recent pope has done away with the concept of limbo; are you saying there's still a middle ground for good unbelievers? That'd be great news! And it would make some sense of the claim that God is merciful.
Are you saying in your estimation that she is not a likely candidate for hellfire?
If there's one thing that's clear from the Gospels, it's that what matters to God is not what matters in the realm of worldly wisdom: unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, etc., and especially Matthew 19. Thus I'm certain it's futile to try to estimate a person's fate.
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