A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


June 16, 2012

Saturday Morning Commentary: What Would You Do?

     This past week, a story from Texas has made the local headlines, and will be talked about by various pundits and talking heads across the nation for weeks and months to come.  A 23-year-old father rushes to the sounds of screams from his 4-year-old daughter.  As he enters his horse barn, he allegedly finds a 47-year-old man, who had been helping him around the family ranch, sexually assaulting the little girl.  He pulls him off his daughter and, again allegedly, proceeds to beat him until the man is ultimately dead.
     Now, you must know that in the state of Texas, it is likely that this man will not be tried for this incident, although an investigation will ensue and the case will go to the grand jury.  Neighbors and citizens across the state have given their opinion ..... he was morally justified in his actions.
     As it turns out, the Texas Penal Code also states that the father was legally justified.  According to the penal code:

(a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:
(1) if the actor would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.31; and


(2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:


(A) to protect the actor against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or


(B) to prevent the other’s imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.

The law further states:
(c) A person who has a right to be present at the location where the deadly force is used, who has not provoked the person against whom the deadly force is used, and who is not engaged in criminal activity at the time the deadly force is used is not required to retreat before using deadly force as described by this section.

     So, let me ask you --- how would you have reacted?  And can you pass moral judgment upon this man?  It seems to me that legally, he was within the law.  But the moral component to this unfortunate incident weighs just as heavily.  There will be those who say that one of the Bible's commandments is "Thou shalt not kill."  But the word "kill" in the original Hebrew context was "Thou shalt not murder"; which implies pre-meditation.  That is not the case in this death.
     Then there is the father's obligation to protect his innocent daughter.  I cannot believe that there is anyone who could blame him for reacting as he did.  What father, or mother for that matter, would not react with swift and deadly force to protect their child?
     It is unfortunate for everyone involved.  There is a man who is dead.  There is a child who will forever be scarred with the memories of the rape and seeing her father kill her attacker.  The father will never wipe out the memory of seeing his daughter assaulted and his reaction to this heinous act.
     And it probably won't surprise you to know that the director of the Texas Civil Rights Project in Austin, is now questioning if the father "didn't go too far in his anger."  All I can say to that is, until you've walked a mile in his shoes, don't be so quick to second-guess his actions.
     It will be interesting to see what the national consensus on this case will be.  I can assure you there will be those who will condemn the father's actions as rash and unnecessary.  And the dead man will be seen as a "victim".  But as for me, I will pray for this young father and his blameless daughter; that they will, with God's grace, find peace and understanding.   And I will pray for the family of the deceased.  No one is left unscathed in this heartbreaking experience.  It is just another example of Evil on Earth.

Psalm 82:4      Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. 

4 comments:

  1. Personally, I would stand with the father of this child for sure if what happened is the total truth. No one, and I mean no one, should have this happen to them or to be treated as such and I say this...if someone does something like this, then I would say that he or she should be prepared for any consequences that follow. This is what is a big problem in this world today. There is just a slap on the wrist or prison time and that is the end. They sit in prison with a bed, good meals, don't have to do any work for that, TV, air conditioning, visits from family, and if they want, they can get a college education that many parents can't afford to give their children at the tax payers cost AND many are returned to our society to do it all over again and will end up being your neighbor. Now isn't there something wrong with this picture?! Personally, I think all child sex offenders before released from jail or prison should have a big tattoo placed on the middle of their foreheads letting everyone know who and what they are and so that would be a punishment for the rest of their lives for the rights they took from a child. How well do you think they would be received except by their own kind? Then on the other side of the coin for the family or victim, they deal with it the rest of their life and there is nothing anyone can do to make that better for them. There isn't enough "I'm sorry" or "wish I had never done that and all the tears inn front of the judge" statements that are going to take back that hurt and damage. If you take away someone's personal self rights and safety, then plan on the worst coming your way. To kill for a reason of protecting yourself and loved ones is a lot different than murder that is premeditated. I stand for the children and their safety! Call my statement harsh, but I don't apologize for it. People need to stand up against wrong and make it known and remember, this could have been your family member or friend.

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  2. So well said! How has the "politically correct" response worked out for our society? I think the biblical approach serves us much better. There are certain crimes against humanity (and especially children) that simply cannot be tolerated. It grieves God's heart! This father reacted as any one of us would have, if we are honest with ourselves. Thank you for stating your position so eloquently! I applaud your stand!

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  3. Sadly if the father had shot the scumbag there would likely be no question, but since he beat him to death, the court will say his use of force was excessive as once he had control of the subject he should have stopped hitting him. But being Texas hopefully the Grand Jury will clean bill him. I personalty stand with the father, he did what needed to be done

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  4. I agree with you! The system has proven that if the "scumbag" had lived, they would have released him within a ridiculously short amount of time for good behavior, and he'd be back out on the streets repeating his evil crime. One thing that hasn't been said is that the father is remorseful over the loss of life, and my prayer is that he has taken that remorse and pain to the Lord. I'm confident both He and the Grand Jury will offer forgiveness for this father's actions.

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