Cursing in aid of justice

Great Debates
1

First, a true incident that happened to a friend of the family.

Sammy was a healthy handsome good son 23 years old; his folks operate a retail store dealing in electronic appliances.

One evening the mom and pop managers called him to the store to drive them home with the day’s sales.

On the way home they were ambushed by motor bike bandits; the boy’s dad told Sammy to make a dash from the bikers.

The bikers started to shoot at the van Sammy was driving; no one inside was hit, not yet.

Then Sammy got into a dead-end alley; the bikers caught up with the van, they boarded it, and one of them shot Sammy before the horrified eyes of his parents.

They took all the money of the day’s sales, and left Sammy bleeding to death.

Brought to the hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.

Next stop, the nearest police precinct.

Nothing happened there, except for the routine documentations.

Word in the streets was that the biker bandits were rogue policemen.

In effect there was nothing the family could do; after reporting to the precinct, things just remained frozen indefinitely.
Now, how cursing can serve the ends of justice.

The way I understand it, cursing consists in calling down evil on persons who deserve punishment for injury they have done to others, in particular people who could not obtain justice in any other way.

Correct me if I am wrong: it seems to be pretty common in the Bible, like it is common in the Bible to call down blessings on people deserving of blessings.

Can curses work for getting at the biker bandits who seem to be untouchable?

To work, the cursing must be made known to the bandits.

So it has to be publicized.
I am inclined to maintain that the curses will implant some worry or emotional distress in the heart and mind of these bandits.

However hardened they be in their unscrupulous character, it is normal psychology to be disturbed by the justified wishes of evil upon them for their evil deeds.

Who will do the cursing for Sammy against these rogue policemen bandits.

If the family of Sammy go public, delivering the curses themselves; the bandits might just come at them again and bump them off as well.

So, not the family members of Sammy; they deserve to survive.
The public authority should be the ones doing the cursing.

It works this way:

Every month there should be a day of cursing against evildoers, the latest crops.

On the appointed day, the mayor of the city, on a stage in front of the government main building, wearing specially designed vestments symbolic of his power to curse evildoers, will invoke whatever powers that be in charge of justice in the universe to punish the evildoers, in some kind of pronouncements like the following in regard for example to the case of Sammy:
“O Powers that be in the universe in charge of justice for helpless victims:

Rain down Thy vindictive ire upon the wicked murderers of the innocent Sammy;

May they be hit by lightning;

May the earth open up and swallow them into its bowels;

May they be engulfed alive by flooding,

Devoured still breathing by rivers and oceans;

May they suffer abominable diseases like leprosy, and aids,

And all manners of unclean maladies in their manhood members;

May they not find any savor in their food nor nourishment therefrom;

May sleep escapes them every time they lie down to rest;

And may they meet with all kinds of horribly painful accidents,

That will leave them alive yet wishing they were dead.

We invoke you, O Powers that be in charge of justice for hapless innocent victims.

So be it, and let these curses be published in the major papers once a week for six months."
In the office of the mayor, there should be a section called bureau of cursing, in charge of handling the protocols of cursing in aid of justice.

Susma Rio Sep

2

Uh, I think you posted this in the wrong forum. Although we have had “Does prayer work” threads so why not a “does a curse work” thread?

Marc

3

The Psalms are FULL of “O God, destroy the evil-doers” prayers. Jesus said to pray for our enemies (tho He also said to bless & not curse them, there I’m sure is a way to allow for Justice Prayers). In John’s Revelation, the souls of the Martyrs are shown IN THE AFTERLIFE as praying for God’s Vengeance upon their persecutors.

I think having the Mayor or any gov’t official do this may provoke opposition from the ACLU or Americans United for Seperation of Church & State (formerly the anti-Catholic “Protestants and Others United…”) as well as both the more pacifist & the more conservative of my Christian fellows. Also- let’s at least add a clause asking that the Powers That Be bring them to repentance or render them incapable of doing further harm.

4

Not really. People who do stuff like that don’t usually give a crap what others think about them. This is indeed a tragedy, but cursing isn’t going to do anything.

5

Joe writes:

Not really. People who do stuff like that don’t usually give a crap what others think about them. This is indeed a tragedy, but cursing isn’t going to do anything.

Someone in the Bible complains also that evildoers get fat and their children are healthy, beautiful, and intelligent.

They might not care what people think of them; but what people shout or solemnly imprecate against them, that’s something else.
To Friar:

Separation of Church and State, doesn’t it refer to Church as a particular organized religion?

I wonder if atheists would mind the invocation of the Powers that be in charge of justice on evildoers who otherwise are untouchable.

You bring up a good difficulty, though.

Maybe in other countries where at least all churches and religions and anti-religious groups would not mind invocation of a very generic Powers that be, whatever, in charge of vengeance on evildoers.

Back to atheists, don’t they at least accept the idea of a God that does not play dice with the universe, as Einstein himself seemed to have accepted.

Correct me if I am wrong in any information and idea here.
Back to Joe:

Do you know of any serious studies on the efficacy of cursing to make people lose their sleep and get sick or suffer more accidents?

I would like to imagine that anyone hearing cursing against him for having done evil to others will feel uncomfortable to say the least.

Here is how I think cursing can work:

There is the physical body that can be hurt physically, by knife, bullets, fists, etc.

There is also the psychical body that can be hurt by words, as when people hurl insults at others, these others are hurt, with a pain more acute than physical injury.

That’s why one can get justice in a society where justice rules for all kinds of verbal abuses on people.

“Stones and sticks can break my bones, but words can’t ne’er hurt me” (something like that).

That’s not really true: words can hurt and hurt very badly and very long.

Susma Rio Sep