A father and son, accused of rape and kidnapping, insist to defend themselves in court and to use only the bible, as they declare it the only law book that matters. The father, with the help of his son, allegedly held his stepdaughter captive in their basement from 2012-2015, repeatedly raping her and feeding her only rotten dinner scraps. The teenage girl was shackled to a support beam, but eventually escaped and was able to run for help.
The accused father and son were repeatedly advised to be represented by a lawyer, but made it clear that they had more faith in God than they do in the law. The son has said that the Bible is the only book that matters, and that “There’s a great deal of strategy in Scripture and I use those strategies in everything I do”. The father and son claim that the book is vital to their innocence and will be used in court to prove that as such.
The article also illuminates another example of child abuse where religious beliefs were used as a justification for their actions. A mother in Indiana who beat her son with a hanger argued that her religion was a sensible motive behind her actions.
Events such as this further the divide between official and unofficial religion. When people, like the accused father and son, use their official religion as a justification for horrid acts that go against the preachings of most churches, people often say “I am anything but that”. The shift to unofficial religion continues. In reality, the son and father in this story have let religion occupy all aspects of their lives, leading their religious life to be more cult-like than religious.