A Georgia dad of three has just been sentenced to 18 years in prison for beating his 5-month-old baby to death using a passage from the Bible in his defense. Benjamin Edetanlen claims he was using the "Spare the rod. Spoil the child" lesson he learned in Proverbs 13 to discipline his baby. And there are just so many wrong things with that line of thought.
For starters, who in their right mind disciplines a 5-month-old baby? I mean, how do you even do that? And what could a baby possibly do to misbehave at that tender age?
According to prosecutors, Edetanlen's son suffered brain injuries and a broken leg at the hands of his dad. He died from blunt force trauma. Edetanlen originally faced murder charges, but he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter as well as several counts of child cruelty.
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I will never ever understand how someone can use God or the Bible as an excuse to commit a crime. In fact, I think those who do should be ashamed of themselves. I'm not the most religious person in the world, but even I can see how this is a total cop out.
Honestly, that's one of the biggest issues I have with a lot of religions–or I should say the people WHO follow them–out there. I feel like a lot of people use religion as a crutch and as a way to justify their behavior instead of taking real responsibility for their actions.
I don't know if Edetanlen thought he'd actually be able to get away with using the Bible as an excuse for his horrid crime. Hopefully his sentence will help him learn a lesson or two in terms of owning up to your own actions.
Image via PhotoAtelier (Glen)/flickr
