Sex Offenders And Free Will

I once had a conversation with a very intelligent American woman named Celeste about criminals. She said that we do not rehabilitate sex offenders.

I have had profound religious experiences, and I know for certain that anyone can choose to act rightfully. We are not animals. We have choice and we have will. So that even if someone has sexual cravings for children, he does not have to give in to these cravings. He can choose to act rightfully whatever his nature or his psychology tells him to do.

I have known a number of homosexuals who became Christians. Now I do not see homosexuality in the same way in which many people see pedophilia; but these people were able to overcome their natural tendencies and live in a manner that accords with the teachings of the Bible. If homosexuals can do this, then so can pedophiles and other sex offenders.

Once again, we are not animals. We have choice and we have will. Even someone with the most diseased psychology can choose to act rightfully. The solution for them is to stop listening to the desires of the flesh and to live according to the law of God.

So we have many people claiming that some people are evil and can only be evil whatever they do. This contradicts most basic reason. If we are responsible for our actions then anyone can choose to act rightfully; and if some people cannot choose to act rightfully whatever they do then people are not responsible for their actions.

Now I am most certainly not in favor of men raping children. But neither am I in favor of witch hunts. And this is exactly what we have here. We have people claiming that some people are evil and can only be evil whatever they do. This is irrational, this is cruel and this is wrong.

In my experience, teenagers these days are dangerous. I have a friend who went to jail for a year and lost everything that he had because he got drunk and chatted up a 16-year-old. My solution to that is to not have anything to do with teenagers at all. Do not make eye contact. Do not pay them any attention. Simply pass them by and do not look like the mark.

If someone has errant sexual urges, it does not mean that he is a demon. He is a human being. Human beings are capable of controlling what they do. Simply do not give in to these kinds of sexual urges. Keep your mind on God and God's righteousness. And then you can choose to act rightfully and be a good person, whatever your psychology happens to be.

If Paul, David and any number of other sinners could become men of God, then so can anyone else. This, once again, includes the sex offenders. Do not listen to your flesh's cravings. Listen to the mind of God. And then you will do the right thing even if you are – a sociopath, a “pervert,” a narcissist, what have you.

So in this whole mess the solution is introducing free will. It is introducing intelligent choice based on values. It is reminding us that we are not animals but people. And this will do far more to solve these kinds of problems than anything that the participators in these witch hunts seek to do.