Whatever Became of Sin?

     In 1973, psychiatrist Karl Menninger wrote a book which he entitled, "Whatever Became of Sin?".  Earlier in 1960, Thomas Szasz (1960) wrote "The Myth of Mental Illness."  Both psychiatrists bonded in a vaguely similar belief that the pseudo-sciences of psychiatry and psychology do far too much to explain away wrong and evil and that they underplay the role of free will in human interaction and society.
      Conceptually, both would agree that psychology and psychiatry actively obscure the difference between wrong, (mis)behavior, evil and disease  in a quest to help or harm parties to conflict.  By calling people "diseased" or mentally ill or incompetent, these fields of study attempt to deny people responsibility as moral agents.  Have we continued to explain away wrong, bullying, murder, discrimination and a host of evils by maintaining a psycho-social belief that we are solely the product of nature and nurture, devoid of free will and responsibility to our every action.  Isn't it a choice to hurt someone or to be indifferent to their angst?

      Asking whatever happened to sin may appear to be a strange topic in a blog on disability and healing and empowerment.  Nonetheless, the central question directly relates to society's excuse about the lack of full embrace of the severely disabled and their protection.
       Yesterday, I read an article in the Boston newspapers about  a Bridgewater, Massachusetts middle school where three students cornered a special education student in a bathroom.  He was held down and pummeled.  This is in the context of Massachusetts recent anti-bullying laws in schools.  There are no facts in controversy as the incident was recorded on a security camera.  The consequence was a suspension for the three students.  Neither the victim's parent, the school administration nor the police would file criminal charges.  Doesn't an attack on a special needs child warrant an appearance in a court and punishment?  When is an assault not an assault?  When does no one learn a lesson and punishment become a deterrent?  Whatever happened to sin?

       This week in two blogs, readers wrote of the death of an autistic boy in a group home when he was killed by intentional asphyxiation by a worker.  Others there were beaten with sticks and the abuse went unreported.  Whatever happened to sin?
       Several months ago, I posted a blog about rampant unreported abuse in New York groups homes for the severely disabled.  Part of the blog excoriated unions for their protection of perpetrators because of union contract protections.  What ever happened to the concept of wrong and punishment?  Is it possible to rehabilitate those who abuse the most fragile in our society?  I do not believe that rehabilitation is possible nor should it even be an option.  Who will stand up for the disabled?  Unions?
      And then again in Massachusetts we have the Judge Rotenberg Center which houses many people with developmental and behavioral disabilities.  The preferred method of behavior modification:  electroshock to skin areas.  When is abuse not abuse?  Is abuse allowable when it it is a form of behavior modification?  Why have Massachusetts legislators and judges and parents allowed institutional abuse to continue?

       Stories like these are legion and a daily occurrence. Reports surface on a regular basis.  Abuse of children, the disabled, the elderly, the infirm, the aged.....no group, except the powerful or the perfect, are exempt.  We use the psychology of genetic predisposition and early learning experience to explain away evil.  We use poverty, unemployment, the ghetto, the race, etc to explain away evil acts.  Counseling is too often a response  to wrong doing and it does not work.  Imprisonment often results in high rates of recidivism.  What has become of sin?
       I am not a religious person and do not use sin in a religious sense. I do not believe in a personal god, because a god would not allow this evil to exist.  Sin is an objective act of wrong against a person or humanity.  Sin can be a free purposeful act or an act of indifference to the plight of others.  Can a person have millions of dollars, vacation monthly and have his neighbors be homeless and hungry and not sin?  Can a Massachusetts governor  give raises to his state managers when day habilitation hours for the disabled are reduced  and not sin?  Can a school superintendent provide generous raises to his central office staff and reduce services to students with disabilities and not sin?  Can a student bully another student and not sin?  Can a student bully a special needs student and not mortally sin?

       We, as a society, flee from the notion of objective wrong and work hard to explain why things are the way they are.  Should we, based upon a simple belief in our inter-connectedness simply devote life to overcoming injustice and oppression and simply doing good?  Whatever became of sin?