Tales Of The Bizarre: Kidnap And Read A Bible To A Chick

[Aaron]

Link

Ohio man holds woman captive in handcuffs while reading Bible to her.

TOLEDO, Ohio - A man held a woman captive in handcuffs and an adult diaper for three days while he read Bible passages to her, police said.

Troy Brisport, 34, was charged with kidnapping and felonious assault. Bail was set Tuesday at $400,000.

He picked up the woman Wednesday night in Detroit after she told him she had nowhere to stay, and brought her to his home in Toledo, about 90 kilometres away, police said.

The woman told police that after she fell asleep Brisport handcuffed her wrists and ankles, gagged her, undressed her and put her in an adult diaper, then read Bible passages, said police Capt. Ray Carroll.

She apparently was not sexually assaulted, Carroll said.

However, court documents alleged that Brisport tried several times to suffocate the woman using a pillow and blanket.

The woman told police she escaped Saturday after Brisport fell asleep. Police found her dressed only in a T-shirt and the adult diaper and still wearing handcuffs.

There was no immediate response Tuesday to a call seeking comment from jail officials.

Ok....I'm thinking the guys got some problems.

[Tsukiyumi]

I really think people in general are starting to lose their marbles.

They're over there, by the way.

[Sionnach Glic]

Only in America.....

[Mikey]

Isn't that the plot of Black Snake Moan?

Besides, obviously when the Bible enjoined people to spread the word of G-d, it clearly meant to kidnap them and try to kill them in the process.

[Mark]

Well, he just wanted to minister to a captive audience

[Tsukiyumi]

Dude, do you have a book of bad puns, or do you just make those up as you go along?

[Captain Picard's Hair]

That's just...

So he'll end up sitting in hell, reading scripture to Hitler and Beelzebub as he burns?

[Graham Kennedy]

Here's the thing about religion, though. If you are a true believer in a certain stripe of religion, then what he did is perfectly justified - and indeed the police are the evil ones for stopping him.

I don't know if this guy believed this way, but take a hypothetical. I'll be a fundy for this thread, and here's my thought process.

The bible is the true inspired word of god and cannot be doubted. It instructs me that hell exists and is an infinite punishment, and that the only way to avoid it is to believe as I do about the bible. It further instructs me that preaching to people on this point can awaken the holy spirit within them and make them believers. And god orders me to do just that. Now I try to preach to person A, but she won't listen. Won't even give me time of day.

So I have two options. One, respect her wishes. As a result she goes to hell and suffers eternally.

Two, FORCE her to listen to me. In this case, chances are that she will not believe because I've kidnapped her; as a result she goes to hell. BUT, there is a very small chance that my preaching will work, in which case she goes to heaven. And remember, god himself tells me that there is some chance of this, and god himself orders me to preach. And he didn't say anything about only doing it to people who wanted to hear it.

Given my belief system, the only logical thing to do is kidnap the woman and preach to her. A sin on my part, but done for the woman's own good and in god's own name. And I know I am forgiven sins anyway. And it is the only way the woman has any chance to avoid eternal hell.

The logic, I think, is unassailable. It all follows naturally, IF you believe in that stripe of religion. Which to my mind is the great problem with religious thinking; because it's not based in reason, it can lead you anywhere.

[Mikey]

Obviously a hyperbolic example, but you make a good point which I've made elsewhere. People decry those who believe in proselytization; I myself sure don't want people knocking on my door telling me that my faith is wrong and theirs is right. People go on to say that "your faith is your own business but leave me alone about it;" but if that faith mandates proselytization, then forcing someone to leave others alone about it is, in effect, denying those believers the ability to practice their faith.

Around here - in NYC, especially - a number of santeria priests have been arrested for animal cruelty. However, preventing them from killing animals ritually may accede to the letter of the law, but also denies those men their religion. A sticky wicket, for sure.

Now, there's a clear line this guy crossed - he abrogated another person's freedom and held her against her will. There is a clear line between proselytization and kidnapping (also, the whole "attempted murder" thing.) But where do we legislate in those less-clear cases?

Oh, and BTW - this case really is a poor example to use if you're trying to tell me that I'm stupid for believing in a religion.

[Aaron]

I thought Jews didn't do the proselytize bit?

[USSEnterprise]

I would also like to note that it was the womens choice to stay with a complete stranger, its not like she didn't have it coming...

[Aaron]

I would also like to note that it was the womens choice to stay with a complete stranger, its not like she didn't have it coming...

Umm...up until she fell asleep and woke up handcuffed, yeah.

[USSEnterprise]

What he did was wrong no doubt, but in retrospect it might not have been the best idea for her to trust a complete stranger so completely.

[Aaron]

What he did was wrong no doubt, but in retrospect it might not have been the best idea for her to trust a complete stranger so completely.

Of course not. Frankly the fact that a woman would willingly go anywhere with a stranger boggles my mind but she isn't responsible for his behaviour. But I'm getting a "he's batshit insane" vibe from this more than anything else.

[USSEnterprise]

Religious fanatics have always existed, they were just embraced up until a century and a half ago. This really doesn't surprise me, while crazy's exist everywhere, America breeds a new level of crazy 8)