In todays world, it can become quite confusing. Morality is now a fine thread which is quickly defined and rearranged by individuals, often to suit their own ends, hence a sexual abuser can sometimes pervert their thinking to believe that “I was only teaching them in the act of sex”.
The bible too speaks of family and notes how even unbelievers adore and cherish their families, giving to family members and friends, but no other, and in so doing the bible makes comment on how what virtue is that for a follower of Christ - meaning, there is no greatness in looking after family and friends that you love and like and know, as the expectation of reciprocal looking after is ever present - rather the greatness comes from giving to others without expectation of return of any kind.
Yet, we see, family is vital - to both nonbelievers and believers.
For those of us in the Western world, the beliefs are clouded by words such as honor, duty, law, abuse …
A parent is encouraged to give up a son or daughter if they commit a crime or are called up for war, likewise a child is expected to rat out a parent if things go amiss in the family (not talking about child abuse, or abuse as such of one family member by another).
Things were not always so though. If you look back through Scotlands history, there is a strong thread - even within the kingly lines -that ones promises and agreements with others were only to be kept when it inflicted no hardship upon family and those who depended on you. Treaties were frequently made and broken to protect families and underlings from the English and so on.
(An interesting thread to this bit on Scotland, is that the Scottish Kings paid the Catholic church - the guardians of morality and spirituality - on condition that the priests and other of the Catholic robes to not sexually abuse Scottish parishoners, which had become quite rampant. I transgress, but you would think after all these centuries, the church would have got it’s act right. Anyway…)
You can see the difference clearly - now we are expected to uphold laws and governments, even if it means betraying family - yet it is the family and friends of the family that buffer the individual from the world that would take everything and give nothing back. Laws, governments, rules .. these are constantly being changed and are transitory at best, and an act of oppression at worst.
Fact is, things do go amiss, and often authorities just react, place pressure on individuals, bad mouth them (report them) for supposedly very bad crimes, yet then nothing changes nothing happens. The family is just left bewildered and in anguish, generating more stress.
To give an example that has upset me considerably. I am still not allowed to comment too clearly about the events, I may not even have the facts myself, as the ‘criminal’ hasn’t been tried, so I will alter details, but the basis of understanding will remain the same, and is also a mix of another case I am aware.
The mother or father is reported by someone as a potential threat to their child. The authorities react by investigating and interviewing the members of the family. What does this do, it places considerable stress on the family - the uncertainty of future is made transparent, family members are expected to rat each other out.. Now, everthything settles - the memory remains - but things settle down, then the same person makes another complaint. The authorities get involved again, putting the entire family through the ringer again. This could keep going on and on and on. For example, if one yells, it could be considered an act of domestic violence today, a few years back it was considered to be within the bounds of normal human interaction between husband and wife - see the law change - now a child hears the yelling, that becomes, by law, an act of child abuse.
That’s how easy it is to end up on the wrong side. What’s more, you don’t even have to do anything wrong. It could be your ex claiming they heard or saw something.
Now what does all this complaining and investigating do, it stresses people out no end, then when something does happen that breaks the camels back, a child or spouse or friend may be abused or killed, but the stress was put there much earlier - in essence the authorities have become the instrument of abuse - but he person who breaks down and does the crime, is the one that takes the blame.
Interesting that. When you make laws too tight, you make everyone law breakers.