“They say it’s what you make, I say it’s up to fate, It’s woven in my soul, I need to let you go, When you feel my heat, Look into my eyes, It’s where my demons hide, It’s where my demons hid, Don’t get too close, It’s dark inside, It’s where my demons hide, It’s where my demons hide”
-Demons, recorded and performed by Imagine Dragons
Fate, the devil made me do it, God told me too, you pushed my buttons, and they crossed the line are ways we hide from responsibility like spineless and mindless creatures. It is sad that humans, after at least a few thousand years of recorded history still want to blame someone or something for our problems. In America and Europe, the current popular culprit is religion or God or something akin to those two. After all we are told, belief in imaginary beings is what caused people like the Islamic State militants to behead others. Richard Dawkins essentially states religion is the evil from which humans need to be freed (http://amzn.to/1uXLud5)? Might I counter that suspension of belief in God (atheism) has led to Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Jung Il, Pol Pot, and Mussolini killing far more people than religion (http://bit.ly/1oSdQmy). Nonetheless, we cannot even blame the religion of atheism for the atrocities of these leaders without understanding why we believe what we believe as humans, who we blame, and why we blame.
Why do people do evil things? Why do they blame something or someone else? Where did this evil and blame come from?
There is a story concerning the origin of life which centers on a creative event by a supreme being set in a garden in what is now mostly Iraq. The depiction of this story has four main characters: the creator, two created human beings, and an adversary of the three other characters. In the narrative the male human, Adam, and his female wife, Eve, are given tremendous power and enormous responsibility. They are in turn only given one restriction. So, Adam and Eve enjoy near limitless freedom and unparalleled authority in paradise on Earth. The fourth character is introduced as the most crafty beast on land.
This story clearly identifies the subtle fourth being in question as a serpent. It appears this serpent talked and walked without causing any alarm to the humans by either of these acts. This was not your modern Earth experience to say the least. Many people directly call this serpent Satan (which is a term meaning adversary), but the story itself does not directly. The story here does display the adversary of God and mankind was the motivator of humanity’s fall from bliss and the serpents illogical reasoning. Adam and Eve break the only “do not” in their world and submit to the reason of the serpent. That serpent, it is revealed later in the text of the Bible, was not only real but representative of the adversary (Satan).
As a result of the serpent’s deception, Adam and Eve’s disobedience, and the adversaries influence everything changes.
The Earth becomes cursed, soil becomes tough to farm, childbirth becomes painful, paradise is lost, innocence is obliterated, shame overwhelms humans, the serpent is informed it will lose it’s legs and eat dust, and the adversary is warned that he will one day be wounded by a man like no other.
It is amazing what one bite can do? One act? One thought? How did it get to the point that the humans violated the only restriction they had in paradise?
The serpent tells Eve, via a cleverly crafted question, that God is being overly restrictive with His rule (Gen. 3:1). Eve quickly corrects the false assumption in the serpent’s question but alas the discussion has begun and the game is afoot (v. 2,3). Then, the serpent completely distorts the truth of God. The beast goes on to accuse God of lying, controlling, and being fearful (v. 4,5). Eve gives in to the idea of taking off the only limit on her by enjoying the “forbidden fruit”. She was deceived by the serpent’s reasoning (2 Cor. 11:3). Adam joins in because he lacked the wisdom and strength to do what was right, he was not deceived (v. 6). The serpent seems to have participated in a scheme of God’s enemy and suffers punishment along with human kind (v. 14-15, c.f. Rev. 12:9, 13:1-10; 20:2) [http://bit.ly/1nb56CJ, http://bit.ly/VG7mua).
What happened when God enters the scene in paradise after this literal Earth changing event? The humans displayed their education at the School In Nonsense (listening to f the serpent, who was inspired by the adversary). Adam quickly blames Eve and God at the same time (v.. 12)! Eve, not to be outdone by Adam’s quick thinking, blames the serpent (v. 13). Who did the serpent blame? God of course, for the whole thing (v. 1, 4-5).
At that moment all of Earth started playing the blame game. It is the most popular game on the planet. Now, the Islamic State blames the US for the IS beheading an American journalist (http://lat.ms/1oSdwV5). Most of us would consider such reason idiotic to say the least. However, we blame the actions of the IS on God all too easily (since most people cannot distinguish allah from God, unfortunately). It is of course comfortable to blame and entity we do not know, that is exactly what the IS is doing by blaming a nation of people whom they do not know. However, what really is going on here? Where is all this evil coming from? It must be men who blame it on God or God himself, right?
Fallen ones keep falling every time they get a chance. Satan fell (http://bit.ly/1li7Zqg). Man fell, from the place of eternal bliss on Earth to a determined life of struggle on Earth and eventual physical death. Paul, in writing a letter to Christians in Corinth states that all humans died in Adam, meaning we all lost eternal peace and life with God in Adam’s act, but we will all come alive in Jesus Christ (http://bit.ly/1w9XXMl). Until the original blamer is finally vanquished the Earth will suffer from the continued blaming of the Fallen Ones (http://bit.ly/1s0azPC). How do we stop the suffering, the pain, the anguish, the death, the dying, the atrocities? Find life in Jesus Christ (http://bit.ly/VGacz9) and be empowered to turn away from the seemingly never ending fall (http://bit.ly/1rmPQd7). Those who know God need to turn from their wickedness, be humble, pray, and seek the face of God so he will bring healing to the land (http://bit.ly/1viPoe4).
- Christ followers, stop blaming people who do not know God!
- Those who do not know God, stop blaming God and each other!
- Those who do not believe in God, stop blaming God since you do not believe He exists (blaming those who believe in what you call fiction is a poor way of blaming the the fiction itself)!
Simply put the message of Jesus is the same today as it always was:
Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:10-11 NLT) [i.e. No shame. No blame. Just stop it!]
