I have a friend who I've shared my "exit" with, and the reasons. He repeatedly says "Yes. That's Satan trying to destroy from within." I was thinking about that yesterday, and no. That's a cop-out. Let's stop blaming Satan for man's choices. For man's judgment. For man's hate. Let's put the blame squarely where it belongs. On men. On women. People who CHOOSE to act. People who CHOOSE to hate. People who CHOOSE to judge. Maybe Satan planted an idea in their heads, but they still CHOSE. They could have said "no." And should have. But they didn't. They willingly chose to judge. They willingly chose to hate.
I suppose it goes back to Adam and Eve in the garden. But it goes deeper than that. It goes to what we were taught about Adam and Even in the garden. Adam and Eve eat the fruit. God confronts Adam. He points at Eve, "that woman made me do it." Eve points at the serpent, "the serpent made me do it." No responsibility for their own choices. No "yes, I did eat the fruit." That should have been the end of it, don't you think? God confronts, and Adam says "yes I did." And maybe he follows it up with "so, now what? I know what you told me. So, what happens now?" It would have been an entirely different story, wouldn't it?
I suppose it goes back to Adam and Eve in the garden. But it goes deeper than that. It goes to what we were taught about Adam and Even in the garden. Adam and Eve eat the fruit. God confronts Adam. He points at Eve, "that woman made me do it." Eve points at the serpent, "the serpent made me do it." No responsibility for their own choices. No "yes, I did eat the fruit." That should have been the end of it, don't you think? God confronts, and Adam says "yes I did." And maybe he follows it up with "so, now what? I know what you told me. So, what happens now?" It would have been an entirely different story, wouldn't it?
And we do the same today. Men demand that women dress modestly because "woman, you're causing me to stumble." The Bible only says "cover your private bits." (Sorry. Writing that is a little too much, even for me, so if reading it is too much for you, I apologize.) MAN has created rules (man, not woman) that women have to be fully covered. As little bare skin as possible. That's the dress code. Why? Because, as the same friend I mentioned above told me once, "she's keeping me from having lustful thoughts." No. If you're having lustful thoughts because a woman is showing some skin, that's a you problem.
So, let's stop with this. Let's stop the nonsense of blaming everybody else for our own short-comings. No more "the devil made me do it." No more "Satan is causing this." Let's take responsibility for our own actions. Especially when those actions are driving people like me away from the church.
The church doesn't have a "sin problem." The church doesn't have a "Satan is attacking" problem. The church has a free will problem. God gives free will, and men and women in the church abuse it. They could choose to serve God's purpose. Instead, they choose to serve their own.
And before anybody yells at me, yes. I'm saying this to myself, too. I've lived 30 years in the church. I've learned the same teachings. And I have to unlearn them.
