How Ravaging Scandals are Disguised Under the Name of God:

What did you think when you saw that title? Did your mind travel briefly to Northwest Airlines Flight 253? Did you remember December 25th 2009, the fateful day young Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate plastic explosives on Flight 253? Or did you think about Father H's story, the German Catholic Pedophile Priest? Oh, what about Andrea Yates who drowned all her kids in the bathtub because she thought her children weren't righteous enough and were going to hell?

Well, ever since I listened in on the Verastic radio show this past Saturday and heard one of the callers saying that the recent Jos killings was as a result of people "disguising politics in the name of religion," I've been musing on his statement. People do disguise a lot of things under God's name.

Through the pages of history, men and women have disguised scandals under the name of God. In Umar's case, I found out that when he was 18 he fantasized about women & sex, and since he knew he was not ready to get married without his degree and career, he turned his focus instead to religious fantasies (Jihad fantasies)--my resource is Here.

The Bold Claim:

#We humans are prone to saying, "God sent me to do it" because rather than accept responsibilities for our actions, we believe we have someone in a supernatural place to point fingers to. He told me to do it, it was not my idea.

5 Musings on Criminals and Whether God Sent Them:

1) God's Errands are not Murder:

The God I know does not send people on errands to kill for Him or to commit atrocious acts. Instead, He sent His son to be the last sacrifice. (John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He sent His only son that whosoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have everlasting life").

2) Neither God, Nor the Devil:

If you ever think about a criminal act, God did not send you, and neither did the devil! You have dominion over every action you will ever take. Yes, the devil will lay a criminal option on a platter of gold at your feet, but you will choose to say "yes" or "no." (Psalm 8:4 & 6, "What is man that You are mindful of him? You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands").

3) Not What You Think:

The problems in Nigeria (specifically Jos) are not because Muslims think they are better off than Christians (or vice-versa), but more so they are as a result of selfishness and greed in people of authority and in some Nigerians in general. Should a Muslim be in power or should a Christian be in power? These are the questions that have taken away the innocent lives of men, women, and children. It has nothing to do with their gods.

4) Did God Really Tell You?

God still speaks today, but we're often too fast to say "God told me so." God does not go against His own word. If you're Christian and you hear something that goes against what you have read in the bible, then it is not God speaking to you. It is someone else.

5) The Flesh Has Done It Again:

Every criminal act has been as a result of the tendencies of the human flesh, not because God did it or sent the criminal to do it. (Mark 14:38 "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.")

Disclaimer: I understand that there were wars in the bible where the Israelites struck the Philistines (and some others). However, when Jesus came, He said, "It is finished." He was sacrificed for my sins and your sins. No longer do you need to offer blood sacrifices. I do not believe God will send anyone to kill innocent people in our generation for His cause.

Have you ever mused on the "God sent me" statement and the problems it has caused through history?

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