Answering the Daily Beast “Devil” Article

Based on the article from Matthew Paul Turner on thedailybeast.com:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/16/why-american-christians-love-satan.html

Matthew, interesting article, I agree that many Christians attempt to associate the actions of individuals as connecting with Satan’s camp. And therein lies the problem. The focus of the church aligns the actions of the individual with the devil – but not the outcomes. The tragedy is that Christians don’t understand their magnitude of their metanarrative. Christians have the only worldview that states (among other things), that their ultimate enemy exists outside of humanity, but with direct intent on the obliteration of humanity, specifically for the reason that humanity is made “in the image” of God. Or plainly, we are made in the image of Satan’s enemy. Every other worldview claims an enemy that exists as a faction of mankind, or an attribute of mankind that needs to evolve (such as enlightenment with Eastern religions).

Why does this matter? Instead of claiming, “The devil made me do it,” the Christian should recognize the OUTCOME of those actions is the devil’s focus. The church thinks that it’s the promiscuous sexuality that makes the devil smile. That’s thinking about the action. Instead, it’s the STDs, the Cervical Cancer, AIDS, abortion, infertility, addiction, rape, human trafficking, divorce, psychological complications that makes the devil dance, and ultimately makes God grieve.

To the secular mind, these unfortunate outcomes are merely the tragic and caustic happenstance of some of life’s greatest “freedoms.” It is only the Christian that can associate tragic outcome with an initial pleasurable action. The world shakes its head in bewilderment, while still fueling the fire. The church should be illuminating the strategies and bandaging the wounds of those who have bought into the believe that we are free to “do what we want, any ole time.” It’s only true until outcome supplants action. Ask a heroin addict, alcoholic suffering DTs, a financially destroyed gambler, or a man who lost his family over a weekend affair if he is truly “free.”

You are correct; the church blames the devil for what it struggles with, or what it often secretly wishes to engage in itself. The true travesty is that the church attacks the addict, or adulterer, etc. claiming they are in “sin,” rather than recognizing the affliction of disease, despair, addiction, divorce due to the outcomes of our actions is what is “missing the mark” (which is what “sin” means) of God’s intent for His greatest creation, humanity.