The Devil Made Me Do It

[trigger warning: rape. please enjoy this delightful otter instead.]

[note: taking a new medication. feeling very . . . odd. having trouble writing, well finding words, really. more on that later.]

I am frustrated by the concept of god(s): it's illogical, irrational and, as evidenced by what's going on in the US lately, it stifles science and encourages bad government and bad behavior over all. "God says" becomes the easy, and impossible to argue, rationale for all beliefs, beliefs that, unsurprisingly, precisely mirror the speaker's own prejudices and desires. (See: All Republican action against women currently in the works.)

I am downright enraged by the concept of the devil, however. Satan is the externalization of the evil in all of us. I can be selfish. I can be greedy and jealous and just plain mean. I work hard, every day, to not be those things. Sometimes it's a struggle, but it's a deliberate choice I make, a choice to be the very best me I can be. Sometimes, the very best me isn't all that great, but I'm not blaming my bad choices and actions on someone else.

If I'm selfish or greedy or jealous or mean, I own it. (Not always willingly. I'm human.) That was me. I shouldn't have been that way, I shouldn't done that, that was wrong. And that was me. Nobody else. I'm sorry. I'll have to try harder next time.

Satan, though. With Satan around, who has to say they're sorry? No one. Who needs personal accountability when you have Satan to blame? That wasn't me being selfish, that was Satan attacking me. In fact, you should feel sorry for me. Yes, I called you a fat slut and told your husband some pretty vicious lies about you* and caused you all sorts of pain, but you should feel sorry for me, what with the Satan attacking me and all. Why aren't you feeling sorry for me?

Remember the vicious gang rape of the 11-year-old in Cleveland, Texas? (If not, go to a doctor. Who could forget that?) Well, it turns out, it was Satan's fault.

Bertha Cleveland, an aunt of Mr. Cruse, said her nephew went to church regularly, held down a job at McDonald’s and had told her he intended to go to college. “Our younger generation is running rampant,” she said. “The devil is in full control.”

Oh, I see. You can't possibly commit rape if you went to church regularly. It must have been Satan. Rapists don't want to go to college, do they? Definitely Satan.

Guess what? I can wax rhapsodic about the rape culture, about othering, about prejudice and marginalization, and perhaps when my words come back to me, I will. Frankly, I enjoy writing about such things. However, in the end, the fault is with the rapist. He raped. Prejudice didn't reach down and force his penis into that child's vagina. That was him.

And it sure as fuck wasn't some mythological creature in charge of making us do horrible, evil things. We don't need the help.

*No, not really me. The first person just works better in this context. This is directly from a post at a Christian message board. Not making this up. She actually wondered why the victim of her jealous rage didn't feel sorry for her.

Satan's Favorite Holiday!

Turns out, it's mine, too! (C'mon, I'm into cosplay, were you surprised I'm a Halloween freak?)

Kimberly Daniels, who ministers to people involved in the occult (which means she ministers to imaginary people, but whatever), has fabulous insights into Halloween: it's Teh Evul!

Halloween—October 31—is considered a holiday in the United States. In fact, it rivals Christmas with regard to how widely celebrated it is. Stores that sell only Halloween-related paraphernalia open up a few months before the day and close shortly after it ends. But is Halloween a holiday that Christians should be observing?

Does anyone in the US need to be told that a) Halloween is October 31st, and b) it's a holiday in the US? (It's not actually a federally recognized holiday, though, banks don't get the day off or anything.) As for stores devoted to Halloween only, so what? We have the same thing in PA with Independence Day and fireworks. I'm not sure what the point is. You don't need to tell anyone in the US that Halloween is a widely celebrated holiday.

The word "holiday" means "holy day." But there is nothing holy about Halloween. The root word of Halloween is "hallow," which means "holy, consecrated and set apart for service." If this holiday is hallowed, whose service is it set apart for? The answer to that question is very easy—Lucifer's!

Wow, really? You're going back to the derivation of words? How about this: the root of the word "sinister" meaning "threatening or evil" is the Latin word for "left". Just as relevant. As for the root of "Halloween", "hallow" is just half the story. It's a shortening of "Hallow's Evening", referring to "All Hallow's Eve", the night before All Saints Day, November 1. Do try to be more accurate, dearheart, it has nothing to do with the Morningstar.

Lucifer is a part of the demonic godhead. Remember, everything God has, the devil has a counterfeit. Halloween is a counterfeit holy day that is dedicated to celebrating the demonic trinity of : the Luciferian Spirit (the false father); the Antichrist Spirit (the false holy spirit); and the Spirit of Belial (the false son).

"Demonic godhead"? I think we're awfully close to blasphemy, dear. According to you own religion, your god created the devil. Anything Satan has, god gave him. As for this business of the trinity of Satan, yeah, find that in the Bible for me. Go ahead, I'll wait.

The key word in discussing Halloween is "dedicated." It is dedicated to darkness and is an accursed season. During Halloween, time-released curses are always loosed. A time-released curse is a period that has been set aside to release demonic activity and to ensnare souls in great measure.

What. The. Fuck. Seriously, "time-released curses are always loosed"? What . . . how . . . are you insane?

You may ask, "Doesn't God have more power than the devil?" Yes, but He has given that power to us. If we do not walk in it, we will become the devil's prey. Witchcraft works through dirty hearts and wrong spirits.

Yeah, that free will thing. It totally sucks!

During this period demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.

I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons cannot tell the difference.

Why is that Christians view the Devil as being significantly more proactive and organized than God? Oh, and the candy has been dedicated and prayed over by witches? Where? At the factories? During transport? At walmart? Is there some division of Mars Candy devoted entirely to dedicating candy to Satan? Think about this for 2 seconds and then consider that this woman may sincerely believe this to be true. Also, at what point is it safe to eat candy? Should I avoid all candy between September and December, or might there still be candy dedicated to Satan on the shelves a month after Halloween?

Even the colors of Halloween (orange, brown and dark red) are dedicated. These colors are connected to the fall equinox, which is around the 20th or 21st of September each year and is sometimes called "Mabon." During this season witches are celebrating the changing of the seasons from summer to fall. They give praise to the gods for the demonic harvest. They pray to the gods of the elements (air, fire, water and earth)

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Yes, the trees themselves are in on this Satanic conspiracy, changing colors to reflect the will of Satan. Also, what part of the country is she in that the colors of Halloween are not orange and black?

Mother earth is highly celebrated during the fall demonic harvest. Witches praise mother earth by bringing her fruits, nuts and herbs. Demons are loosed during these acts of worship. When nice church folk lay out their pumpkins on the church lawn, fill their baskets with nuts and herbs, and fire up their bonfires, the demons get busy. They have no respect for the church grounds. They respect only the sacrifice and do not care if it comes from believers or non-believers.

Really? Baskets of nuts and herbs? What the fuck is she talking about? What part of Halloween is that? I literally have no idea what she is talking about. None.
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Gathering around bonfires is a common practice in pagan worship. As I remember, the bonfires that I attended during homecoming week when I was in high school were always in the fall. I am amazed at how we ignorantly participate in pagan, occult rituals.

The gods of harvest that the witches worship during their fall festivals are the Corn King and the Harvest Lord. The devil is too stupid to understand that Jesus is the Lord of the Harvest 365 days a year. But we cannot be ignorant of the devices of the enemy. When we pray, we bind the powers of the strong men that people involved in the occult worship.

She's amazed that Homecoming occurs in the fall? How stupid is she?

Halloween is much more than a holiday filled with fun and tricks or treats. It is a time for the gathering of evil that masquerades behind the fictitious characters of Dracula, werewolves, mummies and witches on brooms. The truth is that these demons that have been presented as scary cartoons actually exist. I have prayed for witches who are addicted to drinking blood and howling at the moon.

Good to know you've prayed for liars repeating the bullshit sold by Warnke. Can you say "credulous"?

The word "occult" means "secret." The danger of Halloween is not in the scary things we see but in the secret, wicked, cruel activities that go on behind the scenes. These activities include:

• Sex with demons
• Orgies between animals and humans
• Animal and human sacrifices
• Sacrificing babies to shed innocent blood
• Rape and molestation of adults, children and babies
• Revel nights
• Conjuring of demons and casting of spells
• Release of "time-released" curses against the innocent and the ignorant.

Another abomination that goes on behind the scenes of Halloween is necromancy, or communication with the dead. Séances and contacting spirit guides are very popular on Halloween, so there is a lot of darkness lurking in the air.

none of the above is true. none of the above has ever happened. you are a liar or a fool, and i'm pretty sure your god had something to say about lying.

By the way, this is the description of the author:

Kimberly Daniels is a sought-after conference speaker and preacher. She is the founder of Kimberly Daniels Ministries International (kimberlydaniels.com), Spoken Word Ministries—the church she pastors in Jacksonville, Florida, with her husband, Ardell—A Child of the King Learning Center and Word Bible College. Kim is a recognized prophetic voice as well as the author of several books, including her most recent, Prayers that Bring Change (Charisma House).

She is a recognized prophetic voice- but she can't tell a pack of lies when she spews it. Interesting.

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God, the Devil and You

god, satan, devil, good, evil, christian, christianity, jesus, bible, religion, morality,
Daniel Florien at unreasonable faith wrote an interesting post on how christianity hinders maturity. That post inspired me to write on a topic that has long bothered me about christianity- and when I say "long", I mean since I could tell you how old I was using my fingers.

The point of Mr. Florien's post is that christianity externalizes morality. There is no goodness for goodness' sake- all morality comes from god, and without god no one is moral. Hence this frightening episode:

For example, one time I was talking with a pastor about atheism. He said, “Let me tell you something. If I wasn’t a Christian, I’d have no reason to be good. Live up life! If someone offended me, I’d kill them. If was attracted to a girl, I’d rape her. Why would I care? Without God, there is no morality.”

“Surely you’re exaggerating simply to make a point,” I replied. “I don’t think you’re capable of such a thing.”

He looked me in the eye and said, “I’m not exaggerating.”

What disturbs me is that not only does christianity externalize morality, it externalizes good and evil. (Just to avoid the inevitable "Ah-ha! I've got you! You really do believe in god!" comment, I am using "good" and "evil" in the generally accepted sense of the words. Everyone who speaks English knows exactly what I mean, and I'm not here to reinvent the wheel.) Every bad thing is the work of Satan, every good thing is the work of God. In case you're not familiar with the way fundys view Satan as a clear and present danger in our lives, review this poem. (If you're interested in poetry, go someplace else.)

I understand the urge to externalize evil. It isn't easy to look at oneself and say, "yes, that is who I am. I am capable of terrible things. In fact, I have done terrible things, because I wanted to." It is far easier to say, "I was weak and fell for the devil's ploys. That wasn't me, though. All I did was let the devil use me to further his plans."

The problem with this is that we cannot conquer evil unless each and every one of us admits that we are the evil. It is inside us all. It is our responsibility and ours alone. Christians make this impossible. They are like a small child who breaks a vase while alone in a room and then says, "ummmm . . . Timmy did it!"

The converse of "the devil made me do it" is "god made me do it"- the externalization of good. It is the natural byproduct of externalizing evil. Christians cannot look in the mirror and say, "I am the good. It is me. I do good things because I choose to and I can choose to do them every day." This, too, makes it difficult to conquer evil in our world. Christians simply shrug at this and say, "Well, if god wants good things to happen, they'll happen. If not, bad things will happen."

To the christian, humans are like living puppets, null states of morality, stuck in neutral until some greater force- god, satan- intervenes. Like any puppet, we are powerless to effectuate change, powerless to choose, forever condemned to being pulled this way or that as something else twitches our strings.

This view of humanity is so bleak, I wonder at those who choose it. Is personal responsibility really so frightening that trading it away is also worth giving up hope? My only possible conclusion is that the concept that we choose the good and the evil and that our choices change the world is too much for them. It is too much responsibility. It is frightening. What offers the atheist hope offers the christian only fear.

Where do we go from here?