Lies Women Believe…About Sin

Lies Women Believe | …About Themselves

Is It Terminal?

If there was a WebMD Symptom Checker for Spirituality, everyone’s number one diagnosis would be Satan Cancer. Just can’t get your kids to behave? Satan. Feeling like your marriage has lost “it” and can’t get it back? Satan. Relapsing into destructive behaviors? Satan. And why is Satan so prevalent today, class? Well, because Eve, the prototype woman, made it so that everyone would get Satan Cancer for the rest of eternity. But what about Treatments? What do The Doctors say?

Let’s look at sin from the viewpoint of the controller, and then from the viewpoint of the spiritual seeker:

I Can Sin And Get Away With It

Every kid thinks they’re too clever to be caught – the dog did it, their sibling did it, it just happened all on its own. But adults see through it, usually, and dole out the appropriate sentence of timeout, or apologizing, or cleaning something. It’s not necessarily about punishment as it is to show that there are consequences for our actions, and our society has some pretty basic rules about what actions are “good” and “bad”.

Consider the Ten Commandments:

The first five are about the Jews’ relationship with God and the latter five are about their relationship with each other; that’s where we have “thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not covet, or steal”…The Commandments dealing with interpersonal relationships are pretty standard societal rules with legal ramifications for breaking these. I mean, the Jews weren’t (and still aren’t) solely a religion but a culture. Moses lays out how the rules of their society work, via divine utterance, and we see a similar idea with the Divine Mandate in Ancient China – God says I’m the real leader. God says not to kill each other, and God can strike you dead by opening up the earth and having it swallow you whole, or by turning you into a pillar of salt.

For those in power, what God has to say can make or break people’s persuasion of their leadership. Back to the Old Testament, think when Moses was receiving the tablets and his people were building a golden calf idol to another god. Those who were left in charge (cough, his brother Aaron, cough) persuaded the Jews to melt down all their gold belongings and build this “other god” who could get the job done, because Moses had been gone so long on Mount Sinai. Spoiler alert: Moses was so furious when he returned that he smashed the tablets and had to go back and get some more. Guess which god won the popular vote of fear?

When Christianity became the geopolitical power through the Romans, their council of elders and papal claims and the like reinforced the same idea that if the new-found Christians (everyone in the Roman Christendom because they were declared Christians by law) didn’t shape up, God would “get them” – paraphrasing, obviously, but that’s how the New World explorers were able to steal all the natives’ gold and build glorious Cathedrals where the lower class, poor indigenous could come to beg forgiveness (for not being European, or wealthy, or educated, whatever there are books about this).

But the moral of the story is: you can’t get away with “sin”, unless the glove really doesn’t fit because we use this thing called due process where someone is innocent until proven guilty. Society takes care of what is unacceptable today, or at least it tries to. There are plenty of ways in which power is exploited. That’s how police officers can get away with murdering young black men or raping women. That’s how politicians can pocket bribes and let Big Oil or Big Pharma destroy the little guy. But sometimes, like with the Wells Fargo scandal, the system still metes out punishment as it should.

Spiritually speaking, I think we should update to the new OS: The Beatitudes.

In The New Testament, Jesus describes blessings upon eight different “types” of people, and instead of a punishment/reward system, Jesus brings character and spiritual “rehab” guidance to the table. (Not unlike how countries like the Netherlands reject the Carceral State.)

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

~Matthew 5, NAS

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus outlines what our spiritual journey should look like. We need to be aware of our spiritual poverty (that there is work for us to do), and in this spiritual poverty, sorrow at not yet achieving true peace should spur our journey onward. We must be gentle in our spirits, or meek as other versions translate. One commentator describes: “Meekness is patience in the reception of injuries. It is neither meanness nor a surrender of our rights, nor cowardice; but it is the opposite of sudden anger, of malice, of long-harbored vengeance.[x]” On our spiritual journey, we must have patience in the obstacles in our journey and remain humble and aware of that sorrow of insufficient peace.

In fact, our spiritual seeking is so important, that we must keep it at the forefront of our selves, too. We need to approach interpersonal interactions with this spiritual awareness, because that spiritual peace we are looking to attain cannot be sourced through another self but through the Spirit, and with this humility, do we empathize with human suffering and work to alleviate it. Our motives, actions, and principles need to be pure and spirit-driven, lessening our selves, alleviating others’, and lifting spirits. Out of this state, we must “strive to prevent contention, strife, and war[x]”, and in our spiritual journey, we may face opposition. But if we take all the previous guidance into account, we would see that this opposition to our spirits should be met with patience, meekness, humility, and empathy. Like turning the other cheek, so to speak.

It’s not about us seeking conflict for our spirits, and others may not like our journey – but we’re all on our separate paths, that each of us is independently responsible for. Whatever their spiritual path looks like, it is not their place to judge you for yours or your place to judge theirs. Approach these clashings as a privilege of your spiritual journey because with all this guidance in mind, we will obtain that unity of spirit with Spirit.

DeMoss uses an archaic, oppressive view of the Bible and tells you to live in fear of consequences and punishment. It’s just a reinforcement of the age-old control tactics, and that’s not what spirituality is about. That’s what this religion has devolved into.

My Sin Isn’t Really That Bad

DeMoss encourages you to compare yourself to others, as if Christianity is a competition. It’s not just about the “serious” sins of “being a prostitute or having an abortion or living a homosexual lifestyle” but also about the lesser sins of “wasting time, self-protection, talking too much, eating or drinking too much, a sharp tongue, a critical spirit, overspending, fear, worry, selfish motives, or complaining”. You simply cannot win. You are always sinning.

DeMoss distracts from the Beatitudes I just went over. Where does she describe what Jesus actually outlines as the spiritual journey? She doesn’t. It’s just more control brain-washing, line after line.

How about we decriminalize sex work? Roe v. Wade determined that society says it’s not our place to make decisions about a woman’s body, and society also determined that homosexuality isn’t a “lifestyle” by granting same-sex marriage licenses as constitutional.

You’re just mad that your “side” is the losing one. You invented this competition, and now you’re being edged out, DeMoss. It’s that Butterfly Effect of sin, from Eve to overeating to being depressed to a husband cheating, except that society is advancing more quickly than your Christianity. Instead of DeMoss using her presence to positively guide others through their spiritual journey, she shoves shame and guilt down their throats. Because the Puritans were the epitome of Christianity due to their “commitment to holiness and obedience”.

God Can’t Forgive What I Have Done

Interestingly, the Bible never speaks of the need to forgive ourselves. But what I think many of these women [who believe this lie] are really saying is that they have never been able to feel forgiven for what they have done. They are still carrying a sense of guilt and shame over their failure.

Well, like, I don’t know, but you are literally comparing every woman to Eve and her failure constantly throughout this book. Sounds like God never forgave her, so why would they believe he can forgive these women either?

They find it difficult to accept God’s mercy and forgiveness. They feel that in order to be restored into favor and fellowship with God there is something further they must do to atone for their sin; that they must do “penance”…

Oh. Well. Maybe that’s because you and tons of other Christians make women feel like utter shit. The power to forgive ourselves can’t come from within. Only God’s judgment can do that. (Except when it comes to others, we’re supposed to be able to forgive them…So, wait, why can’t we forgive ourselves?)

Listen, if you’re struggling with believing that God will forgive you, he already has. That’s why Jesus became the sacrificial redemption mediator. That’s actually what sets Christianity apart from Judaism – belief that Jesus is the final sacrifice for sins. And with the Beatitudes, we understand that sin is not living the spiritual journey outlined above.

God loves you and wants your spirit to commune with their Spirit. You are already forgiven. Now, go live your best life and work your way down that spiritual path.

I Am Not Fully Responsible For My Actions And Reactions

Sigh. Responsibility and accountability are important. We’ve seen this already, but there’s a difference in shifting blame unnecessarily and incorrectly and simply refusing that burden. Each spiritual journey to peace can only be traveled alone, and we all need to travel it. That’s how we make the world a better, safer, more tranquil place for our selves and spirits alike.

But DeMoss, again, gets the picture wrong. She uses an anecdote from a depressed woman to prove that the reason why you’re mentally ill is because you simply are blaming someone else for your problems.

When we are angry, depressed, bitter, annoyed, impatient, or fearful, our natural response is to shift at least some of the responsibility onto the people or circumstances that “made” us that way.

DeMoss is very good at weaving harmful ideologies into common sense, and that’s a tricky trap. We do need to hold ourselves accountable for our own emotions and actions, but when we are told to take responsibility for things like depression, or anxiety, or mania, we disregard that these are symptoms of an illness. Overspending by itself isn’t an illness, but when it’s combined with compulsion, a feeling of loss of self-control, high energy, maybe crashing or extremely low periods (depends on your own flavor of bipolar disorder), overspending becomes a facet of a mental illness, caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. The way to help overcome this imbalance isn’t admonishment and prayer but therapy, medication, or whatever other methods you and your doctors decide are best for your own health.

But DeMoss points us back to our WebMD Symptom Checker for Spirituality and declares overspending as part of your Satan Cancer:

The Enemy tells us that if we accept full responsibility for our own choices, we will be plagued with unnecessary guilt. The Truth is that only by accepting full responsibility for our actions and attitudes can we ever be fully free from guilt.

A chemical imbalance isn’t a choice. And some things aren’t even chemical imbalances, just another way that a human can be a human. You also have the right to let some things go. If it’s unhealthy to dwell on certain things, you don’t have to keep it in your life. This includes people.

(Cough, I think if I get any angrier, I’ll have to drop this DeMoss Crusade, cough)

I Cannot Walk In Consistent Victory Over Sin

Nor can DeMoss use she/her pronouns to talk about a true believer: “The person who does not have any such desire should question whether he has even been truly converted.” WHY THOUGH. This is a book for women, by a woman. Why can’t you use a woman with feminine pronouns to exemplify things?

Look, if the Beatitudes proved anything at all, it’s that the “walk” part means it’s a journey. Ever gone for a hike in the woods? Is the trail always smooth and free of tree roots or muddy puddles? No – unless it hasn’t rained or the area isn’t near a river, but this is beside the point. Do or do not, there is no try; you are either walking in this spiritual journey to find peace or you aren’t. It takes constant head space to work toward that spiritual serenity, and if we can take a note from the Buddha here, it didn’t happen just once or overnight. It took a lifetime of achieving nirvana and maintaining the path.

We need to remind our spirits of our spiritual poverty and that there is more growth to be done; that our spirits ache for the peace we all need; that we need to be patient in our journey, in others’, to be free of anger; that we need to source our encouragement to continue through the Spirit; that we need to empathize with suffering and work to alleviate it; that we need to be pure and spirit-driven when striving for peace; that we will stumble over opposition but not to seek conflict for our spirits; that we will not judge others; that we are achieving unity of spirit.

We can use meditation or prayer to help quiet our bodies and minds so that our spirits can have more space to freely seek out peace. We can use guidance, from texts or nature or signs, to connect our spirits with others. We can speak and listen to others on their own paths for insight.

Sin is the separation from unity with the Spirit (God, spiritual tranquility, enlightenment), and our own individual peace depends upon a connection with this Spirit – this peace ripples outward, with spiritual strength and development within. The Beatitudes are Jesus’ guidance to achieve this, and so too, through Jesus’ metaphorical redemption and his teachings, can we achieve spiritual communion and create a better, safer, more tranquil world.

Lies Women Believe…About Priorities

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Read my own response to this post here.