I am often fascinated by tactics of the enemy. Satan is a master manipulator, who has been around a long time, but there’s this interesting tactic that he used in the garden:
God: “You may freely eat from any tree, except for the tree of Knowledge, otherwise you’ll die”
Satan: “Did God really say that you couldn’t eat from any tree?”
Eve: “We can eat from any tree, but we can’t even touch the tree of Knowledge”
Why was it important for satan to convince Eve that she couldn’t touch the tree? Why was satan trying to paint God as someone who was so rigid?
I can see this tactic applied in a myriad of ways. Religion itself is based around this simple manipulation tactic: add more rules than God did, and put words in His mouth. In this way, you can deceive mankind in two ways: first, his view of God will be shattered, and second, his view of himself will be shattered.
We need to be incredibly vigilant then, that we don’t “add or take away anything” from the Bible. And this is where pretty much every conservative church denomination would echo an “amen” and I’d get that approving look from a pastor — until you bring it uncomfortably home:
The Bible doesn’t directly forbid premarital sex.
… Continue reading Does the abstinence doctrine really exist in the Bible?