Chucky was an 80's horror movie evil murderous killer doll. Scary, wasn't he?
But, he's just a made-up movie character.
What does murderous evil look like in real life? How about Ted Bundy? Jeffrey Dahmer? John Wayne Gacy? Charles Manson? Society would say these men were definitely "evil".
Evil is defined by the dictionary as "sinful" basically. So, these murderous evil men were...sinful. Likewise, "evil" is defined as sinful. Synonyms basically. And, no one would dispute that serial killers are evil and sinful.
But, despite their deep deep level of evil and sinfulness, they didn't kill every day. They were sneaky. Plotted. Planned. They did what they could to cover their crimes. Over their lives they killed up to a few dozen people. And, in Charles Manson's case, he didn't actually do any of the killing with his own hands but managed to manipulate others into doing it!
If you think about it, for people with such a blood lust...to live into middle age and only feed that desire once a year...once every 6 months? That's a lot of self control, isn't it?
Self control and self restraint are things we all have to learn growing up, right? I have to be able to picture myself not fitting into my clothes and understand the concept of calories and being made fat in the future by overeating in order to restrain myself from eating that brownie or that 2nd helping at meal time. Especially since I don't eat the brownie and get fat instantly. It's quite the mental process to be able to resist the pleasure of the food at this moment for some consequence months in the future.
Self restraint is something we all exercise and to some degree struggle with every day to some degree.
I have to be able to picture myself having my house foreclosed on...the heat shutting off, the water turning off, my kids starving, etc...to consider everything that could result in me losing my job and leading to all those other things...in order for me to shut my mouth when the temptation arises to tell the boss what I really think, right?
Evil men, like serial killers, while lacking something that allows them to commit these heinous crimes, are actually still controlled by a lot of things...mainly fear of getting caught. Fear of punishment. But, in order to have a fear of getting caught their brains must be able to process all of the possible consequences of their actions.
Most serial killers live "double lives" really, having a "normal" life by day and then doing these killings every so often. They have bills to pay and because their minds are able to process the "what ifs" of the future they have a fear of getting caught and punished and that keeps their evil desires in check to some degree.
These unfathomably evil serial killers may go for years without getting caught because their minds are mature enough to process the complex thoughts of "what if I get caught?" They are able to plan and execute their acts and then cover them up to such a degree that it's believed that at any time in the US there are at least 20 serial killers operating...who will never be caught.
Freaky, isn't it?
Can you imagine if people with this depth of evil had no fear of getting caught? What if they had no fear of punishment? What if they had no sense in their heads at all? What if they could not plot or plan or think of the future at all? What if they had no concept of "other" in their minds and could take no consideration of any other human being in their minds at any time? What if 24 hours a day they had no way to think about the future, cause and effect, and had no fear of consequences? What if? Can you imagine what they would do with their evil desires then?
If you think about it, children really have nothing to hinder them from their impulses, do they? Children have no self-restraint because their brains aren't able to process everything necessary to do that yet. Not for a long time. Although I've read books that really get into the whole biological development of the brain that explains this, I can't quote anything at the moment.
But, I can say from my own life's experience that it's clear that children can't plot or plan things. Children have no concept of "time" really. Children can't even comprehend or process, "We're going to Grandma's in 5 days" without being reminded day after day of how many "sleeps" they have left to wait. And, even after you tell them they have "x" more sleeps till Grandma's they'll inevitably ask, "Is it tomorrow?"
Anyone who has ever been around a small child can see that they have no concept of cause and effect. They will believe you if you tell them a fat guy in a red suit flies around the whole earth in one night to every child in the world and goes down tiny chimneys and leaves presents. They cannot question this story because they haven't got the brain power to.
They don't even have any concept of self-harm. What happens if you leave a ladder up and leave a toddler unattended near that ladder. Exactly! And, when you find that toddler at the very tippy top of that ladder and you tell them, "You could get hurt!" they have no idea what you mean. This was fun! If you ask, "What are you doing!?" They will just smile and think, "I'm climbing! I'm having fun!"
Now, can you imagine if children...were...evil?
Ahhh...now there's the kicker, huh? Maybe "you" do. Maybe you always have because this is what your church teaches? You were taught in Sunday School back when you were so little you still even believed in Santa...that Jesus died on the cross for YOUR sins because you were born sinful. You were taught that in Sunday School and by your Christian parents and at VBS. And, that's just what you've grown up believing?
But, have you ever seen a newborn baby? Ever been around a small baby? What do people feel inspired to say when they see a newborn?
a. What a sweet innocent baby!
b. What a vile evil creature!
I think they call this type of thing, "the elephant in the room."
Children are curious. Curiosity isn't sinful.
Children are little dry sponges experiencing new things all the time. Learning is not sinful.
If you observe children it's clear that what they want to do is experience things and explore...not destroy and kill.
Children don't spring forth from the womb with self-restraint but that doesn't make them sinful. It makes them helpless.
It disgusts me, actually, how many Christians in the world believe that children are born sinful. It's such a powerful modern belief that many modern Bible versions have been purposely mis-translated in order to prove this doctrine.
But, just try to think about what children would really be like if they were evil...if they were sinful...
Children have none of the mechanisms available in their brains to restrain them the way Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer did. Children have no concepts of other. No concept of cause and effect.
If children were born evil...if they were born with sin in them...they'd be monsters...
(Even Hollywood knows this...if you think about it...in the Twilight series...it was against the "vampire law" to create a child vampire for this very reason - because children have no restraint.)
Sadly, Christians see children attempting to satisfy God-given desires as "sinful". If a child cries to be held...this is the child's sinful nature coming out. If a child attempts to touch something they're curious about that they're not to touch this is "Adam coming out in them." If a child reacts with frustration to a situation they're not mature enough to navigate, it's their sinful natures coming out.
If that's what you think...if you think that crying out to be held...or curiosity about the world...or not knowing how to handle your frustrations...nailed Jesus to the cross...you have no idea what sin is...
And, if you have no idea what sin is...how could you have ever repented of it...
Time to think outside the Christian box you've been believing in...because there isn't a place in the world that has not been negatively affected by this horrible doctrine...
Click here for more about "Original Sin"
Weeds in your child's garden
Changing God's Word (as in the awful NIV)
Your body knows
The rod as an instrument of protection
Scratched vs Dented and Pure
Was God obligated to save us?
