Those folks are responsible for all of this SH-T!

Unfortunately, when a human society is experiencing stress or problems of any kind, it has been a time-honored tradition to blame it all on some group or individual. We call it scapegoating. It turns out that accepting responsibility and blame when things go wrong is extremely unpopular among most societies. It is much more satisfying and comfortable to imagine that what we are suffering is the fault of THOSE people! Down through the centuries, Europeans have singled out Jews and Gypsies as the source of their problems. American Fundamentalists point to homosexuals, pro-choice folks, feminists, and immigrants as the source of all of America's problems. In other words, God is punishing us for their wickedness!

Obviously, when it's fags, Jews, or immigrants who are responsible for this sh-t, it can't be anything that I or my tribe have done. Immigrants are poisoning our blood, and gay folks are destroying our families. When it's them, it can't be us! It's much easier to blame the immigrants for stealing our jobs than it is to deal with corporate greed, new technologies, and global competition as the sources of our changing job market. It's much easier to blame the immigrants for siphoning off societal resources than it is to address the spending and funding difficulties that are the real sources of our difficulties. If gay folks and feminists are destroying our families, we don't have to look at adultery, domestic abuse, alcoholism and drug addiction, divorce and remarriage, custody battles, cell phone use, and a whole host of other behaviors which are the real culprits behind the demise of the traditional family.

Scripture also makes clear that the bad things which happen to us aren't always the consequence of someone's or some group's sinning. The book of Job informs us that suffering and pain aren't always the consequence of bad behavior. According to the Gospels, Jesus also told his disciples that suffering and pain weren't always the result of bad behavior (Luke 13:1-5, John 9:1-3). Likewise, the stories about Sodom and Gomorrah, Israel, and Nineveh make clear that God is very reluctant to employ collective punishments. In other words, according to the Bible, God is very reluctant to punish the innocent with the wicked!

Hence, we can see that both logic and Scripture dictate that we NOT seek out scapegoats to blame for our problems. Indeed, as Christians, we should strive to follow Christ's commandment to his disciples: "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5, ESV) As flawed humans, we know that we often delude ourselves and do not have the ability to accurately discern the motivations and workings of the hearts of our fellow travelers on this planet. Likewise, unlike God, we simply cannot see the end of all things. In other words, some of the things which seem like great trials and tribulations in the present, may result in very positive consequences for us and the folks that we love someday!