Something I've been thinking about recently is how a lot of the evils that we see nowadays are likely not random, but are instead very purposefully done by the enemy, and not only for the simple sake of evil but also as a very deliberate and targeted attack. I've heard that the plagues in Egypt were each targeted towards a specific god of theirs in order to systematically demonstrate our God's power. That, I think, is what is being done here, except that it is targeted against God's attributes, and thus against God Himself, not just us.
I've previously held the belief that the enemy attacks us in order to hurt God, but this perspective is leading me to the belief that the enemy is attacking God far more directly.
The following are some of the attributes that are being or have already been attacked:
The Husband
This one is, perhaps, most familiar to the people in this group.
First, polygyny was dismantled. God describes Himself as polygynous.
Then, headship/authority was dismantled, first to equality and then to a role reversal. God is in authority over us, not the other way around.
Next, marriage itself is being dismantled, with divorce having become common, and many choosing to be in temporary relationships. God says He is faithful, even if we are not.
Multiple men in a sexual relationship also attacks this attribute. Marriage is a shadow of our relationship with God, and having multiple men therefore symbolizes multiple gods, but there is no one like our God.
The Father
We have seen this in multiple ways:
The King
A monarchy is often looked down upon, tyrant kings are often remembered, and good kings forgotten. I know that I personally prefer democracy over a monarchy because I feel it reduces the scope of the evil that can be done in comparison. But God describes Himself as the King of kings. How many real kings are there nowadays? I don't know much about England politics, but how much does the king (previously queen) actually lead the country?
The Master
Slavery was done away with a while back (not everywhere), and is widely agreed upon to be evil. And when it is practiced, it is commonly done in evil ways. Yet God calls us His slaves, and Himself our Master.
The Friend
In recent times a "friend" is an account on a social media site, and that friendship has very little depth. Even outside of online relationships, it seems to be more common now that friendships are shallow, mostly for entertainment, and lack the depth necessary for the idea of laying one's life down for a friend. How often is it now that friends will cease communicating because of disagreements, if they ever get deep enough to find disagreements? How many friends call a friend out on their beliefs or behaviour, or even know them well enough to assess those things?
Yet, God is a friend. I don't know if He can be called a friend of all believers, but He was definitely a friend to some. And He laid down His life for us.
The dismantling of this one feels more recent, and less matured.
The Counselor
I don't know much in this area, but I would speculate that counselors have generally become more focused on validation than on providing counsel to improve oneself. But God is not afraid to call us out and provide wisdom.
The Shepherd
How many people know what the work of a shepherd is like? How many people have even seen sheep? Farming now is so far removed from people, and is often in big farms that don't resemble what God would have been comparing things to. He is our Shepherd, we shall not want. How many people know what the staff is for, or know that a shepherd might purposefully break the legs of his sheep to keep them close? I only know the latter because of hearsay, and am not confident of its truth.
The Image
In more recent times we have transgenderism becoming commonplace, which seeks to destroy that which was created in His image. Yes, it replaces it with something that looks like a different aspect of His image (becoming the opposite gender), but it is always a pale imitation, a lie.
Love
God not only loves, but is Love. It is a descriptor of Him, because it can only be understood by knowing Him, just like the definition of "good" comes from what God determines is good.
But "love" is being perverted to mean strange things, like accepting people "just the way they are" without desiring improvement ("tolerance").
Love is said to be those butterflies that one feels, and when those go away then the love is gone. But God loved us when we did evil. He loved Israel when they abandoned Him.
Love is also said to not be in authority over someone, to not tell people what to do. But God uses His authority for our benefit, because He wants what's best for us.
Others?
God has many attributes, and I can't think of them all. I imagine there are others that have been destroyed over time, and others that haven't yet been attacked. For example, I think "the Creator" is still fairly safe, since human creators appear to be treated mostly the same as always, but transgenderism does attack this somewhat as well.
I'm not sure yet of the implications, nor of a practical application.
Thoughts?
I've previously held the belief that the enemy attacks us in order to hurt God, but this perspective is leading me to the belief that the enemy is attacking God far more directly.
The following are some of the attributes that are being or have already been attacked:
The Husband
This one is, perhaps, most familiar to the people in this group.
First, polygyny was dismantled. God describes Himself as polygynous.
Then, headship/authority was dismantled, first to equality and then to a role reversal. God is in authority over us, not the other way around.
Next, marriage itself is being dismantled, with divorce having become common, and many choosing to be in temporary relationships. God says He is faithful, even if we are not.
Multiple men in a sexual relationship also attacks this attribute. Marriage is a shadow of our relationship with God, and having multiple men therefore symbolizes multiple gods, but there is no one like our God.
The Father
We have seen this in multiple ways:
- absent fathers (single mothers), but God is present
- fathers not training their sons, but God disciplines those He loves
The King
A monarchy is often looked down upon, tyrant kings are often remembered, and good kings forgotten. I know that I personally prefer democracy over a monarchy because I feel it reduces the scope of the evil that can be done in comparison. But God describes Himself as the King of kings. How many real kings are there nowadays? I don't know much about England politics, but how much does the king (previously queen) actually lead the country?
The Master
Slavery was done away with a while back (not everywhere), and is widely agreed upon to be evil. And when it is practiced, it is commonly done in evil ways. Yet God calls us His slaves, and Himself our Master.
The Friend
In recent times a "friend" is an account on a social media site, and that friendship has very little depth. Even outside of online relationships, it seems to be more common now that friendships are shallow, mostly for entertainment, and lack the depth necessary for the idea of laying one's life down for a friend. How often is it now that friends will cease communicating because of disagreements, if they ever get deep enough to find disagreements? How many friends call a friend out on their beliefs or behaviour, or even know them well enough to assess those things?
Yet, God is a friend. I don't know if He can be called a friend of all believers, but He was definitely a friend to some. And He laid down His life for us.
The dismantling of this one feels more recent, and less matured.
The Counselor
I don't know much in this area, but I would speculate that counselors have generally become more focused on validation than on providing counsel to improve oneself. But God is not afraid to call us out and provide wisdom.
The Shepherd
How many people know what the work of a shepherd is like? How many people have even seen sheep? Farming now is so far removed from people, and is often in big farms that don't resemble what God would have been comparing things to. He is our Shepherd, we shall not want. How many people know what the staff is for, or know that a shepherd might purposefully break the legs of his sheep to keep them close? I only know the latter because of hearsay, and am not confident of its truth.
The Image
In more recent times we have transgenderism becoming commonplace, which seeks to destroy that which was created in His image. Yes, it replaces it with something that looks like a different aspect of His image (becoming the opposite gender), but it is always a pale imitation, a lie.
Love
God not only loves, but is Love. It is a descriptor of Him, because it can only be understood by knowing Him, just like the definition of "good" comes from what God determines is good.
But "love" is being perverted to mean strange things, like accepting people "just the way they are" without desiring improvement ("tolerance").
Love is said to be those butterflies that one feels, and when those go away then the love is gone. But God loved us when we did evil. He loved Israel when they abandoned Him.
Love is also said to not be in authority over someone, to not tell people what to do. But God uses His authority for our benefit, because He wants what's best for us.
Others?
God has many attributes, and I can't think of them all. I imagine there are others that have been destroyed over time, and others that haven't yet been attacked. For example, I think "the Creator" is still fairly safe, since human creators appear to be treated mostly the same as always, but transgenderism does attack this somewhat as well.
I'm not sure yet of the implications, nor of a practical application.
Thoughts?
