My Chains Are Gone

In the beginning was the Word…John 1:1

From the very first line of his gospel, John sets the record straight. The logos (the word) is the essence behind the word. The beginning of the beginning, is Jesus. 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, verse 14. Aware of the world in which he lived, John, guided by the Holy Spirit proclaimed the good news: Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!Verse 29. 

God knows what the world needs. A Savior who will by His amazing grace break the chains of false doctrines and set people free!

Pagan justification, the desire to justify his own conscience, will cause humans to blame someone else. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. The serpent blamed the Creator. Eventually all who sin blame God. At least their concept of God. “I am this way because God made me this way.” This is their excuse. This is the transgender argument. Either way is not their fault. 

Eventually the idea was adopted by Greek and Roman mythology. Humans were at the whim of the gods. Men and women were merely pawns in a cosmic battle for power. “It’s not my fault the gods made me do it.”

Mythology made its way into Greek philosophy namely stoicism. Stoics believed virtue is the highest good and is based upon knowledge. Through knowledge alone wise humans live in harmony with divine reason, identified as Fate and Providence. It is these, fate and providence, that govern all humanity. They are indifferent to the misfortune, pleasure, or pain of all humanity. “What did you expect of me? Fate made me do it.”