Did you know that the word “Satan” means “accuser”? It is the Bible’s way of naming a great delusion all humanity suffers. We suffer from the lie of accusation. This means that we think the other is the problem. We think other people, situations, life itself are the problem. And so, we accuse everything and everyone. We think evil is over there, in the other. We do not recognize that we are the problem. We do not see that evil is within us. Because we are blind to our own complicity in evil, we believe that the only response to evil is to squash it, destroy it, and make it go away. This is called “the myth of redemptive violence”: we deal with evil by killing it, blowing it up, wiping it out. This myth has cast a shadow over every people, tribe, nation, and country. In fact, this myth shows up in our movies! Name any action movie and you will definitely see the myth brought to life. Jesus reveals this myth for what it is: a lie. And, Jesus shows us the best way to respond to all the evil and pain in the world: forgiveness, mercy, and holding the pain so God can use it to change you: is this not what Jesus did on the cross?
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