Peanut Gallery: Today’s reading from Luke 3 on the “Temptation of Jesus,” reminded me of this post by John Hawkins. The temptation to cross moral boundaries lies at the heart of our very human struggle with sin. Hawkins’ article gives us some stop signs to watch out for.
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5 Moral Boundaries You Do Not Want To Cross by John Hawkins (December 9, 2012)  (click here for original article posted in pjmedia.com)

“Man is the cruelest animal.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“To understand evil, we must set aside the comfortable belief that we would never do anything wrong. Instead, we must begin to ask ourselves, what would it take for me to do such things? Assume that it would be possible.” — Roy Baumeister

Many people consider monsters like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin somehow uniquely evil. They imagine them as malevolent, abominable, nearly inhuman entities who spent their days scheming to inflict misery on other humans for the sheer sadistic pleasure of it.

The truth is much more terrifying: human beings as evil and ruthless as Hitler, Stalin, and Mao are so common that we pass them on the street daily, see them on TV, and may even have the misfortune of knowing them personally. The real difference between these notorious butchers and the guy in a federal prison is not so much the degree of depravity, but the unchecked power needed to make his darkest desires reality.

Once you set aside Hollywood’s caricatured portrait of evil and accept the normalcy of villainy, you see how a “normal person” just like you or me could embrace evil. Moreover, sometimes the shift from human to fiend can have murky beginnings. Some people step over a line and come back. Others follow that tragic path described by C.S. Lewis,

The safest road to Hell is the gradual one — the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

Here, at least, are a few signposts that will alert you to stop, pause, and take stock to make sure you’re not on that gentle slope. Continue reading “RE-Blog: “5 Moral Boundaries You Do Not Want To Cross” by John Hawkins” →