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Who are you going to blame?
Blame is a funny word, with an even stranger connotation. The true meaning is to assign fault, but in my personal experience, blame has become a word for passing off fault. Blame has become an excuse or state of denial; a constant safe place, one can run as a means of avoiding the true fault.
Today, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to their opponents the Cincinnati Bengals. As a die-hard Steeler fan, whom can I blame for this unfounded sports result? Obviously, the Steelers can do no wrong and therefore, it is not their fault they lost. Perhaps the Bengals got lucky? Or perhaps for a change, Marvin Lewis and Carson Palmer actually paid attention and did their job? I could certainly blame my boyfriend for rooting for the wrong team; after all if we had one more Steelers fan in the house, they would have won. Or perhaps, this game was simply the result of chance; neither team did any blatant “wrong” and there is no blame to be assigned (even to my boyfriend). In my experience with human nature, this is simply not an option.
Not once is it an option that there is such a thing as “accidental” or “circumstantial.” There is always someone to blame when things go wrong. Even if there is no person to find a fault with, God is always up for grabs as a worthy option for blame. In 2001 my grandmother died in a severe car accident as a result of swerving to miss a loose dog. As one of the persons who, in a sense, lost in the situation, it was my job to assign blame. I could blame the dog, for sitting in the road; I could blame the irresponsible owner for leaving their dog unrestrained; I could blame Toyota Car Company for not making a more crash worthy vehicle; I could even blame the state of Indiana for not putting a guardrail by the ditch in which my grandmother’s car flipped. However, none of these objects of blame seem nearly as tempting as the alternative: God.
It was God’s fault my grandmother died. His fault the dog was loose. His fault the family even owned the dog in the first place. His fault the car company did not make a better car. And yes, it was even God’s fault the state of Indiana had no guardrail by the ditch. Right?
Wrong. The truth I have come to over the past seven years is this simple fact: it was an accident. While I do believe God could have saved my grandmother’s life as she lay in the hospital seven years ago, I do not believe he caused her death. It was an accident.
This word accident is not so funny as the word blame. When there is spilled milk, we say, “I’m sorry, it was an accident.” Do we still blame then? Not always. So when the Pittsburg Steelers lose to the Cincinnati Bengals, can they walk into the locker room and say, “I’m sorry, it was an accident?” Or when death or misfortune of any kind occurs and we cry to God in pain, can He say, “I’m sorry, it was an accident?” This pathetic statement is so easily accepted for trivial coincidence, but so widely cursed for major misfortune.
In honor of this backwards idea, I’m starting a revolution. Stop passing off blame to the nearest individual. Stop finding fault with God as an excuse to avoid where the true blame lies. Instead, accept the words accident, circumstantial, and coincidence. Not every event in life needs to have blame assigned to it. Let’s start accepting the fact that maybe accidents really do happen.
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This article has 21 comments.
Sometimes, however, blaming others, from individuals to certain groups, is neccessary. There are situations were blame is neccessary, but it can be shared. If you take a test and get a bad grade, of course you blame yourself, because you took the test, but maybe the teacher didn't teach well enough? (it does happen). If you share the blame, and do it a certain way, blame helps those who are at fault to change what went wrong. If it was the teacher, then they should try another method of teaching or concentrate more on that student. The student should take the initiative to try harder. Blame helps us learn. It doesn't have to be agressive, but it helps us move forward and improve.
You post a great point! I have been wondering this myself recently. I'm glad to hear this... you were mad at someone then... goes to show that you actually believed there was someone to be mad at.
And you're right. It is not an accident. It was all in God's will for your grandmother. While it was tragic, and terrible just the same. It was no accident... and I wouldn't say God's "fault"... He has no fault. But He did allow it to happen, hopefully for the glorification of Himself. There is sadness... there is pain... but ultimately, you can rest assured that it was God's will. It was your grandmother's time to go. And it was the way God wanted her TO go...
Thanks for this, it is challenging!
The wisdom of Epicurus has definitely withstood the test of time. However, much of the Christian wisdom that was once famed and accepted as basic truth hasn't.
I enjoyed this article. It's true - we always need someone to blame, don't we? It's in the human nature to place the burden and responsibility for our troubles on the shoulders of someone or something else, yet so often we fail to realize what we are doing and how we might hurt ourselves and others by it.
Let's assume, as the Christian religion does, that a being supposedly exists known a "God". This being is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. This being created the universe.
Now, tell me: How is it that a being which knew(omniscient) that if they created the world in the way that they did, while they had the choice not to(omnipotent), that terrible things would come about as a result, how is it not that being's fault that such terrible things occurred, when it holds it all in the palm of it's hand completely and entirely? Accidents occur when a situation is not under control. When something is not purposefully done. God purposefully created the universe in the fashion that it is in and was/is in control the whole time. Accident? Not by any reasonable definition of the word.
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Favorite Quote:
"If you keep on picking on me, I'll mess up again. This time, on PURPOSE."