Rape is morally wrong and morally evil. In your concern post that is evil. This does not mean that Human beings are born with evil as you said to rape. The correct term is original sin which is cleansed in baptism and life united with Jesus Christ. Where could an evil act like rape come from? It comes from an outside evil source namely Lucifer and deliberately chose out of free will. This is not what life meant to be. All humanity is called by God through Jesus Christ to do good.
I hope it becomes more clearer to your concern.
This does not mean that Human beings are born with evil as you said to rape.
I’m not sure where the idea of infant Baptism washing away original sin comes from, but whatever such Baptism does, it doesn’t change the inherent condition of the heart. It was my understanding that infant Baptism was a promise before God to raise the child up on the Word of God (with a double insurance of that in electing godparents).
My heart certainly wasn’t cleansed by infant Baptism, but the evil within me was surely stifled by a parochial education and parents who did their best to instill civilized behavior from Biblical direction.
The greatest hurdle I had in my deep desire to Understand the anger that was within me was to make the transition from looking at someone who had comitted a heinous crime and saying, “Not me!” to saying, “I Am That.” The only difference between me and Hitler, a rapist or Vlad the Impaler is the outward expression of the thoughts of the heart. Unlove is unlove - thought, word or deed.
It often takes a major ‘driver change’ for us to be slapped up side the head to the evil withn us. The person who gets drunk (relinquishing consciousness to the imp) who then kills, for instance. When I had alcoholic blackouts, who was driving the bus of my body as it continued to act? But we don’t need alcohol or major psychotic break to bring the imp to the forefront. Awareness is the answer.
As many authors have expressed, the imp/ego usually does a gradual takeover or a ‘comfortale truce’ (death by self-righteousness). Like the proverbial frog gradually boiled alive. The object is to become aware of being manipulated
from within. Before I can be Saved, I must first be grass-roots-convinced that I am, beyond doubt, in need of a Savior.
I don’t know all the ways that our ‘life force’ is poured out/decreased/depleted, but I do know that sexual release, crocodile tears, cruel laughter, and any release of anger are some major ones. (One of my favorites was sarcasm.) There’s a big difference between crocodile tears that release a build-up of self-pity/anger and:
“The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah.” (lyrics, Amy Grant)
I’m not saying that typical crying (and other outlets) aren’t useful in the natural so that people don’t ‘explode’ - **
but when one knows the path to having that energy redirected for spiritual growth, the light of Clarity come on in amazing ways. How does Salt lose its power/savor/potency? And, once it has become dull/depleted, how to have it restored? No one on the outside bleeds us dry - we unwittingly allow it to be done to us from within.
If we want to discover the source of evil, we need to look with
rigorous honesty within ourselves. “I’ve met the enemy - it is within.”
The ‘living sacrifice’ is the false Self. But, as Andrew Womack so humorously puts it, “Living sacriffices have a tendency to keep crawling off the altar.”
** Simply abstaining for any outlet for emotional distress can have unintended negative consequences. And when ‘doing it wrong’ causes us to fail, we lose confidence in our ability to experience lasting changes.
