Video Transcript: Critical Blame Theory

Henry - So we're back in this is an interesting one. Topic six, critical blame  theory. I didn't know that critical blame theory was even maybe it's an old theory  that we never heard of before.  

Steve - I think it's a study that shouldn't be done. Right? I don't know if it is. But  anyway, know what this is, though, I think I think you're gonna relate to this. So  number one, everything relates to somebody owes me. Two, those with the  power are to blame for all the problems that I have in life. Interesting. No one is  at fault. And everyone is at fault. Current social manifestations. We got defund  the police, we got to empty the jails. We got open the borders, or close the  borders, more government, maybe less government.  

Henry - You know, actually, now I relate to this. I mean, if you read the news  media is it's always their fault, their fault. We have an entire industry, liability  insurance industries that have tried to soften the blow of critical blame theory.  

Steve - So everyone's blaming everyone. On the one hand, it's not my fault. It's  my parents fault. It's the school's fault. It's the government's fault. It's my  teachers fault. It's my neighbor's fault. It's, it's God's fault, because he gave me  this body or, you know, the DNA that I have. On the one hand, on the other  hand, if I, if if if people do something wrong, it's nobody's fault. It's somehow that person was born with that, and then what they can't help it. And so it's like, we  go both ways with this, blame thing.  

Henry – Genesis 3, Did God really say that you cannot use this fruit and now  God's at fault. And then later on, God confronts them when they have fallen and  it's the woman? No, it's the serpent tempted us. It's his fault. And ultimately,  they're trying to make the case it's God, right.  

Steve - Ultimately, it comes back to that, whether you believe in God or not, it's  it's not my fault, right? Well, where does this blame culture come from where  does this somebody should do it for me culture come from? That's an interesting question. If there is no God, and no morality, based on something higher than  ourselves, then all there is left is ME. So what are we saying?  

Henry - You know, I interpret that to mean, that. Look, I just got to be thinking  about myself. I mean, because everybody else somehow, messed with me.  Right? So I'm not gonna mess with others.  

Steve - Without God, and grace, how can I own up to my own faults? with grace, I can face my own failures, and take responsibility for my life. So this is now  we're trying to apply critical grace theory to this problem to this problem. So I 

think the problem in the culture is and why we have to find blame. We have no  mechanism to take the blame on for ourselves, right? I mean, it's all there. If  there's no God, and there's no forgiveness, and there's no salvation and there's  no paying for sins, then my identity is wrapped up with who I am and what I do.  And now you want me to take blame for the lousy things that are happening?  What are how do I think about myself? I'm already thinking bad about myself,  and I have nowhere to go with it other than to conclude that I'm a horrible, lousy, no good, untalented person, or I can blame my parents, right? Or I can blame  the governor, or I can blame somebody else. But with grace, you know, if I  accept that, there is this thing called sinand I sin. But then there's God forgiving  me. In the face of forgiveness, I can now look at my sin because I know that my  whole identity is now not tied up with my identity is forgiven is a forgiven person. Not a total mess up. worthless human being. Now I've done some of those  things. But my identity is now in Christ, where I've been forgiven. And now I  have the strength to actually look at some of my failings.  

Henry - Well think about Adam and Eve in the garden for the whole blame game. But what did they do? You know, and that's what we do. When it's someone  else's fault, or we're trying to deflect, that's not our fault, not our fault, not our  fault. We hide in the bushes. So God comes in the cool day with where are you  Adam and Eve? And then you see,  

Steve - they hide from God, when God comes around but also before that they  hid from each other. Right? They couldn't face each other in shame. Right? So  sin makes you a hide doesn't make you put it out on the table, you blame then  hide, blame then hide, blame then hide. Well, that's what happens when they  

hid. When God comes in. He says, Well, what happened? Well, the woman you  gave me, the serpent who came here that you created, you know, the hiding  then leads to blame, but none of it fixes anything.  

Henry - So let's talk about sort of theory about this from a critical blame theory  and grace. perspective.  

Steve - So number one, blame is rooted in human fallen spiritual here, we do  talk about number two, without someone taking on the blame, the blame must  be placed on someone else, or myself. So what do I do with these problems that I have in my life? The messes up? I either can blame myself or I can blame  someone else. Right? 

Henry - Well, and you see how when people blame themselves and and we've  in ministry, you know we're talking about the ones who blame themselves.  Depression. Woe is me. I'm the victim, everybody. You know, I'm horrible. But 

the fact is, so most people put the blame on someone else, but but people do  blame themselves and go into a tailspin of depression.  

Steve - Yes, that's true. Okay, so if we applied critical grace theory, number one,  someone must be blamed. And something must be paid.  

Henry – Now, now, that I think is interesting. And most people don't really think  about that some but and yet, if you look at everything in the news media, if  there's something happened in politics in Washington, DC, you know, there's got to be a scapegoat. Right. You know, there has to be somebody fired. you know,  and we wouldn't question that we just know, that is how it is. Right? If somebody killed someone, they go on trial. And if they're found guilty, they're put into jail,  right? I mean, we don't question that. We don't say, Well, why does that exist in  society, we understand that there is such a thing as atonement, and blaming and punishment. We, in humanity, we do it all the time. I mean, when a child needs  to go to timeout, the child goes, timeout, right?  

Steve - But I think, you know, it's there even when we don't see it. So for  example, when someone needs to be forgiven, and I listen, you stole $10 from  me? And then I say, No, you know what, I'm just gonna let it go. Right? Now,  who paid? You didn't do but I did. Right? I chose to pay the $10 that you still owe so someone always pays. 

Henry – So I think about credit reports, you know, it's like you don't pay your  credit card. If you have one. Ultimately, you get a fee, a fine. If you don't pay  your fee or fine. You get reported to the whole world and what a bad person you  are. I mean, so there's  

Steve - but ultimately, maybe you don't have to pay, but the company does. And  then they pass it on to all the rest of the people. Somebody pays. Nothing is not  paid for. 

Henry - Now, I think it's fascinating hoe people this is one of the most pertinent  points that drive our humanity in the most ignored.  

Stneve - Well, when it comes to Christianity it's like people don't understand  that. Why would Why would this atonement thing Jesus dying on the cross,  What sense does that make? Yeah, would it makes perfect sense in every other  area of our lives?  

Henry – Then they'll criticize the Bible. And you heard that. Well, isn't that child  abuse that God the Father sent His Son to pay? And the reality is, the blood of 

Jesus the currency to pay for the deficits that we owe. And that's a great love.  That, that, you know, in we've heard stories and metaphors of how you know,  this one, I remember back in the 1980s, there's trains going to go over a trestle  and the son of the son of the bridge, operator operator, Austin climbed down to  where the ties and everything were and then he had to make a decision about  all these people in the train and then the trains coming and he looks and finally  pushes the button kills his own son. The train goes by and the people are just  going through. Now, I remember that from this is a 25 or 30 year old metaphor.  You may have heard that one too. But you know, in some ways, we would all  say that that man is a hero. But today, some people will call him a child abuser.  So is he hero or a child abuser? But it's all about this whole issue of blame and  your point that we'll ignore it. When it comes to all our lives when it comes to  God's love for us that he needed to send his son we're go like well, why does  the Bible talks about that doesn't make sense to me.  

Steve - So number two, God steps in with his grace, through sending His Son to die on the cross, to take the blame.  

Henry - II Corinthians 5:21, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us that  in him we might become the righteousness of God. Hebrews 9:22. In fact, the  law requires that nearly every that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.  

Steve – Right. So this is the very heart of the gospel, right? The only way out of  the blame game is God stepping in and taking the blame for us. Seems weird,  because once God comes in and takes the blame for us, we now have the  power to take on the guilt of our own sins. In other words, we can admit, it's in  the context of being forgiven, that I can look at what I've done wrong. So it's in  the context of grace, that you actually have the courage, the strength to look at  your own faults, instead of passing them on to others and blaming other people  you started going, how have How have I been the problem in this marriage?  Right? Have I been the problem as the parent of  

Henry – We actually have new resources to get serious about Christ, about your growth,  

Steve - Now, let's say the whole world did that. Everyone is looking at how they  could maybe improve something where they can change something in their life,  instead of how everybody else can change. What would happen in marriages,  what what happened in families, what would happen in society, right, then  number three, once we receive the grace, offered through salvation, we can now confront the blame ourselves. 

Henry - Ephesians 4:32, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving  each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you. So what you're saying, and what  we're saying here is that the resources by which to love others is because we're  loved first, in a sense that's a currency. That's a payment. So now, it's like we're  lavished with love in our bank account is filled to the overflowing. And now we  can love others we can forgives.  

Steve - And so all of a sudden, the blame game comes to an end, right? There's  like a solution to it. Whereas without God without the salvation, without all these  without Jesus dieing on the cross, we're stuck in an endless cycle, because I  blame you or what are you gonna do? You're gonna blame me.  

Henry - If I call it the cycle of self loathing, you know, we're like stuck in the cycle of self or other loathing to the  

Steve - that's interesting because anger out towards others is blame. Anger in is  that whole depression? Yeah, you're talking about we don't know where to go  with either one.  

Henry - So in ministry now, I mean, this is actually, you know, you might be  watching, not really in the ministry yet, maybe you're an active Christian  checking out a mini class. Maybe you're in ministry, I tell you, this is the core of it all. There is no sermon that I've ever written, that doesn't touch upon the critical  blame theory and the critical Grace theory that gives us the answer to this  problem, right? The heart could be the most important session that you, as a  minister have heard in the whole topic, because it actually almost covers  everything. It could almost be like the first one. And every other thing can be  understood.  

Steve - Well, that's why if you have people that are struggling with all the other  ones that we've talked about race, gender, all these other things. That's why  we've said in one of the lectures that getting them connected to Christ might be  the first thing you try to do rather than argue, one of those things, because  without the grace in their life, you're not going to be able to convince them of  anything.  

Henry - Well, and again, I just go to my own life, your life, my family 1000s of  stories that you have submitted them, and there's always a similar pattern. Many of you raised as Christian that often walked away and then blamed everybody  and blamed your parents. At some point, you came to the end of your rope the  end of your resources, and all you can do was receive the grace of God Right. 

And once you receive that grace, you gotta calling and everything changes. It is  the core of the gospel. So one more thing, I am curious what you think about  what happens to those who are in depression right now that are just they have  clinical depression. And what I don't want to do is say that you know that this  worldview fixes all things we allow. 

Steve - some depression is biologically related, and getting those things in  shape or in order and various things that can be done or not done. Sometimes  they work, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes this is a burden that you bear.  I remember one guy who was depressed, he was in ministry, he said, You know,  I'm just not happy. He went on and on. And finally I looked at him, I said, Well,  maybe you're supposed to be maybe your role in this life. Yet, and God has a  special plan for you, that includes whatever it is that you're struggling with. And,  you know, that's a bummer. But on the other hand, it's an honor, you know,  some of them Paul had a thorn in his flesh. God thought him worthy, you know,  bearing this. But if it's, if it's not a clinical depression, you know, that maybe  some of the maybe, maybe, you know, you've accepted Jesus Christ as your  Savior, and you've accepted his love. But there's a lot of, you know, maybe you  had parents that didn't accept you or love you. And so ultimately, you have a  hard time accepting the love, really, you say the words, but you really don't let  his love flow over you. And maybe it will just take time. Or maybe you just need  a lot of living examples of God's love loving you to get you to have that sense  that you can be forgiven, that you can be loved that you are special that you are  somebody. I mean, some of these things can happen within the body of Christ  as well. When you discover your gifts. I don't have any gifts. You know, so  sometimes it takes some pushing and prodding and trying and it can take time.  Some things just take time.  

Henry - So, critical blame theory's most powerful solution is critical grace theory  at it's core.