43,000 competing schisms keep Pro-Lifers from the united political influence necessary to stop abortion in democracies. “If Pro-Life people become Catholic, we could stop the killing.” As we see the ancient connection between Cain and willful disobedience, it is hard to ignore that Cain was the first Protestant.
Cain’s offered God a wretched pile of vegetables, grain, or fruit. That insulting gift reflected his sloth, selfishness and lack of love for God. He was “angry”, “downcast”, “hanging his head”, “ill-disposed”, “devoured by sin”, and disobedient in refusing God’s instruction to hold up his head and be cheerful. As his protests took him farther from God, he killed his more able brother in a fit of jealous rage. Cain was the first Protestant.
Cain, as his mother before him, lied to God when questioned. “I don’t know where my brother is.” He excused that lie by parsing in his mind, “I only know where I left his body. It may have been moved, so I don’t actually know where it is right now.” Or, “The essence of my brother is his soul. How could I know where that is?” Because of the murder, the lack of repentance and the lies, Cain was “accursed”. He will become an “unproductive” failure. He was sentenced to be a “fugitive” and “wanderer” and to “hide from God”.
Cain knew that decent people would kill him, and asked God for protection. Since God’s Salvation Plan needed people who were “angry, downcast, ill-disposed, lying, disobedient, slothful, jealous, accursed, unproductive, wandering fugitive who hid from God”, God promised to avenge him “sevenfold”. Decent people tended to leave the “angry, downcast, ill-disposed, lying, disobedient, slothful, jealous, accursed, unproductive, wandering fugitive, hiding from God” Cain alone.
We have all run into “angry, downcast, ill-disposed, lying, disobedient, slothful, jealous, accursed, unproductive, wandering fugitives who hide from God”. In every age, a type of Cain invents their own religions and denominations. “I’m smart. I’m smart, too! God, get out of my way!”, Cains cry throughout time. In our own lives, jealous Cains go from hate to hurt with religious and governmental thoughts, words, deeds, programs, and policies that attack love, truth, life, and freedom.
In religion, Cains are still “devoured by sin” and must “hide from God”, as they invent schisms that keep others hidden from Him by keeping them away from “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.” the Holy Communion that God provided to none but The Only Church Founded by Jesus, murdered by Cain.
We must beware of turning into Cain. We must never let ourselves tend toward being “angry, downcast, ill-disposed, disobedient, slothful, jealous, parsing, untruthful.”
It is sad when any become like Cain and have the horrible descriptions “angry, downcast, ill-disposed, disobedient, slothful, jealous, accursed, unproductive, a wandering fugitive” describe them .
As we become more like Abel, we become more like Jesus. We obey God, loving Him and our neighbors more as we love ourselves less. We strive to emulate the Catholic Saints, freed from Cain and and among those of whom He said “You are My friends if you obey My commands.”
Cain lives, in varying degrees, within all who bring confusion, conflict, lies, and death.
