Many christians (and other religious fanatics) want to view the entire world as just a battle between good and evil -- between God and the Devil. They even take this view into the lives of ordinary humans. Free will is not nearly as important as the influence of God and Satan.
If a person shows some weakness or imperfection, makes a mistake, or just disagrees with how these people view the world, then it must be the effect of Beelzebub or his minions. Whereas, people who show strength, make good decisions, or just agree with their world view have been helped or "graced" by God or Jesus.
This religious world view gives humans very little credit for the good or evil they do. A common example of this kind of thinking is an athlete that thanks Jesus because he won. It makes me wonder why Jesus didn't like the other athletes. Is the winner saying he is a better person, purer in heart or prayed harder than the others? It strikes me as a backhanded and religious way of boasting. The race goes to the swiftest -- not God's favorite.
Most of the time, this kind of irrational behavior is just irrating, but when it's taken to its logical conclusion it can become very hurtful or even dangerous. Take the example of Jon David Clark of Odessa. He is now in the Ector County Jail charged with murder. Why? He took his religious views to their logical conclusion.
His wife was not acting as he thought was "godly", so he decided she was possessed by the devil. He then decided he must perform an exorcism, so he got on top on her and pinned her to the floor face down until she died. But he says it's not his fault. The Devil entered his body while he was on top of her and caused her death. Ridiculous!
Whether there is a God and Devil is unimportant to this discussion. Either way, we must stop blaming them for our own or other people's behavior. Humans make their own decisions and should be held responsible for those decisions. If you hurt another person, you should be punished. If you help another person, you should be praised.
God didn't make you do it, and neither did the Devil.
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