Blaming God

Yesterday I started the Bible in 90 days reading plan. The hope is that by the third week of August I would have read the entire Bible. It's going to be a real challenge but hopefully I'll manage it. But to make it even more of a challenge I thought I would write some blog posts about what strikes me from the passages I have read. So not only do I have to read about an hours' worth of Bible every day, I have to write about it too.

The first reading (Genesis 1:1-16:16) covers the creation story and Adam and Eve getting chucked out of the Garden of Eden. It's pretty bog-standard stuff, and most people in the Western world know the story. However, there are always little nuances that can really impact someone. What I loved about the story is Adam's reaction to being caught by God. When God questions him on why he has started wearing clothing and who taught him about nudity he actually tried and blame God. He says, "The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." (Genesis 3:12)

Now, here Adam tries to shift the blame away from him onto Eve, but also onto God. It's the "you put here with me" bit that shows his attitude to God's role in this situation. When I read that, I thought "Wow. Adam is a jerk." Then the next second I thought, "Wow. I do exactly the same thing."

Quite often when I fall short I try to blame God: "if you hadn't let me be tempted that way I wouldn't have done it" or "if the situation you put me in wasn't so frustrating I wouldn't have lost my temper." Rather than come to God, realise my mistake and apologise I try and blame him for it.

Quick Question

1. Have you ever tried to blame someone when it obviously wasn't their fault?
2. What bits of the Bible should I really be looking forward to? What should I be dreading?