“And since the reject the Eternal Creator and Source of all existence, in that sense they are also thieves. Since everything belongs to God, and they ignore Him but worship His “stuff” as though it belongs to them, they are spiritual criminals.”
Spirited: Your point is well-taken. And what is idolatry but the selfcenteredness that elevates ‘self’ over the supernatural Creator and of course over everyone else? And when pride inflates envy rears its ugly head. And what is envy but the hatred of the supernatural God and the good fortune and blessings of others.
Envy is the great perverter and destroyer of God’s created order, that is, everything good, true, beautiful, life-affirming, holy,and natural. Envy turns the world upside-down, elevating the lie over truth, evil over good, abnormal over normal, the twisted over straight, the unhealthy over the healthy, the insane over the sane,and the unholy over the holy.
Envy then is the thief who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
Exactly! Envy of God’s supremacy is the seed of all other evils.
And now envy, greed, lust, anger, hatred - the whole list - are elevated as worthy, although in veiled language usually.
“Earth based religions” can only be called religions if any belief in anything can be called a religion.