Man is Evil

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

On August 9, 1969, at 8:40 a.m. Susan Atkins, joined by the rest of the Manson family, participated in the murders of five people:

• Sharon Tate: Actress, 26 years old, and 8 and a half months pregnant. She begged for the life of her unborn child to be spared.
•  Voytek Frykowski: Polish actor and writer, 35 years old, boyfriend of Abigail Folger.
• Jay Sebring: 32 years old, celebrity hairstylist. He managed to escape the house, but was later shot and stabbed on the house front lawn.
• Abigail Folger: 25 years old, heiress to the fortune of her family’s coffee brand, civil rights activist, and volunteer at different charities. She managed to escape to the backyard but was stabbed.
• Steven Parent: 18 years old. The only reason he was in the house was because he was trying to sell a Sony Radio to the person who was living at the property guest house. He was just about to leave,when Tex Watson shot him in his car.

These and other murders and attempted murders were attributed to the Manson family. The mastermind behind it was Charles Manson, who preached Helter Skelter, the apocalypse who would be outlived by the Manson family and his chosen people with him as the chosen one to save the world.

Susan Atkins was born in a Christian home, but there were life events that led to her doom. After participating in an event with Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, and recovering from gonorrhea after just near death, Atkins met Manson and soon became part of his family.

Manson kept his family “high” on acid, which made them susceptible to his mind control. His family was convinced that he was Christ. Manson would constantly twist scripture until he convinced them to commit the massacre. They loved him and would do anything for him.

After a life sentenced to prison, no acid, and so much time in her hands on her lonely jail cell, Susan’s mind began to clear. Her mind took years to go back to normal. Once a lady sent her a bible, which was forgotten in a box on her cell for years. One day, she received a letter from Old Bruce, a former family member of Manson. In his letter he challenged her to read the word of God. After a while she had a dream, both instances made her open the bible which landed on Isaiah 43:25:

I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. She then spoke to the real Christ and asked Him to reveal Himself to her and she continued reading her bible until satiety.

Atkins felt frustration towards Israel, for their transgressions toward God. They didn’t deserve mercy, she thought. Until she realized that she was very much like the Israelites. She had broken every single one of the Ten Commandments. Manson didn’t make her, she did it on her on accord. So Atkins prayed for Jesus to come into her life and that was how she became born again.

She dedicated the rest of her life to preach The Gospel. She got baptized in 1975, after six years in prison. In 1977 she published her book “Daughter of Satan, Daughter of God” and the earnings from the book were used for the Life Foundation, to help abused women. She founded a ministry in jail, to reach the youth with the word of God. 

Ten years later, in 1987 Atkins married lawyer James Whitehouse, who represented her in her parole hearings on 2000 and 2005. She died while her husband read psalm 23 to her, which she couldn’t do anymore because cancer had paralyzed 85% of her body.

When a believer comes to Christ, he understands he must depart from evil. 

Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 1 Peter 3:11

Would we be able to depart from evil without the Holy Spirit?  Would we be declared righteous before God without the blood of Jesus Christ? What is good in our eyes isn’t always what aligns with God’s definition of good. 

And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:15

Lead others to Christ, is their only hope to be declared righteous before God. Do not let your guard down, you my fellow believer, are not the exception of the rule. You will be tempted, and you will fall into temptation. Satan will build a fortress inside of us if he finds an opportunity to do so. Human evil is broad: stealing, pornography, drunkenness, rage, lies, blasphemy, etc.  Hideous acts, like the one Susan Atkins committed, are not the only ones who make you lose your soul. It’s the little things that lead eventually to the big atrocious acts.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift, though he redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26