“It’s Not My Fault”

HOW often today do you hear someone say, ‘I’m sorry. It was my fault. I am totally responsible!’? Rarely is such simple honesty heard anymore. In fact, in many cases, even when a fault is admitted, every effort is made to shift the blame onto someone else or onto extenuating circumstances over which the wrongdoer claims he had no control.

Some even point an accusing finger at their genes! But is this plausible? The book Exploding the Gene Myth questions the aims and effectiveness of some aspects of gene research. Australian journalist Bill Deane, in his review of the book, draws this thoughtful conclusion: “Social determinists seem recently to have begun to believe they have found almost infallible evidence to support their philosophy that nobody should be held accountable for their actions: ‘He couldn’t help cutting her throat, Your Honour—it’s in his genes.’”

Not Really a New Trend

With this generation rapidly developing into what one writer calls the “not-me” generation, this trend may appear to be escalating. However, recorded history reveals that passing the blame on to others, with the excuse “I am not really to blame,” has been around since man’s beginning. The reaction of Adam and Eve after their first sin, eating the fruit that God had proscribed, was a classic example of blame-passing. The Genesis account reports the conversation that took place, with God speaking first: “‘From the tree from which I commanded you not to eat have you eaten?’ And the man went on to say: ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree and so I ate.’ With that Jehovah God said to the woman: ‘What is this you have done?’ To this the woman replied: ‘The serpent—it deceived me and so I ate.’”—Genesis 3:11-13.

Ever since that time, humans have invented various forms of belief and have searched for exotic excuses that would exonerate them from any real accountability for their actions. Notable among these was the ancient belief in fate. A Buddhist woman who sincerely believed in Karma said: “I thought it did not make sense to have to suffer for something I was born with but about which I knew nothing. I had to accept it as my destiny.” Nurtured by the doctrine of predestination as taught by John Calvin, belief in fate is also common in Christendom. Clergymen often tell grieving relatives that a certain accident was the will of God. Then, too, some well-meaning Christians blame Satan for everything that goes wrong in their lives.

Now, we are beginning to witness behavior without accountability that is legally and socially sanctioned. We live in an age of increasing rights and diminishing responsibilities of the individual.

Research into human behavior has produced supposed scientific evidence that some feel could give free rein to behavior ranging from immorality to murder. This is a reflection of society’s eagerness to shift blame onto anything or anyone except the individual.

We need answers to questions such as these: What has science actually discovered? Is human behavior solely determined by our genes? Or do both internal and external forces control our behavior? What does the evidence really show?