Many, many times I have said -- no, cried out in prayer on my knees -- to the Lord: "I don't understand ... I don't understand ... I don't understand ..."

I have a priest friend of mine who says: "Well, of course you don't understand. It's evil and there is no understanding evil."

But now I do understand what is happening. Those who are engaged in the LGBTQ lifestyle are being duped by the devil. And those who just sit back and let it overwhelm them and overtake society are also being duped by the devil into compliance.

He, Satan, has been duping men -- and women -- since the Garden of Eden. In fact, he duped Eve first and then through Eve he duped Adam. The rest of humanity has followed, right down to this present day and the spewing of his rainbow-colored LGBTQ lies.

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God say, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."' But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'" (Genesis 3: 1-5)

Right away Satan, in the form of a serpent (snake), craftily questions Eve. "Did God say, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'" (Genesis 3:1)

She replies: "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die." (Genesis 3:3)

First, Eve stretches the truth. She wasn't even around when that conversation took place between God and Adam.

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.'" (Genesis 2:15-17)

God told Adam -- and this was before Eve was created as his help meet -- that he may "freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat ..."

Nothing is said about "touching" the tree.

EVE IS DUPED FIRST

Satan has found his quarry. Eve is in the ropes. He goes in for the jugular with an outright lie! "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God ..." (Genesis 3:4-5)

At that point Eve's head is turned. She buys into Satan's lie! He is masquerading as an affable, talkative snake. She believes what the beguiling serpent is telling her, that she can eat the fruit of the forbidden tree without negative effects, much less deadly consequences.

She was enticed by a fruit she had never tasted. She and Adam have picked and eaten the fruit of some of the other trees in the Garden of Eden. Perhaps they ate pears and plums, oranges and grapefruit, cherries and grapes, nectarines and apricots.

"So, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate ..." (Genesis 3:6a)

Popular legend has it that the forbidden fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was an apple. Was that apple a Red Delicious? Or Golden Delicious? A green Granny Smith, or a red tinged-with-green Jonathan?

Whatever it was -- apple, avocado, coconut or kumquat -- Eve thought it looked delectable. Curiosity got the better of her and she partook of the forbidden fruit. She apparently enjoyed the new, never-before-tasted fruit so much that she shared it with Adam.

" ... and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate." (Genesis 3:6b)

Oops! At that point they knew they did something wrong through their newly-gained knowledge of good and evil. They instantaneously knew right from wrong.

"Then the eyes of both were opened ... " (Genesis 3:7a)

Once sin had entered the world, the sins immediately started to accumulate.

First, when the Lord God came in the cool of the evening, as was His custom, to walk with His human companions, they hid from Him for fear overwhelmed them.

"And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3:8)

Then the blame game started. Neither was willing to own up to their fault.

Adam blamed Eve: "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12)

Eve blamed the snake: "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate." (Genesis 3:13)

Satan, named Lucifer -- meaning the shining one and the light-bearer, had triumphed in spreading his negative light in the Garden of Eden with disastrous results.

IF IT FEELS GOOD -- DO IT!

Boys think they can become girls so they submit to castration and girls think they can become boys so they undergo mastectomies and hysterectomies.

And like Eve, some have their eyes opened, but it's too late. They have encountered the evil of their actions. Their natural body parts have been sliced away, those body parts which can never be recovered or reconstructed, and they find that they have destroyed their ability to have children. They have been rendered sterile and enter lifelong regret.

Pregnant women rip a growing baby from their wombs. That tiny soul goes directly back to God without ever taking a breath.

And men think if they pledge themselves to another male they are committing to a "marriage" and women fantasize that if they promise fidelity to another female, they have entered into wedded bliss.

But it's a lie! More than that, it's a sin. Not only is it a lie, but The Episcopal Church, the Church of England, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church of Wales, the Church of Ireland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Australia, the Anglican Church in New Zealand, the Anglican Church in Southern Africa, and the Episcopal Anglican Church in Brazil have all sanctioned this sin in one way or another. Those countries have codified same-sex marriage into their civil laws and the national branch of the Anglican Communion is very anxious to support and embrace their country's secular culture.

Bishops champion authorizing same-sex blessings, if not homosexual "marriage" itself. Gay and lesbian clergy race to "marry" each other or change their sexual orientation with their church's goodwill and blessing. And transgenderism is increasing within the church and therefore, is celebrated.

They are all duped by the devil. Every last one of them has been and are being duped by the devil. They cannot see through his lies, just as Eve could not see through his lies in the Garden of Eden.

The result of that deception was catastrophic. Sin entered the world followed by death.

D-I-E: THE CULTURAL TRINITY

Not only are those who are engaged in the whole array of LGBTQ deviances, but it is those others who bow and kowtow to such shenanigans that are also being duped by the devil. This includes not only the individual personally, but also sports leagues, corporate entities, the media, advertising agencies, schools, governments, courts, and of course, the church.

And in today's society, tolerance is defined by the cultural trinity of diversity, inclusion and equality and the prohibition not to say anything or do anything which would offend another person or hurt their tender feelings. Especially those who are outside the societal norm -- the LGBTQ crowd.

Godly people of faith -- Christians and Jews -- take it on the chin. They are hounded. They are criticized. They are mocked. They are hated.

Schools indoctrinate the faithfuls' children against their will and conscience. The faithful are fed a constant diet of lies and falsehoods through the secular media to watch either in the programming itself or the accompanying commercials. Laws are proposed and passed which marginalize people of faith within their own community.

Currently there is a commercial running on a streaming service for a feminine product. In an attempt to be diverse and inclusive and show equality, one of the "women" on that commercial could be a transgendered woman. Meaning he is a man and has no need for such a feminine product. Or maybe that "woman" is a transgendered man who does need that sort of item. It's hard to tell who "she" is. She is a transgendered something ... someone? It all gets so confusing.

People have been duped by the devil and have cast off God. So therefore, they have become unrestrained in their behavior. It is clear in the push of the LGBTQ agenda, drag queen story hours, narcissism, cohabitating, fatherless homes, the disrespect for life, corrupt politicians, tumbling church attendance, lack of supernatural faith, kicking God to the curb, transgenderism, gay marriage, unfettered abortion ...

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

We are starting to reap the harvest of what has been sown: broken families, violence, intolerance of basic societal norms, riots and mayhem, mutilated young bodies, destroyed lives, an increased prison population, lack of respect and civility, confused youth, sexualized children, dead babies, sinful priests, earthly-minded bishops, declining birth rate, political gridlock, self-love and power, evil on the rampage, mass shootings ...

As the Amplified Bible puts it: "Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His Word], the people are unrestrained; But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God]." (Proverbs 29:18)

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline