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THE DEVIL
AND HELL: DOCTRINES OF FEAR
It would seem that for Christian Theology, the
concept of God and the love of Her as expressed
towards our fellow man (which is what Jesus taught), was not viewed as enough
of an incentive to hold people to a faith. To justify the need for the church,
ritual, and power; their theology created an external threat, an all-powerful
sworn enemy of God, one whom we need to fear and be protected from. He is known
in the Christian world as the Devil or Satan. As if that by itself
were not enough; he is followed by legions of powerful fallen angels which have
been branded demons - all of which live in a place called hell. And, instead of
promoting the love of God for its own sake; too often, religion prompts the
faithful using the fear of the devil and hell. Often, preachers preach about
Satan as much as they do God.
The basis for the theological picture of Satan
today is often claimed to be the Bible. But is that really so? Elaine Pagels tells us in her scholarly work THE ORIGINS OF SATAN:
In
the Hebrew Bible, as in mainstream Judaism to this day, Satan NEVER appears as
Western Christendom has come to know him, as leader of an "evil Empire,"
an army of hostile spirits who make war on God and humankind alike. On the
contrary, he appears in the Book of Numbers and in Job as one of God's
OBEDIENT SERVANTS - a MESSENGER, or an ANGEL, a word that translates the
Hebrew term for messenger (mal'ak) into Greek
(angelos). In
Hebrew, the angels were often Called "Sons of God" (bene 'elochim)
and were envisioned as the hierarchical ranks of a great army, or staff of the
royal court.
In
biblical sources, the Hebrew term Satan describes an adversarial role. IT IS
NOT THE NAME OF A PARTICULAR CHARACTER. Although Hebrew storytellers as
early as the sixth century BCE occasionally introduced a supernatural character
whom they called the Satan, what they meant was ANY ONE OF THE ANGELS SENT
BY GOD FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF BLOCKING OR OBSTRUCTING HUMAN ACTIVITY.
The root "stn" means "one who opposes,
obstructs or acts as adversary, (The Greek term diabolos,
later translated devil," literally means "one who throws
something across one's path").
The
Satan's presence in a story could help account for unexpected obstacles or
reversals of fortune. Hebrew storytellers often attribute misfortunes to human
sin. Some, however, also invoke this supernatural character the Satan, who,
BY GOD'S OWN ORDER OR PERMISSION, blocks or opposes human plans and desires.
BUT THIS MESSENGER IS NOT NECESSARILY MALEVOLENT. God sends him, like the
angel of death, to perform a specific task, although one that
humans may not appreciate...
(pp. 39,40)
And in another
scholarly work we read:
It
is noteworthy that Satan, in the canonical books of the Old Testament, is an
adversary of man, BUT NOT OF GOD; HE IS A SUBJECT OF GOD AND GOD'S FAITHFUL
SERVANT.
(
Paul
Carus, THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL AND THE IDEA OF EVIL,
Bell Publishing,1969, p7l)
So, Satan, in the Old Testament, was not seen in
the same context as we see him today. And even in the New Testament, it is more
than likely that a Jew would have understood Satan in much the same manner as
his fellow Jews. It is more likely that the source of Satan (as we have came to
understand him today), as a mortal enemy of God, has its roots in the
polytheistic belief structures of the period.
Another Biblical fact we would like restate, one
that theologies often represent, has to do with this idea that "Satan"
tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. The story of Genesis tells us no such thing.
The Serpent was the tempter, and it was Christian Theology, which assigned it
the title of Satan, in the sense of devil. What the Bible says is:
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field
which the Lord God had made.
(Genesis
3:1)
There is simply nothing here to indicate we are
dealing with anything more than a clever beast, yet alone, Satan as we
understand him today. In fact, the serpent is often the symbol of life, and it
could just be that the story was telling us that life becomes the tempter; but
without the temptation, there is no free will. And if we follow the Old Testament
image of God sending adversaries to test man, the serpent would have been doing
what God wanted it to do - in metaphor, of course. In fact, many of the early
Christians and Jewish beliefs held that the Garden of Eden story was about the
raising to consciousness by man, seen as a good thing instead of the fall.
There is a great deal of theological license,
combined with an effort of making the story fit a preexisting belief, behind so
many of the Christian Theological interpretations of these ancient tales. We
are led to believe that they have been read in this same manner for the
thousands of years they have been in existence; but, that is simply not the
truth! The people who wrote, and the people for whom they were written - had a
vastly different concept of God, the world around them, and the human Divine
relationship. Consequently, they held very different interpretations.
When we read the ideas of Paul, Aquinas,
Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and etcetera - it becomes clear that these men were
viewing scripture with their own agenda already in place. It is also obvious
these men had their own demons, so to speak, and sometimes what they wrote was
a rationalization for their personal shortcomings.
Essentially, the concept of Satan (and Hell for
that matter) that is held today is more pagan, than Jewish in origin. Hades
(hell), for example, has its roots in Greek Mythology. When we study the life
of Paul, although he was a Jew, he was a Jew raised among Greeks. While Jewish
literature has its share of evil spirits, they are not held in the same high
esteem of being part of an organized rebellion against God. It would seem that
their belief would actually deter such a concept; in that, Yahweh controls all
other gods. Rebellion against God would, in a sense, be futile and actually
impossible. It is the polytheistic beliefs of the so-called pagans (where gods
actually waged war upon one another for a variety of reasons) which contain the
seeds for modern supernatural being who challenges God, often using man as his
pawns. In fact, many of the named legions of demons of the Christian Church are
simply the gods from other cultures or religious ideals.
So, why do we have the Devil, as we know him
today from Christian theology?
There are a number of good works that trace the
evolution of the devil, two of which have already been mentioned in our quotes.
This is not the place to do a history of Satan, although we will refer to some
historical facts. What is more important to responsible theology, are the
possible consequences of such a doctrine, and the integrity of the motivation
behind proclaiming it.
We also need to acknowledge that there can be
powerful mythological symbolisms expressed by the concept of a devil, but we
need to emphasize the word "symbolism"; being careful we do
not encourage literal interpretations as we shall discuss
Theologically, there is no need or place for the
concept of Satan in a monotheistic religion. We do not need a supernatural
force to explain the bad things that happen in our world. In fact, the Jews often seen God Herself as the source of much of their ill
fate:
In all the books of Hebrew literature, especially in the
Pentateuch, Satan is not mentioned at all. All the punishment,
revenge, and temptation are performed by Yahweh himself, or by his angel at his
direct command. So the temptations of Abraham, the slaughter of the first-born
in Egypt, the brimstone and fire rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the evil
spirits which came upon Saul, the pestilence to punish David - ALL THESE THINGS
ARE EXPRESSLY SAID TO HAVE COME FROM GOD. Even the perverse spirit which made
the Egyptians err (Isaiah
The
prophet Zechariah speaks of
(Paul Carus, THE HISTORY
OF THE DEVIL AND THE IDEA OF EVIL, Bell Publishing, 1969, pp70,71)
These ancient peoples accepted the reality of
positive and negative forces in the realm of creation. They might not have
understood them, but God in his wisdom, for whatever reason, had created such
things. Their stories often illustrated that it was our actions that influenced
God's interactions with His people. And, while they were often seen as punishments
(something the story of Job cautions against), they were mostly accepted as
life's experiences as ordained by a Divine who was trusted to guide his people
through the experience of life.
Psychologically read, we can understand how
these things might have been viewed as punishments. But if we examine the
symbolism of these stories, the so-called punishments are actually the
consequences for the actions of men. In other words, God isn't really
punishing; the story is trying to show us that there are consequences for our
every act. Personal responsibility is so often the true clear message of the
tale; and in our rejection of that: we assign blame and make excuses for our
weaknesses and failures - projecting responsibility for evil in an external cause.
Yet, when we read these stories, the results of many of these actions would
often be the same even without God.
As Jesus told us on several occasions, we in the
end will reap what we sow. We are judged by the way we
judge others. The authors of ancient text may have attributed many of the
calamities in these works to the Will of God; but realistically, we become the
source because we choose to ignore the Image of God within ourselves. God does
not punish, we self-inflict!
Too often, our theologies have molded their
ideas in a
We don't need the devil to explain the evil of
mankind. We can, and should, be accepting responsibility for it.
Psychologically, this would be a far better approach to controlling it within
ourselves. Our whole approach toward evil, as an external supernatural force to
which we have an already weakened will, creates a self fulfilling prophesy that
we are predisposed towards sin. It creates a psychology where we cling to God
to avoid evil; with greater drive than, loving God in our acts of goodness and
justice. In many religious interpretations, the devil is feared more than God
is loved.
If we examine any human act of evil - rape,
genocide, murder, persecution, etcetera: we find that a human being is
responsible for the act. Yet, very often, the devil gets the blame for planting
the seed of evil in the heart of the poor and weak human being. Reason would
dictate that if God were just, and our wills are weak; then, He would arm us in
some way against such a powerful force - otherwise, we would have the deck
stacked against us. There is no predisposition toward evil or any weakened
will; we have an equal potential to be the best or the worst that we can be.
The choice is, and always has been, ours!
We owe God our being, and She
is not responsible for our actions in that state of being because we have been
blessed with intellect, consciousness, and free will. It is a self-serving
theology that needs enemies that God needs to protect us from. It is a contradictory
doctrine that states: we need God to provide the means to protect or save us;
when we are stating, that mankind is in God's Image and that we have free will.
It is contradictory to proclaim that we have been saved by Grace; and then
state, we are weak willed or predisposed towards evil. If we are in God's
Image, all we need do is draw upon that Image which is our free choice, which
is within our grasp; and then, life will be in accordance with the design of
the Creator.
Our motivation must shift from God's protection,
or God's punishment or Her reward. Our only motivation for the love of God
should be: because "GOD IS", and that we share in His being
with our gift of life. The idea of a devil only serves as a distraction from
such truth. To create super-powerful forces to explain our evil in our theology
is to provide excuses for our failures. The idea of the devil is a convenient
way for us as individuals to rationalize all the ills of humanity. Not only is
it an excuse, we become powerless to change behavior. If the devil is making
people evil, what can we do - where is our responsibility or power to effect
real change in our world?
Is it God, or a devil, which creates murderers, thieves,
and cheats; or, is it our social conditioning and acceptance of such reality
that is the more contributory cause? Does God, or the devil: persecute people,
oppress people, starve people, cheat people, make war, abuse children, use drugs. Or, could it be the existence of a projectionary mentality that rationalizes selfishness,
greed, indifference, and religious acceptance of these things, which are the
chief causes of these evils in the first place?
It is not the devil that is the problem. The
problem is in the "self" with its ego-driven pursuits that are
not spiritually balanced. The devil doesn't deceive us; we deceive ourselves by
choosing a projectionary perspective, which often
justifies our own true spiritual neglect.
What we need to overcome is, "the Satan in
one's self", adapting a spiritual balance where we transform the self.
This in not to say that we must deny, or give up, ego conscious pursuits; but,
they need to be balanced by spiritual values that truly come from within, instead
of without.
The Gospels paint a picture of a God who is a
loving Father, knowing: "even the number of hairs on our heads".
Yet, many of our religious concepts fuel the faithful by using fear as a
weapon. "The devils out to get you" - "you could go to hell if
you do not behave in a certain manner" - "God will punish you for
that": are all phrases that are the tools to keep the faithful coming
back. But what loving father would expose his children to the power of an evil
force if it were within his power to prevent such? What kind of a God would
send us to hell for a weak moment of the flesh or because we couldn't believe
in the declarations of other men? What kind of a God would turn a woman into a
pillar of salt (Genesis
And what kind of a God would allow a super
power, which theology gives to Satan, the freedom to toy with the hearts of men
- something God Himself avoids? These things are really human characteristics
that we have assigned to God because of our inability to rationalize and
understand the negative aspects in our world. But just because we do not
understand them, does not mean that they are not serving God's purpose!
Fear is a great psychological weapon and a great
religious tool, but it has no place if we are to encourage a real faith (in
terms of its original meaning: "TRUST") in God. It is simply
counterproductive. If we were picking a baseball team, would we rather have
committed teammates who were playing for the love of the sport, or, teammates
who were threatened with punishment if they refused to play? What causes are
humans more likely to be faithful to; one they believe in and love; or, one
they participate in out of fear? In our modern world, Gandhi proved the power
of peace, love, and commitment; where as, Hitler showed us the power of fear in
all its extreme.
The Christian Church, throughout much of its
history, has demonstrated its power to fuel fear and projection. The
persecution of the devil and his human armies in the inquisition; the crusades;
forcing Native Americans to accept Christ by threatening death; and trying to
prevent scientific knowledge which might dispel fear - are all real examples of
a religious ideal that has demonstrated the irresponsible consequences of fear
driven thinking. Idealist, such as: Mother Teresa, Francis of
And all this talk of the devil, hell, guilt and
sin: the fear doctrines, are not healthy for adults,
yet alone, our children:
I
remind the reader of the fire and brimstone preacher only so that I might
condemn him for his lack of insight, and his profound stupidity, He instills
into his congregation, WHICH INCLUDES CHILDREN, the picture of an angry,
harsh, and punitive God, who is respected, if not feared. This concept of God
represents a sick attitude and will be avoided by all parents with common sense
and feeling for their children. THE CHILD WHO SEES HIS GOD AS PUNITIVE LIVES
WITH UNNEEDED FEARS AND BEGINS TO GENERALIZE HIS FEAR OF GOD TO INCLUDE OTHER
THINGS. IN OTHER WORDS, HE BEGINS TO PERCEIVE THE WORLD AS ANGRY AND HARSH.
The
concept of hell is also useless and harmful. I suspect those evangelists who
continue to pedal this asinine idea are beyond redemption. Inculcation with
such a negative entity as hell makes for intriguing books and horror movies,
but does little to promote a healthy attitude toward religion.
(Doctor Eli Chesen, RELIGION MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH, 1972,
ppl25-126)
While Doctor Chesen's
statements are often forceful, they need to be considered. These concepts of
sin, hell, the devil, a punitive God and guilt: could lead young minds to a "surrender to", or an "acceptance
of", the very evil we trying to discourage. From such concepts come the reasoning: that we need to work hard to be good
because goodness is an unnatural state - and, these fear doctrines tend to discredit
the idea that love as a force can effect change in our reality.
One of the psychological effects upon some of
the youth of today is their fascination with Satan. The very concept of the
devil with all his power has young people turning to satanic cults, or
witchcraft - in order to tap those magical powers of darkness for personal
gain! Religion has given substantiation to the devil by effectively giving him
dominion over the material world. There is a strong implication in the present
ideal that the devil rewards us in the here and now, with payment coming much
later in a nether world of the beyond. It is a kind of "if you can't
beat him, join him" mentality which can develop.
If there were no other reason for responsible
theology to reexamine and offer alternatives to these present ideals, this
effect would be reason enough. Not only is the devil to be feared, he is often
glamorized with tales of his power, ability to bestow magic, riches, and
proclaimed the lord and master over the wondrous physical world created by
God's hand. Such begs the question: Why would God betray us so?
Now, we need to examine some of the motivation
behind the theology of the Devil to demonstrate that its root could be
self-serving; it that, these teachings are often a justification to legitimize
the power and control of a central church. We have already discussed that the
biblical concept of Satan is a far cry from the present Christian ideal. But why such a change?
While there
are many factors which contribute to belief in Satan, there are a few reasons
for his timely evolution:
1, The Christian theology needed a
rationalization for their redemption doctrine. If the Christ did not redeem us
from Satan, then from whom were we redeemed from? This concept played well to a
Greco-Roman world that was accustomed to gods doing battle and having
supernatural enemies of man. It played well to a gentile world that was
accepting of god-men, both good and evil, who aided or tormented them.
And we cannot leave out ignorance here. People
often did not understand the very forces of nature around them, seeing much of
their world as be driven by supernatural forces. It was a world where
superstition replaced science and religion was driven by a primitive
understanding of the creation. We must always remember that this was a world
where the people often had no explanation for many of life's ill fates;
something religion took advantage of.
A responsible theology in today's world has no
need of such an immortal enemy. It will see that the Christ redeemed us from
ourselves, and that redemption is in the form of the examples and metaphors
which empower us to live in the Love of God. Jesus didn't die for our sin, he was murdered by us for bringing the truth about our
responsibilities. He is a Savior, but his salvation is in his example and
words. He is the Christ, the Word made flesh, because in him God's word was
actualized in humanity - and that is the primary motif of the gospels.
We have invented excuses to place blame for
Jesus' death at God's doorstep (a plan of redemption); at the devil's doorstep
(we needed to be redeemed from Satan); at the hands of Pilate or the Jews. But,
the reality of what prompted the death of Jesus was our rejection of personal
responsibility in a
Even the metaphor in the Gospel of Matthew
Chapter 4:1-10, where Jesus confronts the devil - can be looked at from a
responsible perspective without literalization. When
we read these temptations, we can see they are really about self-control over
ego driven desires. They are temptations that come about in the reality of our
everyday human existence.
The first temptation is physical, the second has
to do with faith for personal gain, and the third is about materialism, power
and greed. If Jesus is to be seen as truly human, even if we see him as Divine,
it would be only natural that there would be some selfish temptation to use his
ability for personal reasons, especially when he appeared to be so popular. We
must remember that the gospels are about the human nature of Jesus; not his
Divinity. There is little we can truly understand about the Divine. In order
for Jesus to be human there had to be some selfish motivation within, which he
obviously controlled. In each of these cases, Jesus reaffirms in the metaphor
that when we are united with the power of God's love we see more to our
reality. We understand that there is more to life than physical gratification,
self-serving faith, and power. This vision, in turn, helps us to have
responsible self-control and ultimately brings to us God's favor as expressed
in the metaphor of angels.
2, Orthodox Christian theology also needed a
justification for its power over the faithful. What better way than creating a
threat which people needed protection from?
The orthodoxy of this early church needed such
an enemy; not only to necessitate their needs of control over the faithful, but
one they could blame for opinions which differed from theirs such as the
Gnostics. Early church fathers would often cite the devil as the source of
heresy - justifying their authority and feeding a need for people to seek their
guidance.
This concept is clearly demonstrated in the
theological way we present religion today. The devil often unites the
"faithful'' and pits them against the enemy, which is the sinners or
non-believers who are accused of serving Satan. And while the orthodox may have
won the battle of the first three centuries, the fight returned with the Luther
reformation bringing forth other splits and divisions. The consequence led to a
rebirth of the strengthening of Satan in the Christian orthodox ideal.
Power verses personal empowerment was a serious
struggle in the first four centuries of Christianity's development. Power, with
its political structure of bishops and priest was represented by the orthodoxy;
while self-discovery, personal responsibility and Divine diversity were
celebrated by many of the Gnostics. In the orthodox view, the rising to
consciousness in
While the concept of demonizing the enemy took
on new heights during this period, it did have its origins around the time the Acts
Of The Apostles were written. Barnabas, a
companion of Paul's, used such logic to demonize the Jews:
What
Barnabas says of Jews - that they have been deceived by an "evil
angel" - and what the majority of Christians say about the pagans - that they
unwittingly worshipped demons spawned by fallen angels ...
(Pagels,
THE ORIGIN Of SATAN, Random House, 1995, p158)
Much of the theology having to do with Satan comes from some of the early church fathers who were often
involved in a power struggle against those who resisted apostolic authority.
Justin the Martyr (100-165 CE), Irenaeus (130-200
CE), Tertullian (160-220 CE) Clement of Alexandria
(150-215 CE), Origen (185-254 CE); were all church
fathers of the first several centuries who, not only dictated the trend of
Christian theology, but they played a powerful role in personifying the devil.
Just as a state is usually more united and
powerful when in the crisis of war, the devil and his legions became a useful
tool for the early church fathers to create an enemy. But, the life of this
enemy has been given so much power and credibility; it often defeats the
unifying purpose; and actually strengthens the division. The devil not only
becomes a super entity; he becomes embodied in those who may differ in
lifestyle, ideology, or faith. The so-called unity of uniting against
"other'' ultimately divides us even more. The idea of Satan has become
more of an excuse, encourages a blame game, and justifies the failures of
mankind. We need to move away from such a projectionary
figure and unite in the love of God, which was the ideal that Jesus proclaimed.
3, The early church also needed an explanation
for the fact that many of their religious rites such as the Lord's Supper, were
rooted in pagan rituals that predated Christianity. The devil's cunningness
became a neat explanation to defend the church from such charges:
Even
the most peculiarly Christian sacrament, the Lord's Supper, was, according to
the testimony of Justin Martyr, celebrated by the Persians in the same way as
by the Christians; and Justin is ingenuous enough to attribute this coincidence
without the slightest hesitation to the influence of evil spirits. Tertullian is also aware of many similarities between
Church institutions and the pagan modes of Mythras,
which observation prompted him to declare that "Satan imitates the
sacraments of God"
The devil appears to have been very
cunning in those days, for if he had not daring spies in heaven, he must
himself have anticipated the Lord's plans; for the pagan institutions spoken of
as SATANIC IMITATIONS, such as the Persian haoma
sacrifice, the eating of consecrated cakes in commemoration of the dead for the
sake of obtaining life immortal ARE OLDER THAN CHRISTIANITY.
(Paul Carus,
THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL, Bell, 1969, pp220-221)
In other words, Orthodox Christianity was
blaming the devil for such a "coincidence". But, it was reaching the
point, where anyone that questioned, challenged, or differed in opinion from
the leaders of orthodoxy was branded a heretic who was in league with the
devil. Faith essentially shifted from "trust in God" to belief
in the church as declared by men.
4, Satan was also a convenient source to explain
converts to Christianity who may have persecuted Christians before their
conversion (like Paul or Tertullian). This
explanation became a kind of justification for their atrocities against
Christians - because they were "blinded by Satan" at the time of the
persecution!
So, we can demonstrate that there is strong
evidence of self-serving reasoning behind the concept of the devil. Objectivity
toward scripture was not foremost in the minds of the early Christian thinkers
who would determine the course of Christianity.
When one combines a political agenda, with the
reality that the Old Testament ideal of Satan differed so much from the present
conception, we quickly see that this evolution of Satan was more self-serving
than biblically rooted. This should concern the responsible theologian,
especially, when it is combined with a church history of persecution and
bloodshed justified in the name of this doctrine of Satan. Especially,
when the church of today is often more interested in ritual, words of prayer,
and declarations of belief; rather than, the dire needs of people.
And the doctrine of hell, too, has its essential
roots in power more than scripture:
The
* "Manichaean"
emphasis on heaven and bell proved to be effective from a missionary point of
view. THE THREAT OF DAMNATION lent the new faith a sense of urgency, and the
prospect that those who embrace the faith -one's enemies and oppressors, the
rich, and all who were evil would meet with dire punishment was gladly heard.
(Walter Kaufmann,
RELIGION IN FOUR DIMENSIONS, p113)
Despite such conflict, and what would seem to be
self-serving interpretations of evil, the devil and hell - there actually does
seem to be an archetype for these images in both scripture and myth.
There are several ways that responsible theology
can approach these concepts without creating
the projectionary psychological
result which now happens.
The first is seeing ourselves as the devil when
we go against our personal plan of salvation; a rejecting of God's purpose for
our being. Just as we often attack others for the faults we dislike in
ourselves, we have manipulated the character of Satan to fit a projection;
rather then, seeing him in ourselves. The Satan of scripture and myth deceives,
lies, and stands in the way of our spiritual growth. Who is more capable of
deceiving us than when we lie to ourselves? What stands in the way of our
spiritual growth more than our willingness to blame something else for the lack
of it?
The punishment of hell, too, does not have to be
a place created by God. It could just as easily be seen as a "state of
being" in which we know we wasted our precious gift of life - a state of
being that brings us torment beyond what we can understand as human beings;
thus, the metaphor. It becomes a state of failure, a state where we reap what
we sow. Hell is a metaphor for a state where we realize that we missed our
opportunity to give, which is what really builds life's treasures and meaning.
And in today's world, the concept of Satan can
be seen in yet a second metaphor - one which gives Satan life, not from the
hand of God, but from the collective of man. The devil is not God's enemy, but
man's excuse. He is not supernatural, but a product of a materialistically
driven world with a social order that justifies its corruption by a projection,
failing to encourage personal responsibility for its shortcomings. We see God
in heaven, or in the bread upon altars, or in visions,
or in faith; not in the faces of people and in the wonderful natural order
around us. Religiously, it's as if the
creation were incidental to God.
Perhaps, the idea of Satan in our sacred stories
represents the collective of society - which in itself can be the master of
deceit and a wall blocking spiritual growth. A society that encourages greed
and selfishness through materialism; a society which feeds blame and projection;
a society plagued by lies and hypocrisy; a society who both religiously and
secularly have removed the Creator from the creation.
We don't really need external temptation of a supernatural
order. We have become so entrapped in our daily living, we fail to look for
life's higher purpose - and this is what society truly encourages! We have come
to justify everything: "Everybody does it", "that's
progress and you cannot stop it'', "that's the way it is";
are all sayings that a master of deceit would use to justify an evil we do not
wish to face. Our world is measured in dollars and cents, jobs, cars, houses;
not in terms, of generosity, love, and ideals.
In our indifference, we have turned our back on
the principle ethics, which should define our morality as outlined in the
directives of Jesus. Our world justifies the existence of the poor by branding
them as lazy. Our economic system is based upon image, trickery, deceit and
lies, which are principles of advertising and political campaigns. In the name
of convenience, we waste, pollute, and destroy without much religious thought
to the consequences for future generations - without much thought to what the
Creator may feel.
And the religious belief structure is not doing
much to provide balance for these forces of society. In fact, religious
doctrines, such as the devil or the redemption, can actually psychologically
suggest that there is nothing we can do about such things. Yet, it is only our
indifference as individuals, and our beliefs in such a lies, that has created
the monstrous force which drives so many. A society is a power that is created
by the individual members, especially a democratic one. Unless individuals are
willing to change, the society cannot change.
The Satan, the punishments, and the tribulations
in myth; all tell us about our lack of personal responsibility. Jesus didn't
blame the devil for our problems. He told us to "Pick up our cross"
And solve them. He showed us that life is a balance between the egocentric
wants and needs with the spiritual values which make us in the Image of God. He
demonstrated that evil is in our hypocrisy, indifference, projection and
selfishness. Every parable, every command, every miracle of the gospels can be
seen as being about personal responsibility according to one's own potential -
a personal responsibility that is rooted in love. The idea of the devil is
contrary to this message for it removes the cause of evil outside us, when in
reality it is in us.
Christian theology may argue, that, in their
judgmental doctrine blame is assigned and that individuals pay, and this may be
true. But, the cause of evil, in their doctrine, is external (the devil), and
can only be defeated by a God who has chosen thus far to give him free reign
over us.
If we stop and think about it, our whole
Christian moral code is based upon a projectionary
blame game. It states that the devil is the cause of evil by tempting us to
violate God's Law; and that we are prone to break that law because of our
weakened wills brought about by the original sin. Even our salvation is outside
of us. And the church interprets that salvation according to what we profess to
believe.
These ideals have built a psychological wall around
any personal responsibility for those who choose to project. Taken to its
logical conclusion, our theological reasoning asserts that while we are
sinners, we are not truly at fault. We offer all kinds of ways to achieve
forgiveness without ever having to make up, or take responsibility for, our
selfish actions. Words of prayer replace deeds of love,
ritual worship replaces actions of tribute that should be expressed toward God
through each other.
As a consequence of this, our moral values must
be flawed because without personal responsibility (not for what we say but for
what we do), the foundation of our morals are based upon little more than
hypocrisy. It seems that the proofs of these lies are demonstrated in the very
reality of our world today. As long as we can project fault and blame, no moral
code will have any major effect!
Theology needs to recognize that we do have
power against Satan - it's within every one of us. That power is to be able to
rise above selfishness; thus, changing the direction of the social evolution to
one that recognizes universal love as its greatest wealth.
It is not "other" that is the enemy of
God; it is the self. Responsible theology needs to recognize the true demon, in
the personage of one's self, with the power coming from a collective that
justifies evil through projection. Satan is often referred to as the "master
of deceit," and it is a well-known psychological fact that no one is
more capable of deceiving us than we are ourselves. What leads us into evil is
not external; it is our greed for instant self-gratification, our indifference
toward others, our desire for power over others, and
the justification of our personal hypocrisy through the use of rationalization
and projection.
Religion doesn't need to fight a devil. It needs
to encourage us to find a way to become more objective about ourselves. The
weapons to fight evil are not faith and ritual they are love, and compassion -
our very sharing in the nature of God. We do not need the devil, or a fear of
hell, or the promise of reward to love our Creator. The life She
has bestowed upon us; the wonders of the miracles of existence; that which
makes being "be", and our sharing of such with intellect and
feeling: these things should be our motivation to love God. A focus on these
concepts should encourage personal growth.
To ask why evil exists; is to ask why have we
distanced ourselves so far from the Creator? We ignore the sacred stories and
myths, cheapening them by our literal interpretations, feeding our social order
which tolerates poverty, oppression, persecution, war, bigotry, indifference,
lies, and selfishness. We claim to profess that the Divine is in all men; but
in actuality, we accuse - projecting our failures unto the evil servants of the
devil.
Many religions have built a doctrinal evil into
their system to the point where we do not even recognize true evil. Starving
children, unloved people, lonely aged, poverty in the midst of great wealth,
sickness where it could be prevented, wars where the innocent pay with their
lives, the blatant waste and destruction of resources, the deceit and lies
advertising bombards us with every day - these things are of men. Not of God!
Not of the devil!
Until our theology recognizes this fact, and
strives to bring the reality of God into the reality of our lives in this
world, we will continue to be lost. The crime, violence, neuroses, stresses -
are all symptoms of a time and a people that are lost in their own projection.
Just as we no longer see the Creator in the
creation, we no longer recognize that the reality of Satan is a human creation
to redeem us of any fault.
And beyond that, the idea is foolish. God simply
couldn't have any enemies, for She is beyond such
petty human characteristics. But we as human beings, out of selfishness, can
choose to ignore God's harmonious plan of creation. A modern psychiatrist
states:
Triggers
are pulled by individuals, orders are given and executed by individuals. In the
last analysis, EVERY SINGLE HUMAN ACT IS ULTIMATELY THE RESULT OF INDIVIDUAL
CHOICE.
(Scott Peck, PEOPLE OF THE
LIE, Simon & Schuster, 1983, p215)
This is ultimately what theology should see,
encouraging such ideals in the hearts of the faithful follower. If we were
motivated by such a responsible concept, we would go a long way to change our
personal habits. As we begin to change, so too, would our societies. The first
step in ridding the world of Satan is looking for that part of him which is in
one's self.
The solution to the problem of evil will never
rest in fear. The solution to the problem of evil begins with self-control -
based upon, personal responsibility and the love of a Creator always visible in
reality. Reality is about birth and renewal, not about death and fear. Life has
real purpose; it is not merely a test.
...
there is a renewing principle everywhere operative
that is of the nature of the earth and of the mystery of the womb, which
receives seed and returns it as renewed life. The function of myth is to bring
that truth to mind, and of the ritual, to turn it into action. The individual
is thereby united with the way of nature, centered, NOT IN SELF-PRESERVATION,
BUT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WONDER OF THE WHOLE.
(Alexander Eliot, THE
UNIVERSAL MYTHS, Penguin Books, cl976, p48)
Our doctrines should not be about excuses for
what we are; rather, they should encourage us to move beyond what we are. We
need to move beyond the division fed by projection; to a unity of love which
generates respect and compassion. God could have no enemies; but we can reject
our purpose created of God's Love.
The devil is a simple metaphor for the
malevolence that we harbor within ourselves. It's the indifference and
selfishness, which causes us to lose sight of the whole. It is that which
distracts us from seeing the real presence of God in the people and reality all
around us. Satan is the individual who is consumed by their own narcissism.
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