Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday Reflection: The Existence of Satan
Here in Oklahoma, I heard two of my co-volunteers discussing whether or not there is a literal, physical Satan-- an entity which tries to draw people away from God.
I will confess that it is a question I have never thought about much, but I realize that it is very important to some people. Some folks I know are convinced that there is an actual Satan, and that Satan's temptations are placed intentionally around them.
Recently, I came to one conclusion about this, which is that Jesus clearly spoke about Satan as something other than a literal entity which lives for evil.
As I was preparing for the trial of Christ, one of my tasks was to come up with a cross-examination for the Apostle Peter. One of the passages I relied on was Matthew 16:23. There, Jesus has just finished telling Peter that he is the rock on which the church shall be built, and has moved on to describing the events to come-- the events of Good Friday. Peter rebukes him, saying this can't be true.
In response, Jesus says "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Jesus is talking to Peter, but refers to him as Satan-- immediately after recognizing his value and worth! To me this is a clear sign as to how we are to understand "Satan"-- as that part of us which serves as a stumbling block to others.
That message reinforces something I strongly believe-- that our charge from God through Christ is to identify our own sins, not those of others. We must root out that "Satan" within us. Too often, we define ourselves as Christians not through self-examination, but through condemnation of what we are not. That is too easy, too mean, and too simple to be consistent with the words of Christ, who time and again taught us to do what is hard, to be kind, and to engage with the complexities within us.
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In my mind, Satan, is our human instinct. The 'me' factor. That element of 'what's in it for me'. The counter point to that...is this...and these are not my words...but those of Wendell Berry:
"I think the only antidote to that is imagination. You have to develop your imagination to the point that permits sympathy to happen. You have to be able to imagine lives that are not yours or the lives of your loved ones or the lives of your neighbors. You have to have at least enough imagination to understand that if you want the benefits of compassion, you must be compassionate. If you want forgiveness you must be forgiving".
It's a difficult business, being human. That, I do know.
I also know that I am thankful for a gracious God. One that takes that human factor and says, "take eat" and "drink this"... "do this for the remembrance of me".
I will do that today. And then again, and again, and again. Knowing that the "human element" is there. Yet also knowing that there is more. Much more.
"I think the only antidote to that is imagination. You have to develop your imagination to the point that permits sympathy to happen. You have to be able to imagine lives that are not yours or the lives of your loved ones or the lives of your neighbors. You have to have at least enough imagination to understand that if you want the benefits of compassion, you must be compassionate. If you want forgiveness you must be forgiving".
It's a difficult business, being human. That, I do know.
I also know that I am thankful for a gracious God. One that takes that human factor and says, "take eat" and "drink this"... "do this for the remembrance of me".
I will do that today. And then again, and again, and again. Knowing that the "human element" is there. Yet also knowing that there is more. Much more.
# posted by 
: 1:38 AM
: 1:38 AM 
Professor--you are my church this morning,and hallelujah,praise the Lord.I love it that you have a picture of yourself,under the title of your piece. That says it all. Jesus himself said,with regard to compassion for the uncompassionate ones,that God "causes it to rain upon the just as well as the unjust." And that is why despite all the volcanoes,tsunamis,floods,fires,earthquakes we will not see the end for quite a while. He is waiting. He is gathering in. Mindful self-searching of ourselves hurts and aggrieves us...as our sins and struggles aggrieve Him. But I have found such tenderness in His arms afterwards. Get on with it,Brave Soldier.
Mark: Yes. I agree with you. God shows us boundless compassion and grace. But if we are able to recognize and acknowledge that compassion and grace, is when we say, "ah, yes...there it is". And in doing that I think we can become more compassionate and gracious in our own lives and in the lives of those that travel with us.
# posted by : 4:00 PM
: 4:00 PM
Somebody said, "Satan's greatest trick was convincing us he does not exist."
I can say that in everything I do, I can choose between something that brings me closer to God and something that takes me further away from God.
And Satan, for me, is that "rationalizer" within me that tells me the choice that would take me further from God is actually OK.
So I guess I agree with Wendy!
I can say that in everything I do, I can choose between something that brings me closer to God and something that takes me further away from God.
And Satan, for me, is that "rationalizer" within me that tells me the choice that would take me further from God is actually OK.
So I guess I agree with Wendy!
# posted by : 8:08 PM
: 8:08 PM
Professor-I am wondering what you make of several scenes in the Bible which are fairly graphic and physical in their description of evil. I have been thinking about your words for 24 hours now. The presence of Satan at the temptation of Jesus.Where Satan shows Jesus different scenarios and asks him to prove that He is the son of God,tempting Him with quotations from scripture. Was this evil present in or a part of Jesus? We have Jesus casting 7 demons out of Mary Magdalene,demons out of the Gerascene man and into pigs and others? What are these demons? Mental illness? That being said,I think man has a vested interest in believing in a horned,tailed Evil Being,someone outside himself that he can blame when he chooses to go with anything other than God. I have felt evil feelings within myself that were Other than Me and have prayed them away or psalmed them away. Is this my imagination or does it really exist? I think we are so filled with God's goodness and so made in his image,that the opposite of God is glaringly real. So,I guess in approaching this issue,honestly,I am not sure. But what I do know is that mindful vigilance is my watchword,and that I must continue to pray that I not be "lead into temptation," and that if I am,God will guide me out of it.
I think of Satan as the embodiment of sin. Our sin takes place on a spiritual plane, yet it is often manifested in a tangible sense.
I think that we, as humans, tend to have a difficult time believing in things that we cannot experience with our senses, so it's easier for our imaginations to paint a silly red devil with horns and a pitchfork than it is to face the much-less-cute sin within ourselves.
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I think that we, as humans, tend to have a difficult time believing in things that we cannot experience with our senses, so it's easier for our imaginations to paint a silly red devil with horns and a pitchfork than it is to face the much-less-cute sin within ourselves.
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