Mar 27 2009
Does Satan Exist?
Photo courtesy of www.joelchua.com
I decided to write about this topic today after seeing the Nightline debate on this same subject. Deepak Chopra as well as a couple of other ministers and an ex prostitute were debating the existence of Satan.
The prostitute claimed that she heard voices telling her to do evil and that she knew that these voices were not in her head. She also claimed that she was a drug addict at the time. She believes that Satan was directing her evil acts. While I do believe she heard voices I do not believe they were the voices of Satan.
Deepak Chopra took the stance that Satan is a non existent myth and that we all have the capacity for good and evil. I have to agree with him on this particular statement. I do not believe there is a Satan. Because we have the power of choice and free will we also have the power to go against what our heart tells us and as a result listen to our ego which can steer us in the wrong direction.
There was another minister who believes that Satan is an angel who fell out of grace from God and this fallen angel is in fact the devil or Satan. Many people do believe this to be true. I absolutely do not believe this scenario. It was also stated that in order for you to believe in God you must believe in Satan. That was the most ridiculous statement made on that show and the perfect example of how the ego works.
I remember years ago going to see the movie the Exorcist when it was first released. I was not a child at the time yet that movie scared the daylights out of me. In fact, it still does. I cannot watch that movie at all. The special effects, the rotation of the head and everything else just made me cringe in fear. I’ve asked myself many times why that movie had such an effect on me. My answer was quite simple. It was scary enough to make me question my beliefs about Satan.
My belief is that we all have racing thoughts which at times can be evil because we all have an ego and free will. When we or someone does something evil it is out of fear, rejection, loneliness etc… The list goes on and on. I truly believe that if we understand that our ego is the “evil” within us and that we should learn to think and act with our heart then those voices and racing thoughts will no longer exist.
I am very curious as to your thoughts on this subject.
Well, I’m going to throw out the cliche that “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist”. I do believe in Satan, Lucifer, the Evil One and I am a born-again Christian. I do believe that we are in control of our actions and thoughts, so I do not feel that evil only comes from the devil and we are not responsible for our actions. However, there is a spiritual war going on and has been ever since humans fell from grace. A lot of the battles are taking place in our very hearts and minds, but Satan has a lot of pull on the human race. It’s up to us to listen and follow God and rebuke the evil that is all around us.