In a reading group I belong to, we studied the first monks
to go out into the Egyptian desert in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. We
read of heroic men and women who performed supernatural feats —
like Simeon Stylites who lived on a pillar for 37 years — in an
effort to live lives of mortification and penance, thereby growing
closer to God. We read St. Athanasius’ Life of Anthony, a
fascinating biography which described, among other things, the
legendary desert saint’s physical struggles with the devil and his
demons.
Reading of the battles with Satan fought by St. Anthony
and others, we pondered as to why Satan and his minions were so
prevalent in such a desolate place, until we came to the conclusion
that the devil really needn’t bother with highly populated areas,
as we do his work very well without much prompting from him.
Indeed, it is a testament to his genius that most folks who do his
bidding blissfully deny his very existence. After all, nobody
really believes in that stuff, anymore; it’s medieval!
Oddly enough though, some folks are paying attention to
Old Nick. It seems that Hollywood — temporarily interrupting its
fetish for vampires — is releasing two flicks dealing with his
doings: a mockudrama called The Last Exorcism, and the
much-ballyhooed, The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins and
based on a true story. Of course my favorite of all movies
concerning attempts to separate Satan from a person with whom he
has chosen to dwell would be the 1990 comedy Repossessed,
wherein Linda Blair is once again spewing pea soup until rescued by
Leslie Nielsen.
Hollywood has demonstrated ad nauseam its desire to
promote and please the powers of darkness. An unhappy coincidence
rendered me a viewer of Sunday’s awful Golden Globe awards, which
closed with a voiceover — possibly from the host, I don’t know —
saying “and thank you to God for making me an atheist.”
So amongst the purveyors of entertainment in this country,
God is made the butt of jokes while the Evil One is the subject of
much reverent attention. He is not only believed in, but still
worshiped by many who practice the dark arts, and even others who
are not rock musicians. Don’t believe me? Just do a search on
“wicca” or take a look at your child’s textbooks that deal with the
world’s “religions.”
We’re constantly looking for answers to violent crime,
unless of course said crimes are committed by radical Islamists.
Why did the Arizona killer strike? What inspired the hate in him?
Well, as scripture says, Satan is a liar, and the father of all
lies, and one of his favorites is when the evil which he introduces
into the world takes root in an unbalanced person who commits
heinous crimes, which then causes others to question God. And the
folks who question him most are very often those in high
places.
Yes, it only takes a few leaders who have made the Dark
Angel their guest to lead the rest — who don’t really
believe in him — astray; especially when the anecdote to evil has
been virtually expunged from all aspects of public life; no prayer
in schools or civic events, while in many churches, worship has
turned inward instead of upward. And all that’s needed are a few
dupes willing to sell their souls in the name of Utopia to lead
others downward. C.S. Lewis brilliantly puts this explanation on
the lips of his favorite demon,
Screwtape:
As the great sinners grow fewer, and the majority lose all
individuality, the great sinners become far more effective agents
for us. Every dictator or even demagogue — almost every film star
or crooner — can now draw tens of thousands of the human sheep
with him…There may come a time when we shall have no need to
bother about individual temptation at all, except for the
few. Catch the bellwether, and his whole flock comes after
him.
It was the French poet Baudelaire who wrote, “The greatest
trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did
not exist.” So you can believe in the existence of personified evil
or not; and many folks choose the latter. No, most people do not
believe in the devil; but he believes in them.
