The REALLY scandalous thing is that many people who consider
themselves Christians seem to believe more in a Trinity consisting of Jesus,
the Holy Spirit (w/ the Father as some sort of vague, sloppy amalgamation w/
one of the first two), and -- as the secret member of the Trinity (the one
nobody acknowledges): SATAN.
What I mean by this is that some Christians seem so focused
on looking out for the Devil under every rock that they have essentially
elevated Evil/the Devil/Satan to precisely the same status as God.
I am not denying the existence of an evil principle in the human soul (at least potentially – I was born just 16 years after they shut down Auschwitz, after all), nor am I denigrating those who still use the traditional names for and personifications of that evil principle.
What I am saying is this: Some people talk about Evil (with the capital E), or the Devil, or Lucifer, or Satan at least as much as they talk about God, and that sort of fixation doesn't strike me as a response from strength, if nothing else.
In classical terms, the war is over, the victory is long since won -- so why keep dwelling on the Enemy as if his craft and power are so great as to overwhelm even those whose faith is properly strong?
I understand a reasonable concern born of a realistic view of one's own frailties, imperfections, fears, and worst impulses -- don't get me wrong. I myself have recently come to realize why I haven't always trusted God as much and as fully as I should have. But dwelling on Satan wouldn't help me through that problem. It’s MY problem, MY responsibility, and I don’t think those of us who consider ourselves Christians can have it both ways. Either we believe that God was present in the Christ event and was acting – in some way – to overcome the corruption of God’s original design for Creation, or we don’t. If we don’t, how can we continue to call ourselves Christians, whatever we mean by that term?
To put it in more traditional terms (in the hope of clarifying things for the maximum number of people), if God was in Christ to give the entire cosmos a major course correction, then God was also removing all our theological cop-outs: Original Sin, the wiles and malice of Satan – whatever.
From now on, it’s up to us to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling,” as the New Testament has it. That’s the bad news. The good news is that, from now on, it’s up to us to respond to such promptings of the Spirit as we feel deep in the marrow of our souls, and God has empowered each of us to do just that.
I am not denying the existence of an evil principle in the human soul (at least potentially – I was born just 16 years after they shut down Auschwitz, after all), nor am I denigrating those who still use the traditional names for and personifications of that evil principle.
What I am saying is this: Some people talk about Evil (with the capital E), or the Devil, or Lucifer, or Satan at least as much as they talk about God, and that sort of fixation doesn't strike me as a response from strength, if nothing else.
In classical terms, the war is over, the victory is long since won -- so why keep dwelling on the Enemy as if his craft and power are so great as to overwhelm even those whose faith is properly strong?
I understand a reasonable concern born of a realistic view of one's own frailties, imperfections, fears, and worst impulses -- don't get me wrong. I myself have recently come to realize why I haven't always trusted God as much and as fully as I should have. But dwelling on Satan wouldn't help me through that problem. It’s MY problem, MY responsibility, and I don’t think those of us who consider ourselves Christians can have it both ways. Either we believe that God was present in the Christ event and was acting – in some way – to overcome the corruption of God’s original design for Creation, or we don’t. If we don’t, how can we continue to call ourselves Christians, whatever we mean by that term?
To put it in more traditional terms (in the hope of clarifying things for the maximum number of people), if God was in Christ to give the entire cosmos a major course correction, then God was also removing all our theological cop-outs: Original Sin, the wiles and malice of Satan – whatever.
From now on, it’s up to us to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling,” as the New Testament has it. That’s the bad news. The good news is that, from now on, it’s up to us to respond to such promptings of the Spirit as we feel deep in the marrow of our souls, and God has empowered each of us to do just that.
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