Does Satan Really Exist? Hell, Yes!

Today's age of reason, age of relativism and age of education have led us backward rather than forward in terms of spirtuality.

It's led us back to the Tower of Babel (see Gn 11); back to the idea that man can ascend to God based only on his own reason, solely on his own strengths. Not only is it shades of Babel, but it is no less than shades of The Fall (see Gn 3). Man aspires to be God -- not be like God, but be God Himself. In this retro-journey -- which occurs with regularity throughout history -- man discards the notion that God is anything but a product of his own mind. An equally dangerous fallacy -- a corallary -- is that Satan is a product of the mind of man as well.

While the first supposition causes us to turn our back on God, the second has us walking in lock-step with the Satan in whom we do not believe. Satan loves nothing better than to ruin a soul by a) convincing people there is no God, b) convincing people there is no Satan or c) both of the above. Any of the three scenarios repeats the circumstances -- the deception -- surrounding The Fall; that is, that man is totally capable (and worthy) of eating of the tree of life so as to know himself what is good and what is evil.

Never mind what God has said, Satan tells Eve. God knows that if you eat of its fruit that you shall be like Him; your eyes will be opened and you will know good from evil. The Father of Lies is at work all the harder today, still convincing people that it is they who should decide what is right and what is wrong; that their conscience should lead the way. Conscience is a wonderful thing, to be sure -- when one does not know what is the right thing to do, conscience helps point us in the right diection. Conscience does not shove us in that direction. But conscience used to redefine what is right and wrong is the sin of pride.

Satan is the Father of Lies; the Father of [Sinful] Pride. He dared to presume that he knew better than his Creator. He not only ruined his own soul -- his own existence -- but he led others in a revolt against his Creator, preferring to rule in the Dark than serve in the Light. Satan cares nothing about you or I. He doesn't desire our allegience, our worship -- although he says otherwise. He has an ulterior motive; he wants only to strike back at God. Every soul he ruins is an attempt to hurt his Creator again. It's pure hatred. Misguided, blinded hatred.

So, when Satan convinces the secular-minded that he does not exist, there is a good chance that he's convinced that same person that God does not exist. After all, how many people believe in God but not Satan? How many believe in good but not evil. How many believe in day but not night. How many believe in wealth but not poverty? To believe is to believe in the opposite, is it not? When Satan has removed our belief in the Father of Life and in himself -- the Father of Death -- he has suceeded in convincing us that there is no better judge of good versus evil than ourselves.

It's each person's personal version of The Fall (after all, original sin comes only from Adam and Eve), repeated ad infinitum. It's like watching The Wizard of Oz year after year -- you know that the witch is going to end up being melted. Satan uses the same bag of tricks; he just upgrades the scenery and the props. And we, as a people, fall for it too often.

Satan is real. He exists. He exists for one purpose as he sees it -- to ruin souls. For us, let us be on our guard against him in all his forms. Let us consider that Satan exists for perhaps another reason -- so that we may be the better, that we may choose the better, in spite of him.

Don't let Satan convince you that he doesn't exist. Remember that he has no power other than that we give him. We are created good through Baptism. It takes a conscious decision to ruin our soul. Some say we were put on this earth to rise above nature. I prefer to think that we were placed on this earth above nature, and that it is an unfortunate fact of life that there are those who choose to sink to (or below) the level of nature.

Comments? Discussion? God bless you!