Sometimes I wonder ... what ever happened to the devil? These days, no one seems to know where he's hiding. I'm talking about Satan, Lucifer, Prometheus, the personification of evil. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most people do not believe the devil exists. Those who do believe in the devil operate in the shadows in secret societies. But every once in awhile one of them will unveil their identity in a public setting. For example, on February 17, 1988 , Michael Aquino appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. Aquino's appearance on Oprah is described, with commentary, in the book America: The Sorcerer's New Apprentice.
Michael Aquino is both a self-proclaimed Satanist and a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army. "The Army has known about my religion of the entire span of my Army career, which began in 1968," says Aquino," [and] has paid very little attention to it, as it would . . . any other slightly unusual religion today." Mr. Aquino appeared on Oprah with his wife, Lilith (the name, in occult mythology, of Adam's demon-wife before Eve). Oprah was clearly surprised by the Aquinos' description of Satanists as "very decent, very law-abiding people with . . . a very high set of personal ethics . . . who have nothing to do with evil."
"It's just difficult for me to understand that the devil is a good thing . . . that Satan isn't evil, which is the opposite of what everybody in this world has been taught," responded Opera Winfrey, obviously perplexed. "In every state of the nation authorities are investigating some form of what they call Satanic activity . . . The list of bizarre stories goes on and on."
Oprah's surprise reflected a basic inconsistency in popular thinking. If, as today's culture generally accepts, there are no moral absolutes, then calling Satanism just as moral as any other belief system is not surprising at all. In vain one searches the New Ages "states-of-consciousness" cliches' and hype about "spiritual values" for any basis of evaluation. In fact the mere suggestion that there ought to be some definite standard of right and wrong is rejected out of hand as narrow-minded. (Heaven forbid we should be called narrow-minded, that would be an insult worse than death.)
New Agers are especially vulnerable to the popular belief that has dominated American universities for decades: that the one virtue is openness to everything and the refusal to be against anything. It is this very openness which makes the New Age so appealing. As Richard Blow points out in The New Republic, "The New Age way is not to deny differences between people, but to deny that they matter." (234-236)
As her conversation with Aquinos continued, Winfrey seemed surprised. "Well, the way you explain this," she said, "is very much the way a lot of people who are into metaphysics now and the New Age movement and New Age thinking, they say the very same thing. Are you saying that it's the same?"
There was no hesitation in Aquino's response. "Yes, except that I would say we [Satanists] have a more precise grasp of . . . this quality of the human psyche or the human soul. . . . . We would say that we understand what's actually happening a little better than many New Agers."
Who is this entity called Satan who is worshiped by some and feared by others?
The Hebrew prophets declared that Satan was the most beautiful, wise, and powerful being that God had created; but, deluded by pride, he had aspired to become a "God" himself. It was the ultimate rebellion, in which a multitude of angels-turned-demons apparently followed him. Mankind also chose to join in this high treason against the Lord of the universe. Satan's all-consuming pursuit of this ambition has made him the personification of evil and perversion. That the biblical Satan and the god of Satanists are one and the same, even as to their influence upon mankind, is clear from what Aquino told the television audience. (Ibid)
The Bible leaves no doubt about the reality of Satan and his demons. In the New Testament we find story after story of Jesus casting demons out of people. Granted, some people have been abused by manipulative presentations of Satan and others try to get out of personal responsibility by claiming, "The devil made me do it," which is another way of saying, "I refuse to take responsibility for my actions." But surely that is no reason to dismiss the Satan of the Bible. There, he is not so much to be feared as resisted and is one who flees before those who submit to God while counting his days before he is crushed beneath them. Rather than deny the existence of Satan, it seems a better strategy would be to focus on his definitive defeat. (This paragraph is adapted from J.R. Dodson, The University of Tübingen)
In his great book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis claims the greatest tool Satan has in his work in human lives is his ability to remain undetected. When we see Satan in action we are well on our way to binding him and casting him out. But as long as Satan remains hidden, he is free to work on us without hindrance.
Even though we haven't seen him, we have seen the fruit of Satan's work in the decline of our churches. Forty years ago, the Presbyterian Church (USA) -- PC(USA) for short -- had 4.25 million members. Today, we have 2.2 million members, a loss of nearly 50%. And things aren't getting any better. The PC (USA) lost 57,572 members in 2007, the worst decline in decades, according to the official statistics released by Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick on June 21, 2008. The 2007 loss is the equivalent of nearly 300 congregations with memberships of 200 -- about the average size for a PCUSA congregation. That leaves our denomination with 2,209,546 members. Kirkpatrick's office projects even higher losses in 2008 and 2009. Sounds like Satan's been busy defeating the church in the last 40 years. He's done it by using an old tactic he loves to employ: Divide and conquer.
The devil knows that Presbyterians are Protestants -- "protest ants." We are fighters by nature. But ever since the devil went into hiding we have no common outside enemy to focus on, so now we fight ourselves and it is consuming us. The most contentious issue during these past 40 years has been the ordination of gays and lesbians as Elders and Ministers of Word and Sacrament. This is a perfectly divisive issue because both sides are correct in their own way and neither side is willing to compromise. If we could remove his cloak of invisibility, perhaps we would stop fighting amongst ourselves and start fighting the devil.
Some of us are feeling uncomfortable with this conversation because we have been taught that sophisticated people do not believe in the existence of Satan. Yet, every Sunday we repeat the Lord's prayer, which asks God to "Deliver us from evil." I am suggesting we identity evil, name it, bind it, and with God's help, defeat it. Instead of denying the existence of Satan we should acknowledge his existence and do as Jesus suggests in our text today, as he says:
Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." Matthew 18:15-20
According to Jesus, instead of denying Satan we should be binding Satan. These ideas are nothing new. Our ancestors in the faith knew all about fighting the devil. This is a part of our heritage that we need to reclaim. We sang "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" this morning. Listen to the lyrics in that hymn.
A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevaling.
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
In this verse God is stronger than the devil and God helps us identify Satan, who is the premier power on earth. Verse 2 explains the role of Jesus Christ in our confict with Satan and boldy proclaims that he must win the battle.
Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabbaoth, his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, Text: Martin Luther Trans. by Frederick H. Hedge
Jesus Christ is on our side and will help us win the battle against Satan. Belief in the devil and belief that we shall overcome evil is common in the Bible, in the Lord's prayer, and in the great hymns of the church. We need to reclaim our orthodox Christian heritage, stop denying Satan, and start binding Satan. The devil has been involved in a disappearing act for the last 40 years and so has the church. It's time for the disappearing act to come to an end. It is time for us to open our eyes and see the world through the eyes of Jesus. He is the one who cast out demons. He is the one who prayed to be delivered from evil. He is the one who once referred to his disciple Peter as Satan. May God rescue us from our bondage to thought patterns that deny the existence of evil. It is impossible to fight against something you do not believe exists.
May God deliver us from the evil we cannot see or choose to deny. May God give eyes to see the evil in this world and the courage to stand against it. Then we may join our ancestors in the faith, singing in a confident voice;
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, Text: Martin Luther Trans. by Frederick H. Hedge
