What if the devil is Real?

In Western culture there isn’t any direct evidence of the devil, which means he either isn’t real or he is really good at convincing people he’s not.  Of course, when I claim there isn’t any direct evidence, I don’t mean I expect him to go around announcing (in silly voice), “I’m the devil.  Let’s get naked and rob some banks.”  But when’s the last time you heard about an exorcism or someone being demon possessed?  Besides a few ghost tours and Halloween shenanigans people see as fake, the supernatural is pretty limited here.  In Western culture we look to “science” to explain everything like it’s somehow foolish to believe in anything beyond what’s tangible.  I should be clear that I’m not someone who wants to blame the devil for everything we do wrong; people are good at screwing up on their own.  How much influence he has is a whole other topic. I’m just curious at exploring whether he is real or not because it has heavy implications.

Hypothetically speaking, let’s say the devil is real.  That means there’s a God.  Best case scenario, God is able to make the world better if we start to look to Him for help and follow his rules.  Worst case, He’s there and we know we’re not alone (although it can feel that way at times); we suffer because we and others make terrible choices, but we can look forward to the next life.  Call me crazy, but either situation sounds a lot like hope.

On the other hand, hypothetically speaking, let’s say there isn’t a devil.  That pretty much means there isn’t a God or the one we read about in the Bible is a lie – and the greatest hoax in history.  Best case scenario, people somehow realize how much we suck and unite together in making the world better – yeah, that’s not happening; people are terrible at uniting together.  (It’s hard not to laugh at that thought).  Without God there is really no hope.  We suffer in this life only to not exist when we die.  That’s bleak. Logically, even if I wasn’t Christian, I’d be hoping the devil is real because if he doesn’t exist, there isn’t any hope – as strange as that can sound.

If the devil is real, he’s very subtle in Western culture. For fun, let’s consider what that would mean:

1. He’d want to cause division in families. This would include, affairs, divorce, and blended family situations that are very difficult to handle.
2. He’d want kids to be raised by institutions like daycares rather than by the parents. The less time families are together, the less likely they are to be connected, which increases the chances of division.
3. He’d want to make people obsessed with money and selfishness. With money being the main goal, so many things fall apart as people sacrifice their integrity and families.  It also causes divisions as judging is increased wince some people will show off while others will be jealous and/or feel inadequate.
4. He’d want us to have light pollution to prevent people from seeing the stars and limit how much access we have to nature because it can lead to a spiritual connection.
5. He’d want to make people focus on quick fixes instead of doing the actual work to heal. This will increase the risk of addictions like TV, drugs, and booze; these can distract people, but never lead to healing.
6. He’d increase isolation because people are at their best in community. Thus, he’d want people to focus on themselves rather than what’s best for the overall group.  Isolation would be increased through addictions and the use of social media where people get the illusion of human interaction.  He’d also reduce actual human interaction with self checkouts, bank machines, and working from home, so people are less engaged with real people.  By reducing interactions, people will be out of practice, which will make any interactions that do happen extra awkward and unpleasant.  This will further discourage any actual interactions adding to the cycle.
7. He’d want people to think they’re somehow “enlightened” by not needing faith. Meanwhile, he’d want to make faith groups look really lame and something to look down on without direct oppression because that’s when Christianity flourishes.  For instance, early Christianity exploded when Rome made being Christian illegal and could be punishable by death.  When there’s persecution, faith grows; when there’s contempt and general blasé feelings towards it like in Canada, faith fizzles.
8. He’d want Christians to focus on stupid topics like abortion and gay marriage when the focus of Christianity is supposed to be about loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself – Christianity is not supposed to be about trying to control people or making them follow your rules, especially those who aren’t Christian.
9. He’d make Christian leaders look bad. In recent years, some of the biggest names in Protestantism ended up having their reputations destroyed from affairs like Bill Hybils.  Then there was Ravi Zaccarius who took scandal to a whole new level since he secretly ran brothels while preaching around the world.
10. He’d want to allow incredibly horrific things to carry on in the Catholic Church only to bring them to light when the timing was most damaging like with the priests abusing boys and the residence schools situation.
11. He’d create groups to replace faith communities. In recent years, there’s the pride community, anti-vaxers, overly zealous animal activist groups (like the people at Niagara-on-the-Lake claiming a horse drawn carriage is animal cruelty), and anti-racism groups.  When Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting racism, God was part of the foundation for bringing unity, which doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.  Now, hate and anger seem to be the uniting force.
12. He’d want to elevate sex and sexuality, two things that really aren’t that important, but can be great distractions from spirituality while causing extreme division. If what you do is legal, who cares, but don’t rub it in other’s faces.  Meanwhile, Christians are supposed to role model love.
13. He’d want people to be obsessed with “mental health” rather than spirituality because the latter can bring healing while the former can be a trap. Focusing on mental health can be a great way to stay stuck in victimhood and give excuses not to grow.
14. He’d want to make death hidden because death forces people to contemplate our own mortality. Whether it’s killing our own food or having funerals, our culture tries to hide death as best as possible because it’s too uncomfortable.
15. He’d want to make education and learning so accessible that people take it for granted and get lazy at learning.
16. He’d make careers that remove the need for seeking God for help. For instance, when you’re a farmer needing rain or a therapist who needs clients, you end up looking to God for strength whereas stable paying jobs remove that need.
17. He’d want people to think we don’t need God to go to heaven; we just need to be a “good” person even though there’s no proof of that.

Maybe I’m guilty of confirmation bias, but to me, the devil is real and very busy screwing up our culture.

Rev. Chad David, ChadDavid.ca, learning to love dumb people (like me)