Suppose that Satan was a televangelist. In fact, there’s a sense in which Satan is a televangelist. What would be his “gospel.” What message would he preach to the masses?
Would Satan preach Satanism? Probably not. While you have a few hardcore types who find that appealing, most folks find that off-putting.
What about universalism? We don’t generally associate univeralism with Satanism. But, then, we wouldn’t expect Satan to tip his hand that early in the game. We’d expect Satan to use a winsome come-on. And univeralism has a better sales pitch for Satanism than Satanism.
How is that, you ask? Well, universalism is a form of moral relativism. It doesn’t matter what you say or think or do. None of that makes any ultimately difference.
Universalism also thinks it’s wrong of God to damn anyone to everlasting hell. What is more, universalism thinks that God’s love would be defective unless it’s shown to each and every evildoer.
Doesn’t that sound like just like the sort of “Gospel” our diabolical televangelist would preach? Wouldn’t that be a brilliant preemptive maneuver? A softening-up exercise in self-promotion?
Moral relativism. All is forgiven. Just how you’d expect a conman to make his case to the jury or the parole board.
Universalism is far more marketable than ritual Satanic murders. Yet, beneath the veneer of universalism is the same license to kill with impunity.
Ritual Satanic Murders? Last time I checked, those didn't exist. But Christians have ritually murdered for quite some time now.
ReplyDeleteSomeone doesn't know what ritually means.
ReplyDeleteSomeone is also a pinhead. The identity is left to the reader.
ReplyDeleteThree thoughts on this.
ReplyDelete(1) If marketability is an indicator, then we could say Satan would push one of the major religions in general, as these have had the most success in terms of raw numbers.
(2) Although your post is surely meant with at least some jest, we could probably construe many doctrines we don't like as probable ideas for Satan. For example, humans very much enjoy thinking they are right and that other people are wrong - they tend toward "in group" and "out group" mentality. People also like feelings of superiority in general. I guess I could construe this as showing that maybe exclusivism is Satanic (or even morality itself), but it just seems too ad hoc.
(3) The idea of Satan doing something we don't expect can only go so far. What we would least expect would be for the things we believe in most strongly to come from Satan. Or that the people we respect the most are from Satan. But these really aren't arguments for Satanic agency in these cases.
It's ironic that in a morally relativistic world, the only apparent absolute is that it would be wrong for God NOT to forbear punishment of sin.
ReplyDeleteRyan
ReplyDeletethat certainly is an interesting way of considering God's Righteousness.
It makes no sense to me.
Isa 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Isa 6:9 And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
Isa 6:11 Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
Isa 6:12 and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
Isa 6:13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.
Good thoughts. satan is a mastermind for sure.
ReplyDeletehe has his ministers in pulpits, and the first thing he has them say is, "I love jesus, and i want you all to know this jesus too."
They preach, teach, and speak of a false jesus; false gospel, and have a flase spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the key, along with the Holy Word. Truth with compassion is what the Church is all about, with thanksgiving and generosity.
"Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation." Psalm 111:1
Have a joyful Thanksgiving! Keep up the good work of serving Christ in truth and righteousness.
I believe we are all children of God. If your child does something wrong, what do you do? You would do something to discipline them; and in disciplining them you would aim to change their future behaviour (no do the wrong thing again) and also to repair the resultant wrong which remains in the present (if a boy hits his sister, you might make him apologise).
ReplyDeleteSo I think God aims to do both these things with human wrongdoing - dissuade the people who do wrong so they would do wrong no more, and repair the damaged relations between individuals. In terms of what happens after death, a temporary hell or purgatory makes sense with such an approach, but not everlasting punishment.
If you are a parent, and your child disobeys, you might send them to their room for a while, but if you love them you wouldn't disown them no matter what they did. So in the same way, if we are God's children, he would not send us to hell forever, for that would be akin to disowning us, something he would never do.
Even really bad people - rapists, murderers, Hitlers and Stalins - I think even they can be reconciled to God and the rest of humanity and to their victims. Of course, this is very hard, and might take a very long time to achieve; but I have faith it is within the power of God to achieve it. God is great, great enough even for this!