Satan in the modern world
A blogger recently asked, "Is there really a Hell"? As I wrote in my August 11 and 14 posts, Jesus tells us explicitly there really is a Hell. But, the question is the same as asking if there really is a Devil. I am reading an intriguing book, "Evidence of Satan in the Modern World" (1961) by Leon Cristiani. The following excerpts from the section, "Lies and Contradictions" (p.162), argue against the greatest of Satan's lies - that God does not exist - while showing that many in our modern world have bought into this deception:
"The negation of God is the first, most serious of falsehoods in our present world. But it is not the only one. We are deep in falsehood, immersed in lies, so that we practically breathe falsehoods without being aware of it.
The emblem of this falsehood is contradiction. If God does not exist, who then is God? We do not say, the Devil, since in his passion to secure the denial of God the Devil prefers to deny, rather than to reveal, his own existence. A modern atheist, whilst denying the existence of God, is also prepared to deny the existence of the Devil. Only man remains. We therefore, are gods. Our science, our technics, our intelligence have sovereignty over everything. We are gods! But we have no souls, since matter alone exists. Or if we have souls, an expression meaning simply that we live and think, there is no question of these being immortal. When a man dies, everything dies. If God is dead, every time a man dies, it is a god who dies.
To deny the existence of God, of Satan, of an immortal soul, to deny any distinction between Good and Evil, to deny the existence of Sin, of Virtue, of Heaven and Hell; these are some of our lies by negation.
And if, after that, we glorify ourselves, if we transform ourselves into the only gods that exist, it is pure contradiction. Being and Nothing are confused. By suppressing all religion we make nihilism the only religion possible. And since that does not suppress the great speeches, the grand promises, and especially the grand illusions, once again everything, whether politics or philosophy or present-day agitation, is reduced to an immense contradiction...
Falsehood and contradiction, such are the first indications of the presence of Satan in the modern world."
"The negation of God is the first, most serious of falsehoods in our present world. But it is not the only one. We are deep in falsehood, immersed in lies, so that we practically breathe falsehoods without being aware of it.
The emblem of this falsehood is contradiction. If God does not exist, who then is God? We do not say, the Devil, since in his passion to secure the denial of God the Devil prefers to deny, rather than to reveal, his own existence. A modern atheist, whilst denying the existence of God, is also prepared to deny the existence of the Devil. Only man remains. We therefore, are gods. Our science, our technics, our intelligence have sovereignty over everything. We are gods! But we have no souls, since matter alone exists. Or if we have souls, an expression meaning simply that we live and think, there is no question of these being immortal. When a man dies, everything dies. If God is dead, every time a man dies, it is a god who dies.
To deny the existence of God, of Satan, of an immortal soul, to deny any distinction between Good and Evil, to deny the existence of Sin, of Virtue, of Heaven and Hell; these are some of our lies by negation.
And if, after that, we glorify ourselves, if we transform ourselves into the only gods that exist, it is pure contradiction. Being and Nothing are confused. By suppressing all religion we make nihilism the only religion possible. And since that does not suppress the great speeches, the grand promises, and especially the grand illusions, once again everything, whether politics or philosophy or present-day agitation, is reduced to an immense contradiction...
Falsehood and contradiction, such are the first indications of the presence of Satan in the modern world."
posted by Fr Greg at
11:06 AM
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