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March 08, 2006

What's Up with Satan?

Does it ever seem like a lot of churches have forgotten about a major character that has been a part of Christian and Jewish theology for thousands of years? I'm talking about Satan (1 Chronicles 21:1): the "Designated Accuser" (Job 1:6), "The Evil One" (Psalm 109:6), "a devil" (Mark 3:23), the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31), "The Great Dragon - ancient serpent" (Revelation 12:9).

I've noticed over the last decade that many modern and emerging churches have become increasingly silent on the doctrine of Satan. I think a good reason for this is that for a good part of the twentieth century, many churches (particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and Evangelical churches with a Charismatic bent) placed such an emphasis on the doctrine of Satan, using their worship services as a sort-of "tribute" to Satan, blaming him for their bad decisions, their addictions, their sicknesses, and deaths of their loved ones - that it almost seemed as if "the enemy" was mentioned (and therefore given unintentional glory) more than Christ. (How's THAT for a run-on sentence? Hope my high school English teacher doesn't read that!)

Throughout the 70's, 80's, and 90's, many Charismatic churches would often use Paul's metaphor of "the God of peace" coming down on both feet and stomping Satan into the dirt (Romans 16:20) as a literal law to be taken into their own hands...or feet. Some churches would often feature "Satan Stomping" services in their congregations, with Christians literally stomping an invisible devil under their feet. There were songs that arose out of this kind of thinking like "Enemy's Camp" which talks about "the enemy" throughout the entire song: "I went to the enemy's camp / And I took back what he stole from me / Took back what he stole from me /... He's under my feet / Under my feet..."

So what about this character "Satan"? The Old and New Testaments of the Bible have very different descriptions of this being. There are twelve references to Satan in the Old Testament (not including "the Serpent" mentioned in Genesis). Ten of those references are in Job, which is one of the earliest writings in the Bible. In these Job references and in Psalm 109, this mysterious being is compared to a Prosecuter or a Legal Accuser. In Job, Satan is actually presented as being an angel under God who goes to earth to find fault with Job and to test the limits of Job's faith, accusing him of sin for all of his bad fortune. 1 Chronicles speaks of Satan as seducing David into taking a Census of Israel.

In fact, the Jewish faith does not hold the same theological position of Satan that most Christians do. Satan is not considered "The Devil" (that reference isn't given until the Gospels) because they feel that would indicate two Gods: the "god" of the underworld" and the "God of the heavens" and that cannot exist in Monotheism. (see whatjewsbelieve.com)

But the New Testament (particularly in the Gospels and in Paul's writings) describes Satan as quite literally an enemy of God. Satan is seen as a being of evil and the cause of the destruction of God's creation. In Revelation, a vision of John tells of a future time when God will restore all of creation and punish Satan for a thousand years.

I guess the thought I want to delve into here is: I certainly believe there is a real Evil in this world. We see this evil expressed in terrorism, racism, violence, and sex crimes. And I believe there are forces more powerful than human might that seek to destroy God's creation and goodness. I also believe in a goodness in God that is ultimately more powerful and that will restore all of this Evil's undoing. Sometimes, however, I wonder if Satan becomes an easy target and a point of blame for our sins and destruction. Sometimes, in order for us not to take the blame for our own mistakes, we look for a spiritual point-of-blame, and I'm not sure Satan is always directly responsible. Don't get me wrong. I certainly believe Satan is the ultimate and indirect cause of all evil. Just a thought. Any of yours?

17:50 Posted in Theology | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this | Tags: Christian

Comments

Good post. I absolutely believe that many christians, especially in the charmismatic and evangelical movements, tend to lay all blame for anything unsuccessful on the devil. It has been quite common, but perhaps it's something that is decreasing. At least that's my experience.

Posted by: Mathias | March 09, 2006

I found this post through technorati. It was the title that caught my eye and I'm glad I stopped by. I agree with you here. The way I always explain it is like this, there are three things we battle against as Christians:
1. Satan. He is at work, seeking to destroy whom he may.
2. The world. It is evil, don't be corrupted by the world.
3. Our own sin nature. Don't neglect the fact that your own flesh often times is working against you.

The point is, God never tells us that we will know from which front we are being attacked. However, our response is always to be the same, fall at His feet and His grace will be sufficient.

Posted by: Ben Gray | March 09, 2006

"However, our response is always to be the same, fall at His feet and His grace will be sufficient"

A big AMEN to that!! Great words.

Posted by: Mathias | March 10, 2006