The future appears to be global, and if we want to thrive there, the concept of "pure evil" has to be discarded. As fuel for hostility, nothing is more combustible. After 9/11, angry mobs massing in Baghdad against the U.S. weren’t just seen as unemployed young Arab males — they became symbols of unrepentant hatred, while jihadists became evil monsters with no regard for innocent lives. The more evil we projected onto "them," the aliens threatening our safety, the less human they became. If the future becomes global, however, projections of pure evil have no breathing room anymore. Everyone is becoming our neighbor, and with the dissolving of borders, everyone must be seen as human, however angry and extreme their actions.
I think the loosening grip of the Satan myth is a touchstone for change. Two weeks ago I participated in a televised debate on the existence of Satan. Some speakers were still firmly holding on to the traditional image of Satan as a supernatural demigod, rival to the real God, arch enemy of human happiness, and at the most basic level, a personage one can meet face-to-face. Yet whenever I or someone else on my side of the debate suggested otherwise — that evil is rooted in human behavior, that foisting evil off on a mythical figure was a copout from taking responsibility for our own bad impulses — there were positive reactions from the audience.
This and many other signs indicate that Satan is on the wane. We are in the aftermath of the age of faith; church attendance has been steadily declining in the U.S. and Europe for decades. As part of this religious waning, Satan has also declined. So much so that it’s hard to remember a time when educated, free-thinking people reserved at least a tiny, secret corner where belief in Satan — or pure evil — resided.
More importantly, a positive kind of spirituality has arisen that doesn’t need Satan. He is necessary in the battle for souls that pits good against evil in the scheme of Christianity. Without the threat of damnation, the incentive for salvation is severely weakened. But many cultures have had no need for absolute evil, including the Greeks, Romans, Hindus, and Buddhists. Quite often these cultures had supernatural explanations for bad events (e.g., demons, imps, mischievous and capricious gods), and it is almost universally believed that the afterlife will be different for evildoers and the virtuous. An innate sense of fairness makes it hard to think that wrongdoing doesn’t eventually arrive at a just punishment. But millions of people who reject religion or pay it almost no attention lead perfectly well-adjusted lives without the threat of Satan hanging over them.
Of course, there were still some boos when I called Satan a primitive aspect of human belief, tearful pleas for me to come into the light, and even not so veiled suggestions that I was doing the Devil’s work. I came away from the debate saddened by the testimonials from fervent believers who claimed to have met the Devil personally or to have barely escaped the fires of damnation. But Satan has lost a lot of his mojo nonetheless. In an age where serial killers are labeled as psychopaths rather than agents of sin, we can examine contributing factors like child abuse, peer pressure, mental disorders, impaired brain function, and other things that fall under the rubric of sick rather than evil.
The study of psychology, long rooted in aberrant behavior and neurosis, is itself shifting. The new field of positive psychology has begun to establish what makes people happy instead of what makes them unhappy. This is an important distinction, because instead of being one step away from divine punishment — as everyone must be if all are sinners — we could be one step away from the happiness that is our birthright. In the aftermath of Satan, the expansion of well-being promises to replace the eternal battle between good and evil, which only served to make evil more powerful than it has any right to be.
Hi, Dr. Chopra. Thank you.
I've recently escaped from a religious cult…as a matter of fact, I was married to one of the "pastors". He was abusive…I actually escaped from him…escaping from the "church" that condoned his behavior, was just a bonus. While I was still under the sway of the "head pastor", I too believed in Satan. I don't anymore (Thank you Sylvia Browne. Thank you Osho.)
I understand, that my ex, the head pastor, and most of the men in that organization, are somewhat sociopathic. I almost feel sorry for them…almost.
Still…way in the back of my mind…if there was in fact a real "Satan"…I'm convinced, that the head pastor is the physical embodiment of him; and my ex, at best, is one of his minions.
Obviously, I'm still working through some stuff
Peace.
Kelly
Dear Deepak,
God bless you. You are hopefully right.
With the very best wishes,
Yes we are happiness!
Love
Rajesh
http://rajeshmsharma.blogspot.com
Satan was invented to explain a few things to an ancient culture that
needed that myth. It
I have a question. I certainly believe that evil is rooted in human behaviour. We alone have the will power to make ourselves happy. What if someone derives happiness from evil behaviour, how do we go about helping him/her to appreciate true happiness ? How do we tell that person that is not true happiness?
Mary M. Redoutey
It seems as if we have a tendency as human beings to project our shadow, the things that we do not like in ourselves outward and on to other people, and then to decry those people as being "evil"… The cesspool of all of this toxic projection was and is the devil thought form… or entity. He was blamed for everything so that people were given the false belief that they could escape their responsibility for their own actions as in "The devil made me do it."
Unfortunately it was not only the shadow which got projected outward but the light in man that got projected onto a God who was out there and somewhat distant from them…
If they were happy, they said that God was good to them, but if they were angry,
They thought God was judgemental and angry as they felt those feelings and then suffered mentally because of this projection as they were sure they were going to get punished.
They did not understand the words of their own scriptures which told them to love their neighbors as themselves nor the fact that when God gave breath to everything that meant that God resides in everything and in everyone… that there is no one less or more holy than any other person… as God is always dwelling in all people…. There is nothing else…
guys your missing it. yes evil is somewhat ruited by the human behavior.
but anyone read the Bible it does tell us that satan was an angel and
went against our God cause he wanted to be more powerful
he isn't but he does tempt us but also what we do wrong is by the
human behavior the devil doesn't make us do anything he is only tempting us.
And that could be in various ways.
also he is our arch enemy of happiness.
but isn't our JOYFULNESS what counts we should be living our lifes like CHRIST
and be joyful the devil doesnt take that from us.
He can take our happiness such as our human things earthly things but joyfulness
what we need and that matters.
Dont worrie bout satan worrie bout your relationship with GOD.
i have a question do you believe that there is satan.
Satan is as real today as he was at the beginning of time. But he's not some red, demon-esque being with a pitchfork surrounded by flames, even though this is what the world has made him become. He is pure evil which manifests itself in everyone's daily lives. Sadly, when the world starts to believe he does not exist is when he's succeeding in his mission to convince the world to not acknowlegdge the existence of God…why is there a need for a God and Saviour who conquers all evil when there is no evil to be conquered? The world will always say you're a fool for trusting in God. They will always say you're a negative individual when you acknowledge the evil all around you. In the end, each will make his or her own choice. That is free-will, and it is a beautiful and dangerous thing. I choose to cling to a loving God who keeps me in His hand, out of reach of the evil which this world is quickly negating as no more than a child's Bible story, only existing to teach us right from wrong. May God bless you all.