Ever since the ancient prophet Zarathustra recognized the inherent duality in the human psyche, we have been obliged to make a choice of Whom we shall follow. Do we trust the directives of the God of Light, who created and sustains us, or listen to the temptations of the Dark Enemy, who seeks our downfall and destruction?
Hate vs. Love
diabolical, the one who scatters
Slavery vs. Freedom
captor, the one who ensnares
Lies vs. Truth
satanic, the one who accuses
Foolishness vs. Wisdom
misleader, the one who betrays
Death vs. Life
murderer, the one who violates
Part 1.
What is Evil: (the Opposition)
These are the tactics of the Devil.
1. Cruelty - intending to inflict pain or harm on another, simply to cause suffering, without regard for benefit.
2. Spite - malicious ill will, vindictive, seeking to repeatedly torment one's victim.
3. Unreason - illogical, irrational, excessively demanding, disregarding risk.
4. Apathy - indifferent, unfeeling, lacking care or concern for others.
5. Selfishness - concern only to fill one's own wants and desires, without regard for the needs or concerns of others.
6. Destruction - acting rashly, without regard for the preservation of value, damaging.
7. Violence - performing acts to cause pain, bodily harm or damage to personal property, especially for coercion.
8. Frightening - threatening violence, exposure to danger, or extreme stress leading to panic, confusion or submission.
9. Deceit - an intent to persuade or influence another by presenting false promises, bad advice, wrong information or confusing situations, so as to mislead, or cause unwise and mistaken responses.
10. Vengeful - seeking to respond to personal loss by causing reciprocal harm to another.
11. Pandering - offering to serve the basic bodily or psychological desires of someone, in a fashion likely to cause vice or addiction.
12. Alluring - seeking to attract another for purposes of taking immoral advantage.
13. Temptation - presenting a suggestion or situation likely to draw a response from one's victim that follows his/her fleshly, animal nature; encouraging one to indulge in a sinful act.
Seven Deadly Sins: Lust, Greed, Gluttony,
Pride, Sloth, Wrath, Envy
Part 2.
Who is the Devil?
A Rebel Against God, and the Enemy of Humanity. The angelic being who protests that humanity is not, and never shall be worthy of Heaven. Also known as Shaitan, Thuggee and Ahriman.
The Devil was once an archangel known as Lucifer, meaning, the Light of Fiery Zeal for God. He was a trusted servant of God before the "Great Rebellion and Fall" from Heaven. As a close adviser, he shared in discussions and plans, even acting as Viceroy, delegated in some cases with the power to decide the fates of nations on other worlds. But he eventually gained so much in influence that he began to think himself the equal of the One True King. Thus he was deeply offended when his advice was disregarded, and God decided to uplift the apes on Earth to create humans. That was six million years ago.
In an attempt to thwart the gradual process of raising our chimp-like ancestors through the several intermediate steps toward full humanity, Lucifer determined to interfere. At each step in transforming the genome, he arranged that bits of our former animal nature would be left in, especially those which strengthened the propensity for violence or sexual excess. We still see those today in the two species of chimpanzees. And in the process of raising our meager intelligence, and then domesticating the few breeds that improved, he insinuated an even stronger impulse for selfishness. But his cleverness was eventually revealed, and he was denounced as an Enemy. Still, the damage was done, and our emergence from the state of natural bliss was marred by a consciousness of sin.
As the latest breeds of our now human ancestors spread across the world, we tried to retain a semblance of living with nature as we always had. Our stone and bone and wooden tools, and our knowledge of how to transform our environment to suit our needs, were generally adequate ... until the catastrophe struck. And then the whole world changed. Many of our people, around the world, died of cold or starvation, and whole communities were cut off from each other. In our efforts to survive, we had to turn to actually cultivating the earth to produce our food. Then we had to gather and defend it from beasts and bandits, so we built cities. The rest is known.
In time, humans began to realize how powers greater than nature were subtly influencing them. They began to tell stories about gods, placing humane or monstrous personalities in a parallel spirit world. Eventually, by the practice of meditation and the occasional use of psychedelic drugs, they discovered that they might learn to open their minds to speak with those powerful beings. Thus emerged the role of prophet.
Zarathustra was one of the first prophets to learn of the War in Heaven, of the two forces contesting whether humanity will ever be allowed to enter into Heaven. The good says that we can overcome sin, while the bad says that we will never be good enough. Our part in this is to show which side is right.
The prophets through the ages have tried to clarify this situation by bringing us the message entrusted to them by God. After Zarathustra, then Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Then Moses and the prophets of the Bible. Then Jesus brought us the word directly, in Himself, to tell us about the plan of God's salvation and forgiveness, and begin the transformation of the world through us.
Part 3. Our Victory
Christ, by his sacrifice and resurrection, has conquered the powers of evil. Up until His self-sacrifice, we were under the power of Satan's lies. We were captive to the idea that there is no way for us to be free of sin, and that we are already condemned for it. The argument stood on the grounds that we are merely smart animals, flawed from birth - too selfish, violent and lustful to be able to be transformed into good citizens of Heaven, and that our nature cannot be overcome. But the God of Light sent his Son, miraculously born to a human mother, to take on a human nature and human flesh and prove that we are redeemable. By His power and example, we know that we are no longer subjected to the chains of sin and Satan's claim upon our souls.
We now can claim victory over them, but first, we have to believe the good news, and give our allegiance to Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We must read the Gospels, to hear and understand his teachings, and be stirred to faith. We must decide to believe in Him.
I'm going to sound "preachy" here for a moment (as if I don't already). You need to repent of the "worldly ways" that we all pursue when we don't understand, when we think it's the way to "get ahead." Then find a church and be baptized, pray and receive the sacraments. In this way we treat the wounds inflicted by the evil in this world.
Then it becomes our task to become transformed by the renewal of our minds, avoiding darkness and temptation, and contemplating things of the light. By continual prayer and occasional fasting, we can discipline ourselves and train our characters to follow God's grace and strive for virtue and holiness. We must make it a habit to try to be continually aware of His Presence, dwelling with us, speaking silently to our hearts, prompting us to acts of mercy, kindness and service.
Thus we defy the Enemy who seeks our ruin. We stand armed with the battle gear of Faith, the sword of scripture in hand, girded with our helmet, breastplate, shield and boots, ready to withstand his attacks, and call for the aid of heavenly hosts whenever needed. (Galatians)
When we know his tactics, the Enemy can not surprise us. He tries to trip us into making the mistake of falling short of our Lord's expectations, distracting us from His direction and prompting. The Enemy puts roadblocks, and ferociously attacks us when we are most vulnerable, trying to force us from the path of faith. But if we can stand firm, and disengage from these troublesome temptations, we can find refuge in prayer and meditation.
For our own part, we should work to be of service to those people whom the Lord has put in our lives. The more we can be helpful, and show the way, how God has influenced our character, then they too will become open to that influence in their own lives.
This is the battle of Good against Evil, retaking the ground lost, claiming again and again the victory and changing the world, one person at a time. We start with ourselves.
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