You all know this little Granny as one of the writers of Biff Bam Pop. I am an author, a psychic/medium, an Ordained Minister, and a spiritual counselor. That said, I have been very aware of the evil and goodness in this world since early childhood because of my psychic and mediumship abilities. This year, Biff Bam Pop’s 31 Days of Horror centers around the Devil in film, TV shows, and books…but do we really know who and what the Devil is? You might be shocked by my post.
Satan
That pesky horned entity is first mentioned in Genesis. Appearing as a snake, he tempts Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The Devil goes by many names: Satan, Lucifer (Morning Star), Beelzebub, Moloch…and by his angelic name Samael the Archangel before he lost his battle with Michael. He is even mentioned in the New Testament by Jesus who called Satan “the prince of this world.”
Is Satan as evil as they say. Let’s go over his powers. Satan is the tempter. He tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and he had the balls to tempt Jesus. He’s like a politician on speed, or a good car salesman. He and his legion of demons are known to possess people and there are too many films to count that have that as a theme. I purposely avoid films about possession. I have only watched The Exorcist once when it first premiered at the theatres, and I refuse to watch it again. I believe in the old saying, “What you think of…thinks of you.”
The Devil in Films
In films, Satan always comes out victorious. The Omen Franchise, Rosemary’s Baby, The Devil’s Advocate, The Ninth Gate, and my all time favorite, Constantine. What fun would a devil movie be if God always came to the rescue? Can the devil make us commit the most horrendous of crimes? There is a documentary on Netflix called The Devil on Trial that is based on a true story where the Devil was used as an excuse for a murder trial. In 1981, Arne Cheyenne Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the murder of his landlord, Alan Bono. Guess who he blamed. The devil gets the bad rap for a lot of things.
The Devil in Our Genes
Are we confusing actual possessions with physical or mental illness? Before modern medicine, people with certain diseases or mental illness were considered possessed by demons. Even apocalyptic pandemics like the Black Plaque or Smallpox, and Yellow Fever were blamed on the Devil. Innocent women were burned as witches because religious leaders said that these women were cavorting with the devil, when in truth it was all about power and patriarchy.
Every house that has a Bible should also have a copy of Richard Dawkins‘ The Selfish Gene. Was life able to evolve because of self-preservation. According to Dawkins, all living creatures are essentially vehicles for the survival of their genes. Do we commit acts of evil to survive? Where does the soul enter this discussion.
Conclusion
Stephen King made a noteworthy observation about evil, and the devil, which he pointed out when discussing the nature of evil with George RR Martin. Are we humans in constant battle with both good and evil? Is there a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other? We have free will, right? I’d rather offer a different opinion by combining the Bible and Dawkins’ book.
We all have the selfish genome within us that makes us want to survive at all costs. This is where the “Devil/Gene” tempts us with greed, envy, lust, and murder. The body wants what we want, when we want it. It’s in our very nature. Me, me, me!
We also have a soul/ conscience that wants to do good at all costs. This is where we become more like God by loving our neighbors, trying to understand our enemies, forgiving others and yourself, caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, welcoming the refugee. The Soul is saying, We, we, we!
We must ask ourselves, if we were given the gift of free will, then we can only blame ourselves when we refuse to do the right thing. That devil on our shoulder may have tempted us to cuss out the waitress who brought out our food too late for our liking, but the angel on the other shoulder was also showing us an overworked woman trying to make a living for her family. The choice is up to us. It always was.
I’ll end this post by asking the fans of Biff Bam Pop this question. “What scares you most…a demonic possession where one person is affected? Or a political party or religious institution that calls for its members to hate, shun, starve, murder, or rape in the name of God?”
The Devil, in both film and real life, is definitely less frightening than we humans on a religious crusade.