Are We Giving the Devil to Much Credit?

September 3, 2009 in Religion with 3 Comments

2665809033_ac0f9b1845Follow me for a tic as I journey through my totally random deep thought for this week.

1) There are a finite number of demons (apparently 1/3 of a certain number fell Rev. 12)

2) They are not omnipresent or omnipotent

3) There is one devil or accuser or satan (pick your title)

4) They are obviously limited to certain laws of time & space.  The Daniel 10 passage speaks of how they hold up an angel in a battle.  If this is literal then they do not have the Star Trek beaming ability and have to travel across space (somewhere) and it takes time.  Gabriel was delayed so I am assuming that demons can as well.

5) They are more powerful than humans but less powerful than God

So,  if they are not infinite.

They cannot be everywhere.

There is only one satan who is not omnipotent or omipresent (and is under the control of Yahweh), here it comes…

How much can we blame on the demonic? Or maybe a better way to ask this is can we blame every sinful act on the demonic?

How much is satan who does roam like a devouring lion and how much is our own sinful nature? (gulp)

How much is just our own selfishness and greed and pride and vanity (pick your sin)?

Is blaming everything on the demonic simply a crutch to get me off the hook? You know, “The devil made me do it.”

Now I do realize that the opposite end of this paradigm is no respect for the demonic/other world at all which is not right either, but where is the balance?  I grow concerned when I consistently hear over-spiritualized talk that blames everything on the devil, or attack, or the enemy. I am a little bit worried that this is really dangerous to spiritual and emotional formation.

I know that in my own life when I make a mistake, I want to blame someone or something.  I have to stop and acknowledge my own mistakes.  I wonder if we need to come to grips with the fact that we do make mistakes simply own our own some times.  Life is hard. There is evil. Evil has introduced hurt and randomness into our world.

Sometimes it is just simply me.  I need to own up to the bad things I do (and the good) so that I can grow.  Playing “Blame it..” may be hurting us instead of helping us.  Maybe we are giving satan a little to much credit.  Maybe, he’s simply not that good. He deserves respect, awareness and is obviously waring against God but I’m not sure that we can blame every little thing own him.

1) S0 when it is our own actions that break shalom.  We need to own it.

2) When someone else’s actions break shalom.  We need to take own our roles in healing, reconciliation and peacemaking.

3) Blaming can take us off the hook – for our own sinfulness or in situations where we feel overwhelmed.  It is easy to blame the problem on someone else that is untouchable. It’s kinda like blaming everything on the government.  It is ambiguous or untouchable.  When we put the blame of an entity that is “out there”, we feel like we are off the hook from a hands on interaction.  Maybe we just need to own our role more in bringing tekun olam to the world.  Maybe just maybe we need to own the moment.

I’m just processing here. I’d love your thoughts.

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  • http://www.diningwithsinners.org Michael Carpenter

    I think you are dead on. I have a family member who attributes every bad thing, thought, or otherwise ungodly action on the devil. Unfortunantly she receives these teachings from the charismaniac church she attends. She once told me the devil had been trying to kill her because he caused the CO2 leak at her place of employment, not the faulty heating system. I tried having a conversation with my family member stating that she is placing attributes that only belong to God (omnipotence/omnipresence, etc) onto the devil, she got mad and stormed out of the room . . . so I blamed her actions on the devil because surely I wasn't unloving or not gracious nor I could never be accusatory. ;-)

  • http://mitchthefielder.blogspot.com MitchTheFielder

    Great post. I think an interesting thought is that when we fall into sin it usually is our sinful nature. However, if we blatantly live in sin and keep doing the same thing we know is wrong, we may be leaving an invitation for a demonic presence. Doesn't seem like they will play fair either, they will usually go for the weakest in your household. Just a thought. . .

  • http://bethefruit.com Bill Blair

    I have quite a few thoughts on this, but I will keep it brief.

    1. Blameshifting — That whole game began directly after the Fall. Adam blamed Eve and God, then Eve put it on the serpent starting the "Devil made me do it" craze. (Gen 3:12-13)

    2. Responsibility — James makes it clear that it is not God nor demons but our own desire that entices us, leads us astray, and gives birth to sin. (James 1:14-15)

    3. Satan piles on — Satan does not get much space in the Epistles, but when he does it seems like he joins something we have already started down the wrong path. For example, letting the sun go down in our anger (Eph 4:26-27), and a husband and wife depriving one another (1 Cor 7:5) (giving you an easy transition to talk about your sex series). ;-)

    Well, that is brief for me anyway.

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Are We Giving the Devil to Much Credit?