"In common parlance, a devil's advocate is someone who, given a certain argument, takes a position they do not necessarily agree with (or simply an alternative position from the accepted norm), for the sake of debate or to explore the thought further. In taking this position, the individual taking on the devil's advocate role seeks to engage others in an argumentative discussion process. The purpose of such a process is typically to test the quality of the original argument and identify weaknesses in its structure, and to use such information to either improve or abandon the original, opposing position. It can also refer to someone who takes a stance that is seen as unpopular or unconventional, but is actually another way of arguing a much more conventional stance."--Wikipedia
This definition is close to where I am going with this. Mostly the last sentence above, but what I am arguing here is purely unconventional, and I believe it to be so.
Last weekend, my sister and brother-in-law were in town, and part of what is developing tradition is that we go play poker at his parents house. Lots of fun with the sweetest people ever. We really should do that more often.
At some point during the evening the sad state of affairs of our country and the world at large came up. You know, the corruption, economic malaise, moral degeneracy, geopolitical tensions, and just general ugliness. In some ways these sure aren't good times.
Now, my brother-in-law's father is a Christian man, so he started aligning some of these events and goings on to end times prophecy. Book of Revelations and all that. Easy case to make.
That was about where the conversation stopped because my sister was more in the mood for lighter conversation and ours had definitely taken a heavy turn. Weirdly enough, it did end there; because he and I both are of the sort to really dig into something like that. I really wish I could have spoken my bit on this then to see what he would think. I sadly don't know him as well as I wish but he strikes me as a very thoughtful and open minded man.
So, before I start this I want to make it clear that I am not setting out to deliberately offend anyone. I don't mean to be hurtful. Please understand this, because some of what I am about to say can be construed as blasphemy, at least as most Christians define it. I don't know what is right or wrong and this is just something I have considered after much study of religion, politics, and history. The three are inseparable after all, because the story of humanity and how we treat each other is in the combination.
Ok, here we go...
What if the book of Revelation is not the revealed word of God but a (possibly self-fulfilling) prophecy organized by a group of power hungry and evil men? Or...
All kidding aside, who or what is Satan? And how would he exert influence in this world, if he exists?
I would think not through animals, as they do not seem to have conscious thought. They act upon instinct and therefore follow God's plan exclusively. It is coded in their DNA. They have no free will.
We on the other hand do. We can choose to suppress or succumb to our desires, act out of self-interest, or be purely altruistic. Often times this altruism would seem to be contrary to instinct. But perhaps not, given the social and tribal nature of people. (More on tribalism in an upcoming post.) Point being, we have choice. We can do good or evil, as it were.
Now, let's look at the book of Revelation and what it claims will come to pass. I'm not going to list everything here but some events include: tyrannical global government, war, famine, plague, general destruction of the planet, ect, ect. Horrible stuff. Misery and despair, hither and yon.
Sadly, it certainly appears to be playing out.
Most Christians tend to believe in a loving God. One that cares for us and wants to see us happy and healthy. So, why would an omnipotent and loving deity pour (or allow to be poured) so much destruction on what appears to be a mighty fine creation? An act of tough love to punish us? Seems a bit extreme. And what of animals, that are by all accounts innocent? Certainly they don't deserve this sort of treatment.
I find that illogical, abhorrent, and I reject it. I propose something different. What if the book of Revelation, is just a pack of lies? What if evil men infiltrated the Church and pushed forward lies to steer humanity toward a path of evil? What if they used the Church to facilitate control over humanity? And what if they implanted a story of destruction that could be enacted right when they were going to lose control over humanity?
So, I ask you, what do you find more likely and believable? That God let some lies slip into his Holy Book? Or that he would let the earth turn into a Hell?
How much more likely is it that something will come to pass if you believe it? How about billions of people? I propose that all of this comes down to choice. We choose what we want. If we go on believing that this is inevitable we will continue allowing things to happen that make it so. Like to keep permitting evil scum bags to rule the world, chiefly. Because allowing them to do so gives them the power to take us there. And they certainly seem to be doing so.
I choose not to believe that this is inevitable. We can have a better world with out going through Hell to get there.
I started this post claiming to play the role of Devil's advocate.
Now I contend that to continue to believe in the Book of Revelation and its inevitability, is to truly be just that; the Devil's advocate.
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