Volume 2 - Imagine There's No Satan

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 - Can A Witch Raise A Dead Spirit?

CHAPTER 2 - Where Do The Dead Go?

CHAPTER 3 - Can Satan Give Psychic Power?

CHAPTER 4 - Psychic Fraud Or Satanic Inspiration?

CHAPTER 5 - Where Was Satan Before Jesus Showed Up?

CHAPTER 6 - Would Jesus Or Satan Quote The New Testament?

CHAPTER 7 - Where Did Jesus Learn About Satan?

CHAPTER 8 - The Pharisees Brought Satan To A Synagogue Near You

CHAPTER 9 - Who Gave Satan His Names?

CHAPTER 10 - What’s The Final Word For Satan In The New Testament?

CHAPTER 11 - Demons, A Greek Gift To Christianity

CHAPTER 12 - Is Satan Revealed In Revelation?

CHAPTER 13 - Where Would Satan Be Without The New Testament?

INTRODUCTION

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Satan has been around for millennia. There is literally no other doctrine or idea that has penetrated so deeply into the fabric of culture as has the doctrine of Satan. Satan, Lucifer, devils, and demons can be found everywhere today. They are found in television programs and movies, they can be seen on clothing and in art work, music with lyrics about Satan are heard every day on the radio, and video games seemingly have an unceasing stream of demonically related content. And the most prevalent place we can find Satan in our culture is in the churches. The intensity with which many religious organizations in our world today believe in Satan varies. Some battle him daily in prayer and with rituals, while others think him to be an insignificant imp who is worthy of little or no attention at all. No matter what you or I feel about the Devil really doesn’t matter because the presence of this good angel turned bad, has undeniably left an imprint on the fabric of this culture’s belief structure. But just because some see the devil behind every bush does not mean he is real. No doubt, there is not one person in North America who has not heard about Satan in one form or another, but should a collective consciousness determine Satan really exists? Or should each of us explore the idea and decide for ourselves whether Christian tradition is true or whether it is a brilliantly spun interpretation of an otherwise ancient myth? What if there is no Satan? And what if there is no Hell? What if all the tales, lore, and legends about this fallen angel are mere fabrications of men’s minds? Stories made up around an idea that there is something evil out there. Another deistic entity that is intent on destroying humanity and capturing souls in Hell.

Imagine if you will that there is no Satan. Imagine that the teachings on Satan we receive from religion and from culture are simply not true. Is it possible that religion has made a mistake in this area? Imagine that a lie has been told so long that it has become the truth and now it is time to right it. It is time to place the Satan of tradition back into the place he came from. Believe it or not, we can take Satan out of our belief system, place him back into the creative mind of man where he came from, and still recognize the sovereign God of the Universe for who He or It is. That is a God who makes peace and creates evil, a God who kills and makes alive, and a God who shares the cosmos with no other supernatural being.

This Volume of Satan Christianity’s Other God called Imagine There’s No Satan will take us beyond imagining. As a work that follows the foundational work of Volume 1, Imagine There’s No Satan goes further to show you how it is possible to remove a literal Satan from the teachings of religion and the New Testament. How it is possible and valuable to begin to separate fact from fiction and let our belief in Satan drift away into the land of once believed fairy tales. If you read this volume alone and have never turned a page out of Volume 1 you will do just fine at understanding the concept that Satan is not real. That said, I do encourage you to pick up a copy (or an e-book copy) of Satan Christianity’s Other God – Volume 1 to explore the foundational principles that gird up the no Satan idea. Volume 1 covers major topics that I will not cover here or in the subsequent volumes of this work.

In Volume I of Satan Christianity’s Other God, great care was taken to show that a doctrine of Satan was not found in the Hebrew Scriptures. It was also shown the Hebrew Scriptures are the Bible Christ and the Apostles used. We determined the Lucifer of Isaiah 14 was not the name of Satan before he fell. The name Lucifer is a term given to an actual human King who was called the “daystar” or “morning star.” Both terms were used to speak of the ancient King of Babylon who was thought to be the God Venus. And Venus rose before the Sun came over the horizon in the early morning. Thus, the title “Lucifer” is a Latin word that simply means light bringer and is better translated as “daystar.”

While on the topic of ancient Kings, we can bring to mind the story of the anointed cherub in Ezekiel 28. Although it is thought by some that this passage is a reference to a Satan angel who was once in Heaven, we showed that is not the case. The subject of Ezekiel’s prophecy is repeatedly referred to as a man and the context of his entire proclamation is directed at the human King of Tyre. We found that the fallen cherub is merely a man and there is no teaching on Satan to be found in Ezekiel.

Both Job and Zechariah contain references to a Satan; however, as we explored the meaning of the original Hebrew word “sawtawn,” we came to understand the reference was to a human adversary. In Volume I, the statement of the adversary “coming before the Lord” in Job was shown, to be a reference to men appearing in the common Temple environment as is inferred by the use of the term “Before the Lord” elsewhere in Scripture. We found it in such places as when Moses “came before the Lord.”
Volume I also covered the idea that God created man with the potential to choose good and evil. No Satan to entice man to disobey and choose evil. This option leaves man as the party fully responsible for sin and evil in his own life and thus in the world. According to the Bible, Satan the mythological malevolent cosmic being has nothing to do with man choosing evil, nor causing evil in the world. The concept of where evil comes from as it pertains to judgments upon humankind was also articulated in the first Volume of Satan Christianity’s Other God. It is found that evil proceeds from the Creator in diverse forms, forms such as calamity upon an individual or upon many. As well, we saw that the evil spirit and the lying spirit were sent from Yahweh as was seen in the stories of King Saul and King Ahab.

Another path we went down in Volume I included discussions about the Persian influence on the faith of the Scriptures. As the Hebrew people spent time in exile among the Babylonians and Persians, they adopted many of the pagan philosophies of those nations. The doctrine of there being two Gods, a good God and a bad God, migrated into the land of Israel from Persia. The religious leaders of the time propagated a doctrine that there is an evil cosmic being who desires to harm Yahweh, destroy His people, and toils to thwart the plans of the Creator.

Volume I spoke about the early use of the word Satan in the English language Scriptures and elaborated on the significance of apocalyptic thinking and apocalyptic literature in fostering a Satan doctrine. Both of these topics were explored to reveal that Satan only existed as a construction of Greek minded theologians who adopted the ideas of pagan mystics. The Hellenized teachers could neither understand Hebraic concepts as found in the Scriptures, nor could those teachers reject the desire to fabricate mystical explanations for Scriptures they were incapable of understanding.

Many topics were discussed throughout Volume I and there could still be volumes written to continue to explain all the nuances surrounding each concept. This four volume series begins to testify to the magnitude of this topic. As I stated several times in Volume 1, my explanation of certain Biblical passages is only a plausible explanation of the account. It is based on the fact that Satan does not exist. So too, do I provide the disclaimer that although I am boldly declaring that Satan is not a real cosmic entity, the explanations I provide are only possible explanations. They are suggestions if you will, of how to see the traditional passages differently than how one who believes in Satan might teach. It would be irresponsible to state Satan doesn’t exist and then fail to provide an answer to what all the passages about “satan” mean. Although I do provide an answer to what the questionable passages about Satan could mean my submissions are not to be taken as the 100% exhaustive and precise explanations of the accounts. I do not have all the answers. There is wiggle room in some of my explanations. There are far too many specifics missing in the stories supplied by the Apostolic witnesses for any one proposed answer to be deemed as perfect. The point of providing an explanation is so the reader might see that there exists another way to think about the statements about Satan in the Bible. In light of the fact that there is no Satan there must be another way to understand the terribly misunderstood references to Satan in the New Testament. I also hope my submissions encourage the reader to engage in searching for an explanation that upholds a One-God belief system and provides a coherent explanation for the poorly understood words about “Satan.”

Did Satan Or Did God Cause David To Break The Rules?

One of the profound apparent contradictions in the Scriptures was answered in Volume I. It is found in the Books of 2nd Samuel and 1st Chronicles. These accounts seem to oppose each other on the story of David counting the tribes of Israel. In one account, we are told that God caused David to count the tribes, yet in the other account we are told that it was Satan who incited David to do the count. Who was it, God or Satan? Solutions to this problem were put forward, and it was determined that either the writer of Chronicles was misinforming the reader about there being a second God in the universe named Satan, or he was simply describing God as the adversarial force that placed a choice in front of David. It is likely that the Chronicler simply described the actions of God as “sawtawn” in informing the reader that Yahweh was the adversary in this instance where David was influenced to make a bad choice. After all, the writer of Chronicles knew that the Hebrew word sawtawn was not a name for a cosmic entity but was a noun or a descriptive term for a behaviour or action. Sawtawn means adversary.

No topic seemed to be more daunting or more misunderstood than the topic of the Serpent in the Garden. A large amount of time was spent establishing why so many believe incorrectly the meaning of the myth of the Serpent in the Garden. With this in mind the discussion of whom or what the “serpent” was ensued. It was shown that the serpent is a metaphorical symbol that was identifiable as such to an ancient people. People who had been steeped in polytheistic Egypt for generations. In seeing the writer of that story refer to the serpent as speaking to Eve, we recognized that a great storyteller relayed the account of Adam and Eve. His story was full of meaning and the mention of a “serpent” was simply a reference to the evil inclination in humans. Evil comes from within man and not from an external force. The evil inclination is that place in a human’s heart that works overtime so to speak, to justify the choice to disobey, thus sinning.

Man today has the same struggle with the “serpent” on many occasions when man is confronted with the opportunity to do something that does not really seem harmful, yet would be considered to be a sin for one reason or another. One other possibility for the identity of the serpent was discussed based on who Eve was “with” in the garden. We presented the possibility that Adam just might have been the adversarial influence called “the serpent,” in the famed garden fruit-eating incident.

At the close of Volume I, we briefly discussed what was next for Satan Christianity’s Other God. Volume I led the way in bringing to light more questions that need to be answered. Perhaps you see that peeling back the layers of this onion will be no small task. How long of a process should it be for one to come to a conclusion as to whom or what “satan” is? For some of us it may be longer than for others, and as you can see, it is not a quick task to try to unteach or, to unlearn a concept and belief that has been in our head for years and in our culture for centuries. With that in mind, let’s consider what we need to accomplish in Volume II.

What Will We Learn In Volume II?

Initially, this Volume will clean up any loose ends that may be dangling around in our discussions of the Old Testament as it pertains to “Satan” and his demons. In my many discussions with people over the years, I have had numerous opportunities to share the concept of Satan not existing. No matter which piece of the puzzle I choose to disclose, I am always met with a “trump card” statement that usually goes like this; “Well what about…..” and then one of the many supposed references they have long believed to be about “satan” is quickly thrown at me. This is always done with the attitude that intones what I am saying can’t possibly be true because this verse that started with “Well what about…” is certain proof there is a Satan. An example of the “Well what abouts…” would be; “Well what about when Jesus throws Satan into the pit of Hell?”

**The “Well What Abouts…”**

The difficult thing in all these “Well what abouts…” is that often the person who is so sure they are bringing up a reference that I have not considered, doesn’t wait for a full answer. I and others in a similar position are invariably cut short by the uninformed questioner and before they hear the answer to their insincere query, they are ready with another cliché counter-argument that is understood by them the way they have understood it in the past. Here’s an example conversation of the “Well what abouts…” between a man named Jack and me. It may seem to be unnecessary to recount a personal conversation to express the point but there are so many who take the same direction of using the “Well what abouts…” as Jack did that it is helpful to show how this conversation plays out. Notice how the response hamstrings the process of sharing truthful information with another.

Jack: “How can you say there’s no Satan when the Bible mentions Satan a whole bunch of times?”

Me: “Jack if there is a Satan as so many of us believe, why does God incite David to number the tribes of Israel in the book of 2nd Samuel, and then in 1st Chronicles 21 the text says ‘Satan’ incited David to number the tribes of Israel in another account of the very same story?” Who incited David, God or Satan?

Jack: “Well what about when Job’s family is destroyed by Satan?”

Me: “Well Jack, if you look at the Hebrew word for “satan” in Job, it really means “adversary” and the most typical adversary we find in the Scriptures is a human man, being an adversary to another man. Aside from the fact that Job himself credits God for the evil that befalls him, we see no indication of a personal Satan. Even the end of the book tells us that Job was comforted by his family for all the evil that God had brought upon him. Doesn’t that seem to indicate that evil comes on people from other men or from the Creator and that the adversary is generally another human?”

Jack: “Well what about when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness…
   Well what about the appearance of Satan in the garden…
               Well what about when Lucifer fell from Heaven….
                           Well what about ….well what about…well what about…”

Without ever being allowed to fully answer any of Jack’s questions, or without Jack ever answering any of my questions, Jack continued to throw out his hail-Mary trump card to get me to shut up.

It used to seem odd to see people so quickly and often vehemently pounce on the, “Well what about…” bandwagon. They avoided answering me when I had just asked them a question contained in the topic, such as, “Why does 2 Samuel 24 say “God” caused David to number the tribes of Israel and 1 Chronicles 21 say “Satan” incited David to number the tribes of Israel?” It was as if they didn’t hear me or maybe they didn’t care and were one of those types of people who will do whatever it takes to make certain they are not proven wrong in anything. Perhaps they are so intensely incapable of relinquishing an entrenched belief that they must at all cost lay down a trump card to stop the relaying of information and honest questions about a rather significant topic for “Christians” and “Messianics.” The Jacks of the world are so intent on propagating their weak understanding of a character they have been taught to believe in, that all they can do is ignorantly throw out cliché references that they have never taken the time to fully investigate and find out if their view agreed with the rest of the Bible. This trump card is played with such speed it is almost as if the person I am conversing with is afraid to hear anything that might challenge their belief system.

One such trump card I have seen played many times is the one that says, “Well what about the witch of Endor?” (This will be discussed in Chapter 1; Can A Witch Raise A Dead Spirit?). To the player of that card, the story of Saul consulting a medium is irrefutable evidence that there are spirits and demons. Therefore, to them it means there is indisputably a “Satan.” The logic is that if a “witch” could cause a spirit to rise up from the dead then there must be a Satan because spirits raised from the dead are demon spirits and therefore would be of the group under Satan.

Granted the story of the witch of Endor does smack of spiritism and I can readily understand why one would so hastily play the “Well what about…” trump card. However, in light of a little research and in light of the remainder of the Scriptures, this “witch of Endor” episode does not fit with the concept of One God as many of the Israelites believed and as is taught in the Bible.

When Did Thinking Become So Mystical?

This second Volume of Satan Christianity’s Other God, will explain the intense spiritual thinking found to be prevalent in the intertestamental period. The period after the return from exile of the Jews and leading up to the first years of the A.D. period nurtured a great amount of damage to the true and correct teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures. Our discussion on this period that entrenched a demonology into Judaism and Christianity informs the reader about the pertinent issues to consider. A complex demonology and angelology flourished in those years and to this day confusion abounds because of the clever and intricate doctrines of demonology that flowered in this period.
We will also find out where the dead go according to the Bible. This discussion will allay all your fears that you or your loved ones might be burning in Hell for an eternity. Understanding where the dead go is important if we are to recognize there are no spirits raised from the dead.

Discussing What The New Testament Is

A huge piece of fat we will chew on in the following pages is one that often sends religious leaders running to the hills crying, “Heresy! Heresy!” If I told you today that archaeologists found a letter written in the late first century, by a man named Paul who claims to be an Apostle of Christ, would you expect it to be added to the Bible and to call it Scripture? Not likely! However, something not far from that has occurred with the Bible that many have come to venerate today. A Bible containing letters from devout apostles that were written to individuals and to groups of believers. These letters were not identified as important until the late second century. No originals of these letters have been discovered as of today and the writers of each of the letters in the New Testament clearly state their document is a “letter.” Regardless of those facts, the copies of letters that were available in the early “Christian” period stayed in the hands of the Roman church. This was a group of men who eventually decided that the letters ought to be elevated to the status of Scripture. Ultimately, the New Testament was formed and in large-part, it took a very anti-Hebraic tone because the Roman religious system wanted to eradicate any nuances of Jewishness from the pagan Christianity it had incubated for centuries.

Within this work, the reader will be fully informed as to why one should not consider the New Testament to be equal to the Scriptures. The definition used for what the term “Scriptures” is, is one that coincides with both Paul the Apostle and Yeshua the Christ. Neither of those persons considered any writings other than the “Old Testament” to be Scripture.

The Apostolic writings, which include the gospels, are valuable for many things that can aid a believer in understanding their faith as compared to that of the first century. The testimony the apostles provide about the life, ministry, and death of Yeshua, is indeed invaluable. It is certainly a gift from Yahweh in light of the fact that there are no living eyewitnesses available for us to hear from today. However, man should not use his self-imposed ecclesiastical authority to declare a letter from an apostle is “Scripture.” These letters are often believed to be so based on the fact that the letter speaks of Yeshua as the Messiah. Had we access to all the documents of the period Paul wrote his letters in and the eras immediately beyond, we would see there were other documents resembling Apostolic writings that identified Yeshua was the Messiah. Facts remain though; even Paul taught from the Old Testament that Yeshua was the Messiah. If the reader is willing to have their belief about the New Testament examined, then the chapters on exploring the claim that the New Testament is Scripturewill be most informative. Time will be spent explaining what is meant in the New Testament when words such as Satan, demon, devil, unclean spirit, and dragon are used. We will see clearly how it is possible that Christianity has mistakenly understood the Greek writings about satan. And now, 2000 years from the times when the New Testament took place; religion has cemented its stranglehold interpretation into the minds of its leaders and followers. Because of this, few are willing to accept another possibility for learning what a satan is in the New Testament.

Explaining Every Passage About Satan

Volumes 3 and 4 of this work will provide a catalogue of every passage that speaks of these Satan related things. It would be foolhardy to assert that each explanation provided requires no input from other sources to interpret the meaning of some difficult passages. However, every passage in the New Testament that seems to speak of a cosmic supernatural, God-like entity is considered. A plausible explanation of each passage is put forth using the foundational interpretation principle of understanding the context of the passage, and recognizing what the writer is speaking about at the time. The literary context is joined with the linguistic, cultural, social, and historical context, to decipher the underlying Hebrew understanding of a very Greek sounding writing. Based on the fact that, Hebrew men wrote the “New Testament,” and the fact that the Hebrew Scriptures do not teach a doctrine of a cosmic Satan who is battling against all that is good, the explanations suggested herein are put forth on the certain premise that Satan does not exist in the mind of a Hebrew apostle. As I have stated, because Satan does not exist the passages must mean something other than a reference to a cosmic Satan. These successive volumes share a verse-by-verse, understanding of what all the talk about Satan is in the New Testament.

A Little Encouragement To Seek Answers For Your Questions

When we are part of a culture that so deeply is looking for recognition and acceptance, particularly by those who we perceive to be people of position and influence, it is an incredibly difficult challenge to go against the grain. Few people involved in religion will question the very leaders from whom they are seeking favour. I suppose one must ultimately conclude whom it is better to please and obey, God or men? I am one of many who found it was not easy falling out of favour with those whom during my church years I worked so hard to stay in favour with for so long. Are we supposed to passively sit by under the teaching of a “shepherd” who is trained to teach and lead in ways that muddy the water for those who numbly follow a seminary trained pastor? Am I suggesting anarchy? Not at all, it is good for us to voluntarily submit to proper authorities, but as the Bereans in the book of Acts did, so too should we ensure through searching the Scriptures, that what those leaders are saying is true. Are we in fact submitting to proper, Biblically sound authorities? For some who sheepishly follow their “leader,” laziness is the reason they don’t invest time in finding answers for themselves. Laziness becomes an acceptable excuse, relying on others with credentials to give them the answers. Mindlessly deferring to the person of position and influence will only set you up to be seen as honouring that person as your God. Where possible, it is always best to search out the answers for oneself and rely on others and other sources to add information, insight, or questions to the process.

I know how difficult it will be to start challenging the established leaders of your chosen religion, so in an effort to help I will suggest a plan to get you started. If you are a regular attendee of a church try this. The next couple of Sundays stay home and study one or two of the stated doctrines of your church or faith group. Look up the verses they quote and then try to see how the present position fits into the Hebrew Scriptures that Messiah and the Apostles used. Next go to your computer and if for instance you are studying on “the gift of tongues” do an internet search with the following wording… “the truth about tongues.” This will give you many differing perspectives but I guarantee you it will open up your eyes to a number of potentially more correct and true understandings of the issues. You can use “the truth about….” searches for anything to launch your studying. Try “the truth about Sunday,” “the truth about Easter,” “the truth about Christianity,” or “the truth about Satan.” The last of these is where I started searching out the truth of the “Satanic being” and began to unravel the centuries old myth and misinformation that “the leaders” of Christianity generally pontificate without exploring the other options for the matter.

But I’m Not A Theology Student Some Might Say!

At one time the Scriptures were kept from the common folk so only the religious elite with special training could study them. They then passed on what they learned to the people, the uneducated common folk. In today’s society we have an amazing access to information readily available at our fingertips. Also in today’s society, we have freedom of speech like never before. One thing that is not so prolific in today’s society is the acceptance of what seems to be new ideas without coming up against sharp criticism. Criticism will often be directed at a person’s character, at the way they share their information, or at the resources they have used to accumulate evidence to support their idea. And truthfully, constructive criticism can be helpful and should always be welcome. But should resources be thought of as not credible simply because the potential for them to contain error exists? Today the use of the internet has allowed people to learn things that were only known by the intellectual elite of past societies. I encourage the use of the internet for any who desire to learn truth or deepen their understanding on a topic or issue. Although, it would be good if the internet is not your only source.

Regarding the internet as a source to determine if Satan exists or not, I can hear some of you voice a similar caution given to me over the years. “Be careful with what you find on the internet, the internet is full of crap you know.” I’m not sure why they are compelled to give that caution. Maybe it’s because they are cautioning themselves to be careful and are setting up their excuse to not go and search a matter out. Perhaps they have a fear that they may find some truth that causes them to honestly question their beliefs and face the ugly monster of change. On the other hand, maybe it’s because they truly believe the internet articles, opinions, and theological positions found therein are crap. Should we not then receive the similar exhortation to “be careful what you find at the library, the library is full of crap?” Alternatively, by not stating the exhortation about the library and in stating the exhortation about the internet are they saying the shelves of the library are full of only no-crap material? I suppose there is some level of fear of the internet still out there that causes one to inform another intelligent person of the perils of using internet material to educate oneself. Do you know that it is now possible to get a university degree via the internet? Do you know that the internet is like any library in any city of any time?

My point is this, before you decide that the internet can’t help you find information to help you understand issues of truth, understand this, yes there is “crap” on the internet, as one friend put it to me. However, so is there crap on the library shelves. Nevertheless, there is also exceptionally clear and true information on the library shelves and the internet. If you sign out ten books on a specific topic, from the biggest library in the world, you may find garbage in a number of them. Nevertheless, you may find information that is valuable in helping to lead you to the truth. Many people get themselves in hot water because they look over two or three articles and perspectives on an issue and then form their opinion. You will come to a much more sound opinion and position if you read through and study 10 or 20 articles on an issue. Besides the Scriptures and History books, encyclopedias and commentaries, as well as other writers who have put out books on the topic of Satan, I have been through hundreds of articles on the subject of Satan. I am not saying you have to go through that much material to cover every topic you begin to question. I just want to quell the fear around using the internet as one of your resources for research and express to you that it is not a good practice to take only a few thoughts and opinions from the internet to form a position on an issue. That said I also want to share that still today I continue to look at the many sides of an issue.

Ask Questions, Seek Answers, And Take Your Time

One tip I would like to give you to help you to apply this process of coming to a more correct understanding of issues of truth is this. Ask questions, seek answers, and take it slowly. You will not likely get answers from the traditional body of religious leaders. You will have to search things out on your own. There are millions of leaders who will try to prevent you from gaining information that will change the way you live your life. In large part because they only know what they have been taught at seminary. It seems there is a fear, a fear that you becoming knowledgeable will confirm to them that they have failed to show you the way of truth. Truth is for everybody and everybody ought to embrace the opportunity to discover it. An adverse reaction to the truth you discover is often the result of the fear the hearer possesses. However, truth will set you free but it will cost you something to get it. The book you are reading right now is an excellent starting point to finding the truth about Satan. German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer said;

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

Part of my experience in organized religion has revealed this fear. The church I was involved with had about 800 or so people who could be recognized as regular attendees or members. The Board of Deacons, which was chaired by the Senior Pastor, had nine members on it if I recall correctly. It was the duty of these elected officials to mange the administrative matters of the system and to help direct the spiritual matters of the church. I served as a Deacon for two terms, which is 6 years, and resigned near the end of the second term. My resignation came after I realized that this system, although a thriving social environment, was in opposition to numerous tenets found in the Bible.

A journey through the history of Christianity will reveal to the searcher when and how men changed God’s plan for the faith into a model which was intended to assimilate and integrate anyone and everyone into the Roman religious system. The Roman philosophy of “bigger and better” was sufficiently implanted in the Roman version of faith in God and their tainted form of Gnostic Christianity fell together nicely for a culture that was sold out to do whatever it took to become the biggest empire. Suffice to say, Christianity today is a far cry away from the pattern of the first century believers. In seeing Christianity as a mosaic of adopted and man-made doctrines, I was compelled to become less involved in organized religion rather than more.

What Do You Have To Lose By Learning Satan is Not Real?

Many of us believe we stand to lose something if we realize our belief in Satan is incorrect. Most of us are not the religious leaders who draw a salary in part, by teaching Satan is real. Therefore our loss is only as big as we make it. On the contrary, a religious leader might feel differently about altering his or her dogma. Upton Winifred Sinclair Jr. was born in 1878 and died November 25, 1968 at the age of 90. He was a novelist, writer, journalist, political activist, blacksmith, and was a prolific American author who wrote over 30 books in many genres. Sinclair was considered one of the best investigative journalists of his era. He understood implicitly how difficult it is for those of position to come to an understanding of something that might force them to alter their philosophy; he spoke it well when he said;

“It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding.”

Perhaps your salary doesn’t depend on whether or not you understand the doctrines of your religious belief system or if Satan exists or not. Perhaps you simply desire to stay the course and not rock your philosophical or theological boat. Change is never easy but after you have turned that ship around and are floating with the current again, the turbulence subsides, and life moves along smoothly once again. The decision, as always, is left up to the reader. Who better to decide than yourself if you believe in one God, two Gods, many Gods, or no God? Nonetheless, after reading Satan Christianity’s Other God and this book, Imagine There’s No Satan, you may still choose to stand on confused logic and faith alone if you still persist that Satan is real. But the evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of the non-existence of Satan. Faith is imperative to a belief but truth cannot be ignored and all the facts, history, and the full counsel of God must be considered. In this book series, the scales of proof have been loaded and once both arguments are critically considered, Satan as an evil, supernatural, cosmic being weighs in to be an ancient and evolved myth little more than a man made legend, lore, and lie.

Now for a sneak peek at . . .

CHAPTER 1 - Can A Witch Raise A Dead Spirit?

Is it possible to raise a spirit from the dead? Think about that. Can a person be dead then have their sleeping spirit awakened in order to be consulted about the future? In the book of 1st Samuel chapter 28, we are confronted with a story that is more than a little creepy. We find there, a story thought by many to be a certain indication that Satan must exist. In that story, we seem to see a woman call upon the spirit of a dead man and the spirit appears. This woman has been said to be a witch by many interpreters. But is she really contacting the dead? This story is not so much related to how the word sawtawn is used because the word sawtawn does not appear in the story. But any story that talks about what we call a “witch” does pertain to our overall topic of Satan. To put it simply, the spirit of Samuel could not have been physically present in front of the witch of Endor; otherwise, the entire Scriptural understanding of what happens to a dead person must be ignored.

The connection of this story to our theme today is that a dead person is supposedly raised from the dead in spirit form. Being dead means a person cannot appear in spirit form or any other form. Therefore one can dismiss this obscure yet famous story of Saul’s encounter with the witch of Endor as a tale of a literal resurrection of a dead spirit. We no longer have to view it as a tale that suggests support for some kind of a possible after-death existence. An existence that is variously affixed to a cosmic, supernatural, evil spirit-god. In this chapter and the chapters following, I will address how it is incorrect to simply suggest God raised the spirit of Samuel from the dead. Had God done so, He would have applied a practice that is ostensibly contrary to all He teaches about the state of the dead.

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