CHAPTER 1 - Do You Know If Satan Is Real?Why do you believe in Satan? Who taught you Satan is real? Have you ever questioned the existence of Satan? If you are like many of the millions of North Americans who call themselves Christian, then there is good chance you never question if Satan is real or not. Oh sure, you may have had a fleeting thought asking why God created Satan. Or, you may have briefly entertained the idea that perhaps there has been a misunderstanding about the cosmic Devil. And even, just maybe, you have grappled with the idea that you or a loved one may end up under the torturous hand of the demonic Prince at some point in the afterlife. But really, who or what is Satan and do you know, are you one hundred percent certain, that Satan is real? What if there are some things you have not been told about the devil? Is it possible to rethink some of what many today believe to be an unquestionable and immutable truth? The facts are, if we are ever faced with a truth that is supposed to be unquestionable then that is the very reason we must not only question the “truth” but we also must see if we can prove it. Perhaps it is time to challenge an idea that may be little more than historical fiction fueled by repetition and tradition. Almost to the point of brainwashing the hearers. Have You Been Brainwashed To Believe?In repeating throughout this book series, what I believe are axioms, some may claim I am trying to brainwash the reader. But is that what is going on here? Are you being brainwashed by reading this material? Is it possible that what is going here, by you reading this literature, is that your mind is slowly and methodically giving in to an idea you might reject under other conditions? I am certain anyone reading this book is smart enough to see through subtle brainwashing techniques. On that topic, is it fair to think I am the evil genius brainwashing you when those of us who believe in a Satan have already been brainwashed in many ways? Moreover, this has occurred with our informed consent. Should I be accused of trying to force a point through repetition, when many of us have voluntarily subjected ourselves to repetitive mantras throughout our lives? Just think for a moment and consider the many axioms, maxims, and unquestioned beliefs you might have on board that came from being involved in religion or culture. How many of those have you explored completely and how many have you simply adopted because they have been placed in front of you by your culture, parents, pastor, or church? How many of these second-hand beliefs have been explored by you to determine the complete accuracy of these items. These “acceptable” mantras come in various forms and from various unsavory vessels of error. How many times have you embraced a theological position of the Catholic Church or that of the religious community you may be part of and you accept it as accurate biblical instruction? Why don’t we think the persistent instruction from those iconic sources are methods of brainwashing? How frequently have you been subject to the repetitive mind-numbing mantra of your parents, Pastor, or personal religious guru in the years you have spent as a conscious person? How many times have you been the unwitting participant in a group of people who profess a common belief, idea, or concept and the idea becomes a mantra, reaffirming the idea or belief every time you gather with the group? Often these mantras are reinforced through the many simple one-on-one conversations a person engages in. Does A Lie Told Long Enough Become The Truth?If we consider the power that comes from repeating a lie long enough so that it is believed as a truth, then perhaps some of the most basic Christian teachings are really just cleverly designed theology that has become equivalent to a mantra. By mantra, I mean any number of theological positions that have been taught and preached so regularly, that they are cemented in the mind of the believer. These mantras are firmly cemented not because of diligent searching on your part or the part of the hearer. They are now concrete beliefs for you and I because of the inexorable repetition with which they have been heard throughout life. They are brainwashing material simply due to the persistence with which the message has been repeated in your hearing. In some areas, you and I have not chosen our beliefs with sound decision-making and critical scrutiny. Our beliefs have been programmed. We have been the victims of a grand and subtle programming scheme. A scheme that has gone unrecognized because our beliefs are so deeply a part of us that we don’t even question them. I would suggest, the recurring theme that claims there is a fallen angel called “Satan,” has had the effect of programming the beliefs of many individuals. We see indicators that many people in Christianity today have accepted the concept without question. Many of the followers of Christianity make casual use of terms that pin the blame on “Satan” for so many things. Many Christians who think they understand who and what “Satan” is, readily make statements about people or situations that attribute activities or incidents to “Satan.” With seeming certainty, Satan is at the root of many issues, believers will candidly comment on how an activity or situation is guided by demonic forces. I once dealt with a family who was having trouble with their teenager. Typical teenager stuff really. Rebellion, odd behaviors, drinking, drugs, irrational outbursts. But this family felt their 15 year old’s experimental drug and alcohol use was a direct result of Satan influencing their child. No child of theirs would voluntarily pursue such atrocities on his own, so indeed the child must be influenced by a satanic force. Or at least that was their conclusion. This belief takes form in yet another cavalier musing of many followers of the Catholic and Protestant versions of Christianity. A popular scapegoat character is often identified as a spirit of the anti-Christ. A coercive malevolent force, compelling a person to engage in sin or an evil act. The ingrained acceptance of a cosmic “Satan” that has worked its way into the psyche of religious culture today has grown to epidemic proportions. A belief in Satan’s worldwide influence has become so prevalent, that when the World Trade Towers collapsed from aircraft being crashed into them on September 11th, 2001, some claimed they actually saw an image of “Satan” in the smoke of the burning structure. And who was responsible for such an atrocity? Well, to many it was obviously Satan. The belief Muslim terrorists serving Satan had performed the vicious attacks was underneath the statement that “Satan” could be seen that day in the flames. But was it Satan? Did a supernatural evil entity have anything at all to do with these events? Is there a side of supposed satanic activities that we are not seeing? Who or what is this Satan and who is working for him anyway? To God-fearing people in North America it is clear that our enemies are in league with Satan. But that is up to debate if you talk to folks from other countries. If it were Muslims who orchestrated the attack then what is their view on whose side Satan is on. Let’s not forget, the gods of one religion have always become the demons of opposing religions. And that is the way it has always played out in history. So even though “we” believe Satan inspires radical Islam to acts of terror, radical Islam typically holds the belief it is “we” who are inspired by Satan. The contrasting view is that any government or military organization that opposes their culture, particularly America, is being led by “Satan” or is “The Great Satan.” If both the Americans and the Muslims claim Satan inspires the other side, then I guess Satan must be busy on both sides of the fence. Whose Side Is Satan On Anyway?Satan cannot be guiding both sides of a conflict. If Satan opposes what Satan is doing to annihilate the other side, his kingdom will fall. It is more likely both sides are operating out of their own collective heart of wickedness and are driven by their own desires for power and money. Nonetheless, all who seem to adhere to a Satan doctrine typically acquired their belief in a Satan through being told again and again that “Satan” is out there. Quite simply, the repeated false teachings we hear eventually become our reality and what we believe as truth is rarely, if ever, truly investigated to determine if it is the whole truth or not. The phenomenon of being sensitized, or perhaps you might say it is a process of being desensitized, to a specific thought, statement, or idea that is constantly at work in our lives, plays a huge part in being unable to accept anything that is different from the truth we already have accepted. Our beliefs have become part of us on so many levels. We are so entrenched in our behaviors and beliefs that the only way to combat the brainwashing we have undergone is to embark on a serious exploration of a belief. For some of us it is almost to the point of submitting to a de-programming. Therefore, I would have to say the reader who quickly rejects my theories without questioning their own is brainwashed already. It seems what is likely to be accomplished by the repetition in this book, is that you and I will eventually be de-programmed. In the healthiest sense, we are then free from the oppressive chains of our entrenched thoughts and beliefs that have been erroneously planted in our minds. You will find that in letting go of a belief in Satan and demons, we have effectively been exorcised because the belief is not from demons; the belief itself is the demon. This will become much clearer as you page through the chapters and commentary in this book. Does Brainwashing Happen In A Day?How do these fruits of brainwashing make their way into our fragile psyches? How does a concrete belief in Satan latch itself on to the left hemisphere of our brain? I believe beliefs such as this traverse the road of logic and critical thought and enter the land of unquestioned acceptance in the part of our brain that holds the belief system. This is largely due to the repetition of an idea we are subjected to by our associations. The principles and collective behaviors that represent a belief are present during interactions with each of our particular faith groups or communities. Our explicit association causes us to take on the beliefs and values of that faith group without questioning the beliefs or values. The fear of rejection is strong in most humans and therefore, when a consensus seems to be present in a faith group, the person with questions will often dishonor their gut feeling and just go with the flow. Even though a person feels like something is worthy of questioning they reject and suppress the desire to question the norm. Going with the flow in this manner opens the human mind to fully receiving a deceptive concept and even moves one down the path of building a case to affirm the deception. Ultimately, the deception is not even considered unusual and the initiate has become fully engaged with and fully accepted by the rest of the group who holds the same position. To put it succinctly; if you hang out with religious folk who believe something, you are likely going to adopt that belief. On many levels, a simple fear of being rejected if you don’t go along with the group propels a person to adopt the group consciousness. That person then effectively sets their intellect on the shelf and accepts the group’s belief as their own, never realizing they adopted a belief instead of developing a belief of their own. How Can An Innocent Child Turn Into A Suicide Bomber?Consider a little Muslim child who plays in the street with a little Jewish boy at the age of three or four. How does that child become the Radical Muslim teenager who plots a suicide bomb attack to kill people? People who he has come to believe are “infidels”. I know this is an extreme example and I am in no way purporting all Muslim children might become suicide bombers, but to make the point let’s consider how this previously gentle human child eventually becomes a monster desiring to destroy the Jewish race. The Muslim boy didn’t just wake up one morning and read a news story about the Jews trying to access the Temple Mount where the Muslim Dome of the Rock sits and decide to go kill the “Jewish Devils!” This Muslim boy was subjected to powerful subtle forces and influences. He was engulfed, even overwhelmed, by a collective consciousness that included a repetitive mantra. This mantra persisted throughout his early life and into his teen years. The process would have continued into his adult life had he not ended his life and 10 or 20 other lives by blowing himself to pieces in a crowded street in Baghdad. Going to a school that propagates this mindset and connecting with friends of a similar belief are all seen as normal things to do in the culture the young boy lives in. Having an endless stream of teachers, friends, and relatives enter this child’s life who are already victims of the unquestioned violent philosophy, only serves to strengthen the concepts in the child’s belief system. The child is given no weapons with which to contest the psychological and philosophical teaching he is receiving. Nor is he afforded any mental or emotional resources to contend with those who are already way past the initiate level in the systematic development of creating a loyal follower of this belief system. For this child and many like him all over the world, it is repetition that guides the mind and beliefs of the initiate. In segments of radical Islam the continued exposure and reaffirmation of the heinous sentiment that “Jews are pigs and infidels” is pivotal. The teaching that Allah will be pleased with a Muslim who kills infidels, as the Koran is said to instruct, has been accepted because of the mantra-like recurrence of those themes. Now, I am aware this is the case of an extremist thinking but it is observable in our world today. This thinking is often coupled with a belief that the murderous Muslim will be rewarded in the afterlife with a harem of virgins. It is a belief that was accepted as a powerful truth not to be questioned. It is unquestioned not because it is truth rather because of the inexorable repetition with which it continued to emanate into the life of the initiate. To the intuitive outsider, the force of the group consciousness that drives the acceptance of this mantra is overwhelmingly surreal. However, for the young mind who is repeatedly subjected to it, it is not seen as unusual at all. The people of the culture that has embraced this mantra as one of its guiding principles or beliefs has a strong reticence to challenge it. Can You Go Against The Grain Or Do You Swallow The Pill Whole?How many people really attempt to find the reason and origin for their beliefs? Do people…do you, try to either prove the validity of a belief or remove it as a truth from your belief system? What I’m asking is; do you explore your beliefs to see how valid, accurate, and true to the source they are? It is the rare few individuals who can stomache the process of true exploration of their own beliefs. Only those who have somehow on some level come to realize their identity can break free of the group-think. Once they understand themselves to be an individual apart from the group, that person can find the resources to seek out answers to the why questions. The why questions are questions that many believers ask briefly but just about as many that ask dismiss the questions readily because it is too hard to go against the grain and to find the truth in a matter. It is particularly hard to go against the grain of group-think when doing so truly places the free thinker out on a proverbial limb feeling alone. I think a lot of the problem with why folks don’t ask the hard questions is because of the fear of man. Fear of man has got a hold on most who claim to be free thinkers. Fear of man tips the balances against the desire to find the truth in far too many cases where an individual asks then dismisses his or her “Why” question, before finding a comprehensive answer. The only way to overcome the effects of a repeated mantra that has slowly brainwashed millions into believing lies, is to present the truth in many forms for the mind of the brainwashed to slowly ingest. For this reason, I don’t apologize for the repetitive nature and mantra-like content in areas of this book series. I am sorry however, that you and I have been brainwashed by a system of religion and culture that we freely gave our minds to. Have We Lost Our Minds? Let’s Get Them BackIf you believe you’ve found the truth about Satan and that Satan is a real cosmic creation who aims to destroy all humans, then how did you arrive at that conclusion? Can you answer these questions?
I can state with almost certainty that for most people it takes mountains of evidence to remove an old view and firmly plant a new more correct view in ones’ belief system. If what I am claiming in the pages of this book is true and what you are searching for is “truth”, then you must work together with truth to reprogram your belief system. With the help of true wisdom and an openness to correcting a view that may be mistakenly adopted, you will be able to reject the past untruth about Satan and accept the present truth. A truth that boasts the existence of one God and no Satan. Be sure not to miss Jim's Articles Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 |
James R. Brayshaw