Waiting by the sea

May 31, 2018 by

Why it is bad form to refer to the devil.

By Martin Davie, Reflections of an Anglican Theologian.

If today one links the devil to a particular political, social, or theological development one runs the risk of being immediately dismissed as part of theology’s lunatic fringe. In mainstream Western theological circles the potential influence of the devil upon such developments is almost entirely ignored and invoking his influence is regarded as bad form.

Three valid concerns can be seen to lie behind this state of affairs.

The first is that describing a particular development as being influenced by the devil has the effect of immediately ruling out any degree of movement or compromise on the matter in question. If one seriously believes that a particular development is due to the influence of the devil, the argument goes, then one has no alternative but absolute opposition to it. After all, one cannot reach a legitimate accommodation with the devil. Hence if one believes that accommodation, compromise, or ‘good disagreement’ are things that are important for the well-being of society and the Church, talking about the influence of the devil is necessarily problematic.

The second is that describing developments as being influenced by devil’s activity risks ignoring the truth that political, social and theological developments take place because of the choices made by human beings. If we say that this or that development is a result of the work of the devil, so the argument goes, we will then cease to take seriously the human dynamics involved.

The third is that seeing a particular development as inspired by the devil will lead to the demonization of the people involved with that development. Their perceived association with the devil will be seen as more significant than their humanity and there will be a risk of their being treated in abusive, violent or even lethal ways in consequence (the long sad history of the treatment of those suspected of witchcraft graphically illustrates the reasons for this concern).

Why we should not stop talking about the devil.

Although these three concerns are valid, in the sense that they highlight genuine issues, they do not mean that we should not include the devil in our understanding of what is going on in the world.

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