What does The Devil mean to you?
Another deep dive into the conceptual internet forum
The Devil comes in many forms. It’s perceived in many different ways. But, generally, people see this rather ominous figure as the embodiment of pure evil.
When you think of The Devil, it’s not unusual for your mind to conjure up images of a big red monster with a menacing face, horns, and some sort of demonic sceptre (like Dave Grohl in Tenacious D’s ‘Tribute’ video).
But, according to many sources, one of the first recorded suggested visualisations of The Devil features in a striking 16th-Century mosaic called the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. Here, The Devil is a rather cherub-like otherworldly blue angel. Not particularly menacing.
There are many depictions of The Devil. Why? Well, because alot like Gods, the harbinger of punishment or bad things means different things to different people.
So, similar to what I did when looking at the meaning of life, I took a waltz through that thing known as the internet forum to find out what people think about The Devil.
Satan the scapegoat
There are many that consider The Devil or Satan as a fictional character used as a scapegoat for one’s weaknesses, mistakes, and the world’s troubles.
One forum participant put it most plainly when they said:
“The devil is an imaginary scapegoat used by Christians to take the blame for their faults and troubles.”
At this point, it’s worth noting that I’m not going to give my 10 pence worth here. I’m just echoing the thoughts I’ve come across while having a good old digital dig around.
Many people do believe organised religion in general is a scapegoat for greed, conflict, and ill behaviour: a surface reason to pillage, plunder or wage unjust cultural warfare.
On the flipside, droves of people across the globe create productive communities, do good, and find solace in various religions, and their deities. As always, it depends on how you see things.
The take home here: There are folks out there that see The Devil as a fabricated excuse to do wrong or swerve responsibility for one’s mistakes.
The Devil is in the detail
Raising the question (‘what does the devil mean to you?’) opened up a sub curiosity based on the difference between The Devil, Satan, and Lucifer.
Some forum participants lumped them all in together, essentially saying that The Devil, Satan, and Lucifer are as evil as a batch of over ripe frankfurters lurking in a birthday party buffet.
But others state that The Devil is indeed in the detail. Here’s the most definitive take on the difference between the three spine-tingling entities:
“The biblical Lucifer is not a fallen angel. He’s not The Devil or Satan. That passage refers to an earthly king — nothing more, nothing less. Satan is not the enemy of God, at least not in the Old Testament.
God uses Satan to tempt humans (Book of Job). Christianity created the idea of there being this Devil who opposes God, a fallen angel who has convinced exactly 1/3 of the other angels to rebel with him.”
So: With a mixed bag of explanations similar to this one, it seems that when it comes to The Devil, the backstory matters just as much (if not even more) than what it represents. I suppose, the two concepts are intertwined, for knowing The Devil’s backstory will help to define the character’s sinister motivations.
Atheists worship the devil by proxy? What?
One of the oddest trends I discovered on my virtual travels is the fact that there are people that think if you’re an atheist, you automatically must worship The Devil.
Yes, if you don’t believe in a god or an organised form of religion, there is a theory that you’re a satanic sympathiser.
Based on this notion, it seems that if you don’t believe in heaven, you’re a minion of hell — someone who says they don’t subscribe to organised religion, yet secretly clings to evil like a piece of chewing gum to a ponytail.
The most striking thing about this idea is the fact that it really got people (hell) fired up (oh, the humanity).
Some argue that there are atheists that believe in Jesus’ teachings (the moral of the fable, as it were), but not the actual person or being. Others use expletives to show Satan worship theorists their dissatisfaction. And there are those who believe that super pious folk are brain washed and tunnel visioned, perhaps making them evil in their ignorance.
Well: Taking the theory that atheists are Devil worshippers into account, if you’re a non-believer (in the Lord), you are the evil that walks among us. So, in that sense, if you’re some who doesn’t believe in religion (Christianity, in particular), you are the living embodiment of The Devil. You basically are The Devil. Blimey.
What would you say to Satan? Some musings
I came across this question (what would you say if you went to hell and met Satan?) — and you should check out the answers.
The thread is filled with amusing musings, Devil puns, and mini scripts. This is one of my favourites:
“Me: *dies from excessive use of puns* Wh-Wha?! Where am I?
Satan: Hell.
Me: Hell? Oh.
Satan: Hello to you too.
Me: Err, I didn’t mean to… meh, whatever.
Satan: …
Me: …
*awkward silence*
Me: So, uh, what got me here? Porn? Anger issues? Cheating on GTA V?
Satan: *shrugs* Not sure. Normally you should’ve been judged by God first, anyway. Probably dumped you here ’cause you’re atheist.
Me: Ah, nepotism at its finest. So, what d’you guys do around here for fun?
Satan: *brandishes pitchfork, gags and whip* I’ve got a few ideas.
Me: *tries to contain masochistic tendencies* Oh. Please be gentle. Or not. Preferably not.”
There are lots like this — and after some of the tense comments I came across on my journey to the bowels of evil (the dusty corners of various web forums) — these amusing musings provided some much-needed comic relief.
“Don’t you know there ain’t no devil, it’s just god when he’s drunk.” — Tom Waits
So, there you have it: a few different takes on what The Devil conjures in the hearts and minds of everyday people. I hope you’ve found it entertaining, if not enlightening.
What does The Devil mean to you? Let me know by leaving a comment.
