don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

If you were asked to name the worst idea ever created and foisted successfully upon humans, what would you come up with? Tattoos? Twinkies? The atomic bomb? The "sport" of dog-fighting? Vegemite?

My nomination would be the idea of a devil. Or, should I say, "The Devil?" Lucifer? Satan? Whatever he's called, the devil has put the fear of God into the minds and hearts of more little boys and girls, and men and women, than anyone else, throughout history. In our own time, nothing else has been so scary, so stress-inducing or so influential in causing human misery than this devil idea. For most, Satan or whatever he is called now and in the past is/was more fearsome than Godzilla, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Darth Vader, Dr. Doom, The Joker, The Green Goblin, and The Void all put together and rolled into one!

Of course, that's the whole point! Religious leaders created the devil in order to put the fear of God into the masses so they would love and obey God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving and basically all everything good, versus the devil, who is pretty powerful but all bad, right to his rotten sulfurous and blazing red hot steaming core.

But, guess who created the devil or at least permits him to lurk about? God!

It seems a little confusing if you think about it, but religions are not known for that (stimulating the "flock" to think about dogmas).

A century ago, Robert Green Ingersoll, in an 1899 lecture on "Superstition," scandalized millions by suggesting that "the Christian world could not deny the existence of the Devil; that the Devil was really the keystone of the arch, and that to take him away was to destroy the entire system."

Do you think there might be something to that? Does the notion of a God require a devil? Ingersoll thought so, as have others through the ages and in our present era.

I think the idea of a devil is beyond silly - it's cartoonish. Oddly, it ought to be possible to be utterly disrespectful about the idea of a devil, even to the point of saying awful things about him, without offending the religious sensibilities of those who love God. I mean, the Devil is the enemy of God, so what could be objectionable about saying nasty things about the creep, such as "Hey Satan boy, you don't scare me - I think you're a big fake?" If there is no such thing as a devil, wouldn't Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad be a laughing stock for calling America "The Great Satan?"

Oddly, many fundamentalist Christians and most Muslims would probably go ballistic over such apostasy.

Oh well, this kind of thing just passeth all understanding on my part. It may not be easy being green, but it's no picnic being an infidel, either.

Be well. Devil or not, try to look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MEANING DOMAIN under the skill area of applied wellness. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

 Send e-mail to Don Ardell