Waswe, Devil Really Stap?
“Long wanfala taem insaed history bilong Christian Church, pipol ting long Devil, Beelzebub or Satan, king bilong wicked fasin, olsem wanfala really man wea garem strong paoa, olsem hao samfala pipol tuday ting abaotem ‘God’; olketa Jew and olketa first Christian mekem story hao Devil hem haf-man haf-animal for minim why olketa wicked samting happen raonem olketa. Bihaen, olketa Christian luksavve hao diswan hem wanfala kastom story nomoa wea no garem faondeson long eni really samting and gogo olketa aotem idea hia.”—“All in the Mind—A Farewell to God,” by Ludovic Kennedy.
LUDOVIC Kennedy, man for raet and toktok long radio hem talem hao for planti handred year no eniwan long Christendom daotem hao Devil hem really stap. Professor Norman Cohn talem hao olketa Christian staka taem “tingting tumas abaotem paoa bilong Satan and olketa demon bilong hem.” (Europe’s Inner Demons) Disfala wei for tingting tumas abaotem Satan hem no samting wea olketa poor man wea no garem education nomoa duim. Biliv hao datfala Devil savve kamap olsem wanfala animal for rul ovarem olketa badfala samting and olketa dirty kastom, Professor Cohn sei “hem no kam from kastom story bilong olketa wea no garem education, nomoa nao, hem tingting bilong world bilong olketa wea garem bigfala savve.” Disfala sekson “wea garem bigfala savve”—insaed diswan hem olketa bigman bilong church wea kasem education—garem blame for olketa wei for huntim olketa witch wea kamap insaed long Europe from mek-15 century go kasem mek-17 century, taem wea church and gavman barava spoelem and killim dae samting olsem 50,000 wea olketa sei olketa witch.
Iumi no sapraes hao planti rejectim olketa kastom story abaotem Devil wea olketa sei hem ova tumas. Nomata long 1726, Daniel Defoe mekfani long biliv bilong pipol abaotem wei wea Devil hem wanfala animal wea mekem man fraet “wea garem wing olsem flying-fox, olketa horn, leg olsem buluka, longfala tail, tongue olsem snek, and samfala samting moa.” Hem sei olketa idea olsem hem “wik tingting wea man no fit for tinghae long hem” wea kam from “pipol wea encouragem disfala idea abaotem Devil wea luk nogud tumas, and from pipol wea mekem kamap disfala idea” wea olketa “giamanim world wea no garem savve witim idea abaotem Devil wea olketa seleva nao wakem.”
Waswe iu ting olsem tu? Waswe, iu agree witim toktok insaed The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible hao “Devil hem wanfala samting wea man nomoa wakem for excuse for sin bilong hemseleva?” Planti wea sei olketa Christian ting olsem. Jeffrey Burton Russell hem sei olketa savveman bilong Christendom, planti taem “sei Devil and olketa demon hem samting wea kamaot from olketa oldfala kastom story nomoa.”
Bat, samfala pipol ting Devil hem really stap. Olketa sei diswan hem bikos wanfala nogud paoa wea winim paoa bilong man mas bihaenem wei wea olketa badfala samting kamap evritaem insaed history bilong man. Russell hem sei, “Olketa barava nogud samting wea kamap insaed mek-20 century” showim wanfala reason why “biliv long Devil hem kwiktaem for kamap big moa bihaen longfala taem.” Olsem man for raet Don Lewis talem, samfala pipol distaem wea kasem education, wea bifor savve “lukdaonem” olketa kastom story and wei wea “olketa laen dadi bilong olketa wea no kasem education” fraet, olketa hia “start for barava interest moa long olketa badfala samting wea winim paoa bilong man.”—Religious Superstition Through the Ages.
So, wanem nao truth abaotem diswan? Waswe, Devil just wanfala krangge kastom story nomoa? Or waswe, hem samwan iumi fit for biliv hem stap nomata iumi stap long mek-21 century?
[Piksa long page 4]
Olsem hem showaot insaed disfala piksa bilong Gustave Doré, olketa kastom story showim Devil olsem haf man, haf animal
[Credit Line]
The Judecca—Lucifer/The Doré Illustrations For Dante’s Divine Comedy/Dover Publications Inc.