The Morality of the Devil

by Fr Richard Heilman | October 11, 2017 6:00 PM

The word “devil” comes from the Greek word diábolos, which means “accuser.” In early Judaism, Satan is seen more as a prosecutor. In the original Hebrew, Satan is not a proper name, but a title. The Hebrew term ha-satan or “the Satan,” can be translated as “the prosecutor.”

The book of Job is evidence of ha-satan serving this role. The book opens by saying “One day Sons of God came to present themselves before Yaweh, and the satan [ha-satan] also came among them.” God asks the satan to consider the righteousness of Job, to which the satan replies (in a nutshell), “It’s only because you’ve been so nice to him. Let me ruin his life.” So God does, and it turns out Job really was a pretty decent guy despite having his family slaughtered, his crops burned, and his life destroyed.

The serpent of Genesis is the very first lawyer. He is the original prosecuting attorney. This scene in the garden starts by Adam and Eve being offered a beautiful paradise, while they were asked for an “act of obedience” … “don’t eat from that tree over there.” In comes ha-satan – the snake – who uses his very effective “lawyer-speak” to convince them of an “opposite position” than the one they originally understood as good and right and holy: “You don’t need to obey anybody or anything. In fact, you can become your own gods,” the crafty lawyer told our first parents.

Of course, they bought it hook, line and sinker. Once they were cast out of paradise, the moral of the story was, “Paradise is found in our obedient parent-child relationship with God.” Much of the Bible is filled with stories that have this same conclusion … “Do it God’s way, and you will live a tranquil and fulfilling life.”

Satan –  the prosecutor – is most noted for his pride. Having been the highest of angels, his pride is what brought his downfall. This “pride” is prominent in Liberals/Progressives today. Let’s just start with the titles: Liberalism … Liberated from what? It is a liberation from “perceived” misguided ideas of morals and virtues. Progressives … Progress from what? It is a progress from “perceived” outdated ideas of morals and virtues. Of course, the so-called “misguided” and “outdated” ideas are the morals and values given to us by God.

And so, Liberals/Progressives “perceive” they have the “moral high-ground.” They are not happy unless they look down their noses, pointing out yet another thing they want to remind us deplorable red necks, who cling to our guns and religion, “we just don’t get.” They are snobby elitists who are addicted to prideful superiority … at least their skewed sense of what that looks like. They are obsessed with the “perceived” belief that their understanding of things is “new and improved” and “transcends” what their ancestors knew, because, you know, they believed the earth was flat *wink* *wink*.

Taking the opposing view to God’s view can be called, “The Morality of the Devil.”

• Women have a right to their body … wait, babies are being killed.
• Everyone should be free to marry anybody or anything … wait, this will lead to the breakdown of civilization – the family.
• Sex is natural and people should indulge their carnal desires at any time, even outside of marriage or extra-marital affairs … wait, what about children born out of wedlock or killed through abortion or an epidemic of divorce?
• Any means to gain power, including deception and corruption, is on the table, because we have the moral high-ground and need to be in power … wait, this will lead to the breakdown of a just government.
• Any system – in particular, Christianity – that does not allow me the freedom to do whatever I want, should be destroyed … wait, what will keep our country from falling into anarchy and chaos?

Source URL: https://romancatholicman.com/wp/the-morality-of-the-devil/

---