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THE DEVIL HIMSELF SATAN OR LOOKALIKE ? Much abused and little understood but always prepared. If most people shrink at the sight and sound of the word, they would do the same with all the other names that the so called devil has been given throughout the course of history. This is quite understandable when we bear in mind the descriptions and attributes which the Christian Church and Islam has given him/her throughout the centuries. So far so good, but it is not a laughing matter however when ordinary innocent people are put to torture and killed slowly merely for being accused of being his earthly representatives. It is also sad when cultural groups and established historical religious movements like the Dervishes which have given humanity unforgettable scenes of spiritual beauty with their dancing, are threatened to the point of extinction for presumably being devil worshippers. Clearly, it has nothing to do with the Devil himself, whose given attributes alone would ensure infinite protection for his followers, but with the prosecutors who do the dirty work in his name. Most public bodies within the political or religious field who undertake these cowardly acts are all too often atheistic and would be hard pressed to explain their beliefs if challenged to do so. More likely than not, they would be seen to be the very essence of the attributes of the devil they pretend to be rooting out. It can be seen in the obscene and God defacing rites of primitive and evil public executions of brace, defenceless, martyred women - every act a rite of triumph of Satan himself who without doubt claims his territory slowly with every one of these blasphemies. The end results of the very culprits, including the families, throughout the years, bears testimony to that. Satan pays out in the same coin that he is invoked for. The devil has been associated with many religious organisations but most of these have never paid tribute to anything that they would consider offensive to the very nature of life. He has been summoned by charlatans and even firm believers in his existence as a mortal or demi-god, to do the obscene work of their own twisted minds. Even then, the end results of the barbaric rituals in most cases, would also suggest that he has better things to do, leaving nothing behind to demonstrate his attendance. The whole context of the devil, satan, belzebub etc. is as diffuse as ambiguous with some recognising him as the leader of humanity and others as the fallen angel who tries to get back on his plinth whilst challenging the legality of his sentence. The idea carries little interest for anyone with half a mind let alone a soul. Heretics or Saints ? In the mountain regions of Southern France a little understood religious cult which called itself, the Catthars carried the weight of public support against the corrupt Vatican forces, which would eventually and with dismally repetitive evil, massacre innocent men women and children in the name of Jesus. The reality in academic terms was that perhaps they got their sums wrong and what prompted them to do it was the very evil itself that they had conjured. In any case, the Catenarios after resisting bravely from their mountain stronghold in Montenegro, committed suicide, en masse, if they had not already died of the diseases and direct effects of malnutrition. What had really happened was that authentic Christians with regard for the genuine teachings of the prophet, were unable to accept a military Roman Catholic church riding on the devil´s back and condemning poverty stricken populations to the horrors of war. This form of population thinning was as genocidal as anything that has ever come up before the modern courts of human rights. The Catthar heresy, they assumed, rightly or wrongly, to have been that they believed that the entity in command over the future of mankind was Satan himself. The very charismatic and gentle Catthars either had a very reformed Satan at their head or else it was something else more akin to the real Jesus. The nature of the religion was probably the closest to what one would expect of genuine practicing Christians which is what they really were. They neither adored or lent service to the sort of monster that Satan had been made out to be. The curious heart of the matter is that if the Catthars had been devil worshippers in the true sense of the attributes pronounced by the Catholic faith, their style of life, would have been closer to the one practiced by the Vatican authorities of the time who plundered and tortured the weak and hungry for merely protesting about their cruel fate. The devil therefore in his infinite wisdom, knew how to jump from pillar to post or simply change the goal posts and wreak the desolation and evil that had not been there in the first place. Maybe, the head of the Roman Church at these periods of time had been the very Prince of darkness himself. The Church , since the days of Constantine the Great, took over a temporal role – an empire protection – that had little to do with the spiritual commitments of the legacy of Jesus. The wonder of it all is why this policy o f destruction and fear has been accepted so passively by the majority of Christians through the ages. Politics it would seem and the inherent weakness in mankind to bow down at the first sign of aggression, seems to be at the root of it all, but there must be something else ? How else can dictatorships of the evil calibre thriving today be capable of lying and holding down massive populations of above average intelligence ? The devil appears to be unusually well armed and probably handling some very sophisticated weaponry unknown to the mere mortal. War it seems is also a means of destruction of competitors as a form of survival of the few whose interests are protected. The flip side is that it is mainly done in the name of God despite His clear teachings not to do these things. Cultural protection excuses, it would seem, has little to do with it since the main basic culture is constantly being reinvented and evolves, keeping its origins in the history books. The devil it would seem, has little time for this sort of thing and perhaps worldly goods are merely presents – trinkets, to his mortal followers whose interests he probably entertains for as long as he chooses and no longer. Perversity we must remember has to be a factor which denies loyalty itself and his followers, mercifully, last as long as necessary and not a minute longer. The wall certificate in his case, is written in fading ink. Knights betrayed The Knights Templar found out in time, as the favourite accusation of devil worship was placed neatly on their tables. Again, pious, historical heroes with hundreds of years of contribution to humanity at large, faced the prosecution ghost of the wily devil who was now identified with the Baphomet – a bearded bust that they apparently had in their French Headquarters. In the book “Ivanhoe”, the Templars are touted as followers of Baal, a Phoenician God of fertility and knowledge who was also identified with Satan. Whoever he was, he was accepted by millions of people throughout the Middle East with a respect that bordered on awe and who addressed him as My Lord. His monuments and religious rituals are not clearly understood, but it is generally accepted that he was a mortal and died at the hands of those who needed him dead. A closer parallel to Jesus is difficult to find but he was either not the devil or else the devil is not the one we are told he is. But who could have ever imagined that Moses was a prototype for the devil ? There are very few images of this ancient leader of the people of Israel which do not depict him with clear, unadulturated horns. The Church has made many an effort to brush it aside as artistic licence, but it is a tradition and impossible to erase. Practically all sculptures and paintings of his majestic presence have clear cut horns and no the so called “Glory of the Lord” which cannot be encompassed in these stubs. The figure in the Mausoleum of Jules II by Michelangelo cannot be anybody other than Moses and closer to Bacchus, one cannot get. In fact, etymologists like Professor Higgins, claim that Bacchus was created by the Romans in the name of Moses whom they considered a fertility prophet closely associated with the wine culture. How or why, is a mystery, taking into account the very little documentary evidence to his real existance, but horns he has and it is unlikely to be confused with anything else. It may be relevant perhaps that the Romans claimed to be descendents of the ancient tribes of Israel (the Kittim) and the Qumran documents attest to this. What really happened in Eden ? If that is not enough to get us all into a real pickle, Lucifer who appears to be the progenitor of the much maligned devil, was supposedly a glorious fallen angel who dared to challenge God himself. The startling thing is that the Iranian carved stone which depicts the Garden of Eden and which is thousands of years old, has been translated with catastrophic results. The garden which appears to be a mountain settlement, has all the appearances of extraterrestrial inhabitants or lowland dwellers incapable of surviving or working efficiently at great heights. What is hair raising, is that their camp commanders are named after the Christian/Judaic archangels and long before an ancient Jewish Genesis got written down. The original Eden version of Lucifer, therefore, has become entangled once again, with Satan, the evil one and destroyer of mankind. How curious..... But then it appears that the stele or found in Iran, has him being thrown out for daring to have a sexual relationship with a women of the lowland tribes. The elders of the community it saysa, had designed the creation of a mixed race to produce hefty, work-adapted people but the approach was to be prepared with scientific precautions. The issue by implication, was to be held captive for fear that it might create a competitive strain and was obviously destined for eventual extermination. Why therefore castigate the Shining One (Lucifer) for doing what they were all planning through controlled and selected sperm samples? It would appear that the inhabitants of the mountain stronghold whose God was Enlil, did not have energy reserves to carry on with the agricultural work and were fearful of bringing the brutal strength of the lowland natives to the enclave. The cross issue, they assumed would be a wiser choice. As it happened (and perhaps for having chastised the poor resulting devil who was cast out to live among the lowland savages), their God sees fit for the massive dam they had built, to break apart, carrying everyone over the edge (and drowning a few underneath most likely). The descent from from that forbidden blend is anyone´s guess although I for one, could readily point a few fingers in the odd direction. The attempts on the gentle dervishes, smacks of ulterior motives and the devil stamp is no more than a sop to the crowds. That is plain. However, viewing the origins of the Druces, the Dervish, the Kurds, the Yezidi, The Zoreastrans, The Medians, The Magi, The Chaldeans, The Judeans, The Israelites and consequently the Christians, the claims of devil worhip on other than those who propagate massacres in the name of God, fall on very ridiculous soil. Either the devil is the one that the Christian faith claims he is, or else they have him confused with someone else who carries attributes more akin to the nature of man himself. The devil it would seem, like a dangerous virus, nestles comfortably in the fabric of mankind. That is probably the closest we can get to what it really is, but how it survives and how it can be starved out, is the very nature of sincere, elevated, religious applications. Expressions, religious or not, that turn everything around it to painful obscenity, cannot be but instruments of evil will and by which signs, the presence of the mighty Lucifer can be identified. If its existance can be quantified and illustrated, it is in the context of a cursed, dried Rose of Jericho that blooms with hate, envy and jealousy instead of gentle humidity. The ingredients of the weakness in man which harbour and nuture the devil incarnate is well hidden until provoked and the genie, always present, always alive, stumbles forth from the only pliant refuge that it could find. A close watch on evil´s hatching gprocess betrays some very disturbing factors. Evil like friction rises with the increasing closeness to saintliness, attacking as it grows. Jesus was quite aware of whom he might meet in the wilderness. All ascetics know this and the ultimate results of much misapplied discipline can be the very opposite of that sought in the first place. Religious leaders in a politicial environment are perfect examples of this metamorphosis. Conversely, many a latent indulgence towards evil, can result in outward reference to sanctity with the same destructive result as was seen in the case of Manson and Bin Laden. Both, creatures of outwardly laudable complexion set however to fool the unsuspecting, with visions of liberation and compassion. The devil is indeed much more complex and dangerous in his manifestations than a million pictures of horned goats of Mendes or sly, plumed seducer. Seen in this context, the devil, can be flushed out and seen riding high in the hands of destructive, power drunk authorities, throughout history. Cults, intent on murdering innocent people, like the Thugees, followers of Kali, Voodoo, human sacrifice adepts like the ancient Aztecs and the early Sikhs can be addressed as followers of the attributes of the Christian description of Satan. But then, it is obvious from their acts. Those however who give their own lives to kill others through hate and envy or simple greed, are not followers but instruments of that devil, in the same way. It is obvious that only through this invocation can this master of disguise, successfully manifest itself. Man as the abode and place of residence of the forces of evil was a concept well understood by founders of many a cult which sought to keep him in place, but what brought them to ruin was their inability to explain it to others. The Devil would find no better place to sit in and wait, than the soul of man, fed by the selfish egos of those who open and close the door for him. Since this article was written casual encounter with material associated with aspects of this article have consolidated enough to rewrite another one. However, the article covers enough, I feel to justify its creation. The concept of the Devil is relevant today with respect to the Yazidi people who have been mown down by the likes of genuinely evil Radicals. Apart from the fact that they are a peace loving people who have inherited ancient concepts of religious wisdom, they are not admirers of evil or would ever contemplate doing to others what they are doing to them. The devil in this context is personified in the Greek Vulcan who was thrown down from heaven by Zeus as also the bible described beautiful Lucifer who dared to challenge authority. Evil as we know it, is in the radicals who persecute them not in this sect derived from the same sources as the deeply religious Ishmaeli Shiites who represent the mystical God seeking initiates of the Islamic culture. Nor does it rest in the gentle, submissive Cathars who defined mankind as caught by its own weakness and referred to the devil as having a strong influence because of this and not as being their object of veneration. This Gnostic concept is better understood today as a form of acceptance of the duality of our emotions and sentiments - Jekyll and Hyde, but it does not mean that evil is the focal point of veneration - merely that it has to be recognized to be there and a balance to be found. The compulsory pairing of members as did the Templars, was a formative committment that allowed for one to oversee the other and face the issues of self cleansing together as a bond.
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