{"id":6370,"date":"2016-03-04T14:00:32","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T18:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=6370"},"modified":"2017-03-25T16:05:03","modified_gmt":"2017-03-25T20:05:03","slug":"the-devils-stupidity-vanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2016\/03\/the-devils-stupidity-vanity.html","title":{"rendered":"The Devil’s Stupidity and Vanity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Satan\"<\/p>\n

Satan before the Lord<\/em> (c. 1750), by\u00a0Corrado Giaquinto (1703-1765)<\/span> [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]<\/p>\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n

Satan was silly enough to actually think that he could entice Jesus to sin and diversion from His ministry. He was too ignorant in his evil irrationality to know that his scheme was doomed to failure from the beginning. We give the devil too much credit. He is an idiot and simpleton as well as a \u201cbad guy.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

I say he\u2019s stupid. How else should we describe a creature who was present with God as His highest angel, yet chose to give that up and rebel? I can think of nothing dumber and more ridiculous. The devil is more pathetic than anything else. He hates when people don\u2019t cringe in fear before him (assuming they believe in him in the first place). <\/span><\/p>\n

Craftiness or cleverness is not at all incompatible with monumental stupidity. Stalin and Hitler possessed both qualities in abundance. Hitler made very basic military errors: such as trying to fight on two major fronts (east and west) at the same time, and attacking Russia as winter approached (the same grave mistake that Napoleon had made some 125 years earlier).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In 1942: the same year that the great apologist C. S. Lewis wrote <\/span><\/span><\/span>The Screwtape Letters<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>, he also wrote <\/span><\/span><\/span>A Preface to Paradise Lost<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> (on Milton\u2019s 17th century epic poem on the devil and angels). In that work he wrote:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[I]t is a mistake to demand that Satan . . . should be able to rant and posture through the whole universe without, sooner or later, awaking the comic spirit. The whole nature of reality would have to be altered in order to give him such immunity, and it is not alterable. At that precise point where Satan . . . meets something real, laughter <\/span><\/span><\/span>must<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> arise, just as steam must when water meets fire.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What we see in Satan is the horrible co-existence of a subtle and incessant intellectual activity with an incapacity to understand anything. This doom he has brought upon himself; in order to avoid seeing one thing he has, almost voluntarily, incapacitated himself from seeing at all . . . He says \u2018Evil be thou my good\u2019 (which includes \u2018Nonsense be thou my sense\u2019) and his prayer is granted.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1942, ch. 13 [\u201cSatan\u201d], 95, 99)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This sounds to me exactly like a \u201csimpleton\u201d and \u201cfool.\u201d Nothing is more foolish and absurd than rebellion against God. The very definition of \u201cfool\u201d in the Bible is a person who either doesn\u2019t believe in God, or who doesn\u2019t follow Him as their master. I don\u2019t care how high the devil\u2019s IQ is! What good is it, seeing where he will end up? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStupidity\u201d as I use it includes a moral judgment. I\u2019m not just using it to denote mere \u201clack of knowledge\u201d or analytical ability. This is the biblical perspective on wisdom and knowledge. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think it takes a rocket scientist to deduce that the penalty for continued rebellion against God was bound to be extremely severe. Satan should have recognized that his estate was far less glorious than what he had in heaven with God. But evil is irrational by its very nature. People (and demons) who have lowered themselves want nothing more than to drag others down with them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our culture defines \u201cintelligence\u201d strictly in terms of IQ and number of big words mastered and college degrees, to the neglect of moral, spiritual, and prudential elements. I much prefer the terms \u201cknowledge\u201d (<\/span><\/span><\/span>gnosis<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>) and \u201cwisdom\u201d (<\/span><\/span><\/span>sophia<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span>), as I think these are the more biblical (i.e., culturally Hebrew \/ Jewish) categories of classification. <\/span><\/span><\/span>The Bible directly links up wisdom and righteousness in passages such as James 3:17 and Proverbs 2:7, and knowledge and righteousness in, e.g., 1 Corinthians 13:2, Proverbs 1:7 and 30:2-3.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The devil thinks, but he doesn\u2019t \u201cunderstand.\u201d He may be \u201csmart\u201d in terms of brain power, but he is a fool. His moral decisions have led to nonsense. The biblical definition of a \u201cfool\u201d is one who has rebelled against God, and who has a contempt for righteousness. In other words, I\u2019m using \u201cstupid\u201d as synonymous with \u201cfoolish\u201d or \u201cludicrous,\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span>not<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span> with reference to mere intellectual capability only.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As another humorous aside (in keeping with the present theme), after the above paragraph, I checked my word count and it was \u201c666\u201d . . . <\/span><\/p>\n

Seriously, though: some readers at this point may be thinking, \u201cit\u2019s fine to mock the devil, but it\u2019s no joke how he persecutes Christians!\u201d I don\u2019t mean to make light of that at all, but here is how I personally approach it in my own walk with our Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

M<\/span><\/span><\/span>y wife Judy and I have often noted how bad things started happening when we were setting out to do something that is in God\u2019s will. It\u2019s almost a running joke with us: \u201coh, that old <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>devil<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> is after us now, huh?, because we decided to [do so-and-so].\u201d We pretty much laugh it off, mock the devil, and proceed on our path, exactly as we had intended. We\u2019ve come to recognize the silliness and utter predictability of his attacks. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In that sense, there is wisdom, I think, in derisively dismissing the devil with a ho-hum attitude (the exact opposite of what the devil <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>desires<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>). His old, tired, droningly repetitious antics are completely to be expected and therefore a big yawner. The fact that his opposition ploys have <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>no effect whatever <\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>on our plans, and that we are not daunted and reduced to abject fear by his attacks, no doubt drives the devil nuts. And that is reason enough to approach him in that way.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> The Bible states, after all: \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Resist the devil and he will flee from you\u201d (James 4:7; RSV).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The devil is a pathetic joke and a cosmic fool and failure. We don\u2019t need to go along on his ridiculous ride to hell. He was defeated by our Savior Jesus on the cross. We need to be aware of that and confident that we\u2019re already victorious.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Satan before the Lord (c. 1750), by\u00a0Corrado Giaquinto (1703-1765) [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons] * * * * * Satan was silly enough to actually think that he could entice Jesus to sin and diversion from His ministry. He was too ignorant in his evil irrationality to know that his scheme was doomed to failure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":6373,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[583],"tags":[2437,2358,228,2432,1680,2359,2435,2434,2431,2433,2436],"class_list":["post-6370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hell-satan-last-things","tag-demons","tag-hell","tag-lake-of-fire","tag-lucifer","tag-rebellion-against-god","tag-satan","tag-stupidity","tag-the-accuser","tag-the-devil","tag-the-evil-one","tag-vanity"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Devil's Stupidity and Vanity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The devil is an idiot as well as a \u201cbad guy.\u201d I can think of nothing dumber & more absurd than being present with God as His highest angel, and rebelling.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. 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Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}