Some scientists have been led to Christian faith by grappling with the reality of evil.
Arecent survey revealed that 81 percent of Americans believe that angels exist and
influence people’s lives. But the survey also indicated that the majority of people
say that Satan is not a living being but a symbol of evil.Many in our society are
confused about Satan. A few years ago psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, who authored the remarkable bestseller The People Of The Lie, admitted, “In common with 99 percent of psychiatrists and the majority of the clergy, I did not think the devil existed.”But this perception may be changing. Many scientifically minded people are no longer so sure. Some, like Peck, have been led toward the Christian faith through their grappling with the reality of evil. Others, though speaking freely of the devil, do so in a non-Christian context. Ludwig Staudenmaier was a German scientist who accepted the Freudian idea that the devil was only a “myth,” a “personification of repressed, unconscious drives.” After completing his
doctoral work in chemistry, zoology, and theology, he became obsessed with a
desire to “explore the boundaries between the natural and the supernatural,
to allow the natural sciences to determine as accurately as possible the distinction
between pathology and actual satanic manifestations.” At the suggestion of a
friend, Staudenmaier began experimenting with the psychic technique known
as “automatic writing,” a phenomenon in which the subject learns how to place
himself into a trance and then permits unseen forces to write messages through
his hand. He soon became quite adept at automatic writing even though he
considered what he wrote to be the product of his subconscious mind.
Soon, however, he was disturbed by hallucinations, which rapidly increased in
both their frequency and severity. One night as he lay in his bed, he had the distinct
feeling of a chain being fastened around his neck and tightened. Then came the
strong odor of sulphur and a sinister voice saying, “You are now my captive. I will never free you. I am the devil.” Although still clinging to his scientific perspective,
Staudenmaier began to have second thoughts about his venture. He wrote:
There remains in my mind no doubt that according to a naive, medieval perspective
I have become possessed. Therefore, only two alternatives remain: Either I
am on the brink of understanding the puzzle of human existence from a new and entirely novel perspective, or I am a fool who has thrown away years of time, health, and perhaps even life itself. He continued to be tormented by hallucinations
until he died some years later in Rome. Staudenmaier’s experience is not unique.
People of every culture have sensed or encountered the reality of a personal,
supernatural, evil, spirit being. Some of the greatest writers of recent centuries are people who took the devil very seriously. Feodor Dostoevski, Charles
Baudelaire, Thomas Mann, Flannery O’Connor, and Georges Bernanos are
just a few examples. Satan also appears in areas untouched by Western
civilization with its Judeo- Christian heritage. Possibly the most striking satanic figures ever created are the viciously leering “fire gods” crafted 1,000 years before
Columbus by post-Olmec Indians. Jeffrey Burton Russell states: “Parallel formulations of the devil in diverse and widely separated cultures
read remaining part at RBC book WHAT IN THE WORLD IS SATAN DOING?
— with James M. Pogue, Milana Tarai and Kathleen Wallcraft.
Comment by Simon Dannie Yahweh, Yashua, the Holy Spirit, angels, human beings are all real. Satan was an angel, too. He was kicked out from Heaven because his character was changed to Evil. I recently have read that Lucifer was the chief Choir Leader in Heaven! Not any more: he detroys everything that is godly.
Simon Dannie
Satan is real but not the picture above! Satan is very beautiful, attractive, intelligent young man and young woman and attracts both sexes of all ages. He is extremely audacious, scrupulous and knows the word of God perfectly, can go to God any time, permitted to play around and fool Christians of all classes, including bishops, moderators, founders, directors, Bible college principals, professors, hypocrites on Facebook etc. Be careful, he is a roaring lion and can swallow YOU alive!
