So I was recently reading a young adult novel and in it the main kids are two characters who have spent lifetimes trying to be together only to end tragically with the girls death every time she reaches 17 and they've found each other. Basically the boy is a fallen angel, and there are others with him who walk the earth fighting for good against the ones who are fighting for evil and his falling in love with a human girl was part of his downfall. Don't ask me why, but after reading the book I was up for the better part of the night trying to figure out what bothered me most. I've never liked stories where angels fall for humans, because I just don't see how it can happen, but then they obviously have to have some foibles in order for The Fall to have happened right? So then I started thinking about that, and then I started wondering about Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, etc. in the Bible.
We all know the images associated with this entity...the serpent in the Garden, Dante's great horned beast, the tempter, burning pits, sulfur, etc. but who is this character really? In Job, we all assume it's Satan talking to God, but then we're taught that all who follow Satan, like demons, can't get near God. So what's the truth? Why is this character called the Morningstar? Isn't the day usually associated with God and the night with Lucifer? Isn't the temptation of Christ a basic redo of Job? Here's a guy who will follow God no matter what, and here's this character trying to tempt him away, to get him to turn his back, only this time they're using vanity against the believer instead of suffering. Far more effective I think, which makes Jesus' refusal all the more powerful.
Then I started to think about this great Fall we hear about. I learned that it was a disagreement between God and this angel Lucifer (who in some versions is the most beloved angel). God wanted man to have freewill and Lucifer thought that was crazy, why not just make them bow down and worship God? So then words are exchanged, sides are chosen, a war ensues, and we get God and the good guys on one side and Lucifer and the bad guys on the other. Which then starts to raise all sorts of questions about the angels having freewill. It's a mess. And there are other versions of the story I'm sure.
The more I ponder it, though, the more confused I get. I've lived with this image of Satan for so long I've just blindly accepted what I've been told, but it has to be much deeper than that. For instance where did we get the story for the great Heavenly falling out? Why would any angel question God? Why would any want to leave Heaven? How could you possibly find humans so interesting after being in God's presence? What does that mean about Hell really? Is it only the absence of God's presence? After all the whole pit of burning, etc. idea didn't come around until much later and most of our 'visions' come straight from Dante's Inferno.
So who is this character of ultimate evil that evidently still has conversations with God? What is their purpose? Are they really working against God or are they misunderstood as the ultimate 'tester' of our determination to follow God in all things? What if like the Holy Spirit this character is sent out to speak to us, but instead of giving us God's words of instruction and comfort, they are sent out to test our mettle. To ask the questions that will lead us toward or away from salvation. And remember, in Job this character is specifically told that they can torture the faithful all they want but cannot kill them. I've always believed that Lucifer doesn't sit in some dark burning pit waiting for our souls, but that they walk the earth everyday whispering in our ears. But how much further does it go? And why am I suddenly making this a conspiracy theory?
Seems fitting to ponder at this time, though, as Halloween approaches. Will definitely have to delve into this mythos a little more to see how it all started, what did the early 'chosen' believe, how did later generations and then Christianity change that perception?
My brain hurts....
No comments:
Post a Comment