Satan’s attacks are a constant topic among fundamentalists, with any number of naturally occuring events being perceived as the direct work of the Evil One.
Perhaps these claims of spiritual warfare are familiar…
“After living a life where I consumed fatty foods every day and never exercised, Satan has attacked my body and given me high blood pressure and heart disease. The devil also made me put my wallet through the washing machine this morning.”
“I was walking down dark alleys alone with ten dollar bills falling out of my pockets when a couple of thugs (who I could tell were demon possessed by their punk rock t-shirts)Â mugged me.”
“I haven’t changed my oil or had a tuneup to my car in 10 years. Then today on my drive to work, Satan attacked my car and it broke down on the side of the road. He also had sneakily drained my cell phone battery so I couldn’t call for help.”
The devil is evidently a very clever sort who disguises a lot of work as the natural result of human folly. Subtle indeed.
It’s a lot easier to blame satan than to take responsibility for yourself and your own actions, that’s for sure.
I’ve even met people who said things like “I hit every red light on the way here – Satan must not have wanted me to come!”
I love the title to this blog entry. The title, in an of itself, is hilarious.
At least in the original Bedazzled (I refuse to see the remake) the devil did real stuff. He bruised bananas and scratched records.
I’ve seen this happen at a youth camp before! During the invitation, the speakers mic “suspiciously” went out! It didn’t work! Satan was for sure to blame….Couldn’t have been those randomly placed wireless mic dead-spots that we all love…
I ran out of petrol/gas today. Was that the Devil, or is God trying to teach me a great spritual truth? Yeah, make sure you check regularly that your fuel tank is topped up….
I’ve heard more than one preacher claim that what they were about to preach was obviously of vital importance to us all because they had car trouble/got caught in traffic/hit a bunch of red lights/etc., which was a sure sign that Satan was trying to prevent them from preaching that day. I can’t say I remember what they preached about being so life-or-death. (Not bashing the importance of good preaching, but sometimes car trouble is just car trouble)
This post is a huge win. My friend had her wallet stolen the other day at a crowded tourist trap. She spent the rest of the day wailing that God had allowed that to happen to her because He was trying to teach her a lesson about something, she just couldn’t figure out what it was. She decided that maybe He was teaching her humility because she was having to much fun.
I’m so glad I don’t believe in Christian superstitions anymore!
mysticism, plain and simple. It’s like the threat of violence from the moG is you don’t tithe or attend every single cotton-picking service and event at the “church.”
B.R.O.