認識撒但的真相Recognizing Satan’s Reality
[每日靈修] 10/15/2018, 駱鴻銘編譯
我曾經問過一班大學哲學課的同學，「你們當中有多少人信上帝？」在三十個學生中，二十七個舉手表示肯定；三個棄權。
然後我問道：「你們當中有多少人相信撒但是真實存在的個體？」這次的表決被逆轉了。
我繼續追問。我問道，「為什麼你信一個有能力影響我們行善的超自然的存在體（也就是上帝），卻不信一個有能力影響我們作惡（撒但）的超自然的個體？」他們的答案表明他們所拒絕的惡魔，是他們認為不存在的、在神話裏的誇張描繪。
許多人把他們的立場描述為：「我確實相信這個事實，即世上有一種沒有位格的邪惡力量。」這種反應令我啼笑皆非。我問他們，「一個非位格的力量怎麼會是邪惡的呢？」
什麼是這種神秘的非位格力量呢？宇宙塵埃？放射線？無位格的物品、力量或各式各樣的權勢。它們不具有道德上的邪惡。在這裏，想要成為現代、先進之人的嘗試，就成了智力倒退的一種操練。
活在神的面光中（在神面前禱告）：
你相信撒但是實際存在的位格嗎？你為什麼這麼相信？你的信念如何影響你對牠的回應？
進一步研讀：
羅十二21 你不可為惡所勝，反要以善勝惡。
太十二43～45 「污鬼離了人身，就在無水之地過來過去，尋求安歇之處，卻尋不著。 於是說：『我要回到我所出來的屋裏去。』到了，就看見裏面空閒，打掃乾淨，修飾好了， 便去另帶了七個比自己更惡的鬼來，都進去住在那裏。那人末後的景況比先前更不好了。這邪惡的世代也要如此。」
Recognizing Satan’s Reality
I
once asked a college philosophy class, “How many of you believe in God?” Out of
thirty students, twenty-seven raised their hands in the affirmative; three
abstained.
Then
I asked, “How many of you believe in Satan as a personal reality?” This time
the vote was reversed.
I
pursued my inquiry. I asked, “Why do you believe in a supernatural being who
has the capacity to influence us for good (God) and not in a supernatural
personal being who has the capacity to influence us for evil (Satan)?” Their
answers indicated that the Devil they were rejecting was what they perceived to
be a nonexistent mythical caricature.
Many
qualified their positions by saying, “I do believe in the reality of an
impersonal force of evil in the world.” I found this response fascinating. I
asked them, “How can an impersonal force be evil?”
What
is this mysterious impersonal force? Cosmic dust? Radioactivity? Impersonal
objects, forces, or powers can be many things. One thing they cannot be is
morally evil. Here the attempt to be modern and sophisticated becomes an
exercise in intellectual regression.
Coram
Deo
Do
you believe Satan is a personal reality? Why do you believe as you do? How has
your belief affected your response to him?
Passages
for Further Study
Romans
12:21
Matthew
12:43–45