I recently finished reading The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper and it made quite the impression on me. Of course, the subjects of demons, evil and possession are not new, but this book does it in a whole new way. At one point the author says something to the effect that the devil is not a person, thing or he; it is something that resides within every one of us. Or it might have been that he said hell is not a place somewhere, but resides within us. I wish I could remember the exact quote, but alas I didn’t highlight or bookmark the page in my Kindle. Anyway, the premise stuck with me. What if we all possess the capability of switching over to the dark side? What if we all have the possibility of letting evil win us over and take over our thoughts? But it’s just that most of us don’t and never even come close.
It’s a very scary thought.
Really would like to know what you think, dear reader. Or do you even believe in hell and devil? Or would you think that someone who says the devil is speaking to them/through them is really just mentally ill?
(PS: I definitely recommend this book if you are interested)
Dear Katie-the-Tiger,
As a simple example, take the case of a shaken baby. As a parent, there are definitely times when my baby wouldn’t stop crying and I was approaching my wit’s end. I can certainly understand a parent who shakes the baby a little in hopes of snapping them out of the crying spell and returning some sanity. But, something inside a marginal or better parent like myself stops short of doing that. It’s a very narrow line sometimes. What if the part of the brain that provides that restraint shrank or went away altogether? The thoughts are there, they’re just held at bay.
Another example is the cavemen urges that certainly try to take me over when an attractive member of the opposite gender walks by. Did I ever do anything bad? No- I have restraint. Did I think bad thoughts? Absolutely!
Hi Ron, thanks for the comment! I see your points, but are either of those examples truly EVIL? They seem more in the category of anger and lust. I mean, I’m pretty sure the thoughts you are referring to with the attractive opposite sex don’t have to do with evil things like killing them or torturing them!