Defence of the Devil

EH - God walking in the garden - good scan compressed e“So far, God has written all the books. We have not yet heard the Devil’s side of the story” (Samuel Butler). “Opposition is true friendship” (William Blake). Halliday says it may be safer to modify this to “Good willed opposition aimed at the disclosure of essential truth is true friendship”, but there is a danger of falling into the position of the ‘do-gooder’. In his story, the angels prefer to keep their habitual roles and feel that all in eternity should remain the same. Under their T-shirts, bearing the silver slogan “We have a common source”, are hidden unique talents which God has given them, but which they have no intention of allowing expression which may be dangerous and disturb their heavenly bliss. But one angel dissents and voices his distaste for their lack of courage. He sees that although in relation to the infinite God all finite creatures may seem equal, in relation to each other, there is inequality, for God has given each individual unique character and talent to enrich and glorify the whole creation. This dissenting angel, Lucifer the Light-Bearer, offers to the other angels a Satanic, diabolic demonstration of the real meaning of God’s creation of the world. He is aware of the danger of becoming a ‘do-gooder’ attempting to cure the ‘good’ angels of the fruitless, eternal, repetitive praising which they do not even understand. In his self-sacrificial fall like lightning from heaven, comprehended by Jesus before time began, the Devil-Lucifer, whose divinely appointed duty it is to tempt us to choose our own individual orientation is saying to the not-so-bright angels, and to all of us, “Praising is raising”. Each being is unique in talent, and it is for each of us to demonstrate this uniqueness, “and so bring into the world some good new thing, for the great delight of the All of which we are modalities”.