Friday, February 22, 2008

A HIDDEN HAND?--SATAN?

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Friday February 22, 2008

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'Nat'-ural Philosophy: Hail SATANford Hail





February 22, 2008
By Nat Hillard
Satanists of Stanford University, unite! From today forward, we shall no longer lie in the shadows. Standing against the backdrop of White Plaza, an enormous banner reads “may the love of SATAN be with you.” The name “Jesus” has been crossed out, and SATAN has, very cleverly, been placed above it on a new piece of paper.----

A HIDDEN HAND?--SATAN?
The kingdom of darkness is real and is the spiritual source of all opposition to God.
The lord of this diabolical kingdom is the "prince of the air," more commonly known as Satan, or the Devil. With a horde of wicked spirits at his command, he is called the "god of this [fallen] world" ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ). As this world's ruler, his task is to oppose all of God's efforts to redeem Man. The battlefield here is primarily the human mind. Using a variety of techniques, Satan's strategy is to fill us with lies, to convince us that black is white and evil is good, to justify sin and blind us to our need for a Saviour, to distort our image of God and erase or trivialise our image of Satan, convincing us that he either doesn't exist or that he's a cartoon imp in red pajamas. Put simply, "to blind the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them" ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ).
Given its power over the heart of Man, music is among the most potent of these techniques. And it's worth noting that both the Scriptures and church tradition suggest that music comes quite naturally to Satan, that very possibly, before his fall, he was in charge of music in Heaven. (See Isaiah 14:11 ; Ezekiel 28:13-15 .)
Of course, any style of music can be perverted by evil. Many of the elements this presentation examines are found in other musical forms as well. The reason for our focus on rock is both its unparalleled popularity and the manner in which it has given place to evil. Subtly at first, and then with increasing blatancy as rock's celebrants have been brought under its rhythmic sway, it has become one of the most potent weapons in Satan's arsenal of deception.
Fortunately, Satan's proven tendency for over-achieving has resulted in a blatancy that, when examined by an objective inquirer, can be used to expose the Devil's presence and purposes--hence this presentation.
And one last point before we begin to dust rock music for Satan's fingerprints--2 Corinthians tells us that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light ( 2 Corinthians 11:14 )--that he can, in other words, appear as something beautiful, even Christ-like. Don't be fooled! Satan doesn't just manifest his power through a Hitler or a Charles Manson. He can use your favourite guitarist, a pretty pop singer, maybe even you! Anyone who resists the will of God is fertile soil for his seeds of deception.
Satan had a great deal of control over Mankind until Jesus. On the cross, Jesus' thorn-torn brow and pierced body provided the perfect blood sacrifice for our sins. Now Satan's once mighty power is broken over anyone who believes on that blood, in Jesus and His sacrifice for us. It's no wonder Satan hates it. Can we find this demonic hatred in rock music? Sadly, yes.
Ted Rudow III,MA

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