Evagrius Ponticus (4th century AD), a young intellectual generated the most sophisticated study of demonology through his experience of living in the desert as a monk. Evagrius claimed that the fight against demonic temptation is a fight against the “logismoi” – a Greek word that can be translated as thoughts, thought patterns, internal narratives or internal belief structure. They are the content of your thought life and mental markers by which we navigate life. Logismoi weren’t just thoughts; they were thoughts with malignant will behind them, a dark animating force of evil.
Jesus said: You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). In context Jesus was telling his followers “If you hold onto my teachings then you really are my students and as a result you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free” (paraphrased).
To the pharisees who constantly opposed Jesus, He said to them: “You belong to your father, the devil and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he is speaking his language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
To Jesus, the devil is real. The Greek word used here is diabolos for the devil, which is a verbal root word meaning “to slander” or “accuse”. The scriptures in various places also call diabolos as the Satan, the evil one, the tempter, the destroyer, the accuser, the enemy, the deceiver, the opposer, the adversary, the antagonist, the predator, the protestor, the great dragon and the ancient serpent. Notice these are not personal names but a title. For Jesus the devil is not a fictional villain, he is real and a cunning source of evil and the most influential creature on earth. The devil is the first and the greatest influencer.
Before the advent of Internet and social media influencers and the popularization of the word influencer, someone else has mastered the art of influencing all the way in the Garden in Eden. This influencer led to the fall of mankind from innocence and unleashed sin and death on earth. Our fight is with the devil; a fight to take back control of our minds from the captivity of lies and liberate them with the weapon of truth. The devil is an immaterial but real intelligence at work in the world. Jesus knew the true nature of our reality more than anyone else and he warned us about the tricks and the endgame of the devil, which is death.
“He was a murderer from the beginning”, whose intent is to end life.
Jesus went onto say, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.
The devil is the archetypal villain who is hell-bent on destruction.
He just wants to watch the world burn.
His motto: “Tear it all down”. Decimate it.
Wherever he finds life, he wants to stamp it out.
Beauty? Deface it.
Love? Corrupt it.
Unity? Fragment it into million pieces.
Human flourishing? Push it to anarchy and tyranny.
He is anti-life, pro-death, pro-chaos and all this fueled by an insatiable fire of hatred and envy.
Jesus on the other hand is the author of life and an advocate for all that is good, beautiful, true and love. God is love and the devil is in rebellion against all that is God, his intent is to wreck love, relationship, community and nation. This is why our newsfeeds drip steady litany of chaos and carnage. This is why secular theories of evil simply do not add up as a valid explanation to human behaviour.
The devil is the father of lies, in other words, the devil is the origin point of deception. His primary method of influencing the world is through lies and his signature move is deception. Jesus sees our primary war against the devil as a fight to believe truth over lies.
Which leads to the inevitable follow-up question, as Pontius Pilate asked Jesus: What is truth?
to be continued…