Literal Satan

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FromTheAshes777

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Greetings all,

This is a question that has been nagging me lately and I hope that maybe all of you can give me a slightly clearer answer. I know this may seem like a no brainer but I’ve encountered some things recently that have brought up this question.

Does the Catholic Church officially teach a belief in Satan, as in Satan as a literal spiritual being that is lord of all of the fallen angels and used to be the angel Lucifer that fell from Heaven? I mean, does he really really exist in a literal spiritual form and prowels the Earth?

I was raised Southern Baptist and absolutely have always believed this because I believe it’s pretty clear the reality of it in the Bible. I also tend to take the Bible extremely literally in most places where the context suggests it because of my upbringing and my own understanding of my faith in Christ.

I have encountered a Priest as well as several Catholics who say that they believe that Satan is just an allegorical concept for sin and that he doesn’t exist in a literal spiritual form. I was blown away by this and totally confused because I was under the understanding that the Vatican has a large team still of Priests trained as excorcists, which I would think would require a literal belief in a very real spiritual entity called Satan and demons as taught from the Bible.

Can someone please clarify this for me? I’ve read the article “What the Devil?” and I am still sort of confused. Thank you all for your patience, just very confused and still questioning alot. I want to be Catholic, but this may mean some big sacrifices and family turmoil for me, so I want to be sure I understand everything before I take further steps.

Thank you, and God bless,
Josh
 
FromTheAshes777 said:
Greetings all,

This is a question that has been nagging me lately and I hope that maybe all of you can give me a slightly clearer answer. I know this may seem like a no brainer but I’ve encountered some things recently that have brought up this question.

Does the Catholic Church officially teach a belief in Satan, as in Satan as a literal spiritual being that is lord of all of the fallen angels and used to be the angel Lucifer that fell from Heaven? I mean, does he really really exist in a literal spiritual form and prowels the Earth?

I
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Yes, that is not the entire teaching, but true as far as it goes. Angels and Demons by Peter Kreeft is the best book I have seen on the topic.
 
Yes, there is a literal Satan, who is literally among us and literally using his evil spirit to affect us. There are even literal posessions, I’m not sure of the frequency that Satan is attributed as being the posessing daemon, but there have been daemons who have litereally been exerciesed (continue to be) from real people. This goes on even today.

As far as higher archy, I can’t comment whether Satan is truely a “leader of the daemons” per-se, or if he is just the most powerful and terrible of them today. He did once lead, we beleive (based on scripture) about 1/3 of the angels (stars in heaven, which fell to earth) in battle for the thrown of heaven. It does stand to reason that he might still be “lord of the daemons”, but again who knows for sure.

If you want to know where we form the bases for the last two bits of data I offered:

Satan wanted to over throw God
Isaias 14:
11 Thy pride is brought down to hell, thy carcass is fallen down: under thee shall the moth be strewed, and worms shall be thy covering. 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? how art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations? 13 And thou saidst in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God,** I will sit in the mountain of the covenant**, in the sides of the north. 14 I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the most High. 15 But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit.
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1/3 of Angels joined battle on his side, and fell with him
Revelation (Apocalypse) 12
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.
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See this section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Note Articles 391 and 395.

There is nothing allegorical in being “made by God.”
 
My parish priest has often remarked that Satan’s greatest trick is getting people to believe he doesn’t exist.
 
The priest teaching my R.C.I.A. class definitely takes the literal reality of Satan very seriously. But yes, I would imagine a lot of American Catholics don’t.
 
A brash young man once told Padre Pio that he didn’t believe in hell. Padre Pio told him not to worry;he would when he got there. I presume the same answer would apply to those who think Satan is allegorical.:eek:
 
Joe_Kelley said:
A brash young man once told Padre Pio that he didn’t believe in hell. Padre Pio told him not to worry;he would when he got there. I presume the same answer would apply to those who think Satan is allegorical.:eek:
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What a lousy argument IMHO.
 
Whether one believes in heaven or hell , God or the devil does not change the facts. Your belief or non-belief will affect you but does not change these things. I do not remember whether Padre Pio had a vision of hell or not , but the Blessed Mother allowed the children at Fatima to see a vision of hell and I believe that Saint Maria Faustina also had a vision of hell. As some of the posts mentioned the devil is real, Jesus talked about him in the scriptures and the devil knows Jesus is real… We need to be aware that the devil does exist and will try to confuse you including trying to make you think he is not real.
I pray that you will spend some time looking into this and open your heart to God’s mercy.
 
Joe_Kelley said:
A brash young man once told Padre Pio that he didn’t believe in hell. Padre Pio told him not to worry;he would when he got there. I presume the same answer would apply to those who think Satan is allegorical.:eek:
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Within that statement lies a truth: humans by nature cannot easily believe in someone they cannot tangibly see or feel; we often have to “see it to believe it”. We humans are conditioned to think that if we cannot see someone or something within our range, then they are most likely absent, therefore were are free to do what we want; which explains why (1) backstabbing often happens when the victim is either not present or too far enough to hear the backbiting, and (2) child bullying often occurs when someone who can help (say, a teacher or a parent) is not at hand. This is why we humans need faith in this part.

By the way, I was just reminded of that scene in Constantine, where Keanu Reeves quips to the other character (who says she does not believe in the Devil): “You should. He believes in you.”
 
And he was in the desert forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by Satan; and he was with beasts, and the angels ministered to him.—Mark 1:13

Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels.—Matthew 25:41

THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH STATES SATAN IS A LITERAL BEING:
In this petition,** evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. **The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who “throws himself across” God’s plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ.–CCC 2851
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“The devil and other demons were created by God naturally good, but they became evil by their own doing. Man, however, sinned at the prompting of the devil….All of them [humans] will rise with their own bodies, which they now wear, so as to receive according to their deserts, whether these be good or bad; for the latter perpetual punishment with the devil, for the former eternal glory with Christ.”—Confession of Faith of the Ecumenical Council of Lateran IV

“One who doesn’t believe in the devil doesn’t believe in the Gospel”—Pope John Paul II

In the following interview with Father José Antonio Fortea, priest of the Diocese of Alcala de Henares in Madrid, an experienced exorcist comments on the reality of the devil in modern life. Father Fortea recently wrote a book entitled “Summa Daemoniaca.”

Q: What is Satan’s greatest triumph?

Father Fortea: To make us believe that he doesn’t exist. Indeed, after the 60s, many theologians said he was a symbol, and this has been a great success because, of course, all the ministry of exorcism disappeared from Europe almost totally. Only in Rome did it remain in a continuous, and even daily, manner.–Zenit.com
 
Hi Josh,
Code: 
  Satan can be positively identified with proofs using NT scripture. 

  See:
            *Incidents that are Units in the Synoptic Gospels but are Dispersed in St John*
            Catholic Biblical Quarterly 23 (1961) pp. 143-160 by R.E. Brown

   The article was also republished under another name in Brown's later book 
   *New Testament Essays*. Don't let that title fool you, it's a stunning piece
   of theology on Satan. 

   By the way, if you poke around, be sure to read Brown's piece before you read
   what others ( I'm thinking of Elaine Pagels) had to say about Brown's article. 

                                                          Sincerely,
                                                                            Tim
 
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