A Study on the Devil

Norberto R. Keppe

There is one particular theological subject that has always been treated very superficially indeed, and that is the issue of demons. Are they real or not? Are they just symbols of various human attitudes? The first thing I could say here is that demons have always been interpreted erroneously. Let me try to explain.

Primitive peoples and ancient civilizations considered the devil to be an entity that took possession of the human being, thereby becoming responsible for the person’s actions. Exorcism has frequently been used as a way to rid the human of this evil.

During my clinical work in Integral Psychoanalysis, I began to realize that people we call mentally ill display attitudes of opposition to all that is good, beautiful and true, which are identical to the attitudes we would attribute to evil spirits. Through his free will, man is completely free to accept or reject what is real, meaning he is free to be similar to either God or Satan.

It is totally wrong, therefore, to deny the existence of demons. In fact, it is precisely this denial that allows them the opportunity to act freely in the minds of men and women. Going further, it is exactly this ignorance of his existence that satan wants for this allows him to conduct his work without interruption.

We could ask, “Why has the form of an animal always been used to portray the devil?” Goats heads, for instance, with horns, a tail and hoofs, and claws for hands – these illustrations are common in Christian, Jewish and Oriental religions. We can see this even today, just as we saw in ancient times or the Middle Ages. The difference is that now modern science has the means to explain all this.

People who start down the path towards a more serious mental illness begin adopting behaviors that are different from the conduct we consider normal, and begin to behave strikingly similar to animals. When someone is criticized for their strange behavior, we hear things like, “He’s behaving like an animal.”

In more pronounced schizophrenia, what can typically be observed is repetitive mannerisms accompanied by exaggerated gestures and behavior that is similar to apes. Even the expressions of these individuals are closer to howling than speaking. In their more aggressive phases, they certainly seem like beasts that are primed to attack. At this point, you may catch the analogy I am trying to establish between demons and the mentally ill since they are mirror images. In this sense, satan could be called a schizophrenic angel.

Paranoid people or those individuals who suffer from manias of persecution firmly believe that they are actually being persecuted by others, especially by those who are trying their best to help them. It was exactly this reaction that the evil spirits displayed towards Jesus when they said, “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matthew, 8:29). In fact, they did not want to acknowledge that their suffering was caused by their rejection of love, goodness and life, and the presence of the Son of God only brought their condition into consciousness.

The most important thing I am trying to convey through this study is that satan is a sick being, not all-powerful and semi-divine as he’s often portrayed. In fact, he is just like a psychotic human being. Sometimes, this psychotic does succeed in keeping their worst pathology hidden and manages to “deceive” those around him. I put the word “deceive” in quotes because we really do have a truth monitor inside us that recognizes exactly what is right and wrong.

There are always questions that come to mind when we read the Scriptures. For example, why did Jesus come across so many people afflicted by demons when today we rarely encounter this phenomenon? The usual explanation is that times were very different back then, and that He had a special dispensation from God. However, I have an entirely different idea about this.

Firstly, we must consider that Jesus, being God, would have had to deal with the heaviest attacks from evil entities. After all, Jesus was not only a man but also one (pure) spirit facing another spiritual being (a rebel), which would explain all the overt and obvious challenges. In fact, this exact same phenomenon would occur again if one of the Divine Trinity ever returned to Earth in human form.

Human problems begin in the spiritual dimension of the feelings and thoughts, which are always under the influence of suggestions from the angels and demons that surround us. We must see that, after the Creator, the most perfect beings are the spiritual ones, which can be good or evil (angels or demons) depending on their choice. We are obliged to consider that we participate in this vast spiritual (immaterial) universe.

When I speak about dialoguing with demons, I am referring to a real conversation just like we have with other people, but with the significant difference that it is driven by the spiritual sector that concerns our eternal salvation, meaning it depends on the type of relationship we have with God. This is, in fact, the most appropriate field for man. Do we not, after all, feel a strong desire for happiness? We know it exists, but we have difficulties in locating where it comes from. At the same time, we can see that the connection we have with the so-called spiritual world is much more intense and definitive than any we establish with the material world. We could say that everything that happens on this material plane constitutes a direct reflection of what we do in the beyond.

We are totally immersed in the infinite. If we meditate on this for a few moments and allow our eyes to open to this a little, we will immediately notice the existence of this completely different universe. As an example, consider the millions of people who have already died; they are still existent, either in dimensions of much light or darkness depending on what they opted for. In fact, it’s like they are in adjacent rooms. What’s more, beyond this level we can see more light and clarity, and space filled with creatures illuminated by a most intense light that is almost equal to the light of the most radiant and magnificent being that exists: God. We could say that these are beings who are highly enlightened and totally accepting of truth, goodness and beauty while the lights of others are almost extinguished because of their rejection of these transcendental elements.

Just as we cannot compare the physical world (the workings of the human organs) with the psychological (the worlds of feelings and intellect), so we must see that the vast cosmos is but a small part of the Creator’s spiritual totality. Long before its creation, He had already made the angels, archangels, cherubim and seraphim that exist in the universe we participate in until today – even if we turn our backs to him.

In fact, it’s for this precise reason that I declare that the devil only thinks about God, even while wanting to sabotage Him at the same time. What I want to say is that the more the devil tries to forget the Creator the more he remembers him, because one can only like what is good. It is exactly the same thing with man: we have everything we need but we complain endlessly about work, other people and even life itself, which proves our desire to turn this paradise into a real hell of intrigue, suspicion and tension. Is it not for this reason that this world is often called the Kingdom of Satan?

What we call a demonic attitude is simply a “stupid” one, representing a choice for the worst thing possible – rather like psychotics who destroy their friendships and even their own capacities in this mentally ill behavior. Any psychiatrist will have seen this. In fact, everyone has problems, but those who call themselves ill use this as an excuse to do nothing.

A person does not need to be a saint to drive satan out of his life. However, we must expel him by adopting an attitude of respect for the Creator so that the evil one can see that we want nothing to do with him. The devil is extremely alienated and totally inappropriate. He behaves like those aggressive individuals who, if they’re not firmly rejected, continue making aggressive and unrelenting moves towards others. If the person can keep his mind firmly on goodness, it’s like a punch in the nose to the demons, who then stop trying anything further.

When the Son of God was on Earth, satan, not knowing exactly who he was dealing with, behaved like a complete idiot, thus explaining his numerous stabs at tempting Jesus. I am saying that “demon-possessed” people are not so much possessed by the evil spirit; it’s more that they adopt a similar attitude to the evil one, thereby becoming “little friends.”

If we could save the demons we would, because it is lamentable to see a legion of spiritual beings completely displaced from their original position of happiness. I believe they are trying to live well but have a totally inverted attitude just like the psychotics here on Earth. In any case, only they themselves can leave this situation by returning to behavior that is appropriate.