Have Some Sympathy

Have Some Sympathy

“Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name,
But what’s confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
Cause I'm in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy,
and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste…”

- Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil”

When thinking of the Fall of Satan most people immediately quote the story that is actually from Milton’s Paradise Lost. And the story of his fall doesn’t even occur in the bible. Most people don’t know this. Revelation makes inference to it, as do other books of the bible, but there is not one book that recounts this story. They do know that Satan was an archangel full of pride who would not do what God commanded (which was to bow down to man). But this story is actually from the Qur’an and in fact Iblis (as he is called) is not an angel, but a Jinn. A creature made with free will, like man. According to legend, angels do not have free will. Sounds to me like God has surrounded himself with yes men like some insecure egomaniac and anyone who doesn’t agree with him (yes sir!) is thrown into some lake of fire (or worse, Earth).

I admit, I do laugh when Christians recite this story, not realizing it isn’t even in their book, but what they are telling is a hybrid between a work of literary fiction and part of one of their most hated enemies’ sacred text.


But enough religion bashing. There is a point to all of this.



I find it interesting that Lucifer means “light-bearer” or “light-bringer”. Strange name for evil is it not? And yet the name Satan means “The Accuser” or “The Adversary”. It seems to me that any adversary plays an essential role in anyone’s life. Is not growth a painful experience? Do we not refer to it as growing pains? Especially Spiritual Growth. You cannot fully appreciate Spring without Winter. Do not seeds fight against the cold to grow again? Is not the hibernation period just as important as the period of bloom?

If everything was painted the same colour, let’s say green, nothing would have any meaning. If your clothes were all green, and your skin all the same shade of green on a backdrop of green, where then is the contrast?

If you’ve read my earlier blogs, Original Sin and More Original Sin, you will understand that the name Lucifer fits right in with the idea of the Serpent in Genesis as the hero of the story. This “light-bringer” is the one who introduced us to knowledge. To growth. To dichotomies. God made it all, but it was the serpent who pointed it out.

As for the story of Satan’s fall, God made Adam the first human. God then commanded all of the angels to bow down before man. And Iblis, full of “hubris and jealousy” refused to obey God’s command seeing Adam as being inferior in creation as he was made from clay and Iblis was made of fire. (Fire is always an interesting symbol - it gives off warmth and pushes back the shadow). And the punishment for disobeying? That his punishment will be delayed until the Day of Judgement. And in the meantime, Iblis has made it his personal vendetta to divert as many of Adam’s descendants away from God.

Sounds like a jilted lover to me. ("Hell hath no fury....")

But the real question here is: who is the jilted lover?

Forget Satan’s so-called pride and hubris, let us look at the real reason Satan would not bow down before man. Is not one of the ten commandments, “Do not have any other gods before me”? And somehow, Lucifer is condemned to Hell for obeying this law? For not idolizing man before God? Oh sure, as man we think we ARE superior, so of course we’ve made Lucifer the bad guy. Our ego’s simply can not handle anything else.

But think for a moment, how strong was Satan’s love for God? To not only disobey, but to risk eternal damnation. To be without his one true love? To be punished so severely, as he would never be with God again. Tell me, would you risk hellfire, for your love of something?

Does this mean I’m a Satanist? That I’m all for the ritual sacrifice of babies? Pentagrams and burning candles (there’s that fire and light again!)? The Macphisto in me says yes I am. Did God not ritually sacrifice his own son? Do we not light candles during mass? I’ve heard a lot of Christians talk about evil and to be ever on guard and so on. I remember asking one of these people, is God capable of forgiving Satan? They answered yes, but Satan has to be willing to be forgiven. I replied: “Really? And what about Grace? Undeserved kindness?” Answer: Silence.

Perhaps it is God who should apologize. “What? God apologize? Are you crazy?” Perhaps. But I am not talking about God per se, but people’s perception of Him. Here is the definition of hubris: overweening pride, haughtiness, or arrogance. In ancient Greece, hubris referred to actions which, intentionally or not, shamed and humiliated the victim. Who is the victim in this story? God? I don’t think so, God cannot be anyone’s victim. According to the story and this definition, it is Satan who is the victim. And was he not shamed and humiliated through his being forced out of heaven? Who could be so arrogant as to condemn someone forever? This is pride and the definition of pride is: "the love of one's own excellence." Who loves his own excellence more than God? Is this not the opposite of humility?

So let’s not be so hard on poor old Lucifer, the jilted lover. Instead of letting our fears chain him down to the underworld, let’s show him some grace.

After all, that which we condemn in others, we condemn in ourselves.