The Cuddly Face of Evil

From the beginning of time, when the snake first whispered to Eve, ‘Take a bite … you’re not going to die,’ Satan has been at war with God, and the main weapons in his arsenal have always been lies and the sowing of division.   But over the last century, a new strategy seems to have emerged, designed to rebrand evil as good, and good as evil.  So the moral teaching of the Bible, as well as our understanding of the divine, has been systematically redrafted, even by those in leadership in the Church.  Sex, for example, is now generically interpreted as ‘love’, so that all sex – even if prohibited in the Bible – is labelled ‘good’ and to be affirmed.  From which it follows that same sex attraction is natural and to be indulged, provided only it’s part of a stable relationship, and that same sex marriage is good.  Similarly, courtesy of Harry Potter and Halloween, witchcraft and divination, also prohibited in the Bible, have now been recast as ‘fun’, supported by an extremely lucrative cottage industry marketing books of spells, along with black capes and conical hats, for those who want to go the full Monty.

The unremitting message in all of this is that Christianity’s ‘boring’ morality is not just passé, but a deliberate misrepresentation of reality.  We don’t need it any more, we’ve moved on.  The latest in this long line of demonic deceit is a children’s Christmas film produced by Paramount. Reassuringly entitled Dear Santa, it tells the story of a dyslexic child, Liam, who gets his Santa letter badly wrong.  You’ve guessed it – instead of writing to Santa, he sends a letter to Satan, who’s all too quick to respond, granting him three wishes in return for his soul.

What jolly larks!  Sure, most of the time, Satan sports a pair of horns – which is maybe a bit disconcerting – but otherwise he’s everyone’s favourite uncle, a bit naughty, maybe even risqué … but fun, and really cool!  What’s not to like?  And at one level, as Satan takes Liam off on a journey and shows him all he can give him, you could say that the film mirrors Christ’s temptations in the wilderness.  A morality play, in fact, for our time, with goodness winning in the end!

But it’s the glamourisation of Satan that sits uncomfortably with this interpretation.  Yes, the film is funny, and one can only give a rousing cheer when Satan says despairingly, ‘this kid is incorruptible!’.  But the overall message appears to be that Satan actually isn’t that bad … not ‘evil’, in the strict sense of the word … just misdirected.  And therein lies the rub, because if the reality is that Satan’s quite jolly, how come ‘evil’ is so bad?  Why, in fact, do we have to resist it?  What’s the point?  Especially when what his satanic majesty has to offer looks so much more fun!

Effectively, this portrayal of Satan trivialises the reality of spiritual conflict, undermining at base our understanding of heaven and hell, and thereby exposing people to enormous harm.  The perhaps uncomfortable truth is that the devil is always quick to exploit weakness, and he doesn’t wait for an invitation.  Unlike Liam in the film, you don’t have to write a letter asking him to drop by.   Wherever and whenever we give way to the lies, we not only ‘worship’ Satan, feeding his ego and allowing him to grow strong, but we put ourselves outside God’s protection, allowing the devil to assert control.  Which is another way of saying that we put ourselves under bondage – and the only thing that can set us free is Christ.

It really is as serious as that, and that was why Jesus came to earth – so that we might be restored to that relationship with God for which we’d been created, and become fully ‘ourselves’.  But by our cultural adulation of magic, unrestrained ‘worship’ of sex, and general laxity, we nullify that sacrifice and open ourselves up once again – both as individuals and as a society – to demonic domination.  Small wonder we’re in such a mess!  Sadly, a comedy glorifying Satan can only add to the moral vacuity that has gained such a stranglehold over society, plunging us ever deeper into darkness.  And misery.

A little bit of light hearted comedy at Christmas is wonderful – and even better if it has within it a moral slant that speaks of the wonder of what God has done for us, in Christ.  But toleration of a little bit of evil nestled in amongst the jollity is corrupting, and therefore it is not ‘okay’!  Sad to say, this is a film to be avoided.
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 Last chance to make your voice heard!
say NO to Assisted Suicide
Only four days now to the second reading of Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.  If passed, there is every danger in cash-strapped Britain that ‘death’ will become the default position for treatment of the elderly, the vulnerable and those regarded as ‘untreatable’.  In every jurisdiction where assisted suicide and/or euthanasia has been legalised, supposed ‘safeguards’ have not just proved inadequate but have rapidly been completely ignored. 

Please read and download our Briefing Paper to Parliament, that has been sent out to all MPs and Peers ahead of the Bill’s second reading.  As we all know, busy MPs notoriously don’t always read what comes into their inbox, so please help us by sending the Briefing to your MP, saying how concerned you are and asking him or her to vote against this dangerous Bill. Please let us know what response you get!
 

Read and download our Briefing here: 
https://vfjuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Briefing-paper-on-Assisted-Suicide-2.pdf

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Involuntary euthanasia is already happening in UK hospitals.  If assisted suicide becomes legal, in cash-strapped Britain no one will be safe!

When will the ‘right’ to die become a ‘duty’ to die?

Watch the video here:  https://vfjuk.org/resources/endoflifeandassistedsuicide/

Download and buy a copy of our Report,

When End of Life Care Goes Wrong
https://vfjuk.org/product/when-end-of-life-care-goes-wrong-report/

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Never despair!

After suffering 4 strokes, David Hazeldine woke up to find himself totally paralysed, only able to move his eyes.  Doctors told his wife he had a 10% chance of survival, and that there was no hope of recovery.

What was there to live for?

Everything!

Listen to Lynda’s interview with David here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve7oYbVf6cs

Say NO to Assisted suicide
and Euthanasia!

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CIDAC

Followers of the Way

Join us at 10.30 am,
on Sunday, 1st December

This week:

Ejecting evil and reclaiming the land
  

 Guest Speaker: Philip Quenby

Registration from 10 a.m. 

Zoom login : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82580763914?pwd=U2uMdaOhHvMca59yUSrggDWiuBBPZk.1

        Meeting ID: 825 8076 3914
Passcode: 039007

Please note, this will be a service of Holy Communion, so please bring along bread and wine

Catch up with previous FOTW services here: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJZPKP0KwN8-MuXs2IUIPAQ

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