Does Satan Exist? No. But He Makes For One Hell Of A Conversation!
I guess Hell has frozen over, because I never thought I would find myself agreeing with woo woo master, Deepak Chopra. However, on ABC’s Nightline Face-Off, I agreed with him repeatedly. Ironically, the debate subject was, “Does Satan Exist?“
It should be no surprise that the defenders of Satan (AKA: Born Againers), never attempted to offer any evidence to support their claims. All they offered were personal experiences, and the repeatedly mentioned statement, “If Satan isn’t real, then God isn’t real (Duh, and your point is?). One of Chopra’s best responses was, “Healthy people don’t need Satan to justify their shame and guilt. They take personal responsibility for their actions.” But, don’t worry, I’m not drinking the Ophra Kool-Aid, Deepak also threw in his usual pseudo-religious bullshit.
Charlton Pearson was the other defender of rationality. I have known Charlton for a long time. Back in my ministerial days, he visited our church several times. He and I shared the same bishop and both wore clerical collars. He was also the pastor of Christian singer Carmen (related videos: here andhere). He (like me) has come a long way. Charlton has let go of the irrational beliefs in: Satan, demons, Hell (Which he now sees as this), and the belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. However, he hasn’t let go of God. Regardless of this, according to our old friends, he is a heretic and on his way to Hell (also like me).
Charlton is now a major proponent of what is called the Gospel of Inclusion. The basic tenant teaches that all mankind was redeemed in Christ’s death, and are saved regardless of their acceptance or rejection of this gift. Before, I became an atheist; I actually began to believe this way.
The most frustrating thing about this debate, and almost all other ones, is the Christian’s attempt to paint nonbelievers as arrogant and judgmental. The Devil Defending Pastor, constantly accused Pearson and Chopra of being pretentious for assuming they were right. Excuse me? Really? There is nothing more pretentious than claiming to know the mind of the Creator of the Universe! You can be no more arrogant than to claim to be on the Creator’s side and that all others who disagree will be tortured in Hell!
The Nightline episode was edited down to 30 minutes and barely even touched on the subject. Below, I have placed the first part of the unedited program. Below it, you can click on a link that will stream the entire program unedited and continuous. Enjoy.
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