James R. Brayshaw - Satan Christianitys Other God - Legend, Myth, Lore, or Lie

New York Bloomington

Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1 19 Considering Why We Have a Doctrine of Satan

CHAPTER 2 41 Satan, Evil Force at Creation or Man Created
with a Potential for Evil?

CHAPTER 3 77 God, Creator of All Things Good and Evil.

CHAPTER 4 89 The First Use of the Word Satan in the English Version of the Scriptures

CHAPTER 5 113 If Satan Exists He is a God According to Yahweh

CHAPTER 6 131 Evil and Lying Spirits, How God is the Origin

CHAPTER 7 167 The Post-Exilic Persian Influence On the Idea of Satan

CHAPTER 8 205 Lucifers Fall in Isaiah 14, Explaining the Myth

CHAPTER 9 231 Is Satan the Anointed Cherub from Ezekiel 28?

CHAPTER 10 273 The Satan in Job, Human Adversary or Evil Incarnate?

CHAPTER 11 333 Zechariahs Vision, What Was the Satan He Saw?

CHAPTER 12 363 The Serpent In the Garden: Understanding the
Foundations of Why We Believe a Myth

CHAPTER 13 391 Answering The Serpent In The Garden Questions

Whats Next For Satan Christianitys Other God 473 Bibliography 475 Index 479

Where do our beliefs come from?
For many of us, the teachings of man we have received have become so much a part of our lives that we believe our unquestioned beliefs are truth, at the very

depth of our being.
At any point in our lives any one of us could be deceived. However, a person who is deceived does not know they are deceived until they discover the error in their thinking.
If we think that our own heart cannot deceive us then why did the prophet Jeremiah say;

The heart is deceitful above all things , and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9 KJV1

When I was a child and was taught about Satan, I always wondered, as many of us have, how an all-powerful God can allow such an evil being as Satan to exist. If God is sovereign, why doesnt He just wipe Satan out? How can this loving God allow an afflicter to continue to exert his cosmic powers upon the faithful and the innocent to bring destruction, chaos, and harm? Today I would like to share some answers to those questions and others about the existence of Satan. The answers shared in the following pages are able to free people from fear, confusion, and misunderstanding about Satan and evil. The following is a work intended to prove that Satan does not exist as a cosmic supernatural being, who is intent on destroying humanity and thwarting the plans of the Most High God.

In arriving at a clear understanding of the non-existence of a Satan, I have learned from many teachers on the subject. The problem with the existence of a Satan is that the sovereignty of the Creator is in question. The question has long been asked; If God is sovereign then why does Satan have so much power to harm humans? I agree that is a question needing to be answered and in short, it can be answered by saying there is no Satan and that man is the primary purveyor of evil in this world. The subject becomes even more serious when one considers that ascribing supernatural power to anything elevates that thing to the status of a God.

1 Throughout this work the letters KJV after a Scripture verse identify that verse as taken from the King James Version Bible. Where required to indicate which Strongs Dictionary number has been assigned to a specific word the Strongs numbers will be incorporated into the verse after each word. This is known as inline Strongs. Here is an example of that practice; In the beginning 7225 God 430 created 1254 (853) the heaven 8064 and the earth. 776 Genesis 1:1 KJV+

The Scriptures say Yahweh is God and He claims there is no other supernatural force in the universe, saying there is none like Him. Thus, we are left with the problem of trying to remove the other God, Satan, from the place he has been given by the heart and mind of humanity. If Satan truly does not exist, then those who believe he does have a conflict of interest with the concept of believing in One God. So consider the following very carefully.

Whether Satan exists or not is an issue that has huge implications for humanity and religion today. If Satan does not exist, then you and I have been taught a very ancient and complicated lie, at the hands of the religious institutions of this world. From the time the Israelites left Persia until today, those who are the leaders and teachers of these religious institutions have almost unanimously heralded the message that there exists a cosmic being that is like God but is not the One God who is sovereign over the entire Universe.

Probably the most serious repercussion of a culture coming to terms with the non-existence of a cosmic Satan is the impact this information will have on the individual when they fully realize what it is they are responsible for. By there being no Satan, you and I are then left as the party who must take the full responsibility for sin . We can then dismiss the idea that an evil influencing force has secretly introduced sin to us and we are not hapless participants in behavior that is not approved by the Almighty.

The fault for evil then is not to be laid on a supernatural, mind controlling, satanic spirit; the fault lies with the individual who submits to the original propensity to choose sin, which is a potential that is inherent in the human psyche. Sin changes the human mind and there are many theories and hypotheses as to how the actual neurological wiring is altered when a person continually chooses to sin. The change in our brain physiology becomes the primary factor why sin gets easier and easier. The liar finds it easier to lie, the rager finds it easier to rage, and the porn addict finds it easier to choose to look at porn. Eventually the brain and emotions control the person because of the cellular changes to the areas in the brain, which have been continually stimulated by whatever sin has persistently occurred. Sin begets sin so to speak.

Admittedly, we all sin regularly but many who are in a cycle of habitual sin may be there because of the first time they justified their actions. Now that person no longer has to work to justify their action because that principality,

is the driving force of their choice to sin. A principality here is the primary drive or original impetus to choose to disobey, it has taken over, and the person has effectively lost control in areas of their life where sin becomes an almost automatic behavior. I will not use such a broad brush as to paint every person, without exception, as being able to have lost control to his or her propensity to sin. It is true that some of us have a propensity to commit one sin or another because of things that may have happened in our childhood. Trauma changes us and is particularly efficacious on the brain of a child, as are various forms of negative programming that might be foisted on a child in one way or another. For excellent teaching and understandable scientific explanations in this area, you may want to look at the work of Dr. Paul Hegstrom.2 He is a premier researcher and teacher in the way our brains have been altered by situations and stimulus from our early years as well as how neurological changes occur from repeated sin choices.

Admitting that there is no cosmic satan is only one step in the journey of faith that leads us to a true monotheism that fears God only. Imagine how safe we will feel instead of feeling fear when we are able to dismiss the concept of being inhabited by a demon as is portrayed in certain movies. Or when we concretely embrace the fact that a midnight walk on a pagan high holy day will not place us at risk of being attacked by a demonic spirit who wants to drag a soul to hell. Let me testify to the freedom that comes from knowing there is only One God and no evil, cosmic force that has any power to affect your life in any way. There is amazing freedom that comes with learning that all ideas of demonic, transient spirit beings are the fabrications of mens minds, which find their origins in ancient mythology. For others, you can expect peace to be found in the area of fear that may come in the night, thinking a horned beast with fangs and breath of sulfur is going to appear when you awake from a bad dream