My Fair Satan
By Gina Detwiler
Remember how Satan used to be portrayed as kind of a bad guy in movies and TV shows? Whether a monstrous beast, suave businessman, or demon-possessed child, Satan was at least always up to no good, bent upon destruction.
Not anymore. Like so many other traditionally evil characters (think of vampires turned romantic heroes in Twilight or witches portrayed as innocent children in Harry Potter), Satan has gotten an extreme makeover in recent years. He’s no longer a bad guy. He’s just, well…misunderstood.
Take the show Lucifer, which just completed a successful five-year run on television. The title character, Lucifer Morningstar, is tired of ruling hell, so he escapes to earth and teams up with a beautiful FBI agent to catch and punish bad guys. Lucifer is handsome, charming, funny, and has a suave British accent, because of course he does.
The show portrays the prince of darkness as having quite a noble purpose: punishing the wicked. Of course, if you know anything about the real Satan, which the creators of this show clearly do not, you know that this is not at all what Satan does. He doesn’t rule hell, nor does he punish anyone. He is a liar, according to Jesus, and worse.
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
But in this show, he’s actually a good guy.
Lucifer is part of a trend to rehabilitate Satan that has been going on for decades, ever since the New Age movement began to recast the serpent in the garden as a maligned creative genius who only wanted to impart knowledge to poor, ignorant Adam and Eve, something mean old Jehovah wouldn’t allow. This philosophy of “Luciferianism,” which has roots in the middle ages but was popularized by loony New Age occultists Helena Blavatsky and Aleister Crowley, seized upon the meaning of the name “Lucifer” as “light-bringer” and decided that Satan, therefore, was the source of true enlightenment. To quote the Wikipedia entry:
For Luciferians, enlightenment is the ultimate goal. The basic Luciferian principles highlight truth and freedom of will, worshipping the inner self and one's ultimate potential, and to encourage and celebrate the same within all. Traditional dogma is shunned as a basis for morality on the grounds that humans should not need deities or fear of eternal punishment to distinguish right from wrong and to do good. All ideas should be tested before being accepted, and even then one should remain skeptical because knowledge and understanding are fluid.
From this quote, you can probably see why Luciferianism is so attractive to those repelled by traditional Christianity. When there is no objective truth or moral absolute, when whatever you believe or want to believe can be true, when you are your own god…the sky’s the limit. As Crowley put it, “Do What Thou Wilt Is the Whole of the Law.”
But if everyone is acting according to their own Will, doing whatever they want to do, how do you prevent people from hurting others in the process? The Satanic Temple, (located in Salem, Massachusetts LOL), came up with their own bible of sorts to deal with this conundrum:
The Satanic Temple is nontheistic, and its principles are broadly liberal humanism. The first of its seven tenets, for example, is: “One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.” (The Guardian)
Never mind that there is no tenant of Reason that would compel anyone to act with compassion and empathy toward others. Reason would dictate the exact opposite—that we act purely out of selfishness, just like all animals. If you need proof, read up on the French Revolution, a movement founded on Reason that ended in a bloodbath.
THE DEVIL’S MUSIC
Nowhere is Satan’s extreme makeover more evident than the pop music scene. Satanic themes were popular with many heavy metal bands of the seventies as well as mainstream bands like Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Kiss, and The Beatles. While their dabbling in Satanism often seemed more tongue-in-cheek than genuine, it was often hard to tell the difference. David Bowie was heavily influenced by the writings of Aleister Crowley and paid tribute to him in his 1971 song, Quicksand. In 1976 he told Rolling Stone Magazine,
Rock has always been the Devil’s music…I believe rock’n’roll is dangerous. I feel we’re only heralding something even darker than ourselves.
In recent years, pop music’s adoration of Satan has taken on new and explicit fervor. Ariana Grande turned DaVinci’s Last Supper into a lesbian orgy in a performance of God is a Woman at the MTV Music Awards in 2018. Nicky Minaj enacted an exorcism at the Grammys in 2012, complete with dancing, gyrating satanic priests. At the 2014 Grammys, Katy Perry did a witchcraft-inspired rendition of her song Dark Horse, dancing with demons, a red cross emblazoned on her chest. Madonna outfitted herself as a priestess of Kabbalah in the 2012 Superbowl Show. Lady Gaga pretended to be Mary Magdalene singing of her love for Judas in a music video and used to open her concerts with the bizarre proclamation, “I hate the truth.” Travis Scott’s recent Astroworld’s extravaganza, which ended in tragedy, featured a Hellmouth and a fiery portal to a dark world.
The really weird thing is that many of these artists claim to be Christians. Beyoncé, whose performances are often sprinkled with occult imagery, expressed great emotion about her faith in God in a 2013 HBO documentary. Nicky Minaj has expressed how God was her guide on many occasions. Even Lady Gaga has talked openly of her faith in interviews:
How did this happen? Who created this? I didn’t create this…it’s God. It’s for sure Jesus. It ain’t me. I’m not that powerful.
There’s footage of Gaga praying before her concerts, sometimes even weeping, though her prayers are often self-promoting: “Teach us to know our own greatness.” It’s clear that Christianity is a very fluid notion for Gaga and includes…whatever she wants it to include. Blavatsky would be proud.
It’s fair to say that all this is probably part of the devil’s plan. While the creator of nothing, he’s the master of re-invention. Casting himself as the true champion of love and compassion is right in his wheelhouse. As Paul himself said, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Cor 11:14)
Gina Detwiler’s newest novel, Forbidden, Part Four of the YA Supernatural Forlorn series, releases March 2022. In addition to Forlorn, she is the co-author of the middle-grade fantasy series The Prince Warriors with Priscilla Shirer. She’s also written The Ultimate Bible Character Guide for LifeWay.
