An Interview with SATAN - On Peace /Part II
Robert J. BAUMANN: rbaumann@nyc.rr.com
Light Millennium: contact@lightmillennium.org

"You humans have so much to offer."

by Robert J. BAUMANN
Written for the Light Millennium

For Part I

Satan leaned over and asked "Do you mind if I smoke?". I told him that it was of no concern to me. He was stalling for time or trying to think of a way to reach me.

    "Your wife smokes, doesn't she?"

    "Forgive me, but whether she does or does not is not important for our conversation. I am trying to ask you about 'peace'. Let's try to stay on topic."

    Satan leaned back and took out a package of cigarettes. He lit one in a conventional manner using a matchstick. He dragged in a good amount in his first puff and seemed to be thinking of the matter.

    "Peace. Well, you know that is not my goal. I won't trick you about that. I exist so mankind will be in turmoil. I am accused of being arrogant and filled with pride, but that simply is not so. You know I am an angel and also have been described as an 'angel of light'. Ezekiel knew me. He correctly said I was a model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Does it make sense that I would be envious of you? I think not."

    "Oh, I can imagine how you would be... if God favored man and not

you, a so called perfect being."

    "A mistake. You think God does not make any? He's made a few. I can tell you that. This whole thing about free will is a mistake. Putting men on this planet is a mistake and at one point I had nearly convinced Him of that. He was almost ready to start over. Remember the account of the flood? If Noah had not been so troublesome, then all this would be history. You would not be here."

    "Job proved you were wrong about us. So did Noah. I know you do not want to even get into the whole subject of Jesus. We'd be here for a long time on that. I think we'd best stick to our topic."

    "Peace is not something you humans want. You have the freedom to make choices and in that freedom, you choose wrongly. It happens every day and it is not much work to make it happen. Look at the recent behavior of the UN in Iraq. You think they did not know what was going on there? You think the French did not know about the gassing of the Kurds? Ha ha ha. They all knew, but Saddam had them in his pocket. It was easier to not challenge him and get his oil through the back door. How ironic that they accuse the US of attacking him for oil when they pocketed money from oil themselves. I love the hypocrisy."

    "Yes. Many who were against war like my friend Bircan felt it solved nothing."

    "Weakness. I love to exploit weakness, innocence and naivete. It made Eve an attractive target and your friend Bircan, as well. She's a fool."

    "Let's avoid the personal attacks, shall we."

    "No, you misunderstand. The world needs fools. I thrive on them. I use them. I grow strong on foolishness, innocence, stupidity and greed. You humans have so much to offer. Do you remember old Neville Chamberlain, paper waving in the wind, as he stood at the airport to announce he had secured "Peace in our time"? Ah, that was a delightful moment. Too bad it could not last. Hitler was my treasure and Saddam was even more inspired. I am left now with having to start all over again."

    "So an educated, sensitive person with strong convictions about peace is a fool?"

    "Think about it. If you do not challenge evil, doesn't evil win? Do I not gain ground every time good men back away? I delight in turning the argument into one about what "good" is and what "evil" is. Men who debate the meaning of words delay a response. It is as if intuitive thinking and understanding were to be abhorred. A lobster debating the heat delays its exit from the pot. Ha ha ha."

    "Light dispels darkness..."

    "Yes, I know that old bullshit. What if, in the name of energy  conservation, we all cut back on our use of light. Eh?"

    "So all of Bircan's thoughts and ideas allow evil to continue and thrive?"

    "Prove to me otherwise," said Satan. "Prove to me how her desires advance the fortunes of peace one iota. Does she think she can avoid a confrontation with me?".

    "You?"

    "She may be one of the lucky few to see the end times. It grows closer and closer. All your tiny nations, the proud and arrogant heirs of Hitler and his ilk, all are in a competition to see who will be next to test a bomb. The more minds like this, the greater the chance of the use of a bomb in your time. Will it be India and Pakistan first? North Korea? I shall choose the time and place. How do you see little Bircan stopping me with her nonsense?".

    "I don't. I know Bircan is dead wrong. You cannot co-exist with evil men. Doing so supports their evil deeds. However, my friend is not totally wrong. What we've lost sight of is that this is not a battle between men, but one of spirits. It is you trying to prove to God you were right all along. Wipe us out and you inherit the earth, or so you thought. Turns out that the end has been written and you've lost. All you have left is the bitterness of defeat. You want to take as much with you as you can. You want to leave God with a scorched earth, a last defiant symbol of His rejection of you. You are like a child who thinks 'If I cannot have my way, no one else will'. I know you, Satan. I know you well. You choose lies quite well and try to confuse issues. Nice try."

    "Really? Ha, well, see if I am wrong this time. Wait until I send the next monster to you. Your friend Bircan and her kind will want that beast to be understood. He will tear men limb from limb while she preaches that he needs to be pacified. Tell me she is not a fool."

    "She is not a fool. Men are limited in what we can do. Kill one monster and another takes his place. Bircan knows this, I think. In our modern times we've gone from evil to evil. It may just be time to let God deal with you. When He does, there will be no court of appeal for the likes of you."

    "You dare to judge me? Me? Satan? Look at all I have done over the centuries. Do you think any could be as adept in playing chess with God like this?"

    "You've lost the game, or did you forget? Heaven will be filled with the likes of fools like Bircan. Doesn't that rankle you? Fool that she is, she would not spill anyone's blood. Mistaken as she might be, she stands for that which you hate. Why would I not judge you as harshly as you have judged her?"

    "This interview is over. You bore me. You and your kind. Just know I will always be around you, my little friend. You are not immune to my ways... and neither is she."

    "I am not a perfect person, I admit. You do reach all my weaknesses. Heaven will not be filled with the perfect... only those who seek after God and find Him. Yes, I know you are always nearby. So is God."

    Satan roared with that and slumped back into the body of my friend. He awoke and had thought he simply had had too much beer. What he could not explain were the cigarettes in his pocket... and the taste of tobacco in his mouth. The Horndog did not smoke. He'd never have believed the real truth, so I lied to him.

    "Forget about that, Horndog. Boston won."

    The Horndog looked at the scoreboard and growled. "That's not funny." We headed for the exit. All three of us.

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