The Devil's Best Trick

1. The Problem of Evil: A Personal and Universal Obstacle to Faith

In the summer of 1995, I was living in a country at war.

Moral quicksand. The author's journey into the problem of evil began amidst the atrocities of the Bosnian War, where tales of horror and the stony insolence of child orphans challenged his religious faith. This visceral experience forced him to confront the age-old question: "How can a God who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good abide such depravity?"

Supernatural warnings. In Medjugorje, a Bosnian Croat "peace center," religious visionaries and a miraculously healed woman insisted that the Devil was a real being determined to steal souls. A Franciscan priest, Father Slavko Barbarić, further eroded the author's skepticism by recounting an exorcism where a possessed woman reacted violently only to consecrated hosts, asking, "What in her could possibly have known the difference?"

A terrifying encounter. The author later witnessed a fervent exorcism during a Youth Festival Mass, where a young woman writhed, screamed obscenities in multiple languages, and exuded a ghastly stench, convincing him "that something was leaving her, that what I had just witnessed was not emotional or psychological or imaginary but real." Days later in Rome, he encountered an elegantly dressed man with a "malevolent drollery" and "suffocating rage," who fixed him with one eye, making him "absolutely certain he wasn’t human."

2. The Evolving Face of Evil: From Ancient Deities to Monotheistic Adversaries

The Devil’s appearance, like his disappearance, happened gradually.

Ambivalent ancients. Ancient civilizations, including Mesopotamians, Sumerians, and Egyptians, worshipped gods who embodied both good and bad, creative and destructive aspects, needing no separate devil figure. Greek philosophers like Heraclitus and Socrates attributed evil to human perception or ignorance, while Plato first suggested evil as merely the "lack of good."

Epicurus's paradox. The philosopher Epicurus formally posed the enduring "problem of evil," questioning how an all-good, all-powerful God could exist alongside suffering. Zoroaster, however, founded the first religion to teach pure dualism, positing two separate, independent principles: Ahura Mazda (good) and Angra Mainyu (evil), the latter being the first true "Devil."

Yahweh's shadow. In early Hebrew religion, Yahweh was an "antimony of opposites," with actions later attributed to the Devil ascribed to God's "shadow side." Only as Jewish faith evolved did the destructive aspect of God become personified as a malignant spirit, Satan, an angelic being who fell from grace by choice, yet still served God's will as an "obstructor" or "prosecuting attorney."

3. Christianity's Central Devil: An Indispensable Figure in the Story of Salvation

One doesn’t have to read the Gospels very closely to realize that if the Devil doesn’t exist, then Christianity has been founded on a falsehood.

Jesus's primary adversary. The New Testament firmly established Satan as Jesus's central opponent, whose power Christ came to conquer. The Gospels portray Jesus's ministry as a constant struggle against Satan and his demons, with exorcisms being a key demonstration of Christ's divine authority.

Ubiquitous presence. The Devil is mentioned frequently throughout the New Testament, appearing in nearly every book, underscoring his critical role in Christian theology. Early Church fathers swiftly declared the Devil a fallen angel, whose pride and envy of God led to his fall before the creation of humanity, making him the ultimate source of original sin and human suffering.

Theological "weakest seam." Christianity's insistence on a Devil subordinate to God yet locked in cosmic struggle created a theological paradox, challenging God's unity and totality. The Gnostic heresy, which radically separated God from the material world and attributed evil to an inferior demiurge, arose from this tension, highlighting the early Church's struggle to define the Devil's nature and origin.

4. Philosophical Battles: Defining Evil and the Devil's Role Through the Ages

Augustine’s theodicy became Christian doctrine in most important regards.

Augustine's enduring influence. St. Augustine cemented the belief that the Devil's fall stemmed from pride and envy, leading to original sin and humanity's enslavement to Satan until Christ's salvation. He argued that evil was merely the "absence of good" and that God permitted evil for a greater, incomprehensible good, lodging the problem of evil at the core of Christian thought.

Pelagius's challenge. The Celtic monk Pelagius profoundly troubled Augustine's deterministic theology, which he felt reduced humans to automatons. Pelagius insisted on free will and denied original sin, arguing that each person is born innocent and can choose salvation through virtuous living, a stance that threatened the Church's authority and led to his condemnation as a heretic.

Aquinas's rational Devil. Thomas Aquinas, a moderate realist, argued that angels possessed free will to choose supernatural evil, with Satan being the first to reject God's grace for selfish satisfaction. He demoted Satan's theological status, asserting that the sinner, not the Devil, was the essential cause of sin, and that evil was merely the absence of good, originating from God's goodness.

5. The Devil's Best Trick: Convincing the World He Doesn't Exist

My dear brothers, never forget when you hear the progress of the Enlightenment praised, that the Devil’s loveliest ruse is to persuade you that he doesn’t exist.

Enlightenment's dismissal. The Enlightenment philosophes, led by Voltaire and Diderot, were fundamentally anti-Christian, viewing belief in the Devil as grotesque superstition and a relic of ignorance. They advocated for empiricism, scientific discovery, and a new social order based on reason, effectively marginalizing the Devil from intellectual discourse.

Sade's horrifying logic. The Marquis de Sade, a fervent embrace of atheistic relativism, pushed the Enlightenment's principles to their logical, horrifying conclusions. He argued that in an intrinsically valueless world, the pursuit of pleasure, even through torture and gratuitous crime, was the only sensible course, thereby demonstrating the moral void created by denying ultimate grounds of being.

Romantic reinterpretation. Despite Enlightenment skepticism, the Devil re-emerged in literature, particularly with John Milton's "Paradise Lost," which portrayed Satan as a complex, mock-heroic figure. Romantic poets like William Blake, Lord Byron, and Percy Bysshe Shelley reinterpreted Milton's Satan as an inspirational rebel against tyranny, a symbol of the progressive spirit challenging established repression.

6. The Satanic Panic: A Modern Manifestation of Collective Fear and Accusation

Satanic cults! Every hour, every day, their ranks are growing.

Michelle Remembers. The "satanic panic" in America began in 1980 with the publication of "Michelle Remembers," a book detailing alleged satanic ritual abuse and suppressed memories. Despite early debunking, its sensational claims of child torture, murder, and devil summoning captivated the media and public.

McMartin Preschool case. The McMartin Preschool case in Los Angeles further fueled the panic, with widespread accusations of sexual abuse, orgies, and secret tunnels, all linked to satanic rituals. Though the prosecution eventually collapsed due to lack of evidence and questionable interrogation tactics, the narrative of widespread satanic ritual abuse (SRA) became deeply ingrained in the public consciousness.

Media frenzy. The panic reached its peak with Geraldo Rivera's 1987 special, "Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground," which sensationally claimed over a million satanists were operating in a highly organized network across the country. This media amplification, combined with the spread of "warning signs" of cult involvement, created an atmosphere of fear and suspicion, particularly in small towns like Childress, Texas.

7. Mexican Brujería: A Direct Confrontation with the Reality of Supernatural Evil

What I discovered early on, and have been shown repeatedly ever since, is that in the Mexican, and Mexican American, and really in the Latino culture as a whole, the concepts of making well and making ill go hand in hand.

Ancient mentality. In Mexico, the concept of evil is deeply intertwined with ancient beliefs, where the manipulation of spiritual forces for both healing and harm is an accepted part of cultural reality. Anthropologist Antonio Zavaleta noted that people in this culture often don't perceive curses or hexes as "evil" in the Judeo-Christian sense, but rather as an exercise of power.

Catemaco, capital of witchcraft. The village of Catemaco, known as Mexico's capital of brujería, became a focal point for the author's investigation. Here, brujos (black witches) are believed to draw power directly from the Devil, often through pacts, and are sought out for both protection and to cast curses, with blood sacrifices being a common ritual.

The Devil's influence. The rise of drug cartels, particularly the Zetas, further intensified the perception of evil in Mexico, with cartel members openly venerating Santa Muerte ("Saint Death") and engaging in extreme violence, including decapitations. This raised questions about the fundamental differences between modern cartel atrocities and ancient Aztec human sacrifices, suggesting a persistent, intimate relationship with evil in the region.

8. The Ordinary Nature of Evil: More Pervasive Than Sensational Horrors

Oh yes, enjoys a splashy blood bath, for it breeds fear and helplessness. breathes these like the air. However, best work is far more subtle. It is in the unkindnesses, the pettiness and unfair acts of spite that we mete out to one another every day.

Beyond the sensational. The author's anonymous letter suggested that the Devil's most effective work lies not in "splashy bloodbaths" like serial killings, but in the everyday "unkindnesses, the pettiness and unfair acts of spite." This shifted the author's focus from extreme depravity to the more subtle, pervasive forms of evil that corrupt human souls.

Lewis's Screwtape. C.S. Lewis's "The Screwtape Letters" illustrates this concept, portraying a "lowercase-d devil" who subtly guides humans toward damnation through "contented worldliness" and by directing malice toward immediate neighbors while fostering imaginary benevolence for distant causes. Lewis argued that in the "Managerial Age," the greatest evil is done in "clean, carpeted, well-lighted offices" by quiet men.

Zimbardo's experiments. Psychological studies like the Stanford Prison Experiment and Milgram's obedience experiments demonstrated how ordinary people can commit evil acts under certain circumstances or authority. However, the author questioned why a significant portion of participants resisted, highlighting the role of individual volition and the limits of explaining evil solely through situational factors.

9. Redemption and Forgiveness: Challenging the Devil's Claim on the Soul

I can tell you that Westley Allan Dodd that night left the earth as clean as any man has ever left this earth.

Dodd's transformation. The author grappled with the possibility of redemption even for the most heinous criminals, particularly Westley Allan Dodd, a serial child murderer. Despite Dodd's horrific crimes and lack of remorse, he sought baptism and claimed to have found "hope" and "peace" in Jesus Christ before his execution.

Chaplain's conviction. Ron Willhite, the prison chaplain who baptized Dodd, firmly believed in Dodd's sincere conversion, stating that Dodd "was cleaner spiritually than any man I have ever met." Willhite emphasized that God's forgiveness transcends human categories of sin, and that Dodd's profound confession and desire for death to prevent further harm demonstrated a genuine change of heart.

The depth of coming clean. Willhite's experience with other inmates, like Danny Yates, a motorcycle gang murderer who found Christ, reinforced his belief that true repentance involved confronting the magnitude of one's actions. He argued that Dodd, by "coming clean all the way," achieved a spiritual state that many outwardly virtuous people never reach, challenging the author's skepticism about ultimate forgiveness.

10. The Door He Hides Behind: Our Own Denial and Resignation

I did indeed hold the door hides behind. And the one thing worse than throwing it open was leaving it closed.

The elusive truth. The author's persistent investigation into Tate Rowland's death, marked by conflicting testimonies, official stonewalling, and the mysterious deaths of others involved, ultimately led to a dead end. This futility highlighted how the Devil thrives in ambiguity, keeping people "guessing" and allowing mysteries to remain unsolved.

Denial and resignation. The author realized that the Devil's ultimate escape lies in humanity's fear, denial, rationalizations, and eventual resignation to unanswered questions. When Brenda Rowland, Tate's stepmother, finally conceded, "It seems like we’re not supposed to ever know exactly what really happened to Tate out there that day," the author understood that this resignation was a victory for evil.

Personal responsibility. The journey culminated in the author's personal admission that he believed in the Devil's existence as a personified force of evil, involved in the discord and hatred of the world. Crucially, this belief did not diminish his sense of personal responsibility for his own failings, leading to the profound conclusion that he, too, held "the door hides behind," and that confronting this truth was essential, even if terrifying.