Satan Loves This
Satan is a crouching lion, overtly trying to win us over to the dark side. But he’s also sneaky; sometimes, not so overt. He’d love nothing more than for us to think of him as an innocuous character, created by man. He uses all sorts of subtle ways for us to buy into this lie. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive about these devil mascots so many high schoolers and college teams use. Or maybe Satan is pleased to see us make him out to be a cartoon, not to be taken seriously. What do you think?
Red Devils, Blue Devils, Demon Deacons, the list goes on. What are we thinking when we name our sports teams after the devil? He often comes with pitchforks, horns, goatees, and he’s usually smiling at us. Maybe he really is smiling at us.
I make a little deal (not a big deal) out of this phenomenon in The Rector, due out in December.
But alas, am I being overly sensitive about these devil mascots? What do you think?
Don’t forget the great antagonist, Lex Luther. How obvious and then Superman, gosh you think he might have been intended for a Jesus-like character? So this is the ultimate challenge. How do we create strong villains as devilish characters with true to life names without being so obvious?
I totally agreed, we sensationalize the devil in too many places. I believe most of the time people don’t even really realize this. It is like “he” has pulled the wool over our eyes. The devil is a force to be reckoned with & we better be alert & on our toes. MT clearly sees the danger & so should we.
I’m embarrassed to admit, I have never thought about the high school DEVIL mascot thing. It’s as if THAT devil is a cartoon and I always thought of “him” as so – i.e acceptable. I can remember my little brother being a devil for Halloween and we certainly never thought of it as even the least bit controversial. I have never thought of that devil and the one on Underwood Deviled Ham and so on, as SATAN. On the other hand, I suppose we are glorifying Satan as we use his image in any way, shape or form and ultimately giving him pleasure in that. It’s a great topic for debate and I plan on bringing it up next time I’m with a group.
Thanks for your interesting thougths Michael. I’d never thought about this before but you were wise to point it out. Good thougths and associations are always better. I’m so glad to know about your blog! Susan
While I agree with you about the sports teams mascots, I have another use of Satan that bothers me even more: children’s Halloween costumes. To see a precious pre-schooler dressed as a devil is not at all cute…so to answer your question, no, I don’t think your being too sensitive!
I so agree with you. I don’t like references to children like “Oh, you’re a little devil” or “That was devilish”. Demons and Satanic forces are evil and no joking matter.
I agree. It makes me “uncomfortable” to see demonic mascots here there and everywhere. But then, I’m also the woman who doesn’t advocate Halloween festivities! According to the Bible, Satan is real and not a character to take lightly! (Ephesians 6). Keep writing Michael!
I think I used to be a little bothered by devil names of things. But, I think I have reached a point of knowing most kids don’t really pay attention to names of things…things which have been around for years and years. Something like asking a kid what ‘trick or treating’ means for Halloween. Most would say “put on a mask and go get candy” with no more thought towards what Halloween means to many, many people. But, I must say I am a more than a little bothered when I see small children playing with weird monster toys, scary things. I have concluded our children of today should never fear the dark as many of us used to in childhood simply because they play with things I would not want to meet in the dark. Perhaps I have been fooled into thinking those devil names are nothing to worry about? I shall be watching to see what kind of responses you receive besides mine. Thanks..
I tend to agree with R.L.: I think most people can differentiate between Satan and a school mascot costume, a cartoon, and reality. There really are squirrels, even “flying” squirrels, but do any of them talk like Rocket J. Squirrel and have a talking moose sidekick named Bullwinkle?
One can ‘realism’ things to death. Is Christmas good and Santa evil? Can we separate Easter and the Easter bunny? If so, do we create a bunch of Susans (remember the girl in Miracle on 34th Street?) who have all the childhood wonder and pretend cut out of their lives for the sake of accuracy? To me, there is no correlation between dirt devils, Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners, and Satan. Or how about deviled eggs at a picnic, feeling ‘blue deviled’, or some kid earning their college scholarship donning Duke’s mascot’s costume, and Satan. That said, I am proud that one of my children played percussion in a ‘devil’ band and was a track runner for a ‘devil’ team, but allow that child to dress as a devil? No way!
I know the old Devil comes with a lot of different names attached. It’s hard creating a new devilish character with an original name these days. (He was the ultimate superman., after all.) Either way, the age-old replay of good vs. evil still makes for the most compelling story. Coming up with a new, original sounding name is the hardest part, for me anyway.
You definitely make a point by showing the devil as a mascot of a sports team to be feared it minimizes his real agenda on earth.
The word “devil” has been trivialized to the point that Satan is hardly even associated with it. At least, currently, there isn’t a team with a “Blue Satan” mascot! Maybe, just maybe, all is not yet lost. Satan is real and he is powerful.
It’s interesting to revisit your blog, Michael. I completely agree with those who posted that they feel Satan is real. I think the only power he has is what we give him, an excellent reason for me to be careful with what I say and do.