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There’s No
Satan
How Satan Got Into The
New Testament
Volume II of
Satan Christianity’s Other God
By James R. Brayshaw
Copyright
September 17, 2010
SCOG Publishing
www.imaginenosatan.com
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By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
ISBN: 9-781449-61473
Printed in the United States of America
SCOG Publishing rev. date: 10/15/2010
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Table Of Contents
Christianity’s Other God
INTRODUCTION-Pg 5
CHAPTER 1
Can A Witch Raise A Dead Spirit?-Pg 23
CHAPTER 2
Where Do The Dead Go?-Pg 41
CHAPTER 3
Psychic Power Is Not From Satan?-Pg 75
CHAPTER 4
Psychic Fraud Or Satanic Inspiration?-Pg 113
CHAPTER 5
Where Was Satan Before Jesus Showed Up?-Pg 147
CHAPTER 6
What’s True About Satan In The New Testament?-Pg 171
CHAPTER 7
Where Did Jesus Learn About Satan?-Pg 209
CHAPTER 8
The Pharisees Brought Satan To A Synagogue Near You–Pg 233
CHAPTER 9
Who Gave Satan His Names? - Pg 243
CHAPTER 10
A Nail In the Coffin For The New Testament Satan-Pg 269
CHAPTER 11
Demons, A Greek Gift To Christianity-Pg 299
CHAPTER 12
Is Satan Revealed In Revelation?-Pg 325
CHAPTER 13
Where Would Satan Be Without The New Testament?-Pg 347
BIBLIOGRAPHY-Pg 369
INDEX-Pg 375
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By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
Imagine There’s No
Satan
Volume II of
Satan Christianity’s Other God
INTRODUCTION
Satan has been around for millennia. There is literally no other
doctrine or idea that has penetrated so deeply into the fabric of
culture as has the doctrine of Satan. Satan, Lucifer, devils, and
demons can be found everywhere today. They are found in
television programs and movies, they can be seen on clothing and
in art work, music with lyrics about Satan are heard every day on
the radio, and video games seemingly have an unceasing stream of
demonically related content. And the most prevalent place we can
find Satan in our culture is in the churches. The intensity with
which many religious organizations in our world today believe in
Satan varies. Some battle him daily in prayer and with rituals,
while others think him to be an insignificant imp who is worthy of
little or no attention at all. No matter what you or I feel about the
Devil really doesn’t matter because the presence of this good angel
turned bad, has undeniably left an imprint on the fabric of this
culture’s belief structure. But just because some see the devil
behind every bush does not mean he is real. No doubt, there is not
one person in North America who has not heard about Satan in
one form or another, but should a collective consciousness
Introduction 5
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
Introduction 7
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
Introduction 9
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
Initially, this Volume will clean up any loose ends that may be
dangling around in our discussions of the Old Testament as it
pertains to “Satan” and his demons. In my many discussions with
people over the years, I have had numerous opportunities to share
the concept of Satan not existing. No matter which piece of the
puzzle I choose to disclose, I am always met with a “trump card”
statement that usually goes like this; “Well what about…..” and
then one of the many supposed references they have long believed
to be about “satan” is quickly thrown at me. This is always done
with the attitude that intones what I am saying can’t possibly be
true because this verse that started with “Well what about…” is
certain proof there is a Satan. An example of the “Well what
abouts…” would be; “Well what about when Jesus throws Satan
into the pit of Hell?”
The difficult thing in all these “Well what abouts…” is that often
the person who is so sure they are bringing up a reference that I
have not considered, doesn’t wait for a full answer. I and others in
a similar position are invariably cut short by the uninformed
questioner and before they hear the answer to their insincere
query, they are ready with another cliché counter-argument that is
understood by them the way they have understood it in the past.
Here’s an example conversation of the “Well what abouts…”
between a man named Jack and me. It may seem to be
unnecessary to recount a personal conversation to express the
point but there are so many who take the same direction of using
the “Well what abouts…” as Jack did that it is helpful to show how
this conversation plays out. Notice how the response hamstrings
the process of sharing truthful information with another.
Jack: “How can you say there’s no Satan when the Bible
mentions Satan a whole bunch of times?”
Introduction 11
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
Me: “Well Jack, if you look at the Hebrew word for “satan”
in Job, it really means “adversary” and the most typical
adversary we find in the Scriptures is a human man, being
an adversary to another man. Aside from the fact that Job
himself credits God for the evil that befalls him, we see no
indication of a personal Satan. Even the end of the book tells
us that Job was comforted by his family for all the evil that
God had brought upon him. Doesn’t that seem to indicate
that evil comes on people from other men or from the
Creator and that the adversary is generally another
human?”
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
One such trump card I have seen played many times is the
one that says, “Well what about the witch of Endor?” (This will be
discussed in Chapter 1; Can A Witch Raise A Dead Spirit?). To the
player of that card, the story of Saul consulting a medium is
irrefutable evidence that there are spirits and demons. Therefore,
to them it means there is indisputably a “Satan.” The logic is that if
a “witch” could cause a spirit to rise up from the dead then there
must be a Satan because spirits raised from the dead are demon
spirits and therefore would be of the group under Satan.
Granted the story of the witch of Endor does smack of
spiritism and I can readily understand why one would so hastily
play the “Well what about…” trump card. However, in light of a
little research and in light of the remainder of the Scriptures, this
“witch of Endor” episode does not fit with the concept of One God
as many of the Israelites believed and as is taught in the Bible.
Introduction 13
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
Introduction 15
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
and obey, God or men? I am one of many who found it was not
easy falling out favour with those whom during my church years I
worked so hard to stay in favour with for so long. Are we supposed
to passively sit by under the teaching of a “shepherd” who is
trained to teach and lead in ways that muddy the water for those
who numbly follow a seminary trained pastor? Am I suggesting
anarchy? Not at all, it is good for us to voluntarily submit to proper
authorities, but as the Bereans in the book of Acts did, so too
should we ensure through searching the Scriptures, that what
those leaders are saying is true. Are we in fact submitting to
proper, Biblically sound authorities? For some who sheepishly
follow their “leader,” laziness is the reason they don’t invest time
in finding answers for themselves. Laziness becomes an acceptable
excuse, relying on others with credentials to give them the
answers. Mindlessly deferring to the person of position and
influence will only set you up to be seen as honouring that person
as your God. Where possible, it is always best to search out the
answers for oneself and rely on others and other sources to add
information, insight, or questions to the process.
I know how difficult it will be to start challenging the
established leaders of your chosen religion, so in an effort to help I
will suggest a plan to get you started. If you are a regular attendee
of a church try this. The next couple of Sundays stay home and
study one or two of the stated doctrines of your church or faith
group. Look up the verses they quote and then try to see how the
present position fits into the Hebrew Scriptures that Messiah and
the Apostles used. Next go to your computer and if for instance
you are studying on “the gift of tongues” do an internet search with
the following wording… “the truth about tongues.” This will give
you many differing perspectives but I guarantee you it will open up
your eyes to a number of potentially more correct and true
understandings of the issues. You can use “the truth about….”
searches for anything to launch your studying. Try “the truth
about Sunday,” “the truth about Easter,” “the truth about
Christianity,” or “the truth about Satan.” The last of these is where
I started searching out the truth of the “Satanic being” and began
Introduction 17
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
At one time the Scriptures were kept from the common folk so
only the religious elite with special training could study them.
They then passed on what they learned to the people, the
uneducated common folk. In today’s society we have an amazing
access to information readily available at our fingertips. Also in
today’s society, we have freedom of speech like never before. One
thing that is not so prolific in today’s society is the acceptance of
what seems to be new ideas without coming up against sharp
criticism. Criticism will often be directed at a person’s character, at
the way they share their information, or at the resources they have
used to accumulate evidence to support their idea. And truthfully,
constructive criticism can be helpful and should always be
welcome. But should resources be thought of as not credible
simply because the potential for them to contain error exists?
Today the use of the internet has allowed people to learn things
that were only known by the intellectual elite of past societies. I
encourage the use of the internet for any who desire to learn truth
or deepen their understanding on a topic or issue. Although, it
would be good if the internet is not your only source.
Regarding the internet as a source to determine if Satan
exists or not, I can hear some of you voice a similar caution given
to me over the years. “Be careful with what you find on the
internet, the internet is full of crap you know.” I’m not sure why
they are compelled to give that caution. Maybe it’s because they
are cautioning themselves to be careful and are setting up their
excuse to not go and search a matter out. Perhaps they have a fear
that they may find some truth that causes them to honestly
question their beliefs and face the ugly monster of change. On the
other hand, maybe it’s because they truly believe the internet
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
Introduction 19
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
One tip I would like to give you to help you to apply this
process of coming to a more correct understanding of issues of
truth is this. Ask questions, seek answers, and take it slowly. You
will not likely get answers from the traditional body of religious
leaders. You will have to search things out on your own. There are
millions of leaders who will try to prevent you from gaining
information that will change the way you live your life. In large
part because they only know what they have been taught at
seminary. It seems there is a fear, a fear that you becoming
knowledgeable will confirm to them that they have failed to show
you the way of truth. Truth is for everybody and everybody ought
to embrace the opportunity to discover it. An adverse reaction to
the truth you discover is often the result of the fear the hearer
possesses. However, truth will set you free but it will cost you
something to get it. The book you are reading right now is an
excellent starting point to finding the truth about Satan. German
philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer said;
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
Introduction 21
By James R. Brayshaw www.scog.ca
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Imagine There’s No Satan – Volume II of Satan
Christianity’s Other God
CHAPTER 1
Can A Witch Raise A Dead Spirit?
Is it possible to raise a spirit from the dead? Think about that. Can
a person be dead then have their sleeping spirit awakened in order
to be consulted about the future? In the book of 1st Samuel chapter
28, we are confronted with a story that is more than a little creepy.
We find there, a story thought by many to be a certain indication
that Satan must exist. In that story, we seem to see a woman call
upon the spirit of a dead man and the spirit appears. This woman
has been said to be a witch by many interpreters. But is she really
contacting the dead? This story is not so much related to how the
word sawtawn is used because the word sawtawn does not appear
in the story. But any story that talks about what we call a “witch”
does pertain to our overall topic of Satan. To put it simply, the
spirit of Samuel could not have been physically present in front of
the witch of Endor; otherwise, the entire Scriptural understanding
of what happens to a dead person must be ignored.
The connection of this story to our theme today is that a dead
person is supposedly raised from the dead in spirit form. Being
dead means a person cannot appear in spirit form or any other
form. Therefore one can dismiss this obscure yet famous story of
Saul’s encounter with the witch of Endor as a tale of a literal
resurrection of a dead spirit. We no longer have to view it as a tale
that suggests support for some kind of a possible after-death
existence. An existence that is variously affixed to a cosmic,
supernatural, evil spirit-god. In this chapter and the chapters
following, I will address how it is incorrect to simply suggest God
raised the spirit of Samuel from the dead in this instance alone.
Had God done so, He would have applied a practice that is
ostensibly contrary to all He teaches about the state of the dead.