A Satirical Romp
You may have heard of The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. This work is easily accessible in the public domain. Bierce was a satirical columnist who labored for decades to produce what could be described as “An American masterpiece of flagitiousness.” Who could successfully disagree with such a descriptor? The point of this “reference” work is not merely to entertain. As one draws forth one bucket of cynical wit after another from Bierce’s deep well of satire, the reader is challenged repeatedly as to his or her own values:
Cannon
(n.) An instrument employed in the rectification of national boundaries.
Conservative
(n.) A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.
Faith
(n.) Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
Lawyer
(n.) One skilled in circumvention of the law
Positive
(a.) Mistaken at the top of one’s voice.
Religion
(n.) A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.
As you can tell, these definitions offer both humor and critique. Christians can agree with some of Bierce’s philosophy, but not with all of it. Yes, Adam’s descendants are inherently corrupted in sin, not natively suited to hold one another’s trust. Christians, however, are not hopeless cynics, worshiping at the despairing altar of pagan rationalism. Bierce has a moral agenda in his dictionary, one which could be used for good or for ill. It is good that Christians would examine a term and recognize its potential misuse, to hold the users of terms accountable for their meaning and seek proof of a communicator’s integrity. It would not be good to hold an epistemological fire sale and live in permanent hock to the accounting firm of Uncertainty, Distrust and Despair.
Hades Publishing
The qualified utility of The Devil’s Dictionary has me pondering about possible volumes in Hell’s Reference Library. I am not thinking of satirical classics. I’m thinking the devil has developed his own line of reference works: dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, atlas and almanac. Is there a “Devil’s Dictionary” with no redeeming value, authored not by Bierce, but by Satan? Such a tool would not merely seek to poke at a reader’s values, but to eviscerate and bleed out the truth. The serpent has been a liar and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Consider the first entry in his dictionary:
1Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:1-5 NKJV
Consider how Satan brings his dictionary into this conversation. Having questioned and denied the veracity of God’s Word, Satan must appeal to an alternative authority, that of future human experience. This false hope/authority is worthy of further exploration. For now, notice how Satan redefines “like God.” Promising a more desirable human experience, the serpent convinces the woman that she is not like God at present. Having established “being like God” as eminently desirable, the devil defines “being like God” as determining good and evil for oneself. Do you see Satan’s pitch? Once Eve chooses for herself what is right and desirable, rather than adhering to God’s Word, she will be like God, the very good which God has kept her from. With a minimum of words the serpent has invoked a maximum of distortion.
As an aside, I would just like to observe that deception can ruin in seconds what it takes truth years to restore, even millennia. So, when someone tries to claim that you are not worth listening to because you take hours to sort through and clean up what it took them seconds to tip over, just remember Genesis 3. Satan is a vandal and so are those he speaks through.
Revisionist Etymology
Eve was already like God, made in His image, according to His likeness (Genesis 1:26-27; James 3:9). Eve was already like God, in community with Adam (Genesis 2:20-25; Mark 10:6-9). Eve was already like God, exercising authority (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 8). She had already received an untracked bounty from her Maker (Genesis 2:4-18; Isaiah 45:18). Why should she desire to be like God? She was already godly. Why would she seek more than the God-given abundance she had already? Satan’s redefinition of “like God” deceived Eve. Her acceptance of this revisionist etymology proved lethal (Genesis 2:17; 3:16-20). Her appeal to a new definition resulted in separation from God due to ungodliness rather than heightened or perfected godliness (Genesis 3:22-24).
It is helpful to recognize how Satan worked his new definition of “like God.” He gave the material a twist. He did not burn it on a pyre. Was it in fact “like God” to determine the definition of good and evil? Yes of course! It is entirely God’s domain to serve as the authority as to what good and evil mean. As Eve flails toward this role, however, she only manages to grasp idolatry. As a creature she cannot possess what only belongs to the Creator. To arrogate to herself the knowledge of good and evil is to fashion herself into a god, to make herself her own ultimate authority.
Further, there is the point that Satan was not tempting Eve to outright reject God. How could that be? She thought so much of Him she wanted to be exactly like Him, knowing the kind of elevated glory He knew. Reconsidering her take on one part of God’s Word wasn’t rejecting God, it helped her to pursue elevated spiritual experience and understanding. Wasn’t it humble of her to listen to more than one reading of God’s Word? Here was a snake that talked. He obviously had achieved an elevated existence through his approach to God’s Word. Her understanding could be deficient. She had never listened to serpent theology. What might she glean from the talking snake’s point of view?
Satan’s revisionist etymology used biblical terms, and was built on an established theological framework. He did not seek to persuade Eve that she had made the universe and thus she should determine the rules. Acceptance of this lie would greatly please the devil, but he worked with the language she would accept. Revisionist etymology proceeds apace in our world and in the church today. We should not be surprised that terms such as “love, mercy, justice, compassion, salvation, guilt, sin and reconciliation” are being redefined with biblical flourish and theological panache. What is the cost of adopting new definitions? Ask Adam and Eve.
A Reference which Works
God is at war with the serpent. He promised His Son’s victory over the Father of Lies. The Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). The Word would defeat the deceiver. Christ has prevailed and is prevailing. Satan is head-stomped and chained up. The light of Christ advances upon the nations. His word is being translated, proclaimed and obeyed by people from every tribe, tongue and nation. We do not need to despair at the deception shipping out from Hades Publishing, that not all are yet in submission to Christ. We have a sure word, an unfailing word, a true and clear and sufficient word. The Scripture is all about Christ and Christ is the light of men. By His light we see light.
Some have wondered why God crafted Holy Scripture in the way He did. Why not simplify things? Here is one blessing to consider in the swirl of changing language and revisionist etymologies. Over forty holy men, borne along by the Holy Spirit, wrote the very God-breathed words of special revelation in three languages, on three continents, over the course of fifteen hundred years. How do we know what a word means? How do we know what love, mercy, justice, compassion, salvation, guilt, sin and reconciliation mean? A multiplicity of authors, contexts, languages and generations offer a self-authenticating understanding. By comparing the Scriptures with the Scriptures as they cohere in their revelation of Jesus Christ, we are afforded God’s clear and objective meaning.
If this sounds incredible, if such confidence seems irresponsible and foolish, if it seems arrogant to think that God unfailingly communicates His meaning to His children, it could be that you should check on the definition of your terms. The devil’s dictionary is unsurprisingly pervasive. It is, after all, a classic and in the public domain.
