How Does In God's Love relate to the Catholic Church?

How does In God's Love 
written by Janet Hurlow
relate to 
the Catholic Faith ?

  Chapter 3 We Believe there is Evil in the World  1/3  
            Part 1 Satan
                        Section 1 Definition and Characteristics of Satan

250           The authors of In God’s Love announce a stern warning and awareness about a force in the world that both they and the Catholic Church call Satan.  The messengers state, “There is an evil on the Earth, and so powerful is this evil that mankind is deceived.”(1)   “When we tell you that Satan is real, believe it.  Have no doubt.  His power is great. You are in great danger.”(2)  Furthermore, they warn, “very mild is the viewing of a horror movie compared to the real power of evil.  Does this thing have power?  Yes, he does, if beings want him to have power.  Those who turn away from God, and desire this creature to rule their lives, are playing around with real horror.  Very much power is seen in an ungodly spirit.”(3)   The messengers call Satan a monster and express regret for those he has destroyed: “We are so sorry for those who were tricked and deceived by this monster, the one, true monster.  Actually, the only monster that exists.”(4)

251           According to the Gospel of John, Jesus’ view of Satan is that he “does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.”(5)   The messengers wholeheartedly agree that “he is such a deceiver and the father of lies.”(6)   They say he is very crafty,(7)  and a “most worrisome rascal is this evil one.  Such sorrow is brought on mankind.”(8) 

252           The messengers warn that Satan is cruel and has no mercy: “His heart is cold and cruel.”(9)  “The evil one makes things happen. This thing has no mercy.  This is what happens when people throw God out of their lives.  There is no mercy where God is not living.”(10)   According to the Gospel of John, Jesus calls the devil “a murderer from the beginning”(11)  and the messengers pronounce that “Signs of death is the symbol (of Satan).”(12)  Whereas God is the sign of life.(13)  

253           The messengers warn us of five other qualities of Satan.  First, he is empty: “What is of God is complete.  What is of the evil one is empty.”(14)   Second, Satan has no laughter, no joy: “There is no music in Satan… His song is bitter, and, in his children, there is no laughter.”(15)   We may notice that when people seem to be in the grips of Satan, they do not have much laughter in them, unless they are mocking someone or God.  Conversely, God is a happy God, full of joy and laughter.(16)    Third, no true pleasure is found in Satan: “Take no pleasure in this thing.  He (Satan) is false and so serious.  No true pleasure is in Satan’s spirit.”(17)  Whereas with God in heaven, we will experience bliss, adventure and many true pleasures.(18)   Fourth, there is no rest in Satan: “In this, take wisdom: this is the prince of fools.  Yes. This is foolishness.  Is his way wise or the way of fools?  In his spirit, you cannot rest, and what creature does not seek rest?”(19)   Whereas in God lies all peace and true rest.(20)   Fifth, in Satan there is abandonment and darkness,(21)  and the “unreachable spirit of the ungodly is destroying God’s beautiful Earth.”(22)   Whereas in God, there is love(23)  and light(24)  from the one who created(25)  and will recreate the Earth, making it a new Earth.(26) 
 
                      Section 2 Feelings of Satan

254           The messengers simply and plainly state that Satan is wrathful, hateful and that he hates us and that he does not have any mercy within his being: “Someone hates you.”(27)  “He laughs at those who lose their homes, families and their souls.”(28)   “If you listen to the evil one, you will come face to face with hate.”(29)   Satan has such wrath.(30)    

255           God’s justified wrath has already been defined.  It is for our chastisement, so that we will return to Him.(31)   How is Satan’s wrath different from God’s wrath? God, in His mercy, is quick to remove His wrath and His wrath is given out of love for the purpose of having us turn around and come home: “Souls, Oh such souls, accept God’s punishment very wisely.  In this acknowledgment of such cleansing in such a loving Father, the wise come weeping on their knees.  In such a time, virtue cries out in this way, ‘O God, we understand. Spare us, O Lord.’”(32)   Satan, however, “has no beauty, and he has no mercy.”(33)   

256           Satan has no mercy in his wrath and his wrath flows from his hate for mankind: “In such rage is this bad one.  His sorrow is much worse than God’s.  He has no mercy.  His hand does not reach in kindness.  This is why his hand rises up; he is not just.”(34)   Not only does Satan hate us, but Satan hates all that is good in us: “It is (people) sharing, caring and loving each other.  Satan hates all of this.”(35)   Doesn’t this sound like a being we want to avoid at all cost?  

                    Section 3 Limitations of Satan 

257           The messengers, having duly noted that Satan is very real, very powerful, and full of hate for us, also note that Satan has limitations: “Satan has no power in God’s Spirit.”(36)   So if, we are in God’s spirit, we have nothing to fear.   Everyone can be in God's Spirit, for they state, "Everyone has a free will.  Everyone can turn his life over to God.  When that day comes,… All pain and sorrow of the spirit will have passed away, and Satan will have been banned from God’s Earth forever.”(37)  Another limitation of Satan is that he will be banned from the Earth. and I believe this is an allusion to our belief in a New Earth. (More on this in Chapter 7.)   After reading the descriptions of Satan and comparing them to the opposite, which is what God is, (death/life, darkness/light, hate/love, abandonment/closeness, and no rest/rest) we could falsely get the notion of a yen-yang relationship, with God and Satan being equal.  The Catechism totally dismisses this possibility with “The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign.”(38)   The messengers also totally dismiss this heresy: “His (Satan’s) power is of no strength beyond Earth’s sun.”(39)   The power of Satan, a created being, limited to one solar system is no match against the Creator, God, whose Spirit spans the universe/s, all creation and beyond.   

258           I don’t think the Church has ever thought of Satan’s power as having a solar limitation, but I do not see where it would contradict our faith.  In the book of Revelation it is written that, "The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it." (40)  The accompanying footnotes states, "Was thrown down: allusion to the expulsion of Satan from Heaven; Luke 10:18" (41) One could view this as not only an expulsion from heaven, but the rest of the universe to be limited only to the Earth for it was "cast down".   The Catechism appeals to God’s providence to answer the question, “Why does/did God allow Satan to continue to pester us?”: “It is a great mystery that providence should permit diabolical activity, but ‘we know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.’”(42)   The same quote could also be used to answer these questions fermented in my mind by the messenger’s notation of the solar limits of Satan’s power.  I wonder: Why our cosmic neighborhood?  Why not some different solar system?  Are we the race of Job in the Universe, proving to the rest of the universe that we will choose to love God, even though we experience suffering and they do not?  Before experiencing this book, if we had asked the Church the question, “Where does Satan’s power end?” perhaps the answer, in Job-like fashion, would have been, as far as God allows.  The answer is still the same.  The difference is that now we have the answer to a follow-up question, “How far does God allow Satan’s power to extend?”  Now the answer is up until death, our freewill, and the new element to the answer is the limits of our sun.  At any rate the main point is that, while Satan is powerful and dangerous, he is limited by God, space, and our freewill.

                      Section 4 Actions of Satan   

259           As mentioned, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus says that Satan “does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.  When he tells a lie, he speaks in character because he is a liar and the father of lies.”(43)   Satan tells lies.  The first and biggest lie is that God does not exist.  The messengers tell us to, “tell this deceptive monster that you will not listen to his lies.  The biggest one he tells you is, ‘There is no God.’  Don’t believe this.”(44)   “His second is that he is not real, and there is no place called Hell.”(45)   A third lie Satan tells people is “that sin is fun.  He lies to you.”(46)   A fourth lie that Satan likes to tell is directed at people who are aware of their sins.  He tries to keep them from God’s forgiveness: “God is ready to forgive the most unworthy, the most wicked of sinners…. Satan has whispered in your ear, ‘Low-life, filth, God doesn’t want you,’ but Satan is lying.  God does want you.”(47)   A fifth lie is that he pretends to be God.(48)   In Satan’s attempt to rule, to be a god, he has made a mess of the Earth: “What a mess the evil one has made.  His way just doesn’t work.  It is not the nature of mankind to live in ignorance, filth, and poverty.  The people of Earth have too much of God’s nature to be so miserable.”(49)   A sixth lie Satan tells people is that we do not deserve anything because we are worthless: “He calls Earth people, ‘filth’ and ‘slime’.  He tells people they don’t deserve anything.  He says we are worms that crawl around without purpose.  Is this the kind of master you want to rule you for all eternity?”(50)   A seventh lie is that we should rest secure in wealth and power rather than in God: “Such things as promise great wealth and power are Satan’s games…. Put no trust in such schemes.”(51)

260           As cited earlier, according to the Gospel of John, Satan “was a murderer from the beginning”(52)   Satan is against God,(53)  the author of all life.   Satan is a murderer, a destroyer of life: “This is the evil spirit who is using Earth spirits to destroy God so this evil spirit can be King.”(54)   This quote, taken alone, would be heresy.  Satan cannot destroy God.  We have already pointed out the limitations of Satan that the messengers state so clearly, and in the future we will address Satan’s defeat.  Satan may desire to defeat God, but I imagine his attempt to do so is something like a mouse wishing he could become an eagle to kill an eagle, because he is in the eagle’s claws.  But a mouse will never be an eagle, and limited Satan can only lie to others about being god.  Satan cannot destroy God, so all he can do is insult God: “Sodom (homosexual acts) is a sad situation invented by Satan as an outward insult to God and His Creation.”(55)   Satan cannot destroy God, but he can try to destroy the people and planet that God has made.  This is what the murderer, destroyer of life, is trying to do: “Those of Earth whom Satan has destroyed were in God’s love.  Such signs of death are lost forever, and it grieves us all who are in God’s Spirit.”(56)   As a murderer and destroyer, “such sadness and pain has he to offer.”(57)   One of his favorite devices to destroy lives is quite naturally for him, lies, as they state, “false accusations are a much used tool of the evil one.”(58)   How many good people’s lives have been ruined, or even ended, by false accusations?  Finally, there is one manner in which this liar, this murderer, is like God.  Just as God wants us to be God-like and be true to our created image by being loving, kind, and merciful; Satan wants people to become his image: “He (Satan) would rather see people fight and go hungry.  He would rather see people not care about each other or God because Satan does not care.  He likes to see people become like him: hateful and uncaring.”(59)

                       Section 5 Where Satan Dwells   

261           Where does Satan dwell?  In a powerful statement explaining how God’s Spirit can be in all of His creation and yet not live in the heart of a creature, the messengers of In God’s Love write, “This is God, and He dwells where He desires.  His Spirit keeps everything He has created.  His Spirit is in all of His Creation, but God does not live where He is not welcomed.  He will not live in the heart of a creature who does not accept Him.  His Spirit is always there, ready to enter the heart that has shut Him out, but He cannot live in a place filled with hate and distrust.”(60)   In the heart of a person who rejects God, or is filled with hate or fear, is a place where the polite God of love and trust chooses not to live, and Satan moves into the vacancy: “Where God is not invited, the evil one moves in.”(61)   In many of the passages,(62)  the messengers see the spirit of evil or the Spirit of God present and at work.  I cannot recall any mention of a place or spirit that was neutral character, where there is neither evil nor God.  Much like the Book of Revelation, in the book of In God’s Love there is no gray, everything is black or white.  Everything is good or evil.  That is how the messengers see it: “All you who are not of God, evil is in your spirit.”(63)   Simply put, Satan dwells where God politely chooses not to live, for He has been rejected or there is too much hate or fear present.

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