By Col. DENCIO ACOP (RET.)
‘That is why you are losing’, says the demon (more accurately demons as they are legion) possessing the body of convicted serial killer Edward Blake, to James Martin, the psychiatrist assessing him before he goes to the electric chair. The scene is from the new movie ‘Nefarious’. The atheist Martin had just exclaimed ‘I never knew that we are at war’. Throughout their exchanges inside Edward’s cell, James seemed more like the accused than Edward. While remnants of Edward, surfacing intermittently when the demon allowed, put James back on the offensive, the psychiatrist was mostly on the defensive as the demon twisted around every utterance he made. As James confidently argued the ‘merits’ of secular principles and relativistic thought from his mother’s euthanasia to his girlfriend’s abortion of their child, his arguments merely merited applause of ‘That’s my boy!’ from the demon. By the time their conversations were over, it was James who felt confused and on the defensive. And to affirm its earlier claim that James would commit three murders by then, the demon physically assaults James who then condemns Edward to the chair without reservation. In short, the demon won the war. Or so it seems. It won Round 1 because of man’s lack of faith in anything that is not ‘natural’.
Of course, the demon easily possesses the atheist James after Edward dies in the chair. If only to manifest its preternatural powers after James challenged the demon earlier to possess him. It must be inferred here also that James was likely showing his own power (ignorance) too by his self-belief. From the movie, James was chosen by Satan as its disciple since he was a boy. The devil wanted him to write its book which James did eventually. In a media interview a year following the execution, James admitted writing it but in a different way. He made it benevolent from malevolent. Despite his resistance, the demon did not let go of him. The ending of the movie has James being greeted by the demon disguised as a beggar. You see, indeed demons are powerful. But only to the extent we allow them to take hold of us by our acquiescence. Knowingly or unknowingly, we provide such acquiescence when we defy the moral order like Edward who took lives until the demon made him take more lives that even he did not want to. But no matter because that is what happens when we surrender control to darkness by our actions. We invite demons into our lives when we open portals for them to enter into our realm like seances, pornography, paganism, mortal sin, choosing evil, and anything that takes us away from the moral order and grace of the Author of Life and Creator of the Universe.
‘Nefarious’ is not really new come to think of it. It is as ancient as the plot it reminds us all. That there is a universal order. We are not the center of the universe. But we matter. And we matter a lot to Him that made all. The demon itself admitted it. They are out to get us in order to hurt God who gave us the chance to be their replacements in heaven if we choose to. After they rebelled and were cast out. Ever since, they have been doing everything within their power to damn as many humans as they can away from their original place in heaven. And not only to smite God above but in order to reverse order and create a kingdom of darkness below ruled by satan. And according to the demon, so far they seem to be winning the war. Thanks to secularism and relativism, we have managed to cave in on ourselves like a black hole. By recreating the world order away from genuine love (selfless) of God and man, we have managed to redefine and redesign God’s creation according to our perverse whims and caprices. To the extent that ‘we played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn’ (Mt 11:17). The demon replied this to the atheist. Even it knew the Bible. Why would it not? It once was an ally of the Light, now its avowed enemy. As warriors, they ‘know’ their enemy. DO WE?