Sympathy for the Devil

by Joseph Stoutzenberger

In my freshman year in college, I had what felt like a sudden flash of insight. It happened as I was alone in my dorm room listening to the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil,” the song with the lyrics “Every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints.” My insight actually had nothing to do with the song, but I started to think back on my life, wondering if all my wrongdoing would condemn me to hell. I experienced this strong sense that I was not slated for hell, and neither was anyone else. To believe otherwise would be prideful on my part since it would mean that my fate was in my own hands and not that of a loving God. Who was I to believe that my behaviors were ultimately more impactful than the all-powerful, all-loving God?

I later discovered that I was in good company about this insight into eternal life. Shinran, a founder of Shin (“Pure Land”) Buddhism in the early thirteenth century, had been trying to attain enlightenment through his own rigorous efforts. He realized how arrogant he was in believing he could rely on his own power to reach nirvana. In that moment, he envisioned rays of light and comforting warmth emanating from the Buddha of Divine Light; and he realized the wisdom in the words, “I take refuge in the Buddha.” He later wrote, “For those who entrust themselves to this Primal Vow, no good acts are required, because no good surpasses it. Nor need they despair of the evil they commit, for no evil can obstruct the working of Amida’s Primal Vow.” In short, place your trust in “other-power,” that of the compassionate Buddha, rather than in “self-power.”

The early Muslim Sufi saint, Rabia, often gave voice to this insight in words such as: “I want to put out the fires of Hell, and burn down the rewards of Paradise. They block the way to Allah. I do not want to worship from fear of punishment or for the promise of reward, but simply for the love of Allah.” Ultimately, love conquers all, so let go of delusions of carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders or of your eternal fate being in the hands of your actions, good or bad. 

Perhaps Evangelical Christians are talking about a similar experience when they speak about being “saved” by Jesus. Often it follows a recognition of their own sinfulness and inadequacy but are deeply moved to find salvation in their heart. Martin Luther spoke of justification by faith alone, not good works. He transformed from being pathologically scrupulous to placing his trust in Jesus, the embodiment of a loving God whose sacrifice relieved Luther of the burden of needing to earn his way to heaven.

You may be feeling uneasy at this point. Doesn’t such an attitude lead to passivity in the face of evil? “What about Hitler and the Nazis?” you might ask. We could list plenty of other examples of what rightly appears to be evil personified. Saying “God loves everyone” sounds painfully hollow when we confront the evils we know existed and continue to exist in our world. It’s a challenge to believe in a God of unconditional love. It seems more natural to place restrictions on that love. One action that sheds some light on the dilemma is when people victimized by another find it in their heart to forgive their wrongdoer. Forgiveness on the human level is a glimmer of divine light in the world. Pope John Paul II forgave the man who shot him, visiting him in prison to tell him so face to face. More recently, Amish parents notably forgave the man who murdered their children at their school. At the man’s funeral, more people in attendance were Amish than not, and some of the money donated to the Amish families they gave to the man’s grieving widow. Even more recently, Erika Kirk found in her Christian faith the strength to say she forgave her husband’s killer. Surely that message was more healing and more an affront to evil than if she had not done so. Reject evil, fight it tirelessly; but forgiveness, not vengeance and retribution, is from God. Evil is troubling, as the Stones’ song says; but if we give into it, we chip away at the message so many mystics from many traditions have told us: God is love. As Romans, chapter 8, reminds us: nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.