Truth is scarier than fiction. Well, at least the truth that our forebears have come to hand down to us. If you are wondering why a lot of freakish pseudo-religions have attached themselves to the Catholic Church, then you do not know your faith well enough.
Warning: I am no ISIS. And though my cousins are Moslems, I believe in a Power Higher than Most of Us.
#10: FROM LUCIFER TO SATAN
As a matter of faith, Satan would trump all the arrays of evil told in any book, be it in Naruto or in Shakespeare’s plays.
The deceiver of mankind having legions and legions of demons and dark principalities under his wing would make any known dark entity in the history of man, from Hitler to Karl Marx to Bin Laden, puny in comparison.
And yes, one of his first act of defiance is to steal the show in Paradise, donning the appearance of a snake and subsequently talking the naked Eve to eat the forbidden low-hanging fruit.
Scary Factor: This powerful being used to be the right hand of God, being bearer of the Light himself – in Latin, Lucifer. And was created to dwell eternally throne room of heaven in the presence of God. His downfall: Pride, he wanted to be like God. So today, He roams Earth as a spirit out to mislead men.
Text: Luke 10:18, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”
#9: METHUSELAH
The grandfather of Noah, Methuselah is said to have died 7 days full before the Great Flood. But that is not what is scary about him. They guy is so old his age spanned a centuries brewing the phrase “as old as Methuselah”.
Scary Factor: This person lived up to 969 years old, longer than any recorded, inspiring the entities in the recent movie Noah.
#8: SOUL OF THE UNBORN OR ABORTED CHILD
The Church teaches that only those who are baptized but children who are aborted or killed before birth have no chance of being given proper baptism. So where does their souls go?
Scary Factor: In Limbo. St. Thomas Aquinas, a doctor of the Church (not a physician but a learned expert), theorizes it to be so. But these people have not committed anything yet.
Text: He said, “I solemnly assure you, no one can enter God’s kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit” (John 3:5).
#7: FALLEN ANGELS
Because of their errant ways, these angels have lost the favor of God. Instead, they torment men and have been called as demons.
Scary Factor: Though they may not be as powerful as Satan, they are in their own right powerful spirits who can manipulate the judgment of man. If you let them. Watch Exorcist.
Text: 2 Peter 2:4, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment …”;
#6: BEELZEBUB
A purveyor of dissent, Beelzebub has been linked to Satan and is said to personify him on Earth. It is said that he can possess the bodies of men to bring them to do as he wishes.
The term itself is a derogatory Hebrew corruption which means Lord Baal and could also men “Lord of the Flies.” Many including the great writer John Milton identifies him as a powerful being second only to Satan.
Scary Factor: “Beelzebul claims to cause destruction through tyrants, to cause demons to be worshipped among men, to excite priests to lust, to cause jealousies in cities and murders, and to bring on war.”
Text: And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. —Matthew 12:25-28
#5: SODOM AND GOMORRAH
Forget about Mount Mayon, this one is the mother of punishment that could wipe out the populace in no time. God’s verdict: fire and brimstone. Yes, instead of the liquid rain that you get almost everyday in the months leading to December, God Himself intervened and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were wiped out by a rain of fire and brimstone.
As the case maybe, there was not one good person living during those times. And if you’ve met the word sodomy before, this is where it was coined after – a place where people engaged in the most vile of acts, from murder to sexual perversions of the highest kind.
Scary Factor: Rain is already largely unmanageable in Philippine setting with floods and all, how much more the rain of fire and brimstone.
#4: JONAH AND THE WHALE
Here’s a thought that could be the theme of that thriller flick where death seems to arrange for things to happen killing the crew one by one (sorry I forgot the title, certainly not I Know What You did Last Summer): What if indeed your fate is set and no matter what you do your path is etched in stone?
Only this time, it’s your persistence to not do the mission given you by the Highest Power, that dooms you or get you dogged by a series of unfortunate events, the least of which gets you be eaten by a whale.
Scary Factor: Next time a storm comes up, the crew should check the people onboard. One of them could be running away from a mission and has to be cast overboard. Thank God for sending a whale.
#3: 2,000 POSESSED PIGS
It may have saved the soul of a man from the torments of a dark principality who possessed him named Legion. But it also had 2,000 pigs throwing themselves into a steep bank down to the lake.
Poor businessman! How will he recover all the loss.
Scary Factor: If man can be possessed, how much more animals. Next time, make sure all your possessions are far from sight when you let a demon in. Or better yet, never let those evil rascals get to you.
Text: 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Mark 5: 1-20
#2: RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD GIRL
With the words, “Talitha koum!”, a dead girl is risen to life. Before the incident, people were mourning and when the healer came, people laughed thinking no hope was possible.
And in a finite world, death is a time bomb that gets everyone freaked out. But for people who have the power to raise the dead, death is synonymous to sleeping.
Scary Factor: How would you feel for the dead to rise right in front of you?
#1: 666
It is foretold that Satan himself will take the appearance of men and walk this Earth like any mortal would. His symbol is the number 666.
Scary Factor: As the greatest deceiver, Satan or the Beast will be looked up as a God and will have the outward appearance of everything good.
Worst part is he will require the world to worship him.
Text: The Mark of the Beast…
17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
Enough of scriptures. Let’s get a grip.
For your shout-outs, I’ve installed a magic box below and entitled it Comments Section. And yes, other magic buttons exist here for your convenience. In fact we dare you push some buttons, the Quick Share ones would be good for your fans.
Recent Comments