Naivete About Evil is Dangerous

“Besides,” Legion said, “if they discover our intentions, they may send to their King for aid. If they do that, I know very well what it will mean for us. For this reason, let us assault them with the false appearance of fairness, covering our true intentions with all manner of lies, flatteries, and deceptive words; feigning things that never will be, and promising that which they shall never find. This is the way to win Mansoul and make them open their gates to us and even make them desire us to come in to them.

“The reason I think this approach will be best is that the people of Mansoul are all simple and innocent. Every one of them is honest and true, and they don’t even know what it is to be assaulted with deception, cunning, and hypocrisy. They are strangers to lying and misleading lips. Therefore, we won’t be detected by them at all, if disguised in this way. Our lies shall be accepted as true sayings, and our counterfeit transactions as upright dealings. What we promise them, they will believe, especially if we pretend to have great love for them and that our intention is only for their benefit and honor, as we deliver all our lies and contrived words.” (For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. – 2 Corinthians 11:13-14)

Bunyan, John. The Holy War (Updated, Illustrated): Made by Shaddai upon Diabolus for the Regaining of the Metropolis of the World (Bunyan Updated Classics Book 2) (pp. 9-12). Aneko Press. Kindle Edition.

This passage is from John Bunyan’s allegory, The Holy War written sometime after he authored Pilgrim’s Progress. It is, in allegorical form, the account of Satan creeping into Eden and through cunning deception leading Adam and Eve into sin, thus winning the creation for himself. In this quote, we have Legion proposing to his diabolic allies in evil, the strategy to be followed in this plot to trick the inhabitants of Mansoul into handing their city over to these devils, and to do so willingly.

Notice carefully how these demons resolve to use the innocent naivete of the people against them. It will not even occur to them, the demons realize, that someone could be lying to them for evil purposes. They are simple, innocent, honest, and true and they do not even know what it is to be targeted by lying, cunning deceit.

Herein then in important wisdom. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. “But beware of men… “(Mat 10:16-17) Revilers, abusers, sociopaths, and narcissists and their kind all prey upon the simple. They use cunning and deception, putting on a disguise of righteousness, knowing that their target will never suspect their evil intent. Why? Because they are naive about evil. They assume everyone else is just like them. It won’t even occur to the victim that the RASN could be in disguise and lying to them.

Don’t be naive about evil. Don’t fall for the propaganda so many preachers of our day are spewing from their pulpits, telling us that people are all just like us, that their intentions are sometimes flawed but basically good, and that it is sinfully judgmental to not think the best about everyone. That is how Mansoul fell. And our enemy is working his same old schemes still.