Seems like an irrelevant question, because the Devil seems like an irrelevant question. But to disregard the devil is to disregard the Bible — is to disregard Christ.
If the Devil is real, that is exactly what he would want: to separate us from the truth.
In this video, Fr Rober Barron sheds some light on the truth behind the Father of Lies and — the good news — Christ’s victory over the Devil and what that means for us.
Biltrix 
I love it when you share themes with these wonderful titles and phrases… Blessings my brother.
Thanks Walter! I never answered the initial question, but I think the right answer might be: only the one’s that God will let stand.
Excellent post my friend. I hope some of my Christian friends who take pleasure in spreading lies about other people understand that they are working for the devil. May God blesses and keeps Fr. Barron. I pray that he will continue to spread the Good News without fear or favor.
Thank you! Fr Barron is a solid and dedicated preacher. May God continue to bless his mission.
Fr Barron has a sound authority on the subject… I enjoyed listening.
He is also the rector of the seminary in Chicago, so you can be sure that many young men will be receiving a solid formation for their future ministry.
Is an accusation per se really the work of the devil? Doesn’t that need a distinction? I agree that a false accusation is the work of the devil but how is a true accusation fall into that same category? I greatly respect Father Barron but it seems like the part where he covers accusations needs more clarification.
You are absolutely right! I guess he believes that in the course of a short video, where he can only say so much, he needs to assume that most people will be capable of making those necessary distinctions. However, we all know that some people are not good at making distinctions. So, it is a good thing to clarify that just any accusation is not per se the work of the devil. If it were, I am not sure how we would interpret this verse:
The work of Satan is insidious primarily because the discussion about him is usually confusing and obfuscated. Yet, we are told what to look for. We need to look with our souls at evil and reject it.
Well said, Brother of Paul!
The devil’s greatest tactic is to shift the point of view, as demonstrated in his opening gambit to Eve: ‘Has God said…?” He aims always to plant that seed of doubt. A world that disbelieves in the devil has already succumbed to his lies.
Good insight. We always need to be on guard. Watch and pray!
Some random thoughts:
most often, I just don’t have the patience to sit and watch a video. It’s just me. So I skip that part, but I don’t need convincing to know that the devil is real. I notice that people are uneasy with talk of the devil, overall. The subject is always changed. So thanks for being bold enough to mention him right up front.
Art depictions of the devil: they vary by artist, by era, by tradition, but always with a bestial ugliness in common no matter the artwork. I wonder if an actual face to face encounter with him would show a being with great exterior beauty– a seductive, shiny, beguiling mask over the ugliness inside.
Either way, art speaks truth. If the artworks were to portray the devil as having great exterior beauty, with a seductive, shiny, beguiling mask over the ugliness inside they would depict him as he is. The same goes for works of art that portray him as exteriorly hideous, because it is just an outward manifestation of an inward reality. Created by God, yet enemy of God, the devil is an emblem of iniquity. When we understand the reality of the devil, we gain deeper understanding into the mystery of sin. The beauty of art, even when the subject matter is not what we might call beautiful, is its ability to manifest and transmit eternal truths to the soul directly through the senses. It makes people uneasy, and I admit that it makes me uneasy sometimes too, because the reality itself is ugly and difficult to face. Yet the fact that we would rather not think about it does not make it less true.
Yes, that is absolutely right.