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October 7th, 2013
12:31 PM ET
Scalia says atheism 'favors the devil's desires'By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-editor [twitter-follow screen_name='BurkeCNN'] (CNN) - As the Supreme Court begins its new term Monday, the devil is not on the docket - but the Evil One apparently is on the mind of Justice Antonin Scalia. New York magazine has published a fascinating new interview with Scalia in which the outspoken jurist tackled a number of topics. But none seemed to surprise Scalia's interviewer, Jennifer Senior, more than his views on Satan. The interview was conducted on September 26, the 27th anniversary of Scalia's swearing-in as a justice on the high court. He is one of a record six Catholic justices on the Supreme Court. After Scalia and Senior discussed heaven and hell (he believes in them; she doesn't), the justice said in a stage whisper, "I even believe in the devil." "You do?" Senior replied. "Of course! Yeah, he’s a real person. Hey, come on, that’s standard Catholic doctrine! Every Catholic believes that," Scalia said. Senior asked Scalia if he's seen evidence of Satan's work recently. "You know, it is curious," Scalia answered. "In the Gospels, the devil is doing all sorts of things. He’s making pigs run off cliffs, he’s possessing people and whatnot. And that doesn’t happen very much anymore. ... It’s because he’s smart." MORE FROM CNN: How to argue about religion online Senior asked if it's "frightening" to believe in the devil, which seemed to annoy Scalia. "You’re looking at me as though I’m weird," he answered. "My God! Are you so out of touch with most of America, most of which believes in the devil? I mean, Jesus Christ believed in the devil! It’s in the Gospels! You travel in circles that are so, so removed from mainstream America that you are appalled that anybody would believe in the devil! Most of mankind has believed in the devil, for all of history. Many more intelligent people than you or me have believed in the devil." Scalia, whose son, Paul, is a Catholic priest in Arlington, Virginia, also said Pope Francis is "absolutely" right about the church needing to concentrate more on mercy and outreach than on fighting the culture wars. MORE FROM CNN: American Catholics agree with Pope Francis on ending culture wars "But he hasn’t backed off the view of the church on those issues," Scalia said. "He’s just saying, 'Don’t spend all our time talking about that stuff. Talk about Jesus Christ and evangelize.' I think there’s no indication whatever that he’s changing doctrinally." Finally, Scalia said he has not "softened" his views on homosexuality. "I still think it’s Catholic teaching that it’s wrong. OK? But I don’t hate the people that engage in it. In my legal opinions, all I’ve said is that I don’t think the Constitution requires the people to adopt one view or the other," Scalia said. MORE FROM CNN: Church and state, executive power on Supreme Court docket soundoff (3,730 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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What's wrong with this Satan guy? I've never seen anything about Him, never seen a picture. I hear he is a pig-farmer or he drives pigs over cliffs or something ... doesn't sound that bad. Never knew any bad pig farmers.
Jesus and his family had/has Michael, Gabriel, and Satan, the latter being a modern day demon of the demented. (As do BO and his family)(As do Biden and Ryan) (As does Scalia).
The sooner we, people, stop believing in absolute non-sense (religion) the sooner we will become a peaceful and reasonable world. Its down right firhgteneg to know there are supreme court judges as blind, hate filled and ignoarnt as this man. Yikes.
It has been my experience, and many from people in my own family, that those who are MOST devout, are some of the most bigoted people anyone will every meet...I love them o pieces, but they are not capable of seeing things from their dogmatic perspective. Some of it is their age, but damn, they are all fire and brimstone.
Wife's family were appalled to discover I was an atheist and yet have no issue spouting racist comments and advocating violence in suggesting various countries should just be nuked etc.
The "just nuke them" sentiment seems pretty common from religious types here.
What, you mean to tell me that the belief blog comment section has a lot of trolls? I am shocked, shocked, I tell you.
Great, another grown adult that dresses in costumes and believes in magical invisible friends and enemies. It puts my mind at ease to know that we have such mentally stable adults in powerful positions. Just like Sharia law in Saudi Arabia... What a joke.
Good for Scalia for not backing away from the truth. And shame on CNN for writing the article in a mocking tone that is design to draw criticism.
But this is what CNN does, it's their defining mark.
The best you can claim is good for him not to back away from his beliefs. Truth however?, that is a different kettle of fish.
Wxactly what part of what Scalia said can be demonstrated as "true". Your definition of truth is suspect.
tell me you're just trolling, pleaaaase
I believe in God, and God has different names. But as I get older, I firmly believe the devil is on earth under different names also and sometimes he is right there in your own family, so beware.
I bet it's uncle John. Always thought he was a bit shifty. Though aunt Ruth does have horns. Hmmm.
the only thing im affraid of is how ignorant and brainwashed devout religious people are
Prepare for incoming.
There are enough REAL things in the world to be scared of. Don't be adding more supernatural ones unnecessarily, for christ's sake.
Well said!
If you're believing in God because you're trying to hedge your bets, I imagine you're not going to gain anything even if you happen to be "right". I'm sure he'd know that you didn't really believe, and only choose to pretend you will just in case.
And thus, you'll end up in the same boat as Atheists anyways. Except they slept in on Sunday.
Yea... Never heard a good response to this argument yet...
Scalia is a perfect example of how indoctrination instills irrational delusion in humans.
Those people who are betting on God have already lost if they use their belief in an imaginary friend to justify their bigotry, racism, and self-importance. If they're wrong, then they've made the lives of others miserable while they were here. If they're right, the God that Jesus describes is going to be rightly upset with them on judgement day. Most of what the "Christian Church" claims to stand for isn't supported by the things that Jesus claimed were important.
Please get my friend another Scotch. He's on a roll.
Freedom of Religion, yes, but you will be persecuted for it.
Honestly, what moral justification does CNN or the commenters here have by singling out the Judge's beliefs? Do you not see the hypocrisy in slamming others for their lack of tolerance but fail to show any respect when it is the beliefs of those that disagree with you?
You will reply with "so some people calling themselves Christians did bad stuff" and "blah blah blah imaginary friend" but that is not what I am asking you. Where do you get off by claiming to be tolerant when you clearly are not so here?
And yet it was Scalia who started it by asking the interviewer if they were so out of touch
There is no such thing as the Devil and there is no such thing as Santa Clause and or the easter bunny. Get a GRIP ON REALITY. People are brain washed by their parents as youngsters and grow up believing anything they read or are told. No difference between how Extreme Islamic Muslims and US bible thumpers believe to their fault, in their religions. Both are completely out to lunch. There is no such thing as fairy's either. And guess what?? Jonah was never swallowed by a big fish and spit out on the shore, perfectly intact.
Time to wake up people. The ignorance that still exists is alarming. It's no wonder the world is filled with so much unnecessary non sense and hatred.
I can't believe you are so blind. This man is a judge presiding over the highest court in the land. His judgments must be in accordance with the Constitution which guarantees freedom of religion, not tainted by his own religious beliefs. I wonder how many of his rulings will be challenged now that he has so openly shown his prejudice against atheists.
He is prejudiced against atheists because he disagrees with them and thinks they are wrong? Would an atheist be disqualified for thinking that religious people are wrong? Please. We need a man who knows the law and has the integrity to maintain its rule. His religious views are irrelevant.
Right, the anti-gay judge isn't basing his opinions off religion... He belongs in Saudi Arabia where Sharia law runs it. He is basing his dissents (operative word being dissent) off his belief in a magical man in the sky. If you can't see that then I don't know what to tell you.
He is a public figure that can have a huge impact on many others, including the two groups he singled out. What's worse is he is appointed for life, unless he is impeached and convicted by Congress, which has never happened. He should have known to keep his beliefs to himself, especially his comments about atheists and gays.
It's pure science. If you told me 2+2=5 I would call you out just the same. Religion is not sacred and deserves to be ridiculed, just like Santa Claus and Zeus.
Calling out ridicuous beliefs is not persecution. If my neighbor believes he is Napoleon am I persecuting him by telling him he is delusional?
1. Christians are /not/ persecuted in the US.
2. Tolerating bigotry is a betrayal of the very concept of tolerance.
POLITICS PAYNG TO PATOLOGY SUITS TO PRODUCE ALZEIMER AND CANCER IN LATINO AMERICA.
AND UNIVERSITYs SAY IRRADIATION DOESENT PRODUCE (CANCER).
DO YOU KNOW WATH MOMENTUM IS, DNA DAMAGE.
WE ARE 12 HOURS AT DAY IN A RADIO TERAPHY EXPRESS AND OUR BIOLOGICAL INFO SELL BY AGENCIES.
SOME BODY SAY SOMETHING.
Is it possible that the only trickery being played by such a truly evil force, is to convince half of humanity that there is a God and that they should fight and kill in defending the notion of its mysterious existence? Everyone should ask themselves, does religion do more harm than good? It's purely a tool for social control, and always has been. That evilness we speak of exists in the proselytizers and our nature of blind faith to their message that results in so much death and inequality, etc...etc...
For all those denouncing religion as fantasy, please remember something Rick Warren said. It is a fact that there either is or isn't a God. We are all betting our lives one way or the other. Those of us betting on God have nothing to lose if we are wrong and everything to gain if we are right. Those betting against God have nothing to gain if they are right and everything to lose if they are wrong.
Yeahh, okay, and an all-knowing "god" wouldn't see right through such thinly veiled "bet"..?? What you're saying is absurd, and pathetic.
Unless you are betting on the wrong god in which case you are just as s crewed as the rest of us.
Better worship them all to be safe.
The problem, of course, with your scenario is that there are plenty of possible gods from which to choose, so you can't even be assured of picking the one that might actually exist.
What a ridiculous and desperate statement.
If there is a God, then even the non beleivers will be fine. Isn't God forgiveing of all? lol
Wow what a silly statement. Another silly attempt at preaching and brainwashing.
Ahhh...yes, the classic "Warren Wager"...
Rick! You should trademark it! Hurry!
Actually, Rick Warren just "borrowed" that concept. It's called Pascal's Wager. The problem, of course, is that humans have worshiped literally thousands of gods, so there is no way of telling which god is the correct one. If there is indeed a god, the chances are slim to non-existent that this god would be the christian god.
If you are so afraid of the supernatural and unproven, then you should probably pray to every one of those gods. Just in case. You wouldn't want to pick the wrong one.
@Augie80,
Please google "Pascal's wager".
Rick Warren is a moron. He only considers that there is either his god or no god, he does not consider that it could also mean that his god is wrong and any number of the other 100,00+ gods could be right. Do you believe in them all or just a HUGE hypocrite?
Pascals Wager fail
Pascals wager, come on dude, you can do better than that. Why not believe in all gods, including Zeus, just be safe?
I'm not sure who Rick Warren is, but what you said there is known as Pascal's Wager, and has been debunked long time ago. It's based on a false dichotomy of god vs. no god, as there literally exists thousands of different concepts of deities, with the Christian "god" being but one of them. Lame logical fallacy.
Pascal's wager is a horrible reason to worship. If an insincere worship is sufficient to mollify a god that exists and a sincere lack of worship condemns someone, then that god is a petty tyrant unworthy of worship anyway.
Pascal's Wager, Augie, look it up sometime
Thats an interesting perspective but I think we've exhausted the talk on religion in this country.
You are certainly welcome to drop out of the conversation, but it's far from over.
Speechless. When will these !diots be cleansed from the gene pool?
It's pretty scary when a Supreme Court justice - with that much power - believes in non-existent demons. Scary indeed!
Please tell me this is a Joke.
So what is science and what has it ever "proved?"
The systematic application of reason to the natural world. It has proved useful
Try to be more specific.
Take a science class.
Gravity. Biology. Makeup of planets and stars. DNA. Cloning. Creating vaccines. That the world isn't flat. That we are not the centre of the solar system and that in fact the sun is. What matter is made up of. That gasses escaping from corpses means its decomposing not coming back from the undead. And that people with tuberculosis were.frequently taken for vampires. Just to name a few. Don't forget carbon dating and all the treasures archaeology gave us.
Besides, what are these procedures and why do we need to follow them?
tallulah13 – I've taking plenty of them. Just looking for one example of what science "proves."
If you are curious, take a class. It's pathetic that a person who is using a computer on the internet pretends to be helpless and ignorant.
Science has proven that with the proper aerodynamics, life and thrust, we can build machines that fly. It has proven that our universe is comprised of things smaller than the eye can see. Pretty much everything in the modern world is a product of science.
I don't know what you are trying to get at, but you have at least convinced me that you are not a very interesting person.
tallulah13. – Response 1 – "Take a class." Response 2 – "Take a class." I can tell that you are wise well beyond the 6th grade education that you received. It's evident by your mastery of the copy and paste procedures used in your last response.
Proverbs 26:4 and 26:5 – Right up your alley buddy!
Proofs are for mathematicians not scientists.
There is no such thing as the Devil and there is no such thing as Santa Clause and or the easter bunny. Get a GRIP ON REALITY. People are brain washed by their parents as youngsters and grow up believing anything they read or are told. No difference between how Extreme Islamic Muslims and US bible thumpers believe to their fault, in their religions. Both are completely out to lunch. There is no such thing as fairy's either. And guess what?? Jonah was never swallowed by a big fish and spit out on the shore, perfectly intact.
Time to wake up people. The ignorance that still exists is alarming. It's no wonder the world is filled with so much unnecessary non sense and hatred.
Soctates,
Is the irony of you sharing this thought on a computer over the intenet beyond you?
First of all, try to spell correctly. Secondly, Pseudotriton stated my point exactly. There is no such thing as proof in science. Science is the knowledge of a subject. Our interpretation of what we know about a subject is always changing based on the world around us. Just as Scorates.
There's no such thing as "proof" in science. Instead, you make the most logical conclusion based on the most reliable evidence and sound reasoning. What science does NOT entail is blind faith in anything without a shred of tangible evidence.
ROFLOL...and people talk about the Ayatollah being in Charge in Iran. Remember what Keyser Soyze said...yup...we are lulled into believing things, but deep down, religious fanatics are running this government!
I believe what you meant to say is that religious fanatics are ruining this country.