I once watched an interesting debate on the topic: “Does Satan Exist?” The debate was held at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington and featured four speakers. Two argued for the existence of Satan and two argued against it.

Arguing for Satan’s existence were Mark Driscoll (the pastor of Mars Hill Church at the time) and Annie Lobert (a former prostitute who now runs a ministry dedicated to winning prostitutes and sex-industry workers to Christ). Arguing against Satan’s existence were Deepak Chopra (a prominent new-age spiritualist who has written several books on the subject of God) and Carlton Pearson (a former Pentecostal preacher who had converted to the idea that the love of God is so all-encompassing that there is no eternal damnation for anyone).

All four speakers passionately expressed their viewpoints, and everyone was generally cordial. The audience members, for the most part, believed in the existence of Satan. There were, however, some who cheered the remarks of Chopra and Pearson.

Interestingly, the core of the debate wasn’t so much about Satan as it was the Bible. You see, if the Bible really is the inspired, inerrant, authoritative word of God, then Satan is real. Why? Because the Bible says he is.

That being the case, Chopra and Pearson didn’t even attempt to use the Bible to back up their claims. Their take on the Bible was that it is not God’s book to man but, rather, man’s book about God. Chopra characterized it as an ancient book that was written from superstition and is, as such, now outdated and irrelevant. Likewise, Pearson flatly stated that we can pick and choose what parts of the Bible we believe because the book isn’t so much God’s inspired word to man as it is man’s inspired word about God.

But do you know what the great problem was with Chopra’s and Pearson’s beliefs? It was the fact that they had no authoritative basis upon which to rest them. For example, even as Chopra tried to make the case that God is too big to be confined by any religion, including Christianity, it was obvious the assertion was merely his opinion. The only authority upon which he based it was the authority of his own mind, a mind which, hopefully, even he would admit isn’t perfect. My mind isn’t perfect either, but let’s say that I hold the opinion that God is a big, green frog who lives in the middle of the universe. Can you see that I’ve got just as much authority for that belief as Chopra does for his? It’s all just personal opinion.

Along the same lines, someone could have asked Pearson, “In your life, who decides which parts of the Bible are applicable and which parts aren’t?” If he had been truthful in his answer, he would have said, “I do. I’m the judge.” That’s the only truthful answer he could possibly have given.

In Pearson’s opinion, passages such as Matthew 4:1-11 weren’t worthy of acceptance because they speak of a literal devil. Again, though, that was merely a conclusion he had reached in his own mind. I could go around saying, with just as much human authority, I have reached the conclusion that such passages should be believed. Do you see what I mean? When you throw out the authority of the Bible, anybody is free to believe anything.

You might ask, “But what’s wrong with people reaching their own conclusions about topics such as the existence of Satan?” The problem is found in the limitations of the human mind. This reminds me of the joke about the atheist who confidently proclaimed, “There is no God.” A man said to him, “Sir, do you know everything?” The atheist answered, “Of course not. No one knows everything.” The man replied, “Then maybe God exists in that part you don’t know.” That same kind of thing could have been said to Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson during that debate. “Maybe Satan exists in that part you don’t know.”

You ask, “Okay, so how can we even know that what the Bible says can be trusted?” Well, first, we must establish the Bible’s trustworthiness from sources outside the book. This is done by using four distinct categories of evidence:

1. Archaeological Finds: In scores of digs at numerous sites, archaeologists have unearthed evidence that verifies the Bible’s record of human history.

2. Fulfilled Prophecy: The Bible currently holds a perfect record in the fulfillment of its prophecies.

3. Internal Consistency: Even though the Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years, in three languages (Hebrew, Greek, and just a touch of Aramaic), by forty different writers, on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), there is a remarkable consistency to its record that simply cannot be attributed to human genius.

4. Changed Lives: No other book ever written has impacted lives the way the Bible has.

Then, after we have used these four categories of evidence to establish the trustworthiness of the Bible, we can go to the Bible and see what it says about itself. And what do we find when we do that? In 2 Timothy 3:16, we read:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Frankly, anyone who denies the existence of Satan and hell needs reliable doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Unfortunately, unless that person holds to a correct understanding of what the Bible is and what it teaches, he or she will never receive these things. Such a person might attract audiences, sell books, and appear on t.v., but that worldly success will be built upon mere opinion rather than eternal truth. And you know that old line about opinions: Everybody’s got one.