This question comes from a familiar quote from Joe Konrath’s book Origin:
“We don’t know the Devil’s side of the story, because God wrote all the books.”
― J.A. Konrath, Origin Quoted from goodreads.com/quotes
It’s Pervasive
This quote is far from the truth. Unless you read the Bible or Christian writings about it, you won’t hear God’s perspective. Without realizing it, all you hear is Satan’s voice.
The Bible calls Satan “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). It explains that Satan “has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
A Surrendered Dominion
God created mankind to have dominion over all the earth (Genesis 1:26). However, when Adam sinned by rebelling against God and listening to Satan, Adam surrendered that dominion into Satan’s hands.
Within God’s sovereignty, Satan has the authority to give the kingdoms of this world to whomever he wishes. During Jesus’ forty days of temptation, Satan offered them to Jesus if Jesus would worship him:
“The devil took Him (Jesus) … and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur, and said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get away from here, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:8-10).
Still Ruling
Jesus called Satan “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30). Jesus came to defeat Satan, and he did. But his sentence hasn’t been carried out yet. For now, he still rules.
Other scripture passages tell us more about Satan’s influence:
“We know that … the whole world is under the sway of the evil one” (1 John 5:9 CSB).
“You (believers in Jesus) formerly walked according to … this world and … the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).
“So then… through death He (Jesus) might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).
Conclusion
Satan governs the kingdoms of the world, influences societal norms, and controls the lives of non-believers. He holds the power of death and blinds their minds to the gospel of Jesus. Only the spiritually unaware and biblically illiterate can say they haven’t heard Satan’s side of the story.
