The Devil Doesnt Exist
The devil does not exist. You see, he can only exist in the mind of someone convinced of his reality. I was once told by a Christian that those who are pagan are devil worshippers, and that you do not have to believe in Satan to carry out his will. This person remained adamant in their theory despite the fact that I explained that Wiccans and most pagans do not believe he exists whatsoever. Unfortunately, there is little use in trying to explain that to someone who firmly thinks you are an unaware devil worshipper. But I will tell you this. The devil exists only in the minds of those who believe in him. I do not believe in him. He is nonexistent.
Let's take a familiar analogy for instance. A child believes in Santa Clause. To this child, Santa exists and is as real as the sun and the sky and the hair on their heads. Their proof of his existence? There are presents under the tree with tags that say "From Santa". Yet when they get older, they realize that it was their parents who put the presents there. Then suddenly, Santa does not exist at all. The same situation applies to "the Devil", though the concepts seem totally different. People believe in him beyond any logic. Their evidence is not presents under a tree, but evils and sins in the world. Yet in reality, people and people alone put the sins there. It seems to me that saying Satan exists whether you believe in him or not is as logical as saying that Santa, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny have some effect on you even if you don't believe in them. As far as I am concerned, there is only one difference between believing in Satan and believe in Santa Claus. People grow out of Santa, but few ever grow out of Satan.
People like the Satan concept for many reasons. For one, half the blame can go to Satan when something they do is wrong. It was a bad choice; but then again, Satan had something to do with it too. And of course, it's an easy way to discredit another person's beliefs. If you aren't part of my religion, then you worship Satan and will go to Hell. On the contrary. Hell and Satan, to me, exist only in the imaginations of others. It has no more affect on me than something in a TV show.
"Satan" is a concept abused by many people in their crusade against other religions. If one chooses to incorporate him into their faith, then that is their choice. But to try and force this concept on someone else is wrong. People impose a certain religious dogma on themselves so they think that if they have to believe in it, so should everyone else. And since they think it somehow affects their lives, they also have to apply it to our lives. Well, let's remember that two religions are entirely separate entities. To say a Wiccan is affected by the Christian deities is to claim that Wicca is Christianity. How would a Christian like to be told they are worshipping the pagan God and Goddess, even if they don't believe in them?
It is futile to try to tell a Wiccan that Satan exists in their world anyway, because he simply does not. And if he does, it's because they chose to put him there. When you decide that you want to live a positive life, then perhaps you will find there isn't enough room for all the anti-pagan party lines, just as we have found that there isn't any room for "the Devil".