Reflections on an ancient and timely concept.
By John Leake
Courageous Discourse
March 13, 2026
During the COVID-19 pandemic, shortly before Dr. Peter McCullough gave his first Senate testimony about the official pandemic response, he had a conversation with his church pastor, Andrew Forrest, about medical centers refusing to administer certain safe and effective treatments to desperately ill patients.
"It's as though, for the first time in history, our medical system is opposed to caring for the sick," McCullough said. "What on earth is going on?"
Pastor Forrest wasn't surprised.
"There are times when evil prevails over good in a large way," he said. "We know from the dark periods of history that this has happened before, and now it's happening again. What you describe is Satan working in the hearts and minds of people, sowing fear, confusion, and anger. All you can do is keeping trying to do good until it turns the tide."
At the time Dr. McCullough related this conversation to me, I thought there must be some material and natural explanation for what we were seeing, most likely garden variety fear, greed, and stupidity. However, that conversation five years ago got me thinking about our ancient concept of the devil, which is a key concept of my forthcoming book, Mind Viruses amazon.com: America's Irrational Obsessions.
I still don't know if the devil exists, or if he is merely the mythical personification of the madness and malevolence that may, under certain circumstances, spread like a contagion, causing masses of humans to commit extremely destructive behavior.
I find it fascinating that the Greek word for devil, diabolos, derives from the verb diaballein ("to slander" or "to attack") which literally means "to throw across" or "to throw apart." Since 2001, our civilization has been barraged by a series of purported threats that have thrown us apart, dividing us into hostile camps, and causing rifts even among old friends and family members.
As was recently revealed in the release of the Epstein Files, our current ruling class is as wicked as it has ever been. The disclosures may provide us with a unique opportunity to usher our ruling class into disgraced retirement-something akin to Napoleon's final exile on the island of Saint Helena-in which it will be limited in its ability to do further harm.
The revelations are also spectacular evidence that we cannot blindly trust our institutional leaders to represent our interests. Unless our rulers are closely watched and held accountable for the gigantic messes they make, such as the 2008 Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, they will continue yielding to the temptation to serve their own interests and those of their elite friends at the expense of everyone else.
Like many observers, I noticed the undeniable fact that, right as the extended release of the Epstein Files was producing a drumroll of high profile resignations, Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, thereby completely changing the subject. The situation instantly reminded me of Madison's famous observation about the corrupt use of warfare.
Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt [in the homeland] was apprehended.
For example, on February 26, World Economic Forum (WEF) President and CEO Børge Brende announced his resignation following an independent investigation into his ties with Epstein. Hostilities commenced two days later.
While pondering this, I reviewed the Ayatollah Khomeini's "Great Satan" (Persian: Sheytân-e Bozorg) speech on November 5, 1979. In his addressed, he characterized the U.S. as an imperialist power whose CIA was responsible for overthrowing the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 and installing the autocratic Shah.
Khomeini believed the Great Satan was not only a political adversary, but a spiritual enemy, and he characterized America as a "world-devouring" power that seduces, murders, and imposes sanctions on oppressed nations.
If, in the year 2019, you asked me what I thought about Khomeini's speech, I would have told you that he was a deluded and superstitious fanatic. However, after observing the events of the last six years, I'm not so sure.
Here I want to emphasize that the purpose of this essay is NOT to defend Khomeini and the regime he erected, but to ponder his representation of the U.S. government as he proclaimed to have understood it.
This morning I did some research on how Satan is characterized in Shia Islam, and I found the following. Note that Shia Islam was established as the state religion in Persia (Iran) in 1501 by Shah Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid dynasty.
Satan (Shaytan) disobeyed God due to pride. He is a tempter who whispers evil suggestions (waswasa) to humanity. He acts as an enemy of humans, always aiming to mislead them. Satan was cast out of Heaven for refusing to bow to Adam, an act driven by arrogance and disobedience. He uses temptation and psychological influence to incite sinful behaviors like envy, greed, and lust. He is known as Al-Garur (the Deceiver), who makes sinful actions appear harmless or attractive.
One might argue that Khomeini was himself a Deceiver who seduced the Iranian people into following him so that he could enslave him. Maybe so.
The quandary in which I now find myself arises from the fact that the United States government has, in my eyes, lost all credibility. This quandary leads me "to an overwhelming question"-that is, who to believe?
The CIA ? The Pentagon ? The mainstream media ? Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff ? Hillary Clinton (who is now praising Donald Trump) ? Donald Trump?
While most of human affairs are messy, confusing, and driven by multiple, complex factors, there are distinct moments in history that possess enormous and undeniable significance to any reasonable person who is paying close attention to them.
Suetonius famously captured this idea when he described Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon in 49 BC with his army, in direct defiance of the Senate. "Alea iacta est" - "the die is cast" Caesar said.
President Trump might as well have said the same thing when he viciously opposed Thomas Massie's valiant campaign to release the Epstein Files. At that moment, the president lost all moral credibility.
A total loss of credibility is catastrophic for a U.S. president who attacks an enormous nation of 94 million people with the assurance that its regime is immoral, aggressive, deluded, and dangerous.
This article was originally published on Courageous Discourse.