The Power of Satan (souls, hell, myth, Muslim)

[Chango]

Originally Posted by Rational Deist

I have trouble rationalizing Satan with the Bibles teachings of God and Christ. Satan was a Angel cast away by God, yet his presence within the Bible is a display of power and influence eternal. He is everywhere, attempting to influence us always, has the ability to often be disguised as good, and even had the power to tempt Christ with the world. He is our enemy and we should love him. God created him, he has been around a long time, and with his power one would think he knows more about God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit than any of us "blink of an eye" humans, yet there is, it appears, no chance of redemption, no change of heart, no learning through revelation or knowledge. Is he a child of God? Is their hope for his reversal of heart?

Those who seek to control others need a "boogey man" to create the fear necessary to induce compliance.

When I was little, my mom used to tell me: "Clean up your room or the gunny bag will take your toys!"

I tell my little kids: "stay by me (in the store) or a bad guy will steal you!"

The US government tells us: "Saddam Hussein has chemical weapons and he wants revenge for the Gulf War!" or "If we don't install these naked body scanners everywhere and let the FBI tap you phone lines, Osama Bin Laden is gonna send more terrorists to murder you and your families!"

Preachers say: "Do as I tell you or Satan is torture you forever in a lake of fire!" or "don't listen to what they say, Satan is trying to fool you! Only I know the truth!"

If you want satan to loose his power, stop believing in him. He'll go away, just like the boogey man did when I grew up.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by Chango

If you want satan to loose his power, stop believing in him. He'll go away, just like the boogey man did when I grew up.

That strategy only works sometimes. I didn't believe in George W. Bush, but he stubbornly refused to go away.

[Chango]

Originally Posted by Fred314X

That strategy only works sometimes. I didn't believe in George W. Bush, but he stubbornly refused to go away.

...yet he is gone now... or is he?



Oh wait... this is the religion forum...



I forgot.

[Rational Deist]

yes, because if God created Satan, then it would follow that every church service should begin and end praying for his repentance and salvation, problem solved,smile.

[godofthunder9010]

Originally Posted by dobeable

actually the idea of the horns and hooves,ugly face crap came from a persian pagan demon

Now I'm intrigued. Love researching this sort of stuff. Got a link to any info on this?

Out of curiosity, how many people who said, "Satan doesn't exist" happen to be Atheists or Agnostics? It'd be pretty obvious that someone who doesn't believe in God isn't going to believe in Satan.

I think that he exists, but he's the ultimate con artist -- hence the Hebrew root "slanderer/liar/deceiver." And one of his biggest cons is trying to push the idea that he's a lot bigger and badder than he really is. What the passage in Isaiah tells us is that when we all see him we'll be shocked at how unimpressive he really is.

In the Middle Ages, a whole lot of nonsense gets added onto him until he becomes this mega-powerful monster thing. The character showing up in the Bible and the end-product hyped up Godzilla-Like monster thing that some people still believe he is -- the two don't even resemble one another.

[dobeable]

Originally Posted by godofthunder9010

Now I'm intrigued. Love researching this sort of stuff. Got a link to any info on this?

Out of curiosity, how many people who said, "Satan doesn't exist" happen to be Atheists or Agnostics? It'd be pretty obvious that someone who doesn't believe in God isn't going to believe in Satan.

I think that he exists, but he's the ultimate con artist -- hence the Hebrew root "slanderer/liar/deceiver." And one of his biggest cons is trying to push the idea that he's a lot bigger and badder than he really is. What the passage in Isaiah tells us is that when we all see him we'll be shocked at how unimpressive he really is.

In the Middle Ages, a whole lot of nonsense gets added onto him until he becomes this mega-powerful monster thing. The character showing up in the Bible and the end-product hyped up Godzilla-Like monster thing that some people still believe he is -- the two don't even resemble one another.

someone started a thread a good while ago on it,with a 6 10-min' you tube documentary,on the whole origin of satan thingy,i'd say you'd enjoy it,the only trouble is there is probly hundreds of satan thread's on tis forum but i'll do me best to find it for ya..peace out.

[Rafius]

YouTube - The Rolling Stones : Sympathy For The Devil (live) HQ

[Hegotsoul831]

Originally Posted by HoodsofATL

The story of Satan is not to be taken literally, honestly. It's more of a metaphor, along with most of the stories of the bible as well Judaism and Islam. Yeah evil exists but its apart of the duality for the human experience...(good/evil, up/down, etc.)

Then why does the bible even exist and bother to mention who he is and what he is like, if it was meant to be shrugged off as irrevelant and immaterial? Youre missing the big picture. Could you be naive enough to believe that all this discussion and attention about the bible over te centuries and the existence of God, Jesus, the bible and its message and the controversy swirling around all of that is simply coincidental, and not meant to confuse and decieve us from the truth, as was the case with the Tower of Babel? ...Really??

[catman]

It's not "simply coincidental". There weren't any better answers until recently, with understanding of the Universe. It takes a lot of discussion to remove such deeply ingrained folktales, which have been and still are supported by much of society. The argument from popularity isn't sufficient to make it credible.

Rafius: One of the greatest songs ever recorded! That and Paint It Black are my favorite Stones material.

[Asheville Native]

Satan like gods have only the power you give them. Ignore them and they cease to exist, their true state.