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Ok, no snarky comments or typical chango-ish goofyness, I promise
This is an honest question. Why do Christians fear the devil or anything remotely related to the devil?
As Americans we have a long history of making fun of our enemies; a google search of King George, Hitler, or Bin Laden political cartoons will bring up thousands of hits. We LOVE to make fun of the characters/things we struggle against.
But not with the imaginary horned red guy. Instead, the devil is "He who's name must never be spoken"...
...well this isn'tModerator cut: delete Harry Potter! Why the irrational fear?
Last edited by Miss Blue; 09-30-2011 at 03:25 PM..
Reason: language
A reflection of one's inner self. To us Muslims Shaytan can be any sapient being who has free will, including our self. What is in our own hearts and minds can be very frightening.
More importantly, why is their so little mention of Satan in the Bible? You'd think he would have been popping up during all sorts of events chronicled in the Bible.
More importantly, why is their so little mention of Satan in the Bible? You'd think he would have been popping up during all sorts of events chronicled in the Bible.
Perhaps they were waiting for the sequel "Dante's Inferno" to come out in paper back.
Nearly all of the Christian beliefs about the Devil do come from Dante and not the Bible.
More importantly, why is their so little mention of Satan in the Bible? You'd think he would have been popping up during all sorts of events chronicled in the Bible.
That's true. In the bible, the devil comes of as an annoying imp of a guy that pops up on occasion for his own amusement, kinda like "Q" in Star Trek TNG. Definitely not the horrific, all-powerful lord of evil that contemporary christians whisper about today.
That's true. In the bible, the devil comes of as an annoying imp of a guy that pops up on occasion for his own amusement, kinda like "Q" in Star Trek TNG. Definitely not the horrific, all-powerful lord of evil that contemporary christians whisper about today.
Satan is certainly much more benevolent a being than the judeo-christian god.
A reflection of one's inner self. To us Muslims Shaytan can be any sapient being who has free will, including our self. What is in our own hearts and minds can be very frightening.
I agree.
I'd just add, that evil is the attempt to avoid discomfort, when such discomfort is best in the big picture.
Often, we haven't explored our own psychology (study of the soul) to understand the details of why we're afraid... which makes the boogyman seem even worse.
I have sensed negative energies... but I think it's because I was fearing them & resonating with them.
Like attracts like. Thoughts are powerful - for good or bad!
The Angel of Yahweh who opposed the seer Balaam's journey, by standing in front of his donkey with a drawn sword, was actually called "Balaam's 'satan'". (Numbers 22:22 ff) The concept of 'the satan' into 'Satan' took an awfully long time and had to await foreign influence to truly give him that evil status the 1st century christians attributed to him.
Who caused David to number the Israelites in a census? One account blames Yahweh (2 Samuel 24:1), the other account blames Satan (I Chronicles 21:1). Granted - the Chronicler was the best apologist writing biblical works...
Perhaps they were waiting for the sequel "Dante's Inferno" to come out in paper back.
Nearly all of the Christian beliefs about the Devil do come from Dante and not the Bible.
Really?
The Bible predates the Divine Comedy by thousands of years. Dante wrote it between 1308 and 1321.
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