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Satan is a created angel. Not a god. Though he is called the god of this age in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that is not to be understood in the sense of Satan being divine. The reality of the existence of Satan has no bearing on a monotheistic view of God.
As I said, you don't believe the Bible as evidenced by the fact that you say there is no hell, no Satan, no demons or devil. All of which the Biblical writers attest to as having real existence.
All you can do is make unsupported denials which carry no weight.
Not all Christians are dominated by the early Christian Church interpretation of Satan.
Quote:
Among those books of the Hebrew Scriptures written before 300 BCE, the term "satan" (root word "s'tn") appears often. The word is derived from the original Hebrew verb "satan" which means "to oppose." The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek was widely used in the early Christian church. They translated "satan" as "diaboloc" from which we derive our English term "devil" and "diabolic."
In Job and Zechariah Satan is depicted as a member of God's Court. In Job Satan is the one selected to carry out God's testing of Job's faith with a series of disasters. In Zechariah Satan opposes the selection of Joshua as high priest.
There is far more BIBLICAL evidence in the OT that Satan is the one who tests us to see if our faith in God is reliable.
I hold more with the Jewish concept, and accept responsibility for my own thoughts and actions as "diabolical" on occasion. That's why I need grace from God, because I can't in any kind of good conscience say as many Christians do--"The Devil made me do it." It's a way to sooth their conscience that in their "right mind" they would never think or do anything immoral.
Thanks for continuing to be the "adversary" of Christians on this thread, Richard. I certainly entertain a different faith, but I respect those from whom it is derived.
What I decided to do has already been done. Your claim that the Bible doesn't show Satan to be an actual entity has been shown to be false. A fact to which you will not admit. As a matter of fact, the fact that Satan is a fallen angel has already been shown by Revelation 12:7-10 which I've already posted. The New Testament speaks of demons and Jesus' encounter with them. But you reject the validity of those statements.
The simple fact of the matter is that you don't believe the Bible, and therefore you won't accept as valid anything the Bible has to say about the reality of Satan and his demon followers as angelic beings who rebelled against God. And so I am going to leave it with the fact that your claim that the Bible doesn't present Satan as an actual angelic entity has been shown to be a false claim.
Interesting that this entity in it's current form and characteristics has only been around for the last 1500 to 2000 years...
And since when does what *you* say have any bearing? You need to actually prove that your accusation is true otherwise you are nothing more than a false accuser and an intentional Torah violator which proves in itself that you are no Jew but only running around all dressed up like a Jew.
Awww...You getting all mad little guy?....How am I violating the Torah?...
What I reject is your understanding of the Old Testament and the ideology of a literal being called Satan which crept into the New Testament letters based on man's doctrines. We all face adversity, hardships or heart aches at some point in this life, even if it's only the loss of a loved one. There was nothing special about Peter; however, he was informed that life for him would not be easy. There is no Hell, no Satan, no demons or devil, no ghosts or goblins, ...and dead souls do not come back to speak to the living. If you believe Satan is a supernatural entity – then you do not have a monotheistic view of God. And tossing around a few Scripture verses, does not equate to having knowledge or a comprehension of the language(s). Thus, I will leave you to your own thoughts (or the thoughts of others) when it comes to a demonic mindset that would eternally torment another human being for merely not believing something.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.
What am I missing here? Am I wrong?
Well, for one, G-d was talking to the Israel, not the Gentiles...And....Hey, look!...The "New Commandment" to love your neighbor as yourself is actually not so New...Imagine that...
Satan is a created angel. Not a god. Though he is called the god of this age in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that is not to be understood in the sense of Satan being divine. The reality of the existence of Satan has no bearing on a monotheistic view of God.
IN SHORT... For Jews, anything that even remotely conflicts with the idea that Gd is One and Indivisible will be rejected out of hand because it precludes true pure monotheism. The idea that there is a Gd in heaven above who fights against a god of the underworld, or of hell, is not monotheism. It is, however, the same duality found in other pagan faiths. The Bible speaks of a character known as The Satan, who acts like a prosecuting attorney, or a district attorney, in Gd's court. However, The Satan has no power or authority in and of himself, rather he must get permission from the Judge, Gd, to do anything.
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