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If we are emulating Christ, he talked about the devil a lot. So how to interpret that?
I do agree with your last sentence.
He called peter “Satan” Satan has the meaning of adversary and I believe it relates to the state of mind which is thinking of itself and not the things of God,
Mat 16:22 And having taken Him near, Peter began to rebuke Him, saying, God be gracious to You, Lord; this shall never be to You.
Mat 16:23 But turning He said to Peter, Go behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you do not think of the things of God, but the things of men.
Well-put, Thoreau. We are not to be dwelling on evil, and any attention we give the dark side is feeding into it. I didn't think of this aspect when I posted.
Just curious what other Bible-believers thought. Since Jesus did mention "him" a lot.
I don’t think it’s a “him” it is what humans create by thinking of ourselves only and not what is godly, right and just
He called peter “Satan” Satan has the meaning of adversary and I believe it relates to the state of mind which is thinking of itself and not the things of God,
Mat 16:22 And having taken Him near, Peter began to rebuke Him, saying, God be gracious to You, Lord; this shall never be to You.
Mat 16:23 But turning He said to Peter, Go behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you do not think of the things of God, but the things of men.
Amen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meerkat2
I don’t think it’s a “him” it is what humans create by thinking of ourselves only and not what is godly, right and just
He called peter “Satan” Satan has the meaning of adversary and I believe it relates to the state of mind which is thinking of itself and not the things of God,
Mat 16:22 And having taken Him near, Peter began to rebuke Him, saying, God be gracious to You, Lord; this shall never be to You.
Mat 16:23 But turning He said to Peter, Go behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you do not think of the things of God, but the things of men.
Yes, He was so stupid, He was speaking to a state of mind, not a personage. You don't understand His principles behind the naming of people, places and things, so you do err.....making Him a liar, to boot.
Why do you feel it is so difficult for Western moderns to believe in a devil and demons, when the Bible is SO clear about their presence and influence?
I'm mainly talking about nominal Christians or people like my DH who was raised Catholic but just can't bring himself to believe in a "devil" or demons.
Too many "horror" stories in the entertainment industry?
If people can believe in a God of "good", why not a devil of evil? Certainly explains why our world is so flawed and evil is prevalent everywhere.
Yet part of "Twisted Scripture" is that even some Christians believe God is responsible for sickness, disasters and so forth.
In other parts of the world, people have NO trouble believing in "evil spirits". My missionary relatives say exorcisms still go in those areas.
Probably the devil is just fine with us moderns not believing in him, as it makes it easier for him to go about doing destruction undetected AND us blaming it on God himself, in certain cases.
Food for thought (the above)
I suppose if we examine our associates the bad begins with bad friends / associates.
Even people trying to live a 'double life' try to ignore the bad to just go away.
Peer pressure to do wrong ( moral decay)
Moral meaning more than just having mental capacity.
So, the 'satanic actions' of people in our day or time frame should be a clue that Satan is real:
* We should be shocked by the violence around us.
* Domestic violence includes women around the world.
* Terrorism now is even here instead of just over there.
* Mass shooting going from bad to worse.
* School immorality also bad to worse.
* Famous people with immoral life styles are accepted.
* Immorality in one's own neighborhood.
So, in order for a person to do his ' own thing ' as above one must reject belief in Satan.
How sad because even the demons believe in God and Jesus and they shudder - James 2:19; Luke 4:41.
Thus, repentance is for everybody - 2nd Peter 3:9 - to be quick to make changes Now, not wait til next year.
Repent and stop associating with bad associates.- Revelation 12:12,9
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