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Precisely. There is no more reason to claim Satan or Yahweh are real and actually exist than there is to claim the same for these gods you mention, or Vishnu or Zeus or Odin. No more reason whatsoever.
In fact, I can't believe that in the 21st century we have people who are (ostensibly) adults discussing Satan and Yahweh and Noah's ark and Adam and Eve as if these were verified historical figures and events.
Except for the fact that you don't have thousands of people claiming to have transformed lives through the power of Odin or RA. Your comments only serve to demonstrate your refusal to accept any evidence that supports Christianity.
...snip... Anyway, I think that whatever danger your post constitutes as a misguided medical concept, it is outweighed in a positive way by how it demonstrates in textbook form the harm that can be done by unenlightened thinking in the form of religious beliefs.
Truth.
Every fundamentalist Christian I've come across (and there's been quite a few - some among my kin) is afraid.
They're afraid of hell, of Satan, and they're afraid of their god. Fear as a motivating force has worked for millennia. The sheep will stay in line as long as they're convinced there's wolves awaiting if they don't.
It's such a bizarre concept for those unaffected but for the fundamentalist Christian sheep it's how they cope with a world they just can't process in any other fashion - often because of diminished intellectual capacity. So, they revert to a simpler, black & white time for simple, black & white answers.
Which is fine by me, and most of us, I'm sure. As long as they don't try to foist their prehistoric "thinking" on others.
I wonder why you would propose that a devil brings on clinical depression. It is so idiotic a notion that I wonder if it is done as a lark simply to get responses. I suppose in the end I have to accept the possibility that you actually believe what you have posted, that it is written in earnestness, and is simply an example of profound ignorance.
I have also thought that claiming the devil is involved in depression is in fact a potentially dangerous allegation in that it is in a sense an example of incorrect medical advice, albeit a bizarre example. I am certainly glad that when I was diagnosed with my anxiety disorder that I was not told it was the work of the devil. Anyway, I think that whatever danger your post constitutes as a misguided medical concept, it is outweighed in a positive way by how it demonstrates in textbook form the harm that can be done by unenlightened thinking in the form of religious beliefs.
Hear, hear. Well and truly spoken. Of course, this poster responds with the typical tired old cop-out of "You are just not enlightened enough to understand!" Such nonsense...
Quote:
Originally Posted by TWD39
Except for the fact that you don't have thousands of people claiming to have transformed lives through the power of Odin or RA. Your comments only serve to demonstrate your refusal to accept any evidence that supports Christianity.
There are many millions who claim that veneration of The Buddha or worship of a Hindu god or connection with The Great Spirit or nature/Earth worship has changed their lives for the better
Their beliefs are every bit as real and valid as any Christian's or member of any religion.
As for "evidence that supports Christianity, this could mean several things. Obviously I think Christian
Except for the fact that you don't have thousands of people claiming to have transformed lives through the power of Odin or RA. Your comments only serve to demonstrate your refusal to accept any evidence that supports Christianity.
Christianity does exist, but that's not proof that god exist. Just because thousands of people have faith in the existence of a god or a devil still does not prove they're real. Thousand of people once believed in Odin, Ra, Horis and thousands of other gods but men made up other stories for people to follow ( without proof these stories were true) and you see from Christianity and all the other current popular world religions that people are willing to believe in fairy tails.
You're an atheists too when it comes to all the other thousands of gods humanity once worshiped only you believe in one more god ( and devil) then I do.
...I was trying to say I believe the fundamental tenets of Christianity are beautiful. The alleged sayings of Jesus contain often wise, profound philosophy (even if little of it is original to The Gospels.)
I realize that Christianity has transformed lives and shaped the Western World (although this historically involved a lot of violence along with the great innovations and developments in the arts.
I am glad that so many find in Christianity (or any religion they choose) a place for fellowship, a sense of peace, the impetus to be charitable, and a means of comfort in a world that often seems too dark to bear. That is a wonderful thing, but it of course does not mean that YOUR religion is any more valid or "true" than anyone else's or that characters like Yahweh and Satan are any more "real" than any other god anyone ever came up with. And there have been thousands.
satan's greatest accomplishment of this age is to get people to disbelieve in the devil.
What is that suppose to mean, is it like if I don't believe in the devil then I'm doing the will of the devil? So, if I don't believe in Jesus then I'm doing the will of Jesus. If I don't believe in a God then I'm following the will of God.
I hear Christians spew this statement all the time, and still it makes no sense. If I don't believe something exist, then I pay no mind to it, therefore how can I be fooled by something that doesn't exist.
Huckleberry, Satan exists in your mind, not mine, I'll let you dwell on the devil, I just don't have time for it.
I do not believe that Satan exists, in any way or form. It is symbolic, a concept, perhaps like "god" which is not an entity or a being but an ideal.....
What bothers me most about Satan is when "satan" is used as an excuse for a person to not take responsibility for their own lives and actions.
For example, someone can commit a crime, shoot up a school and then say "Oh the Devil possessed me>" To me, that is total BS because there is no such thing as a devil.
People need to learn to take responsibility for their lives and their choices and actions. having a concept of a "devil" is, in this case, malproductive to that, because it gives someone a conveinent excuse to fail. Likewise, a concept of an "all saving god"" is equally useless because it does not empower a person to take responsibility or control of their life and choices. Such thinking not only limits a person, but it serves as an unhealthy "crutch" by which a person can say "Oh well if god wants me to succeed I will...."
How about the better choice. Choose your own path, your own success and failure and own up to your own choices and accomplishments, without blaming a devil or a god for failure or success ?
Can I get an AMEN for that? Don't bother.......I am a proud non-theist who does not need Amens or curses.
LargeKingCat, or the gal in Texas, I think, that drowned her children because she wanted them to be with God and not be influenced by the devil. These type of actions are just plain perverted due to ones perverted beliefs.
I do not believe that Satan exists, in any way or form. It is symbolic, a concept, perhaps like "god" which is not an entity or a being but an ideal.....
What bothers me most about Satan is when "satan" is used as an excuse for a person to not take responsibility for their own lives and actions.
For example, someone can commit a crime, shoot up a school and then say "Oh the Devil possessed me>" To me, that is total BS because there is no such thing as a devil.
People need to learn to take responsibility for their lives and their choices and actions. having a concept of a "devil" is, in this case, malproductive to that, because it gives someone a conveinent excuse to fail. Likewise, a concept of an "all saving god"" is equally useless because it does not empower a person to take responsibility or control of their life and choices. Such thinking not only limits a person, but it serves as an unhealthy "crutch" by which a person can say "Oh well if god wants me to succeed I will...."
How about the better choice. Choose your own path, your own success and failure and own up to your own choices and accomplishments, without blaming a devil or a god for failure or success ?
Can I get an AMEN for that? Don't bother.......I am a proud non-theist who does not need Amens or curses.
Bible believing churches don't teach "the devil may me do it". The devil may tempt and influence a person, but we are still ultimately responsible for our own sins.
What is that suppose to mean, is it like if I don't believe in the devil then I'm doing the will of the devil? So, if I don't believe in Jesus then I'm doing the will of Jesus. If I don't believe in a God then I'm following the will of God.
I hear Christians spew this statement all the time, and still it makes no sense. If I don't believe something exist, then I pay no mind to it, therefore how can I be fooled by something that doesn't exist.
Huckleberry, Satan exists in your mind, not mine, I'll let you dwell on the devil, I just don't have time for it.
Yes, you are serving Satan's will. You just don't know it.
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