What do you think about the Devil? (page 2)

gumby

I would tell your son to do a thorough investigation on whether the bible is really GODS word.

The devil as we know him comes from the bible doesn't it? If the bible is bogus.....then so is the devil.

Gumby

Used to believe in the devil of the bible. Used to believe in the "whole world lying in the power of the wicked one." Used to believe all the superstitious mumbojumbo the bible uses to instill fear in those that are just trying to live their short lives the best they know how. I am free from most of that guilt now and am trying to erase all the brainwashing that the WT has instilled in me. In my opinion, devils and demons are just beliefs founded on unreasonable and irrational beliefs in the supernatural or unexplained. Something happens that can not be explained immediately, and it is blamed on the devil. Something goes wrong in your life, and it is blamed on the devil. What an easy out! Hopefully mankind will in the near future put away all this fear mongering and devote all that time to seeking out cures for diseases, overpopulation, and the many other REAL problems facing humans on this earth.

Mrs. Shakita

Sargon

I think the best way to describe the devil is as a good work of fiction. Place him right up there with the boogeyman, jackalopes and the creature under the bed.

RunningMan

There have been some good literary and philosophical ideas given here. The idea that good and evil exist in all of us, and we can personify them as God and the Devil, can be useful in giving the discussion an uplifting tone.

I have gone one step further with my son. The real answer, is that there is no such thing as a spirit realm. A good, logical explanation for the popularity of these ideas, and other superstitions, can be found in Isaac Asimov's excellent essay "Knock Plastic".

Mecurious?

The real answer, is that there is no such thing as a spirit realm.

This can be neither proved or disproved. But jackalopes certainly exist. ; )

Brian'

gitasatsangha

Its very difficult to explain the existance/nonexistance of the Jackalope to young people. Thank you for this stunning evidence.

Sirona

Hey Mandy,

Jung offers some insight with regard to the Devil - I don't know if you're familiar with his comments regarding archetypes - check it out on the net if you are not.

The biblical devil is different from the common concept of the devil. In the bible, the devil is a fallen angel who actually tempts on gods behalf sometimes - testing integrity (in the case of Job). Biblically, in my opinion, he is another representation of "the tree of life". He is the physical, baseness, even sexuality. All of these things are occur naturally but are suppressed in Christianity as "the evil flesh". Christianity promotes spiritual things, not physical things.

This leads me to the common perception of Devil as a horned beast with a pitchfork who lives under the ground. Christians did not have this image until they started to convert pagan nations to christianity. The pagan "horned God" became Satan, although the horned god is not like the devil at all. The trouble is, the horned god represented many of the things that Christianity sought to stamp out: rampant sexuality, forcefulness, independence, the power of man. The pagans had underworld Gods and Goddesses who represented death and change, so the Christians demonised these preaching a message of only life.

The biggest problem with belief in "the Devil" is that it blames external forces for the wrongs in the world, rather than blaming human beings. i.e. someone may blame the devil for their current life trials, whereas the trouble could have been caused by the individual all along. Blaming the devil doesn't lead to the person learning from their mistakes. It also takes away personal responsibility for wrongdoing "the devil made me do it".

I do believe in the existance of spirits who may seek to harm us, but that is a whole other kettle of fish. There is no one true evil entity seeking to harm us. Thats just my opinion of course.

Blessings

Sirona

Kenneson

Anyone ever read the Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan? Wonder how this work presents the Devil. I have not read it.

Mandybp

Excellent posts - good one :)

I can just imagine how quickly you'd get rid of a witness at your door if you produced the Satanic Bible *grins*

Thank you everyone for your posts. Thanks Sirona for the enlightenment :)

Now to think about how to prove the Bible is false...

ashitaka

Well, he has a helluva hockey team in Jersey.

What do you think about the Devil?

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