the devil within, or outside.

[Gelgoog]

what are your feelings of this guy called Satan/ lucifer, the devil, evil. do you believe he is actually some being out there that all evil can be blamed on? do you think blaming the devil for personal evils is a copout?

personally i follow no set teachings as i believe being a christian is to question your beliefs and the teachings of others, that you can't be taught faith, but that you must find it for yourself. which is why i tend not to find many answers in organized religion, i do tend to learn more towards the gnostic beliefs though, and think that through knowledge you become closer to enlightenment and god ( whatever he is and whatever his relationship is with us.) but ive been pondering this question for a long time, the concept of the devil to me just seems to much like a copout in which people blame all their misdeed on the devil instead of taking responsibility and looking inward into there own soul.

i really dont believe in the concept of the devil as some being of pure evil out to tempt mankind. instead i believe that the constant battle between good and evil exists merely inside your own soul. that you have to turn the other cheek, not judge others on their actions and religion, and try to do more good in this world then harm.

so how do you guys all see the concept of good and evil, god vs the devil concept?

[Anachronist]

As an atheist there is no such thing to me. The human soul is a constant struggle of good and evil.

[Sétanta]

personally i follow no set teachings as i believe being a christian is to question your beliefs and the teachings of others, that you can't be taught faith, but that you must find it for yourself.

A Christian believes that God came to earth, manifested as Jesus Christ, and served the Lord and Savior of mankind, then founding the Church during His earthly ministry. A Christian doesn't question His God.

Anyways, Satan was the most powerful angel. He was cast out of Heaven for demanding more power, thinking he could be as powerful as our Lord and God. Humans were corrupted by him in the Garden of Eden, and he continues to tempt us to do the things we know are wrong.

[Mig el Pig]

Humans were corrupted by him in the Garden of Eden, and he continues to tempt us to do the things we know are wrong.

Isn't the opposite of this story more logic, wherein Satan created Mankind and the Garden of Eden and God set us free by letting us eat of the trea of Knowledge and therefor knowing Right from Wrong and a sence of morality(which should be all positive things).
Satan saw that he had lost and casted mankind out of his garden into the world.

I personally always found it very strange an all powerfull, forseeing god couldn't realise humans would eat the thing he marked as inaccesible.

[Gelgoog]

A Christian believes that God came to earth, manifested as Jesus Christ, and served the Lord and Savior of mankind, then founding the Church during His earthly ministry. A Christian doesn't question His God.

Anyways, Satan was the most powerful angel. He was cast out of Heaven for demanding more power, thinking he could be as powerful as our Lord and God. Humans were corrupted by him in the Garden of Eden, and he continues to tempt us to do the things we know are wrong.

according to whom, so because my views dont follow the mainstream christian dogma, im no longer a christian? isnt that a bit narrow minded? and if god is an an all knowing being, why we he be offended by people questioning what people have wrote about him. there is no way to confirm that anything thats been written about him actually came from his mouth, only the faith that what your told is true. there is also quite a bit that has been sensored from mainstreme beliefs in order to keep a centralized dogma that keeps people from straying from church influence. it seems to me that unless you question your own beliefs and those of your peers, that you really can't discover the true meaning of your faith. besides, questioning doesnt mean disagreeing, sometimes alot of the message has been lost in translation, and if anything christianity and the bible is all about how one translates what is written into their own beliefs, so it seems that questioning is at the basis of christianity and not strict blind faith.

[Kino]

I think maybe God and Satan both have their pros and cons. Speaking from the Old Testament. God was the Fascist and Lucifer was the Anarchist. Both Fascism and Anarchy have benefits but both extremes are usually not good for humanity.

The truth most times lies somewhere in the middle and if you read the New Testament you really get a feeling for that. Humanity lies in the middle.

I'm not so sure there is a Devil/Satan though, there might be... I just think blaming all evil on the devil is a way to avoid looking at the true causes or reasons a person acts a certain way...

I watched this special on Jeffery Dahmer. I let myself go and explored. I listened to his interview and I started to begin to see how he could turn into the monster he did. I don't think I would, but I could see how it happened. Jeffery Dahmer was a serial murderer that ate young men and boys after raping them and slitting their necks.

Those are the kind of things some people just blame on the devil without dipping their feet into the thoughts of the crazy guy because it's too scary.

It is scary though, it's crazy how much you can lose yourself. One day something might seem totally unacceptable in your mind... Few months later due to slow erosion of your morals you don't even think of it as wrong and wonder how you ever did. Loss of innocence I guess.

[Ó Cathasaigh]

Personaly the devil is both within and without.

The devil tempts us, but it's our own fault if we accept this tempation.

[Zenith Darksea]

I am an Orthodox Christian, and to Christians the Devil is a very real being. The Devil is constantly attempting to influence human beings, attempting to draw them away from God through sin. God however is also always present, offering His Grace to all who wish to set foot on (and then remain on, hopefully) the path towards salvation. Each person is free to choose which influence to succumb to at any given moment, though it has to be said that the Devil's influence is easier to succumb to largely because he appeals to our laziness and selfish attitudes while God appeals to a hope of ultimate salvation that, while appealing, requires much more strength of will in the here and now.

[Hells Bells]

i beleive the antichrist has come in osama. REvelations is about to be fulfilled and yet im still an atheist. How ironic is that.

[NaptownKnight]

Would it shock you to think that we are in hell now? What if we are already dead, and this crazy world is a mixture of heaven and hell?

[MasterAdnin]

Satan, Iblis, Lucifer, the Devil, etc. in Islamic belief was a Jihn made of fire who disobeyed a direct order from God. God ordered Iblis to bow down to his newest and greatest creation, Humankind. After Iblis refused, God cast his down from heaven, one of the biggest punishments one can receive. Iblis refused on the basis that he was superior because he was made of fire, and Humans of mud, and dirt.

All of you obviously know the story of the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. So basically, Satan is on Earth to tempt us to stray away from the path that God has laid down for us, namely Religion. Without religion, we become immoral and sin. Religion is the guide that God has given us. Satan does this to try to show his superiority over Man.

By the way, Jihn's are creations of God similar to humans, but exist on another level. They are not all evil, but are similar to angels in that they have direct contact with God, but like Humans in that they have some sort of free will.


Oh yea, Setena, I'm not saying to question your religion, but in order for one to gain a better understanding of their beliefs, they should thinking about and wonder why God has done, what He has done. Basically, think about you're religion and DO NOT follow it blindly. If you do follow it blindly, then you do not understand why God wants you to act a certain way. That is the whole point of religion. To understand why something is wrong or right, and why these rules are set in place. I know it's kind of hard to understand as it's difficult for me to explain it over the internet.

Salaam,
Adnan

[Ummon]

Both.