The devil

[Mig el Pig]

Since more then half the discussion on this forum end up wtih an argument about god I was wondering how many(and in what way) these people believe in the devil.

edit:
I know the form is more inclined towards christians(with the concept of sin) but feel free to reply if you're from a diffrent strain of faith.

Btw; i'm an atheist; I don't believe in god or the devil.

[Mathias]

Im an atheist; I don't believe in god or the devil.

[Giorgos]

I need this option before i vote.

"There is a devil but he does not have physical form(aka he's permantly in hell), he's responsible for people's sins but so are the people commiting them. He just nudges people along in acting with his knowledge of people's lusts, fears, wills and every other human instinct.

Then i'll be ready to vote.

[MET]

since christianity is officially a monotheistic religion their can't possibly be a devil. although, the devil would have to exist for god to exist.
that's just my opinion.
anyway, i don't believe in god or the devil

[BNS]

since christianity is officially a monotheistic religion their can't possibly be a devil. although, the devil would have to exist for god to exist.
that's just my opinion.
anyway, i don't believe in god or the devil

well we dont believe the devil to be a god, there is only 1 God. We may believe in angels and demons too but those arent God....

I believe that we are responsible for our own sins and that the devil is many times used as an excuse....

[Dunecat]

"The devil is in hell and people are responsible for their own sins."

It's not the wording I would use o' course, but it emphasizes my belief in the Satan's meekness, so I chose it. But whatever, before I start rambling for 1200 words I'll just stop now.

[Mig el Pig]

"The devil is in hell and people are responsible for their own sins."

It's not the wording I would use o' course

yeah, I wrote that rather late last night. Could of worded it a bit better it seems.

@BNS:
"Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them." (Exodus 18:11)


According to the bible there is more then 1 god actually.

[Dunecat]

yeah, I wrote that rather late last night. Could of worded it a bit better it seems.

@BNS:
"Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them." (Exodus 18:11)


According to the bible there is more then 1 god actually.

Not necessarily. Not that it matters, but all the author could be doing (like other authors do in the Bible) is illustrating that "it's not any of your pagan gods that is true- it's THIS god, the god of Israel. Their god is the one, true god. Here is why..."

I'm tired, whatever.

[Kythras]

I'm agnostic, so I voted "I don't know", but i thought I'd hav a little speel. I'm really interested in religions and spend a lot of free time reading up on them ("Know thy Enemy" Sun Tzu, just jkidding... or am I ) And having done Paradise Lost in school this year, I thought the Devil was really cool, especially the Romantic view of him, the rebel, defying a totalitarian god and being condemned forever for it, granting humans a degree of enlightenment, instead of forcing them from paradise, etc. Suffice it to say I'm a bit of a rebel, and I really found it really easy to sympathise with Satan.

Then there is the whole story of god commanding the angels to bow to none but him then, later, when he made man he commanded the angels to bow to man, to teach them humility but Lucifer refused because he was either too arrogant, or he loved god too much to bow to anyone else, either way, he is a very interesting character...

Man that post was asking for it... bring it on Christians!

[Farnan]

The devil is not in Hell yet, he still has to officially rebel against God and lose at the Battle of Apoclypse. Right now God tolerates him, but I will not claim to know why. He is also not responsible for our sins, we are.

[Kythras]

The devil is not in Hell yet, he still has to officially rebel against God and lose at the Battle of Apoclypse. Right now God tolerates him, but I will not claim to know why. He is also not responsible for our sins, we are.

What if he doesn't lose? Will he be the next Messiah or something? Will he send a Satan-Jesus as the next Messiah...?

I SMELL A SITCOM!!!

[Farnan]

He'll lose...

And I think I may have got something mixed up. It may be the Beast who gets defeated at the Battle of the Apocolypse and the Devil somewhere else. I got to check up on that when I can find my Bible.

[Real.]

Dear Friends,

As our good friend Albert Einstein once said, “evil is the absence of God”. Well, I say the absence of God is real, and since God is absent all the time (in other words, he doesn’t exist, in my opinion), the (D)evil takes over.
The Devil is an idea, a metaphor, not a living being. It is a word for the dark side there is in Humans. Like God, he is present in all of us. And God, like the Devil, is a word we use for the light side there is in us.
Ever seen Star Wars? Same idea.

Forever ashamed of the Human society,
Real

PS: Yes, I’m an atheist.

[Mig el Pig]

The devil is not in Hell yet, he still has to officially rebel against God and lose at the Battle of Apoclypse. Right now God tolerates him, but I will not claim to know why. He is also not responsible for our sins, we are.

Wasn't satan already kicked out of heaven before he tempted eve?

[Dunecat]

Dear Friends,

As our good friend Albert Einstein once said, “evil is the absence of God”. Well, I say the absence of God is real, and since God is absent all the time (in other words, he doesn’t exist, in my opinion), the (D)evil takes over.
The Devil is an idea, a metaphor, not a living being. It is a word for the dark side there is in Humans. Like God, he is present in all of us. And God, like the Devil, is a word we use for the light side there is in us.
Ever seen Star Wars? Same idea.

Forever ashamed of the Human society,
Real

PS: Yes, I’m an atheist.

So how does "the devil" not being something that is never claimed in a mainstream religion's scriptures a bad thing? I do not understand.

Honestly, I don't think the great physicist Albert Einstein was the first to conclude "Evil is the absence of God", as it was known to many to be that for several thousand years... Besides Einstein should not be quoted in a wise context, as he is just as educated in theology as most of us (relatively little).

P.S. I like the pic in your sig.

[Last Roman]

yeah, I wrote that rather late last night. Could of worded it a bit better it seems.

@BNS:
"Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them." (Exodus 18:11)


According to the bible there is more then 1 god actually.

what I think it means is that "the Lord" is the true lord, above all the "false gods," ie, the gods that people pray to that aren't really there.

[PacSubCom]

The Devil is in the Details.

[Icefrisco]

im jewish so there is no devil.

[ThiudareiksGunthigg]

Honestly, I don't think the great physicist Albert Einstein was the first to conclude "Evil is the absence of God", as it was known to many to be that for several thousand years... Besides Einstein should not be quoted in a wise context, as he is just as educated in theology as most of us (relatively little).

So it's kind of weird the way people keep citing him on religion. Especially since most of the religious quotes attributed to him are misquoted, taken out of context or plain made up.

Take that story about Einstein saying "evil is an absence of God", for example. It's an internet myth. Never happened (Einstein didn't even believe in God). People just make up stories that they want others to believe and insert "Einstein" into them as a way of giving them authority.

[HIC SVNT LEONES]

I'm a deist.