Is the devil really a bad guy?

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by TwirlinMerlin, Oct 20, 2016.

  1. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    When I was a kid and was told about Jesus having a chat with the devil in the desert, I took that as a lesson that you should confront evil and not be afraid of it. Engage evil in conversation, hear the devil's side of the story and decide for yourself.

    Talk to anyone suffering from paranoid delusions and you'll see where fear of evil gets you.

    Your lack of knowledge concerning Christianity's appropriation of other religions has already been addressed, so I'll leave that point. Suffice to say that religion is a business of evolution, not revelation.

    I like the Hasidic view of satan being an agent of God sent to test people.

    The Old Testament god was very different from the New Testament God. It reminds me of the kind of friend you had in school or college who was really wild, then you meet up with them years later and they've got a family, got a sensible job and given up drinking. Part of you is happy that they've matured, but part of you is disappointed that they've betrayed their old values.
     
  2. Tom bayley

    Tom bayley Valued Member

    whatever the nature of the devil it is true that he has all the best tunes and most of the best lines.

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4bF_quwNtw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4bF_quwNtw[/ame]
     
  3. Knee Rider

    Knee Rider Valued Member Supporter

    I agree with your point but I'm not sure that video was the best illustration of it... Having watched it all the way through.
     
  4. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Is it any more moot than analyzing any other character from literature? People have been getting something out of that exercise for time immemorial, surely.
     
  5. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    opps, having seen something similar years ago, i have to admit I didnt watch it all the way through.

    I blame satan for distracting me.


    ps isnt it wierd that christians dont seem to be able to tell the difference between all the devillike charactors in the bible.

    satan, lucifer, etc are not the same charactor.
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2016
  6. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    is examining your beliefs a bad thing now?

    is unquestioning belief better somehow?
     
  7. SWC Sifu Ben

    SWC Sifu Ben I am the law

    A read through the old testament and he's pretty clearly just messing with humanity for kicks.

    My personal favourite bits of the bible are the parts where someone is by themselves, talking to a deity or demi-deity, and some guy who isn't there is recording everything firsthand.
     
  8. El Medico

    El Medico Valued Member

    Mark twain said the New Testament was about God after he "got religion".;)
     
  9. TwirlinMerlin

    TwirlinMerlin Valued Member

  10. Kframe

    Kframe Valued Member

    I have begun to believe that Lucifer and Satan are not the same thing. My PERSONAL belief is that Jesus, when he was tempted, was tempted by HIMSELF. He was being tempted by the darker parts of his nature, the darker parts of the human part of him. I think that Satan IMHO refers to the dark, hedonistic, selfish and evil parts of human nature.

    I think Lucifer was someone else entirely. I also am wondering if our(Religions) perceptions of him are a case of, "history is written by the victors."
     
  11. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    Most interestingly with regards to this conversation in the mid medieval period there was a massive integration of Hellenic ideas and motifs, both mythological and philosophical.
    Our modern concept of hell comes from this period and is very clearly influenced by Greek mythology, as is the personified devil (I mean seriously, the goat legs are a big giveaway).
    Hell of this nature is not biblically supported (indeed the Greek word Tartarus which we would understand as hell only appears once in an idiomatic usage). Indeed for hell of this nature to exist conceptually relies on another Hellenic import, the immortal soul. This is an idea straight out of Plato. Without this concept God would have to grant you eternal life in order to then have you tortured for eternity, which is pretty dark. However the new testament is very clear, God grants eternal life and his judgement is death.
     

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