It seems that many people interpret the devil as an actual being.?

Question

But isn't the devil referred in the Bible as anything evil? Not exactly a being?

Wow, people are scary.

No no no, Satan is considered a devil. The Devil seems to be misinterpreted, have some of you even read the bible?

Answer 1

there are several interpretations of what exactly the devil is, if he/it is anything.

The first one is the fallen angel, due to pride, Lucifer fell and became satan.
- He either is in some sort of angry ex-angel or a mourning ex-angel who wishes to be back with god.

The second one is as you said, anything evil can be considered stemming from the devil (I.E. When the snake in the garden of eden gets them to eat the apples, many people say that the snake had the devil in it)

these are the majority of interpretations, but there's probably a lot more. Hope this helped!

Answer 2

"...as an actual being"

My dear, what other kind of being is there, if it is to actually be a being, other than an "actual" one.

But aside from semantics the answer is still no. The devil and demons in general are written of as "actual" creatures that have being and act in this world.

It may be easier for some in today's world to understand "demons" in a symbolic sense, but this would be stretching the words of Scripture from their obvious and straightforward meaning. When Christ argued with, commanded, and cast out demons it seems seems slightly ridiculous to imagine the Lord speaking to an imaginary and symbolic creature which was meant to personify some vague concept of "evil things in general".
Maybe I'm just old fashioned.

Answer 3

Many people look at the devil and Satan as being synonomous. Satan was once named Lucifer, the angel of light. He wanted more power, and God exiled him from Heaven. Now, he roams the earth, wreaking havoc on our consciences. We choose whether to listen to him or not. You're correct, the "devil" is really just another way of describing evil, which is why we so often use it interchangably (sp) with Satan.

Answer 4

Wrong. The devil, "Satan," the great deceiver is the fallen angel previously called Lucifer. His pride drove him to want to take God's place.

he is very much active in the world today.

Answer 5

The Devil AKA Satan, old dragon, Lucifer, Son of the Sun, Father of lies, Father of murder, Death, He that coverath, Son of perdition, Lord of the Earth.

all the above is the same REAL being.

Answer 6

Remember that the Bible talks about God creating the angels, with Lucifer being the most beautiful, and powerful of all the angels. He began to think of himself as being as powerful and omnipotent as God. God drove him from heaven, along with a 1/3 of the angels, who followed Lucifer. It's interesting to note that Lucifer means music. If you listen to a lot of the music today, with the gangster rap, etc. It certainly makes sense. Believe me Satan as his name was changed to, along with a number of other names is quite real.

Answer 7

The devil, or Satan, is real. He's very cunning and deceptive and you don't even have to believe he exists to be duped by him.

Answer 8

No, he was an angel that was kicked out of heaven.
We believe that he can influence you but you have the decision to be evil or not evil.

Answer 9

People can believe what they want, but that is the only big thing I feel bad for believers about. I can't imagine living my life believing this awful character was real! Yikes.

Answer 10

Yes. And God is also referred to as Love, the Word, etc;