devil in the church?

Question

the devil is said to wisper in the hearts of all pulling them away from god. how do you know the devil does not influance the church and how do you know the devil did not influance the bible. i hear god calling to me and he is down a different path than most (but not all) christains

too many people follow a human leader. even leaders my be led astray
the lord asks for faith not blind faith

i live my life by simple rule
1 to be happy more than sad
2 to leave this world better that when i came
3 i dont force my opinion on others i only state it and ask that you ponder it
this is how i try to live my life i point out ignorance and hipocrites and if you see the same in me i wish you will do the same

Answer 1

You are a very good man for realizing that your love should be for Jesus Christ and his father our Lord and God and not the church you attend. Organized religion is a way for God's children to gather together to hear his word and praise him together. All to often though it is filled with those who's feet do not walk the same path that their lips tell us ours should. It is better in my opinion to be far more spiritual in my relationship with God than religious. Religions can be twisted and warped to evil ends your relationship with our Lord cannot.

Answer 2

the church is NOT God or Jesus Christ. It is man made. That's how the devil can infiltrate it. You hear God calling to you and HE is down a different path? What does that mean?

i live my life by simple rule
1 to be happy more than sad
2 to leave this world better that when i came
3 i dont force my opinion on others i only state it and ask that you ponder it
this is how i try to live my life i point out ignorance and hipocrites and if you see the same in me i wish you will do the same


So what does that mean? Does it mean anything? 1 is to be happy more than sad. How do you achieve this? 2 is to leave this world better than when you came. How have you done this? 3. Stating your opinion and asking others to ponder it, is forcing it on others, in a way. How is that a rule to live by?

What's your question again?

Answer 3

I don't believe that there's a devil, but you're right people are often lead astray and no one should have blind faith.

Everyone has weaknesses and shortcomings so if a person belongs to an organized religion they need to keep in mind that their leaders are flawed the way anyone can be flawed. I'd hope most reasonable people keep that in mind but sadly it isn't the case.

The same goes with the bible. It has some valuble teachings and some inspirational stories but it was written by men and often by men with a hidden agenda. So it has to be taken with a grain of salt and not to be taken literally. It was also written during a different time period than ours so many of the beliefs are archaic and down-right barbaric.

It's good that you don't follow blindly...people should listen to their hearts more and not to the voices of people who are only trying to further their own agendas. On the other hand just because you may not agree with another's beliefs doesn't mean that they're wrong or being led by evil. The important thing besides listening to the true voice of God is to listen to eachother with open and honest dialogue.

Answer 4

The devil isn't in the church. There may be people going to church that do not fully understand the word of God, but at least they are going to church. God isn't spelled with a lower case g unless you are referring to a false god. If your god is in the direction most Christians are not heading, then I suggest you check your bearings and turn around unless of course you are trying to follow the path of Satan which is not a good idea. The Lord asks for your faith and if you question Him you are free to do so as it makes a stronger person in your path toward God. You will never understand all there is to know about God as it is impossible but nothing is stopping you from learning as much as you can about God.

Answer 5

I think that your concerns are very valid and real. However I also think that if you are in that place where communing with our Lord gives you peace and comfort without hesitation, then you are speaking with Him. But keep your guard up. The bible does tell us that the Devil is everywhere and will come at you in a time of weakness. Just be aware and ask God for His help and protection. Like another has said here, it does work. There is a hymn (sorry dont recall the title) that talks about you putting on Gods armour (shield, helm, sword, etc) for a battle to come. It might help to visualise this. Fighting Gods fight is scary as at times, but He is always there with you.

Answer 6

Here is the secret...

If your life is completely submitted to God 100%, there will be very little chance that you will be led astray by anything. When your pastor or leader teaches something that is not according to His Word, your spirit will sense it.

If your life is not completely submitted to God 100%, that leaves room for the devil to creep into your life. That also leaves room for many misjudgments in your life -- you won't be able to tell what is of God or what is of the Devil all the time. You can be led astray by Satan and his demons more easily.

Satan does in fact target churches. His goal is to bring them down and scatter the true believers in it. This causes true believers to become uncertain, doubtful, confused, distraught, etc... Which can lead to disbelief and ultimately backsliding and walking away from the Faith.

When this occcurs, Satan has accomplished his intended goal.

Answer 7

I hear ya...I have a good and close relationship with god but not with organized religion. Your on the right track but don't let it persude you into not believing. The only person who will lose is you. I'm glad there are more people like you useing their brains.I assume your young and if you are then your very smart.I'm older and never would go into a church do to I didn't like any human trying to tell me how to behave. So I missed many years without god in my life. As for the devil well I believe in evil but thats it.

Answer 8

i'd like to hear more about your path before I answer this, but here goes
Yes of course Satan has influence over everyone if we let him - priests, pastors included. (I've experienced this 1st hand in just the last 3 months)
I don't follow any human leader (I follow Christ)
most of the Christians I know do so as well

so fair enough - the main stream religions are in serious trouble right now. Most are allowing themselves to focus on their docterine and arguing over who is right and who is wrong....... I believe Satan has orchestrated this distraction within the church (that and pride and free will) in order to cause havoc (would he do anything else?)
there are huge debates over the sanctity of marriage, the sovereignty of God, abortion, sanctity of life, etc etc
these things and more (pride, selfishness, stubborness, avarice, self righteousness etc etc) are forcing the organized church into a tail spin. And Satan is enjoying every minute of it..... he will never stop either.
Important to remember though is that the Lord is in charge. the full armour of God is not just scripture - it's real - pray it every morning for yourself and you'll notice a difference immediately.
and pray it over your pastor and church leaders too. I sure can't hurt.

Answer 9

Brick wall's don't stop the Devil.
JESUS is the ONLY ONE WHO could say that the Devil has Nothing in me.
If you will Keep your Eye's on JESUS(The Word of GOD) and ask The FATHER in JESUS's NAME to keep you out of All Deception, HE Will.
Do it Every Day. That's how I got this far. That's how I learned not to Follow a Man (male,female) but to Follow JESUS by Reading the BIBLE and Praying.
GOD's up there, and HE is not Decieved.
Were down here amongst the Devil's, Sin, Curse etc.
HE will Lead and Guide you Everyday if you ask.
Hope this helps.
If you see a Bro. or Sis. in Christ do Good, Pray for them. If you see a Bro. or Sis. in Christ do Bad, Pray for them.
Ditto.....................

Answer 10

I;m not getting preachy here, just going to rely what I know to be true of my church.

That is why it is important to pick a church and learn their doctrine, know what they believe and why. And why they believe what they believe.

Our church, for example uses only the Bible as it's authority. Now you may not agree with that and that is fine, but my point is we stick to one source of information.

Pastors in our church must be well-educated as opposed to just feeling some call. They must have a bachelors degree, then a 135 unit masters degree and must have a working knowledge of Hebrew and Greek so that they can work from the original texts of the Bible.

Yes, people can be led astray if they are not familiar with what their church teaches and believes.