is there a literal devil?

Question

i am a christian but the bible gives no proof of a literal devil. The bibilical satan is more of an adversery and not a fallen angel. christians have misundersood isaiah 14 which mentions about the morning star that fell from heaven. This speaks about the king of babylon and not of a fallen angel
am i right?

Answer 1

Of course. I don't believe him to be evil though. Just another god who's duty is to test humans on their journey of life.

Answer 2

In Isaiah 14: 12 is states How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
The New Testament is filled with the word Devil. Read your bible with a prayerful heart for understanding to find out for yourself if you are truly a Christian like you claim to be. Don't listen to the whisperings of the Devil anymore as he is the one putting this idea in your head.

Answer 3

There are a number of schools of thought on the idea. Most conservative branches of Christianity do indeed beleive in a literal devil. Some make a distinction between Lucifer and Satan, suggesting two seperate characters in the story. While many traditionally claim that the snake in the Garden of Eden was in fact the devil, there is nothing that indicates this.

There is no consensus in North America about the nature of Satan. A 2002-AUG poll by Barna Research showed that:

Most American adults (59%) consider that Satan is simply a symbol or concept or principle of evil, not an actual personality. Three in four Roman Catholics believe this; 55% of Protestants agree.
A minority of adults (34%) believe Satan to be a living being. 1

Some of the concepts that people hold about the devil are:

Most conservative Christian churches teach beliefs that are grounded in the 1st century CE - that Satan is a profoundly evil, fallen angel who is totally dedicated to the destruction of everyone's lives. He is a supernatural being who "walketh about, seeking whom he may devour," and is aided by countless demons. He and his demons are all pervasive. They engage in world-wide "spiritual warfare," and are a continual threat to all. They can dwell within people, as in demon possession.

Liberal Christian churches tend to view Satan as a principle or concept of evil, without any physical existence or personality. They acknowledge that Jesus and his disciples believed in the presence of a living entity called Satan. They realize that the gospel writers wrote of exorcisms which drove indwelling demons from within people. But they attribute these beliefs to the pre-scientific level of knowledge at the time.

Archaeologists and anthropologists, religious historians and other researchers have traced the development of the concept of Satan from its origin in the Zoroastrian religion, via the ancient Babylonian Empire, to ancient Judaism, and finally into Christianity.

Most present-day Satanists belong to religious groups such as the Church of Satan or the Temple of Set. Most of the former are Agnostics; they do not believe in Satan as a living entity or as a God; they view Satan as a basic force or principle of nature. Members of the Temple of Set recognize the ancient Egyptian god Set as a deity. Both groups' beliefs of Satan have little in common with Christian beliefs.

I suggest here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_sat4.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_sat2.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_sat5.htm

My opinion? No. I believe that "the devil" is just another scare tactic to spook believers and try to explain why bad things happen. "The devil made me do it" was a common excuse when I was a kid...though not so much now.

Answer 4

Of course there is. I am a Christian, and I'll be honest, sometimes I have my doubts too. People say they need proof in order to believe in what we believe in, but part of our religion is walking by faith, not sight. Satan used to be the Lord's best and most high angel. All of this is explained in the Bible. All you need to do is look! That's why our faith is so amazing. Especially all the prophesies about the Messiah. People say they need proof, but what they don't realize is that the truth is everywhere. As for the people who say they don't see any proof of evil in this world, all they need to do is take a look in the mirror.

Answer 5

Proof of Satan’s Existence

Look around. Got any ideas where all the bad stuff is coming from? Sociologists suggest that people’s backgrounds and living conditions are to blame for some of it. Psychologists suggest that it could be in the mind. Physicians and health professionals might suggest that its in the way we feel. Then there's the Politicians who want to blame the economy…created by the other political party.

The logic behind all these suggestions is that man, somehow, is the culprit to all his troubles. But that creates a problem for evolutionists who teach that everything has evolved into a perfect order of nature that functions without error. If that is true, what went wrong with this perfectly evolved, intelligent animal we call man? The rest of nature seems to be working the way it should…so why isn’t man doing his part?

How has intelligent man allowed society to get in the shape it’s in? Why do people harm and kill each other? Who invented evil? Which one of the perfectly evolved human beings do we blame for all this?

Somebody had to come up with the idea for man to turn out so bad. Scientific reasoning has no idea where evil comes from…for if it did, it could find a cure. The reality of the situation is…there is an evil demon which the Bible refers to as satan or the devil. The tragedies of human experience confirm his existence. No other logic can satisfy the origin of evil.

Another proof of satan’s existence is the Bible itself where from cover to cover it reveals the existence of the devil. The simple explanation that the Bible gives for all man’s troubles is that the devil is behind it all in an effort to kill, steal and destroy the human soul. In light of everything that is taking place this revelation makes much more sense than what human logic has come up with. And yes, unlike science, the Bible has a solution to all of man’s troubles.

Several titles are used in the Bible to describe this evil spirit. Abaddon and Apollyon are Hebrew and Greek terms that mean "he destroyed". They pretty well describe the tragic intentions the devil has for the human race.

Accuser and Adversary are other titles that describe his methods, as do Murderer, Tempter and Father of Lies. Satan is further described to be the Prince of devils, Ruler of darkness, Unclean Spirit, and the Wicked One. Each of these titles defines his intrusion upon the human family…an intrusion we could certainly live without but are destined to live with.

One title, Lucifer, so commonly used for the devil, is in error. The Bible never referred to the devil as Lucifer, which has created a great deal of confusion. We’ll deal with this in more detail later.

Of all the titles, the two are most commonly used are satan and the devil.

Where did Satan come from?

There is a great deal of controversy on this topic in religious circles even though the Bible is very clear on the subject. It’s all really simple to explain…yet one would have to ask why people are so concerned with where the devil comes from that they make some big theological issue about it? Isn’t the fact that satan exists more important, and to know how to defeat him more urgent, than to prove a theological point?

But to clarify it all here’s what the theologians argue…and then we’ll see what the Bible teaches.

A popular Theological teaching



Some theologians argue that the devil is a creation of God, that he was an angel who at one time lived in heaven with God.

Supposedly, this created angel became jealous of God and determined to overthrow Him. The angel solicited an army of other angels who went to war with God to overthrow His kingdom. God prevailed, however, to conquer the evil angel and his army. As punishment for this rebellion God kicked the evil angel and his army out of heaven…sending them to the planet, earth, where the devil has been given power as the "Prince of this World".

That is the theological theory based on the following scripture references: John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16-17, John 8:44, Jude 6, II Peter 2:4, I Timothy 3:6, Isaiah 14:12-22, Luke 10:18, Revelation 12:7-9.

Answer 6

I don't believe so but there are many who do.

Edited to add: there is a part in the Bible about Satan tempting Jesus, so I guess that would make Satan a literal being.

Answer 7

Very bright . Clear thinking also.
no the term devil is from a different religion.and was taken by the christian to include Satans helpers in Hell. After all God has HIS Angeles why shouldn't Satan have his helpers also.

Answer 8

Jesus said there was a literal devil. That ought to be good enough for you.
He said, "The devil is the father of all lies" for example
He said, Satan "was a murderer from the beginning."

Many other statements about satan were given by Christ...please learn the Bible so you are not so easily deceved!

Answer 9

I do not know exactly what you are talking about, but I do know that shortly after it was first formed, the church needed an adversary to bring in converts and lo and behold we have the witch burnings and the inquisition and hell(which by the way was not the original scripture).

Answer 10

There is also a scripture that refers to "the accuser" whispering in God's ear. When Jesus is in the desert, He (Jesus) is tempted. That would lead me to believe the devil is literal. If you read that scripture you could think of the devil as the one who makes you doubt that you're good enough.

Great question. Keep wrestling with this stuff.

Answer 11

Oh sure there is a devil and he is in hell dancing around the people who are burning forever. However, if you join a church and give them generous weekly donations, then you won't have to worry about any of this.

Here is what the Baptist church says about the devil (attached).