The Vatican's chief exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, has claimed that Hitler and Stalin were "possessed by the Devil", arguing that you "just have to look at what they did" to be convinced of this.
Do we therefore only have to be EXTREMELY evil to be exonerated of blame for our actions? At what point do we stop being humans responsible for our own actions, and become victims of demonic possession?
2006-08-28 23:05:17 · 9 answers · asked by mdfalco71 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The whole notion of God and the Devil is such a comfort blanket. They represent elements of our complete self that we find either aspirational or objectionable. Either way it removes us from the equation. Do we have such low self esteem as a species that we cannot be held accountable for any of our actions.
Vernacular like that used by the Vatican show just how fundamentalist some heads of church still are; the submission expressed by that is chilling.
Oh and finally, do you think if the church had not had a makover and become all "touchy feely" they would be responsible for as many, if not more deaths than Hitler? Just a thought
He says Demon. I say takes one to know one!
2006-08-29 10:13:07 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Oh come now my little British Devil.....you know the answer to this. Exonerated of blame for our actions? I'm afraid not. People (and I use that term loosely here) like Hitler and Stalin will always be to blame for their actions.
Let's say for just a moment that each of these radicals were visited by the little demon. Exactly what kind of person does it take to strike such a deal with the devil ? Only someone as evil and greedy as these two could be so cutthroat as to want more and risk serving such a beast always.
But let's even say that they had no control. That the devil merely chose each to possess his body and take over. Let me assure you that the Devil is an intelligent soul....uhm.....entity. There is a reason they were chosen to become the house of the Devil's evil doings.
Actions prompt actions. Stalin was evil as a child. Read any book on him and you'll see how his most evil days were when he was young and finally was expelled from school. How many creatures such as he actually led revolts while in the seminary?? Did the devil make him do it? haha.......the devil realized he had hit the jackpot with Stalin. All he had to do was sit back and eat popcorn and watch the workings of this living beast.
If indeed the devil decided to possess Stalin........it was long after he was a lost cause anyway.
These men are not exonerated.......there is no excuse for the heartless acts each performed. And if you don't believe me........ask Mussolini.
:)
2006-08-28 23:49:31 · answer #2 · answered by Marianne not Ginger™ 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
At what point do we stop being humans responsible for our own actions, and become victims of demonic possession?
That we make decisions based on the whether or not an act is good or evil is based on what we perceive as good and evil; that is to say, - what we perceive as giving us pleasure and/or allowing us to avoid displeasure. Hitler,... Stalin,... Pol Pot,... Caligula,... Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold: I doubt that any of these individuals considered their actions anything but "good", and the actions of those who opposed them as "evil".
In his book HUMAN, ALL TOO HUMAN, Nietzsche writes:
"... The injustice of the powerful which arouses most indignation in history is not nearly as great as it seems. The inherited sense of being a higher type of creature with higher claims already makes such a man fairly cold and leaves his conscience at rest... Indeed, no cruel man is SO cruel as he whom he has misused believes; the idea of pain is not the same thing as the suffering of it. The same applies to the unjust judge, to the journalist who misleads public opinion with petty untruths. Cause and effect are in all these cases surrounded by quite different groups of thoughts and sensations; while one involuntarily presupposes that doer and sufferer think and feel the same and, in accordance with this presupposition, assesses the guilt of the one by the pain of the other."
I agree with this...
2006-08-29 06:30:07 · answer #3 · answered by Saint Christopher Walken 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
wow that is quite the coincidence that they both were high powers of the world , both possessed by the devil and at the same point in time. I think that it is very irresponsible to pass the blame onto the devil. Didn't god give mankind the power to make his/her own choices?Father Gabroele saying this is a travesty and a disgrace to the victims of the Holocaust. Yes please do look at what THEY did and be convinced that THEY did it. And if it was the devil they had the choice to not do what they did!
2006-08-28 23:23:49 · answer #4 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Is Amorth exonerating Hitler and Stalin or is he saying they gave their free-will to be possesed by the devil?
2006-08-28 23:10:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Even the possesed are still responsible for opening the door for the demons to come in.....but should not be condemned only counsled now hitler and stalin are a totally different subject.
2006-08-28 23:10:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The greatest and worst gift that God gave us was free will. So we choose evil or good.
2006-08-28 23:10:46 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
to kill one is a crime , to kill thousands is a statistic....To be exonerated of blame you should enter the realm of statistics....
and you should do it again and again and again ....and always give one reason for all your actions....never change no matter what it was......
2006-08-28 23:45:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Just as your works cannot save you, your works cannot damn you. It's not their evil works that will damn them, but their relinquishing of their will to Satan. It doesn't matter what they did. It's lack of faith.
2006-08-28 23:19:47 · answer #9 · answered by overseas and broke 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋