Explain the concept of Satan & witches to me?

Question

-Does he have power? If so, what kind? And if he does exert his power through people does that mean ppl are not responsible for their actions?
-Doesn't it seem more like a convience that all sins equal the same except the number one commandment?
-Salem Witch Trails: Were most of the evidence just circumstantial? If the Bible says there is a such thing as witches, does that mean that people can actually have powers?

My family had a big argument over it. :P

What's with the thumbs down? Are these dumb questions? I'm just trying to find information. Sorry if I offended weak-minded people...

Answer 1

A lot of your questions can be answered by going to either www.wikipedia.com, or any number of other sites.

Just type in what you are looking for.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Answer 2

"-Does he have power? If so, what kind? And if he does exert his power through people does that mean ppl are not responsible for their actions?"

One would think so. After all, if someone's will gets overridden by an outside force, then the responsability for action goes away, doesn't it?

"-Doesn't it seem more like a convience that all sins equal the same except the number one commandment?"

It is rather remarkable that according to the Chriwstian faith, ALL sins get the same etarnal punishment. Whether it's admiring a pretty girl or committing genocide, the violators get the same punishment. Some justice...

"-Salem Witch Trails: Were most of the evidence just circumstantial?"

The "evidence" wasn't even that strong. People were pointed at and accused, then went straight to trial ans sentencing. 20 people died and many others were victimized.

"If the Bible says there is a such thing as witches, does that mean that people can actually have powers?"

I have yet to run into anyone of any religion that possesses any "powers".

Answer 3

I don't believe in Satan. I think that if you believe in Satan then you can only let him have the power. He can only get to you if you let him. I think that a sin is a sin no matter what. The ten commandments mostly came from Egypt. The Book of the Dead was written long before the ten commandments and almost everyone of the commandments are in the negative confessions in the Book of the Dead. Moses would have known that being as he grew up in Egypt and was a prince. His family would have had a Book of the Dead to protect them. As far as witches if someone said that a person was a witch and said that they saw them do something then it was off to be tortured, which they called a trial, and then burned. Some town were burned instead of the actual "witches" and the council would say that God would save the ones that weren't witches. God didn't and the towns burned down with innocent people in them. Words are magic. You can say how you feel today will be an awful day and then it is. If you start your day out positive then it will go alot better.

Senebty

Answer 4

Satan has the power to try to persuade us that there is no God. He does this by pointing out to us how great temporal things are--like money and personal glory, e.g. We do have the choice to believe him and come to love what he persuades us is lovable or else rebuke him in Christ's name. So, no, it doesn't mean that people aren't responsible, since we have the choice to follow the world or accept salvation.

No, it is not convenient that all sins are equal except for the first commandment. If you do not love the Lord, the one God, as the only authority, following the rest of the laws is just going through some motions for no purpose. If you follow with no love and humility in your heart, you are just acting a certain way for some other motive.

As for the Salem witch trials, I reckon that a lot of the evidence was circumstantial.

People can have some powers, as far as I know. Some powers are gifts from God; others are "gifts" from the devil. Practicing the dark arts invites the dark lord. Why is this bad? Because when people begin thinking they are powerful on their own merits, they become their own god, in a way, and they (inadvertently or otherwise) persuade others to put their faith in the powers of darkness.

Answer 5

For your question:

1) Satan was once a Cheribim (how is spelled?), and the highest one at that. He wasn't an angel; there many creation catagories in heaven as on earth. He still has the power given to him and can exert it through people, but only if they let him willingly, and that means they are responsible for their actions.

2) The number 1 law is the most important but is equaled with the other sins, when facing the Divine Code of Justice.

3) There are people that are witches but god said to stay away from that life style because you open yourself to demonic influence. The Salem Witch Trial according to the Divine Code of Justice was infact illegal to start with and the British had full rights to stop the murders they way they did and cut down the infamouse tree.

Answer 6

Does Satan have power? Yup but it is over rated. Satan is about even with Gabriel the Arch Angel at best. People seem to think he is even in power with GOD. Now to a Christian Satan can do no more then to jump up and down and call us names. Even if somehow he manages to coax someone into killing our body then we are free to enjoy life everlasting. People have free will . Even the spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets. (Watch TBN and see this in action) So no one can do anything outside of GODs permission.
To answer the Sins are the same question.. Yeah that's How I see it.. Sin is Sin is Sin.

Salem Witch trials. I don't know enough about it to really comment. I do not think that people should ever judge sins against GOD. We are blessed to have the option to forgive sins against us. I have enough trouble with that. GOD can judge witches just fine.
Do witches have power? Some do. Some don't. Some are just rebellious Christians who want to offend their parents. I would think the word "witch" is a bit broad to explain.

Answer 7

The Bible huh? Have you actually read it. It seems most of the crazy xtians have never read the whole bible..if they did they'd see how violent and unchristian it really is.
I consider myself to be a witch, I practice shamanic Wicca and have done so since the mid 1980's. Since then, I have been the most happiest of my life. Wicca is a about harmony, peace and balance, in my opinion. We see life in everything, not just people and animals but ALL that is the earth, the Air, Fire, Water and Spirit who is Representative of all.
We all have powers but many who think they don't, don't because they don't acknowledge their own powers. The most famous well known people in the world often secretly use these powers to be where they are, sometimes even pretending to be bible wielding xtians which they are not.
The devil is part of the Christan belief system and we witches do not believe or acknowledge him.....in other words the devil is a christian!

Answer 8

Satan is a Christian concept, and a symbol of all that is evil. Satan has nothing to do with witchcraft, except in the minds of some Christian fundamentalists.

And most of the modern re-translations of the bible have lost the original intent of the word in the original scripture. The original phrase was "suffer not a poisoner" or "suffer not a oath-betrayer", referring to someone who was a healer or herbalist but had betrayed their healing oath and deliberately poisoned people. This concept morphed into any herbalist, which then encompassed those practiced herbal medicine as part of other spiritual tradtions, including witchcraft.

Under most Christian models, Satan has only the powers of deception and seduction, basically offering people things and tricking them to get what he wants. Because people have free will, they can fall prey to Satan's games, and thus commit sin. One such sin is using your professional knowledge to hurt others for your personal gain, which brings us back to the poisoners.

Answer 9

Witches and Satan are two seperate things. Satan is a Christian concept, while Witches belong to Paganism, or Witchcraft, of myself I am part of. Witches do not believe in the Devil. We are nature loving and believe in the power of Mother Nature and multiple Gods and Goddesses

Answer 10

Satan used to be one of God's most glorious angels, but his pride caused him to turn against God and he was cast out along with a third of the angels in heaven. Satan only has power if you let him. He can only influence and destroy your life if you let him. Many people watch too many movies and think Satan can overpower and possess you by force, but that isn't the case. He can use people, but only because those people may have let themselves be an instrument for him. Those people that know what they are doing are definitely responsible.

Witches do exist, even though I know little about them. Most of what I've seen shows that the "power" of these witches is not their own, but Satan's power.

Answer 11

heh

First of all you need to move into relaxing debate mode and not rebellious teenager mode. *wink* feel free to use that statement anytime you wish

The concept of Satan is like the boogeyman. He was constructed and idealized to be the ultimate scare tactic for those that did not follow suit. Satana is actually a female goddess of justice in the old Middle East before the idea of a single god. Lucifer was also a pantheonic god. He was called the morning star in old Stregan or Etruscan Italy...the part of Italy that gave a lot of resistance when Christianity first began to spread. (Arianrhod was said to be the daughter of Lucifer and Diana, however she was just a mortal-simular to Jesus Christ's origins. in an attempt to protect her people from the murders she was beginning to see in the middle of the night she executed as many nobles and officers leading the "war against her people" as she could by way of a knife in the back and poison...it was deemed against the rules of warfare and because it was lead by a woman thought of as doomed to fail...this is the majority of the resistance the pagans of that area produced and as such sealed her peoples fate) Lucifer was called the morning star (sunrise), because his consort, Diana was the evening star (the moon). Lucifer was responsible for inspiring people to hope and relief when the next morning arrived. The two were combined, Lucifer and Satana, and evil-if-fied because of the concepts there to spread fear. And spreading fear by mental, emotional, and physical terror always works. Now that that is out in the open and understood, let's move on.

According to the Christian scholars, this new Satan works for God like a tempter. Sure sure, he started a war and blah blah blah, but in a way to finalize this war....(kinda' like a bet) one has to have power over the other...in this case souls. "I bet I can have more souls than you"..."You're on, but I have a few stipulations..." According to the conceptualized agreement, Satan works for god like a secret service KGB guy. Call it Homeland Security for Heaven.

Many people on earth do not realize this agreement and continue to claim things like "The Devil made me do it" when they can not come up with a viable reason as to why they broke the law. It is a convenient excuse, that everyone is guilty of in one form or another.

Now on the the Salem Witch Trials....
The fever of Witch burning had gone out of style in Europe, but in small town America where the Puritans and shall I dare say real world right wing conservative fundamental Christians existed, the idea seemed like the only way to protect themselves from the forces of Satan. Anyone at anytime, could be called a witch for doing something as silly as having a doll found in their homes...or disagreeing with the popular beliefs of the community. The judicial and legislative and executive groups in the small town of Salem (granted none existed by way of the American Constitution yet, but did exist in a form of the English crown) found it more sustainable to protect the souls of their flock than actually discerning what was truth. There was greed and powerhungry mongers mixed in with the righteous all over the place. But in many instances the greedy were seen as the same as the righteous and caused a confusing line of what was real. What it all boils down to is the play "The Crucible" where one woman, depicted as a young girl felt dejected by a man and created a fantasy world in the envious hopes the object of her desire would eventually come to her. There were other scientific phenomena moving across the land that had to deal with hygenics and processing of food that added to the mass hysteria in the form of a wheat fungus that when ingested infects the person eating the wheat to become ill and the persons of that era assumed it was not sickness but a devil's possession.

There are such things as witches. I am one. It is a tolerated religion and philosophical idea in the world to worship or exist in a totally alien form views of a monothiestic version. Todays witches can be found in every form of job possessed about the world. More than likely you know one and have no bad will towards that person and vice versa.

Witches do practice witchcraft, but let's be honest. magic and spells are the same as faith and prayer when it all boils down to base elements. The only thing that is different is the idea that some practicioners of both sides are stubborn and unable to relinquish the ideas they were taught when they were young. All problems regarding religion and philosophy stems around ignorance...and if ignorance is overcome then the next hurdle is mental stubbornness.