Why is it easier to believe there is a Devil than there is a God?

Question

More and more people today believe there is a devil, yet refuse to believe in a good higher power.

Why do you think that is? I know, I am bracing myself for the angry, ignorant responses, but am looking forward to the thought out ones.

Actually, not even thinking about Wiccans, Satanists, or other such sort.

The above detail regarding to Wiccans, and Satanists, and other such sort was in response to Katie T's answer. I did not have a "religious" group in mind when I posted this question.

Answer 1

In ancient Jewish tradition Satan is simply an angel doing the work that God assigned to Satan to do.

The word Satan means challenger. With the idea of Satan challenging us, or tempting if you will. This description sees Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. This idea of Satan works closely with God as an integral part of Gods plan for us. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it becomes clear to us that there can be only one meaningful or logical choice.

Contrast this to Christianity, which sees Satan as God's opponent. In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be considered polytheistic or setting up the devil to be an equally powerful polarity to god or a demigod.

Oddly, proof for The Christian satan/devil mythology is supposedly found in the ancient Jewish texts that were borrowed to create the bible. One can’t help but wonder how Christians came up with such a fantastically different interpretation of Gods assistant Satan in their theology.

Other hints about Satan’s role in human relations can be seen if you look at the name Lucifer. It’s meaning in the original tongue translates as Light bearer or light bringer. Essentially the bringer of enlightenment. The temptations of the Satan idea bring all of us eventually into Gods light. Hardly the Evil entity of Christian mythology.

Love and blessings
don

Answer 2

I am probably going to be seen negatively here but if you are referring to satanists with this question then i want you to know they don't believe in the devil either. They believe that they themselves are a god and that Satan is just a mere idea of something to emulate. And wiccans do not believe the devil exsists at all. Only one religion believes in the devil and that is christians, because like someone said earlier lucifer is an angel according to the jews.

As for angry ignorant responses, the most ignorant comments i've ever gotten come from christians who apparently never read there bibles or studied other religions and beliefs outside of what there pastor tells them to believe.

Answer 3

Well, in response to your addittional details, Wiccans don't believe in Satan and neither do real ,practicing Satanists, so you showed a bit of your own ignorance in your question. In respose to the actual question, it is much easier to visualize an evil force in a world where there is so much evil to begin with. I think that, if there was a good higher power, then he doesn't show his face enough for people to believe in him. The Bible is full of holes and plaguerism from other religions, and the precious few non-biblical sources listed that Christians desperatley latch on to as proof of the Christ were written years after Christ supposedly died. The extremeist Muslims give a bad name to the entire religion and to religion in general, so Allah is no one's idea of a peaceful higher power at this point, Buddhism is godless, and the other, pagan religions include waring and angry gods, so I suppose that the Gods of the major religions are faceless and the devil shows up a lot in our society, making it easy to believe in the concept.

Answer 4

Great question, people just refuse to believe in heaven and that God is the real thing. I'm not sure that more believe in the devil, but they keep trying to prove that God doesn't exist. For some its easier to blame the devil for their faults, when all they have to do is believe in God.

Answer 5

Actually, I think that is a Christian and Muslim point of view.

Not being either of them, I am not trapped in the thought that there is a "Devil." What would you say to someone who believes in a higher power but not an opposing force to it?

I think overall it's just an observation of what others do. People who follow Satan are just as gullible as people who follow Jesus. They both follow to recieve answers and rewards.

Answer 6

Satan is the father of lies, he tricks us into believing whatever we want to believe. The people on this earth tend to yearn towards sin. wanting to be disobedient, waiting to break the law...etc. The devil wants us to believe that it doesn't matter what we do, its not going to change anything. And for some odd reason, the world follows and believes what Satan is saying. I don't, i hate the devil, But i love the Lord my God, and he will defeat Satan, when the time comes.

Answer 7

because of the fact the evidence of evil shows us that malevolence is alive and existent. Believers and non-believers use that evidence that the two there's no God, or that if He exits, he's an absentee Father. difficulty is, no one needs to admit that unfastened will is why evil exists. And that God does not subvert unfastened will because of the fact it extremely is a present. without unfastened will, no stable might ever be show up. No stable is a lot worse than no undesirable. No stable, by default, IS undesirable!

Answer 8

Check your premises:

why do you say more and more people believe there is a devil? Could you perhaps be referring to other religions, whom the church accused years ago to be devil worshippers!?

What an ancient thought! As old as the Spanish Conquistadors, destroying and demonifying old cultures and religions so that they can replace it with their Christianity.

Answer 9

Because we all want freedom and to do what we want without consequence. Most people believe the devil gives them that...but my personal opinion is if you don't believe in God don't believe in the Devil, it doesn't make sense.

Answer 10

i would like to see a link to support this. If that is the case it is probably because religion has become a crusade to FEAR people into believing. in other words, people are assaulted with the possibility of hell a LOT more often than they are told about the reward of heaven.