Were made up by priests long ago as a way to control people and get them to handover their cash?
2007-01-05 01:47:01 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Christians didn't actually invent the devil or hell. The former is a combination of the Greek god Pan and the Jewish concept of 'sa-tan', which means adversary. The latter is particularly gruesome version of Hades.
The Greeks and Jews were both riffing on older traditions as well.
But all of that certainly didn't stop the church from using these ideas to suit their own purposes. Lest anyone disagree, there was the old practice of selling 'indulgences.' That was just one of the more obvious uses.
2007-01-05 02:13:24 · answer #1 · answered by The angels have the phone box. 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. That shows an ignorance of history. If the devil and hell are made up, they are more likely to have been made up by the ignorant masses, not the clergy. You are also uninformed about Medieval economics. Under feudal governments, everything belonged to the nobility, and goods (including cash) were allotted by the will of the elite. If priests wanted money, the best way to get it was to cozy up to the aristocracy, not to extract it from people who had no cash to hand over in the first place.
Where Medieval doctrines were used for manipulation, it was usually for the manipulation of the Aristocracy. For example - when Charlemagne rejected the 7th Ecumenical Synod so that he declare the Empress Irene's reign illigitimate and have himself declared Emperor of the Romans, or when the Pope excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople so that the Byzantines could not justify political intervention in Western Europe.
2007-01-05 09:59:29 · answer #2 · answered by NONAME 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'm a Christian and do NOT believe in "hell". "Hell" was invented by the early Egyptians and later, the toxic doctrine was picked up by the Greeks and promoted within the Greek culture to control the masses, who were beginning to get out of hand. Is there a "Devil" ... that is quite another story. Yes; there is because you can not explain a lot of the evil which goes on in this world. Why is this world slowly dieing and on the road to chaos ... weather, global warming, disease pandemics, nuclear arm build-ups, economic woes, pollution, debts in the trillions of dollars ... we are in trouble - BIG time ! If there is no God to step in and save His creation, we have had it !!! Now; I ask you, "Is there a Devil" ? !!!
2007-01-05 09:58:01 · answer #3 · answered by guraqt2me 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is, in fact many things were made up for Priest to get cash and sexual favors. Christians have always been one of the most hypocritical religions. I am a Christian and it bothers me that there are so many Christian hypocrites. However Satan was written about before the time of Priests and nobody got money for writing about it. So I personally don't believe it is.
2007-01-05 09:50:25 · answer #4 · answered by Blaize Pennington 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Wow! U have obviously NOT had any experience with anything to do with the ocult. Thank God! because I CAN assure u it is all real! Just like in a day to day basis life has it's goods and bads. Look at the news and look around u and tell me that their isn't any Devil! It's just obvious that there is something more that makes a plain old human act as evil and twisted as one can. I can go on and on about this subject but I disagree with your comment. GOD is real and so is the devil. It's our own choice which one to follow, there is no in between, if u choose neither then u chose wrong!
2007-01-05 09:53:32 · answer #5 · answered by timeless_memories_zeli 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋
No. If you have FAITH, it is not possible that Hell is not a real place. It is very real and a very serious matter. I believe what the Bible says - every single word of it. Who are we to question the Word of God?
I fear that those without Faith will find themselves in such an awful place as Hell after Jesus returns to the earth to save his believers.
2007-01-05 10:14:34 · answer #6 · answered by LG 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Absolutely, groovy Horta message person with a good head on your shoulders. A++
2007-01-05 09:56:45 · answer #7 · answered by naughtypiraterachel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Remember Moses saw, and spoke to a
burning bush. He stood on Holy Ground, and
God knew his name. When he asked God what name
he should tell the people, who sent him.
God said, " I AM ".
Reading the Bible would really help you.
King James version.
2007-01-05 10:09:52 · answer #8 · answered by elliebear 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Muuhaha arh aaaa. Puny Human. You make me laugh. Your stupidity is not even worth a simple question.
2007-01-05 09:53:19 · answer #9 · answered by Tha Most Shady 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Is it possible that Charles Darwin wanted to make lots of cash from writing novels such as Origin Of Species?
2007-01-05 09:48:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 4⤋