What about Satan was he God's plan and don't we live in his kindom?? I am christain however I don't hold back on any questions and I kinda think it seems like were God's little play toys and why would a forgiving God really place a part of himself in hell for eternity? I kinda think even Satan in the end will be forgivin any input?? And I was reserching the church of Satan and they don't even believe in God or Satan so why do christians fear reading their bible?? Should we not know the beliefs of others before we try and persuade our beliefs on them?? And what is pergurtory?? I prob spelled that wrong but oh well I don't know if it is even mentoned in the Bible?
2007-01-13 12:22:07 · 34 answers · asked by november 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Really? God knew I was going to pick my butt 2 seconds ago?
2007-01-13 12:24:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 3⤋
You've asked a lot of questions here and I can't answer all of them. But about hell--we would not want to be there with unrepented murderers, rapists, thieves, etc. That would be too much like earth. God made a plan to redemn mankind from hell, but nowhere in Bible does he say he has a plan for the redemption of Satan. Pergurtory (sp?) is not in the Bible either. Life is not a game or a "test". Life is a journey that does not end at death.I don't believe everything is predetermined, if so why would the Bible say to pray? God has changed his mind many times in the Bible when people turned to him. If you ask God for wisdom, he will give it, that's in the Bible.
2007-01-13 12:35:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Apparently, according to Christians, we have free will...according to the bible, our only free will is "God or Satan, Good or Bad, Light or Dark, etc". The Church of Satan aren't true Satanists, they are more like Atheists. If you want some true religions that worship the being Satan, look at Spiritual Satanism and Luciferianism. Not many Christians know the beliefs of others...an ignorance that they should die for because they critisize everyone but themselves...But I assume that it's because of the whole "temptation" BS thing. Purgatory is not mentioned anywhere but in Catholic mythology
2007-01-13 12:30:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you say "everything" is predetermined by God, then you are making God the author of evil, which would mean double predestination, and this is not scriptural.
Your "play toy" idea was addressed in part almost 400 years ago in the Canons of the Synod of Dort, Fifth Head of Doctrine, Rejection of Errors, Paragraph 6, for those "who teach: That the doctrine of the certainty of perseverance and of salvation from its own character and nature is a cause of indolence and is injurious to godliness, good morals, prayers, and other holy exercises, but that on the contrary it is praiseworthy to doubt.
For these show that they do not know the power of divine grace and the working of the indwelling Holy Spirit... -- meaning that free will is not something to be sought after if the only will we have would be the rejection of God.
If this is the case, then the answers to your questions would be:
- We have free will, but it doesn't matter what our decisions are -- they all lead to the same place because of our sin nature. We need a God who will predestine those that he chooses. We cannot gain access to Heaven by our own merits, or perceived ability to choose him.
- As far as whether we live in Satan's kingdom or not, I would only go as far as to say that we live in the world, and we are already guilty as charged as a result of original sin whether Satan has a large or a minimal effect on our spiritual lives.
- God is not the author of sin, and Satan's rebellion elicited his own punishment. God does not owe him or anyone salvation.
- If you think Satan will be forgiven in the end, I haven't found any scriptural references that support that assumption.
- I think you would also have a hard time backing up your assumption that Christians fear reading the Bible.
- Knowing what others believe is not a bad thing, it allows you to fine tune your own beliefs. Even slight variations in my own denomination have turned up some areas that I have really had to think about -- and I'm still unsure of as to which side of the fence I'm on!
- Purgatory, according to Catholic beliefs, is a temporary destination for those whose sins are not enough to warrant an eternity in hell, but still must be "purged" before entry into heaven. I believe it is mentioned in the book of Maccabees, which is an apocryphal book not found in the Protestant Bible.
Hope that helps.
2007-01-13 12:51:52 · answer #4 · answered by ccrider 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No God is a fair god and just God, I can tell you are a babe in christ because you would not have ask that question. No God every one a free will even satan because satan had rules to follow in the kingdom of heaven so he thought he was better than God, so God kicked him out. See satan has been on earth before the earth was made so you dont think he is a master of deciet. He know the bible better than me and you. Everybody want the easy way out jesus didnt. God said theres a wide road to hell and a narrow road to heaven. Satan is the god of this world, and God said if you are friend to this world you is an enemy to God. Of course you are God play toy cause youre his vessel his tool to work against satan and his principalitys(demons). I guess Jesus was his play toy and ours to cause he died on the cross for our sins. You suppose to fear God He is the king of all Kings and Lord of all Lords. So there is no higher power. So leave them other demons alone and just seek God he is the way and the truth and the light. And yes satan will die for eternity because he disobey God so that make him not a part of God. Have faith in God!
2007-01-13 12:51:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Everything is not predetermined by God,and we do have free will.Satan was a fallen angel of God but is an enemy God and humanity and will do whatever he can to create problems.Satan's kingdom is in Hell;we,at least for a while,are on the earth,which is between Heaven and Hell.God puts people on this earth for various reasons;God is forgiving but He is also a vengeful God.As far as Satan's being forgiven,it would be very unlikely.Christians fear reading the bible of the church of Satan due mainly to the idea that it may raise questions about the teachings of the Bible.Not only should we know but also understand the beliefs of others,as opposed to trying to force our beliefs upon them.Purgatory is the waiting room for souls that have recently departed the earth and are awaitng to learn of their afterlife kingdom.
2007-01-13 12:47:44 · answer #6 · answered by jsimpkinsv2002 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
1.yes god gave us(humans) Free will and only we have free will to choose right from wrong to love and obey god, or to turn away from god, that's what free will is .2. Satan is a fallen angel if you read the bible you would know that he was created as the most beatiful of all angels but he disobeyed god and was cast into hell as punishment.3,i dont fear reading their bible i just have no intrest in it.4. i dont force my beleifs on any one.5. purgotury is a place you go to atone for your sins, as a cathloic it means you are with out gods prences. anyways hope some of these answers helped
2007-01-13 12:32:40 · answer #7 · answered by jim c 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You ask some deep questions which I will attempt to address. Though it's true God knows the end from the beginning, this does not diminish from our free will to choose God or to reject Him. God's "predestination" is based upon His omniscient "fore knowledge". In other words, He already knows what our choices will be before we do. God, in the human form of Jesus Christ, went through His suffering, hell and His horrific death -all ultimate judgements of God on sin- on our behalf, that whosoever believeth should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Satanists can deny whom they actually worship all they want but it doesn't change the facts. Satanists -and all non-believers, I might add- are followers of and slaves to Satan. There are only 2 choices to make, you can not serve 2 masters. It is interesting to note that Satanists and all other non-believers deny the existence of Satan, yet the devil glorifies in those whom he has mislead towards everlasting damnation and ultimately demands their souls. He never denies his ownership of and mastership over all who follow him by rejecting God and the Bible.
Satan forgiven? That's got to be the most laughable lie I have ever heard. The eternal torments of the Lake of Fire were specifically created by God for Satan and the angels which followed him. The Bible is quite clear that Satan and his followers are eternally condemned and that they are already defeated enemies. Jesus Christ defeated Satan on the cross of Calvary and by His resurrection. I have no fear of Satan, nor do I fear the Satanic Bible or anything within. I do concern myself with how many millions of people are destined to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire with Satan because of their rejection of God and the Bible. The beliefs of anyone outside of Biblical Christianity are spelled out in the Bible -false prophets and the worship of demons. As for pergatory? You are right, it is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible and is thus a false teaching.
God sent His only begotten Son to die on behalf of anyone who places their faith in His sacrifice. If God hadn't done this then there would be no option for all of mankind but eternal condemnation and thus no free will because no choice. God already knows how each and every one of us will ultimately choose because of His omniscience. As you can plainly see this has absolutely no bearing on our ultimate choice because God still lets us make that eternal choice.
2007-01-13 12:43:28 · answer #8 · answered by utuseclocal483 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You have very intelligent observations and questions.
The very short answers.
God does not fore ordain your choices for you.
Everyone has free will. In other words, free choice.
Adam and Eve were perfect and their free choice was to not follow God’s direction and that they didn’t need him. They returned to dust, for dust is where they came from.
Satan was a perfect spirit creature and also poorly exercised his free will to follow his own coarse..wanting the worship that rightly belongs to God. In so doing, he raised a Universal challenge against Gods rule. That challenge was answered by Jesus.
Purgatory is not found in the bible.
Hell is not a place of torment and the bible does not teach that. Where did Adam go? Where was Jesus for 3 days after his death? A god of love would not allow someone to be tormented for eternity.
If you’d like to know more details about these subjects or others; grab your own bible and email me your question.
I wish you the best.
2007-01-13 12:44:42 · answer #9 · answered by last_of_the_romantic_men 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
As a minister, and a Student of Religions (all, not just the Christian based), I believe that every person that chooses to call themself a follower of any religion should read and study every other religion out there.
Now, what if this Earth is really Hell, and we choose to come down here to perfect our Souls for God, and to experience for God?
If one believes in a Perfect, loving God, then one must know that God would never banish any of his "children" into a hell for eternity. This is man-made, in order for the ancient church to control the people, and keep them supporting the church.
Now, as for free will, we choose to live for God, to experience for God, to talk to God, no matter what negativity is thrown against us. In the beginning, we chose by free will to serve God, no negativity/evil.
Research the Catholic Church, for it was the beginning of all of the Christian Churches. Purgatory is just another example of Man changing "Religion" in order to control people and get money.
For centuries, a Catholic could not eat meat on Friday, or they would go to Purgatory. Then, in the last Century, you could eat meat on Friday. So, what happened to those in Purgatory who ate meat on Friday in the 1700's?
Seek, research, get to know others of different faiths, and you will realize that they all boil down to the same thing, it's only us that make them different.
2007-01-13 12:32:09 · answer #10 · answered by Robert S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If everything is predetermined by God, then no, we do not have free will. This is why those who believe in free will, will tell you not everything is predetermined by God. Those who believe everything IS predetermined, do not believing in free will. The 2 cannot go hand in hand.
There are 3 Christian theologies on this: Calvinism- total predestination- no free will
Arminianism - Free will though God knows how you will choose before you are given the choice
Open Theism- God does not choose to know everything before hand. Predestines some things but not everything.
2007-01-13 12:27:16 · answer #11 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋