I heard that and it gave me the chills. 50% of Christians claiming to be born again deny the existence of Satan. If you're Atheist this question doesn't apply to you. So do you believe or don't you? And if you do are you as scared as I am for those who don't? You are more open to his devices when you deny his existence.
2007-05-03 08:03:16 · 29 answers · asked by stakekawa 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Lucifer,Satan, Beelzebub, whatever you want to call him is very real indeed.
Keep in mind that many who say that they are Christians are not.
2007-05-03 08:08:17 · answer #1 · answered by Mariah 5 · 4⤊ 2⤋
Why would you feel bad for people who don't believe in Satan? Satan has no power according to Christian doctrine over one's soul.
The reason so many people don't believe in Satan (and I assure you it's lower than 50% of Christians) is because the idea of Satan is problematic. If you look into the Old Testament, the satan is very rarely discussed and is described only as "the adversary." The book of Job only goes into how he made a bet with God but failed to discuss his esoteric role beyond that of a simple member of the Heavenly Host.
In Christianity, Satan is given a power almost equal to that of God. Indeed, he is so powerful that he and his minions occupy people at will, taunt Christ, and are predicted to wage open war on heaven itself. The focus of Christianity is indeed oriented towards the future and it searches for an apocalyptic meaning behind every deed or event.
In Islam and later texts, Satan (Iblis) is portrayed as a coward who is too ashamed of his error and too prideful to repent to God. He has limited power on Earth and is seen as feeble.
On another note, how would you be more open to him if you denied his existence. That's like saying that the thunder god Thor has influenced you to the point that you would make this posting.
As another point: anyone who says that if you don't believe in Satan you will go to hell needs to re-read the Bible (or read it for the first time). The only clearly articulated requisite for salvation in Christian doctrine is the acceptance of Christ as ones Lord and Savior.
2007-05-03 15:12:50 · answer #2 · answered by Chris 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The original brand of Christianity didn't include any concept of hell or Satan it was only added later, Christianity is only popular now cause Constantine converted, and then summarily needed a way to scare people into believing, originally your not even supposed to worship images of god or symbols. It gives me chills that people get chills from others not believing something grounded in the same amount of fact as the Easter bunny. Furthermore the idea of being punished for eternity has flaws on so many levels, after 100 years, or 100000, will you care what anyone does to you, how about in 10 million years, still suffering for something that happened eons ago. And being dead myself why would I care if someone was hurting me, I'm dead! You cant kill me again. If you take an unbiased view of history and analyze the the use of hell in religion it serves a single purpose, scare people into conforming.
2007-05-03 15:11:35 · answer #3 · answered by kommadantkommodore 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Unfortunately the vast majority of Christians do not claim to be born again. And, whats worse, most who claim it are not. So, its no surprise that 50% do not believe in the devil-I would think the number would be higher.
I saw a survey about 10-12 years ago about just who was actually Christian. I do not remember now who did the survey, or how it was done, but I saw it during a conference in a Southern Baptist church. Anyway, the survey said that moderate churches believed that about 30% of church members was born again. Conservative churches thought about 15% of church members saved, and churches farther to the right (like Independent Baptist) thought about 5% of the church was born again. If there is any truth to this at all-that would explain what you found. Even if this survey is off a lot-there are millions of Christians who are actually lost. Hmmm-I believe it.
2007-05-03 15:18:47 · answer #4 · answered by johnnywalker 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Sometimes I think people don't like to talk about the devil as a way of denial even though Christ talked more about hell than heaven.
A lot of people take the position with religion that they should be the recipient of something. Obviously, those closer associated with the truth know that is not the case in Christianity. Perhaps there are those 'selling only the good stuff' during sermons and as bases for their denominational belief without revealing the full extent of sin.
We all need Law & Gospel. Without a good balance it is very easy to get off on the wrong path.
2007-05-03 15:15:22 · answer #5 · answered by Molly 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I thought the whole thing of Christianity was that we believed in GOD and Satan
2007-05-03 15:06:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Satan believes in 100% of Christians, and everyone else.
2007-05-03 15:13:31 · answer #7 · answered by Yahoo admins are virgins 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Satan is real....
Sounds to me like those particular Christians are 100% wrong
Reminds me of a famous Yogi-ism:
"Half of this game is 90% mental"
2007-05-03 15:07:08 · answer #8 · answered by primoa1970 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
That poll sounds like it wasn't conducted very well if you ask me. There are a lot of people who only believe in the "fluff" of the bible but most still seem to be terrified of Satan.
Also, not christian but I still answered, so hah.
2007-05-03 15:26:15 · answer #9 · answered by J R 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Believing in Satan is the same as believing in 2 gods. If God doesn't have the power to get rid of Satan then either God is not a good God or Satan is as powerful as God.
2007-05-03 15:07:59 · answer #10 · answered by Sean 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
I highly doubt that the survey said the words "born again Christian." I think it just said Christian and many people dont know what it means to be a Christian. They think it means believing in God, or just being born in America.
It doesnt frighten me one bit because I know what my church teaches, and I know what Scripture teaches.
2007-05-03 15:17:32 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋