Hi, I was raised Catholic and currently, attend a Christian church. My main beef is that there are portions of the bible that I don't believe, mainly Satan.
I don't believe in the devil and I don't acknowledge him. However, some people have told me that I need to believe in the devil because the devil represents evil (transgressions in the law of God). I still don't care enough to believe in Satan. All I believe is in God, no one else. My question is; Do I need to believe in the devil and acknowledge him, seeing that he is mentioned in the bible and the bible does state that we should not add or remove anything included in the bible.
When you answer, please let me know your religious affiliation, Catholic, Christian, Jew, Etc...
2007-09-03 08:39:13 · 17 answers · asked by medinatherapy 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hello, I'm a Baha'i, and former Catholic.
Years before converting to the Baha'i Faith, while I was still a Catholic, and a devout one, I too stopped believing in Satan aka The BoogeyMan.
It was presented to me this way... Religion introduced the concept of Satan so that its followers could be frightened into being good, because it's easier to be good in the fear of Satan "getting you" and harder to be good for goodness' (God's) sake. THIS TOTALLY MADE SENSE TO ME, AND MY EYES WERE OPENED.
Now, as a Baha'i, I still don't believe in Satan. Satan, as is popularly known, is a personification of evil. This is not a belief that Baha'is hold. Rather, Satan is inside of us, which is the inner struggle between doing what God wants us to do, and succumbing (sp?) to our own selfish desires. In short, it is the temptation of making ourselves remote from God vs. being close to Him by obeying Him. Satan is our selfishness and shortsightedness, and not a "BoogeyMan."
In religions past, it was necessary for God to mention Satan as a being, because mankind was spiritually immature, in childhood and adolescent stages. However, with the advent of the Baha'i Faith, mankind is now in the adult stage, and no longer needs to be scared into being good. Therefore, there is no need to present Satan as a being, but rather for what Satan really is - our own vain and empty pursuits, rather than pursuing God.
I commend you on your insight into the whole Satan issue. Very keen-sighted of you.
2007-09-03 08:51:21 · answer #1 · answered by Dolores G. Llamas 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I am a Christian and yes, there is a devil. If you believe all those things about God and what the Bible says about Him, why can't you believe that there is a devil. If you read in Revelation 12:7-12, you will find that the devil used to be an angel in Heaven. The devil decided that he was better than God and talked 1/3 of the other angels into rebellion against God. God cast them out of heaven and now he is the enemy of God.
2007-09-03 09:01:05 · answer #2 · answered by brotherzbob 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A quick quote I will address: "In religions past, it was necessary for God to mention Satan as a being, because mankind was spiritually immature, in childhood and adolescent stages. However, with the advent of the Baha i Faith, mankind is now in the adult stage, and no longer needs to be scared into being good. Therefore, there is no need to present Satan as a being, but rather for what Satan really is - our own vain and empty pursuits, rather than pursuing God."
If you don t believe in the devil, you are going to get very confused in your theology and understanding exactly how the whole good vs evil started. As to the quote, it s actually backwards. Satan, with a capital S , is barely mentioned in the Old Testament. 2 Samuel 24 talks about how God incited David to sin and then punished him for it. Now that doesn t really make sense does it? But if you then look at the same story in 1 Chronicles 21:1 you will see that it wasn t God (Yahweh) but Satan that incited David to sin. Why the disparity? Chronicles was written later, after some of the prophets give little hints about an advisory of God. (See Zechariah 3:1-2)
You might ask why would God fail to mention a Devil so much in the Old Testament? Well consider where Israel has come from and their problems. They came out of Slavery from a nation with a pantheon of gods. God wanted them to worship only him and set up a monotheistic system of worship centered around him. If he had told these people about another force, given their tendency to worship every god their neighbors had, wouldn t that have inadvertently created a dualistic from of worship? A good GOD and a lesser, or heaven forbid, equal god of evil? The concept of Satan was given slowly over time. It s not really until the New Testament we see some approaching an unveiling of the forces behind evil.
Revelation 12 is perhaps the clearest picture of what s happening, and brings to mind the serpent in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:1)
The story of Job brings up even more interesting dynamics. The reader sees what happens in the heavenly court. But the victim Job does not. And when God does finally answer Job s cries, he doesn t tell him anything about a Devil, or the reason behind Job s suffering. God instead overawes Job with His power and knowledge, basically saying you think you can do better then me? God then vindicates Job and restores him double portions of what was taken. But interestingly enough, the people console Job for the Evil that the Lord had brought on him. However the reader knows who was really bringing evil upon Job.
2015-12-07 09:06:31 · answer #3 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm Unitarian Universalist. (I believe in God, and I believe that God is love [not as in just love, but that God is a God of love and love only and therefore I don't believe God would send anyone to hell]).
I don't believe in hell and I don't believe in the devil, I also hate the word sin. It sounds so dirty, as if your mistake makes you unworthy. I believe that since God is love, he loves us enough to give us free will, so we can do wrong. But doing wrong does not make us unclean, it makes us human. Without free will we wouldn't be human. I think all we can do is do our best to spread the love and try to pick ourselves up when we fall.
2014-09-21 18:24:49 · answer #4 · answered by Leah 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No one is called to make in act of faith in Satan-- and who would be so foolish to do so anyway. However, the existence of a malign entity that has sought to subvert God's purposes is part of what most Christians believe to be revelation. For a more sophisticated understanding of what this signifies consider the work of N.T. Wright, particullarly his book, "Jesus and the Victory of God."
2007-09-03 08:54:31 · answer #5 · answered by Timaeus 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In order to believe in Christ, you must believe in the devil. It's the balance of good and evil. Ephesians 6:12 New International Version (NIV) says "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
The bible says, 2Corinthians 11:14 (KJV), that even "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." No doubt since you have started your walk with Jesus, you have seen the devil up close and personal... if not you will.
Since Satan can appear to us as an angel of light, he may be in your circle of those you think pure, good, honest. Scripture says to try the spirits to see whether they be of God. 1 John 4:1-3 (KJV) says, "1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
2007-09-03 09:22:41 · answer #6 · answered by TheWiseOne 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well if you don't believe in Satan then why do you believe in God? What makes the scripture's reference to one more important than the other? If the scripture is the word of God, you probably would be wise to believe it - even if you don't like what it says. We do know there is good and evil. You can see it. God's word tells you why it exists.
2007-09-03 08:52:17 · answer #7 · answered by JohnFromNC 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I am Christian.
uh oh, you fell in Satan's trap. Satan doesn't want you to believe in him.
IIt's either God or Satan/Devil. Add an o to God and you get "good". Remove d from Devil and you get "evil".
If you don't acknowledge Satan's existence you already fell into his loophole. Since God is a divine, omnipotent, creator you will blame all your problems on him whenever something doesn't go your way. I'm not saying you would blame things on Satan, but that's part of the reason why Satan wants to convince you into not thinking he exists.
I hope this helps, please take this post into your consideration and time. If you have anymore questions, you can just private message me and I will be glad to respond to you.
2007-09-03 09:04:11 · answer #8 · answered by impaKt 2 · 1⤊ 5⤋
There is a big difference in believeing in the devil and acknowledging that there is one and his name is Satan.
2007-09-03 09:16:41 · answer #9 · answered by drg5609 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As Jesus said--and I tend to agree!--satan is a being, who has even now been tossed out of heaven. But fear not, Jesus Christ has 'crushed his head,' and 'triumphed over him, putting him to a public shame'!
I am a Priest in the Charismatic Episcopal Church.
2007-09-03 12:26:46 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋