A question for Christians. Do you believe there is an actual being that is the devil / satan?

Question

If you do or do not tell me why. Thanks.

Thanks for all the answers. Now I am going to tell you why I asked. I went to speak to my priest about something strange that occurred to my daughter. He told me he does not actually believe there is such a thing as a devil. That we project these energies out and maybe my daughter picked up on some negative energy that I was giving out. Then he said faith is in the mind and it soothes us to believe. What the heck? Stunned me. Let me tell you after talking to that man I was all about ready to walk away from Christianity altogether. I got into my car and my daughter said "maybe someone is making some of these people say these things so that other people will believe it. And stop believing in Jesus and God" She is 7 years old! I told her "I think you're right"

He wouldn't even put a blessing on us. I am seriously thinking about leaving the Catholic faith.

Answer 1

I think your daughter is absolutely right. And that “someone… making some of these people say these things so that other people will believe it” is an evil spirit whispering into the priest’s ears. It seriously appears that the priest may not be a born again believer. He is certainly UNbiblical. He sounds more like a New Ager.

Not only is the existence of Satan & demons Biblical, I’ve personally seen them & DEALT WITH them PLENTY of times. I’m talking about while I was awake. No drugs. But I was into all kinds of things, you see. But now I’m a Christian – as a result of Jesus also appearing to me in Person. I thought this was normal, but later found out it’s not…

Anyway, if what you said in this post is all true, I'd leave that institution immediately. He does not sound like a real servant of God.

p.s. I believe it was by God's grace that he didn't lay hands on you or "bless" you. You are fortunate! You don't want any of his spirit (as you described) rubbing off on you or your child. I mean this very seriously.

Answer 2

AS a Catholic, I have struck this type of Advice from Priests, which has made me think (when I was younger) AS I grew older (hopefully wiser), Realised that the Priest was a Human also, with his own personal view, and not necessarily that of the actual Church. Though a Catholic, I am not prepared to rigidly support ALL the Teachings/Regulations of the Catholic Faith.
What I am in support of is: I firmly beleive that there IS "someone", A Force, an Entity (whatever). There is Good, there is Bad, and YES, the bad things in Life seem to always outweigh the Good..As a Catholic, we were taught the "3 beings in one God" (the Trinity), a teaching that I defy even a Priest to define correctly, for complete understanding.
They say "your a long time dead" I guess its just HOPE,a Belief, or that I am just plain scared to WANT to believe "your a long time dead" I WANT to beleive that there IS something else after I die. IF I am right, then I'll know that God (or whoever) exists,,,and in turn that means that Satan exists also. BUT, I got to die to find this out.
YOU see the Answer to all this while we are alive ???
There is none..SO each of us have the choice to make our own observations on whether God or Satan exists.
This Question IS an "eternal" question..Meaning..it has NO answer for mortal human beings in this Life.
And, I would doubt very much, that Science will ever explain it.
Catholic or not, hold to your Belief..And "out of the mouths of babes"..I WONDER what caused your daughter to state the Intelligent comment. for her age.?

Answer 3

I can understand why after reading your bottom answer as to why you feel this why, but let me tell you something about being a Christian. First I can tell you that the devil is very much alive and active on this earth today and anyone who will tell you different is on his side. Being Catholic does not make you a Christian, far from it. A Christian is someone who has put their trust in Jesus and in Jesus alone the Catholic faith believes that all you need to get to Heaven is enough money to pay the Pope or the Priest. WRONG. Put your trust in Jesus and ask Him into your heart and life and tell you Little girl to do the same. Roman 10:9-13 while tell you how. KJV Bible. God Bless You and Your Child and Please get out of the Catholic church as soon as possible.

Answer 4

While it seems that everyone has answered your basic question, “is there a real being called satan”. It seems that to me that the real issue here is with what this catholic priest said to you.

It is not surprising to me in the least that he said such a thing. The catholic priest are not priest of God Almighty by they belong to the church. As you heard yourself what he said went against the Word of God and he lied to you and too others I am sure.

No one should base his or her “faith” and “belief’s” on any human and NEVER on what any church teaches, but instead upon the Word of God.

I would suggest that you revaluate your beliefs and compare them to what the Word of God teaches.

Here is an example or two;
1) Where in the Bible does it teach that a man (priest) can intercede between God and man?
2) Where in the Bible does it teach that Peter was the first Pope of Rome? Fact is Peter never went to Rome so how could he be the first “pope”?
3) Where does the Bible teach the use of the “rosary”? How did Christ pray and teach us to pray?

Just a few questions for you to think about, please turn to the Bible and let the Word of God be your guide and not some human that does not know the Word of God

Peace and Grace
David

Answer 5

Dear Luci J, I dont wish to bash any faith because there isnt wrong or right, but rather close and closer. Then there's out standing in your field and i mean that literally. Waaaay out on the back 40 somewhere, as in clueless. Regarding the Catholics i would recommend reading books by Dr. Malachi Martin particularly "Windswept House".
Now for your priest (sigh) any priest, any clergy, who says there is no such thing as the devil or satan is simply full of it. Thats like people who dont like the phrase or concept of 'conspiracies'. Conspiracies do exist call it what you like and so does concerted evil. How can you believe in God who is Holy if you deny the existance of evil ? I believe in the presence of evil because i have seen senseless hate, ive met people who were possessed, several voices coming from one mouth, aberrant behaviour that goes way beyond some pop-culture psycho babble by some loser trying to sell his or her book. Evil is very real and is a concerted effort. There is a source of this and its our carnality, pride, greed, hate, anger, lust etc but beneath that is a spiritual root and that root is from the father of lies. The devil. How can so many people have the same or share the same ugly spirit of hate unless its a shared consciousness? And everything has an origin. Yes there is an actual being (spirit) that is referred to as the devil or satan. His greatest trick is convincing people that he doesnt exist. I would find another church and open, read, study your bible. It is your best source to begin the true path of enlightenment. Because what is commonly referred to as 'religion' is man made. What is truth is a relationship with your Father which art in heaven, the maker of heaven and earth and you and me.
Oh, and yes you can project your thoughts and feelings to those around you as we are all connected.

Answer 6

Oh WOW! Luci...when I read your question it gave me chills. The devil would like NOTHING MORE than for people to believe that he is not real! Why? because he is the great deceiver (Revelation 12:9) and the father of lies (John 8:44) If people knew what he was up to they would RUN to Jesus....Satan will avoid that at all costs! Even back in the Garden of Eden....Satan would not show himself to them...but went into the snake to tempt Eve. He is sneaky, coniving, and mixes truth with falsehood to keep people from knowing what it right when he can.
Yes, Satan is VERY REAL! There is spiritual warfare going on RIGHT NOW between Satan and his demons and God and His angels. This world is the battleground. We are in this warfare also since Satan does not want us to have the eternal life that he cannot have. He will do ANYTHING to keep us out of heaven!! That is why God tells us to put His armor on...to protect us against the devil. (Ephesians 6:11-18)
Satan is THE ENEMY! We HAVE to know who the enemy is in order to not be deceived ourselves.
You have EVERY RIGHT to be upset about what you were told! It was WRONG! Please don't leave Christianity because of this though....there are people and churches who DO believe what I just said. YOU know the truth about the devil or this would not have upset you. I am so glad that you see this! I believe that God is leading you somewhere. God says to acknowledge Him in all that you do...and He WILL DIRECT your paths. (Proverbs 3:6) That is a promise and God cannot lie. (Titus 1:2)
Luci, I am going to pray for you ...that God will lead you to absolute truth. It is difficult to make changes sometimes, but I know God loves you and I will ask for your protection and for guidance. Feel free to email me if you like...would love to talk with you.

† On-call Prayer Warrior †

Answer 7

That's one of the strangest things I've ever heard. Although I would encourage you in any way possible to switch to another denomination light-years before you think of leaving Christianity, it is only fair to Catholicism that the priest you went to is a complete heretic by Catholic standards.

If however, the entire Catholic Church is beginning to think and say as that priest, then this is the very type of thing that Revelation spoke about -- large numbers of people who should know better turning to the wrong side, preaching falsely, citing the doctrines of devils.

Those things your daughter is saying are beyond the capacity of a seven year old; what she says is not of herself, but of the Holy Spirit. If you find a church that teaches what the Bible says like a Pentecostal or Baptist Church, they would probably enjoy your testimony.

Their style of worship is very un-inhibited and un-embarrassed as compared to the Catholic, just to let you know ahead of time.

Answer 8

Sister Luci, God Bless. Yes, the devil is real, and he does use people to do his bidding. He can only use those who allow it, like this priest. This priest is not a born again child of God or he wouldn't have babbled off all his psycho new age philosophy to you.
God is leading you Luci to Himself and the devil is stirred up about it and trying to keep you living a lie. God obviously has a better plan for your life and the process is uncomfortable.
It is always a bit uncomfortable when we move from one area to another because we are in unfamiliar territory. When the children of Israel left Egypt they really struggled with this same discomfort but God gave them strength to enter the land flowing with milk and honey.
Luci, it seems as if Gods plan for your life is bigger than you could have imagined and you are experiencing growing pains. Do not give credit to the devil who is a very real adversary but can only do to you what you allow.
James 4:7 says, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Answer 9

As a former Pantheist,and Occultist now by the grace of GOD, I have turned my back on the deception and I am a Christian. The devil, Lucifer,or Satan was never a being. The devil was a created spirit. Spirit has no body but spirit has essence. Satan as The Bible explans though Lucifer was an Arc Angel as a created spirit he is not all powerful, not omnipresent and not all knowing.

Answer 10

Yes. The Bible is quite clear on this. He is spoken of as a spiritual being, a fallen angel.

Mar 1:13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts. And the angels ministered to Him.

Luk 10:18 And He said to them, I saw Satan falling out of Heaven as lightning!

Luk 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold! Satan asked for you, to sift you as wheat;