God and Satan

[Ragnarsdomr]

The argument is as relevant as asking if Santa Claus & The Easter Bunny are the same. There is no 'god', at least in terms a human would think of. There is, of course, no 'Satan' either. Ridiculous ideas...& even if you choose to 'believe' in them, it does not make them a reality.

This isn't a debate over the relative truth of any deity. Even if you believe the thread is simply intended to stroke your ego, it doesn't make it a reality. The topic is a question of within the parameters of a Christian worldview, whether or not the idea of Satan counts him as a deity. So really, get out.

[Free Soviets]

The argument is as relevant as asking if Santa Claus & The Easter Bunny are the same.

those are my favorite folk-christian gods

[Jahada]

"myself, myself, why have i forsaken me?"

It's not supposed to make sense. It's a religion. If it made sense it wouldn't be a religion.

This is the one thing that really bugs me about atheists; they think just because Christianity is illogical and senseless, it somehow means the entire concept of religion itself is illogical and senseless. -_-

[Harata]

Satan is as much a prisoner of hell as anyone else there. Satan's just the most infamous resident.

[Atomosea]

My personal interpretation is that Satan is sort of like God's Prosecutor/"Product Tester". He tempts you during life, He presents your sins to The Powers That Be (whatever or how numerous they may be) after you die, and if they find you too evil for Heaven or Purgatory, He punishes you in Hell (until/if The Powers That Be decide to send you to Purgatory, then Heaven). He's just doing what God told him to after He (Satan) lost His rebellion.

[Grainne Ni Malley]

First, I'm not a bro, brah, or anything of that sort. Second, um anyone who is majoring in biology, as I am, should know how evolution works, so yeah. Do you? If so, prove it.

Then you should know that the entire fucking scientific process revolves around disputes and criticism of hypothesis such as evolution and that Science does not actually "prove" anything but merely presents the closest representation that we have been able to understand.

Science is atheistic and you should be too if you are majoring in it brah.

That's an awfully close-minded and, dare I say, ignorant thing to state. Benjamin Franklin was a deist, and we very well know that he made vast contributions to science.

[Jahada]

@ Free Soviets: if we were to acknowledge Satan as some sort of deity below the Abrahamic God, we'd be throwing monotheism out the window and defeating the central tenet of those religions.

[South East Europe]

First, I'm not a bro, brah, or anything of that sort. Second, um anyone who is majoring in biology, as I am, should know how evolution works, so yeah. Do you? If so, prove it.

Then you should know that the entire fucking scientific process revolves around disputes and criticism of hypothesis such as evolution and that Science does not actually "prove" anything but merely presents the closest representation that we have been able to understand.

Science is atheistic and you should be too if you are majoring in it brah.

I am an atheist, intellectuals are almost always atheist. However, my atheism has nothing to do with science.

[Harata]

Then you should know that the entire fucking scientific process revolves around disputes and criticism of hypothesis such as evolution and that Science does not actually "prove" anything but merely presents the closest representation that we have been able to understand.

Science is atheistic and you should be too if you are majoring in it brah.

That's an awfully close-minded and, dare I say, ignorant thing to state. Benjamin Franklin was a deist, and we very well know that he made vast contributions to science.

The bible tells us the important things, and science tells us the rest. That's how I see it, anyway.

[South East Europe]

It's not supposed to make sense. It's a religion. If it made sense it wouldn't be a religion.

This is the one thing that really bugs me about atheists; they think just because Christianity is illogical and senseless, it somehow means the entire concept of religion itself is illogical and senseless. -_-

All religion is illogical and senseless, that's why we believe that the entire concept of religion is illogical and senseless.

[Neo Rom]

Satan's opposite would be Michael the archangel,,, not God.

Satan can not create, nor does he rule. He like all sinners can deceive... and he's very good at it.

As others have said here that satan and god are rivals has come from a duelistic philosophy not a monotheistic one

[Jahada]

This is the one thing that really bugs me about atheists; they think just because Christianity is illogical and senseless, it somehow means the entire concept of religion itself is illogical and senseless. -_-

All religion is illogical and senseless, that's why we believe that the entire concept of religion is illogical and senseless.

What, may I ask, brought you to that conclusion?

[South East Europe]

That's an awfully close-minded and, dare I say, ignorant thing to state. Benjamin Franklin was a deist, and we very well know that he made vast contributions to science.

Whoops, I meant agnostic

Deism and Agnosticism are two very different beliefs.

[Grainne Ni Malley]

That's an awfully close-minded and, dare I say, ignorant thing to state. Benjamin Franklin was a deist, and we very well know that he made vast contributions to science.

The bible tells us the important things, and science tells us the rest. That's how I see it, anyway.

The bible tells us a variety of conflicting things, and it is up to each person to apply it in good or bad ways. Or not at all.

I'm agnostic with a Catholic education, to clarify. I simply can't abide people saying that science and religion cannot walk hand in hand. Both pursue the unkown. One can contribute to other. It's not impossible.

[Harata]

Satan's opposite would be Michael the archangel,,, not God.

Satan can not create, nor does he rule. He like all sinners can deceive... and he's very good at it.

As others have said here that satan and god are rivals has come from a duelistic philosophy not a monotheistic one

True, after all is says in Revelation that God will defeat Satan at the end of days. Not much of a rivalry if we know how the fight's gonna end.

[Atomosea]

My personal interpretation is that Satan is sort of like God's Prosecutor/"Product Tester". He tempts you during life, He presents your sins to The Powers That Be (whatever or how numerous they may be) after you die, and if they find you too evil for Heaven or Purgatory, He punishes you in Hell (until/if The Powers That Be decide to send you to Purgatory, then Heaven). He's just doing what God told him to after He (Satan) lost His rebellion.

Except the chief selling point of Christianity is salvation and forgiveness. Meaning that sin is not measured nor is your life, accepting god and acknowledging your sins and your misdeeds, and accepting Jesus as your saviour is the pathway to heaven and forgiveness. Satan rejected god and hence is cast into hell, where he being naturally evil attempts to lure more people in with him out of pure spite.

If God let anyone into Heaven regardless of their conduct just because they believed in Jesus, Heaven would be as bad as Hell! The forgiveness is what Purgatory is for. If you're too bad for Heaven, you get sent to Hell, then if you realize your mistakes, you can be sent to Purgatory, where you spend some more time repenting, the length of time depending on how bad your sins were, then, at the end of your stay, you're cleansed of your sins and let into Heaven. Jesus and God are forgiving, but they know when to crack down. How else do you run an entire universe (or entire universes) for so long?

[South East Europe]

All religion is illogical and senseless, that's why we believe that the entire concept of religion is illogical and senseless.

What, may I ask, brought you to that conclusion?

Religious studies and experimentation.

[Grainne Ni Malley]

That's an awfully close-minded and, dare I say, ignorant thing to state. Benjamin Franklin was a deist, and we very well know that he made vast contributions to science.

Whoops, I meant agnostic

Um... still. Not seeing validation to your point.

[Harata]

The bible tells us the important things, and science tells us the rest. That's how I see it, anyway.

The bible tells us a variety of conflicting things, and it is up to each person to apply it in good or bad ways. Or not at all.

I'm agnostic with a Catholic education, to clarify. I simply can't abide people saying that science and religion cannot walk hand in hand. Both pursue the unkown. One can contribute to other. It's not impossible.

What do you mean by conflicting? Jesus' teachings conflicted with some earlier teachings but that's because they were meant to replace them. Not sure if that's what you meant, though.

[Geilinor]

I don't believe in god and satan

[Jahada]

What, may I ask, brought you to that conclusion?

Religious studies and experimentation.

Could you elaborate?

[Harata]

What, may I ask, brought you to that conclusion?

Religious studies and experimentation.

I'm sorry that you arrived at that opinion. I believe that Christianity, in addition to being the most correct religion, has had a very positive impact on Western civilization as a whole.

[Jahada]

Religious studies and experimentation.

I'm sorry that you arrived at that opinion. I believe that Christianity, in addition to being the most correct religion, has had a very positive impact on Western civilization as a whole.

Well, that doesn't seem to be a root cause of it, considering Christian Westerners ardently advocate the disassociation of religion with the rest of society, namely the state.

[South East Europe]

Religious studies and experimentation.

I'm sorry that you arrived at that opinion. I believe that Christianity, in addition to being the most correct religion, has had a very positive impact on Western civilization as a whole.

Most correct religion? That's extremely subjective and ignorant.

[Grainne Ni Malley]

The bible tells us a variety of conflicting things, and it is up to each person to apply it in good or bad ways. Or not at all.

I'm agnostic with a Catholic education, to clarify. I simply can't abide people saying that science and religion cannot walk hand in hand. Both pursue the unkown. One can contribute to other. It's not impossible.

What do you mean by conflicting? Jesus' teachings conflicted with some earlier teachings but that's because they were meant to replace them. Not sure if that's what you meant, though.

Meaning that, if you take the Bible from beginning to end, Old Testament and New, there is conflicting material. The first example I can think of is the eye for an eye vs. turn the other cheek excerpts.