Jesus Christ

See, that's the problem, he doesn't want to fight you because you are already on his side and doing his work for him. What more could he gain from you by accepting this "challenge" from you?

 

The last thing that Satan would want to do is to prove his existence.

 

LMAO how in the fuck am I doing the devil's work??

By telling people to think for themselves??

By putting God above all while making a Conscious effort to walk the path of Christ??

LMAO ok

 

Well, one of Satan's best tools is to get people to believe he doesn't exist and you seem to be helping with that.

As for "making a Conscious effort to walk the path of Christ", Jesus himself resisted Satan after fasting in the desert or do you believe that Jesus was not sinless and went insane and was just fighting with his own mind when he resisted Satan?

Also, do you believe that it's not necessary to put on the "Put on the complete suit of armor from God that YOU may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil", seeing as you believe he doesn’t exist?

 

I'm sorry, I thought I was clear earlier. When I say "Christ", I simply mean "child of God", not some biblical figure.

Now, why is it that the only people who seem to believe in this "satan" are the ones influenced by the Bible? Funny how you don't need religion to know God but apparently you need religion to know the devil.

 

Actually the term “Christ” means anointed one or one who has been anointed, so you can see were I might have gotten confused.

Oh, by the way, when you say God as in "child of God" what God might you be talking about?

There are those believe in Satan, who would say they are not influenced by the Bible.

 

That aint as common as it sounds. I can personally say everyone I know of that has had experience with satan and/or demons are people who deal with the Bible in some way shape or form. They are usually Christian. I've personally never heard of someone running into satan while on a personal journey other than those whose journeys led them to religion.

And there is only one God, so I don't get your question. And I can see that asking it in another way will just lead to a pointless debate. I don't entertain arguments of there being more than one God.

 

And because you've never heard of it, of course that means it never happens.

You sound so sure, how do you know this god you believe in isn't just a god wanta be? You know someone who just wants you to think he's God but isn't? What's his track record? Has he actually done something that would prove he is God? Or are you just going on how you feel about it?

 

You been sitting here all this time trying to defend the presence of satan but now you want to question there being only one God? You just hurt and lookin for an argument. When you present an intelligent one, I'll be more than willing to participate.

Now please tell me where I stated because I don't know of something that means it doesn't exist. Do you personally know people who show a total disregard for the Bible that believe in the devil? By total disregard, I mean people who not only don't believe anything in it, but they don't even acknowledge it enough to make counter beliefs based on it.

And I sound "so sure" for a reason.

 

^^^^^^^ but thier is only one God.

 

Nice dodge, try saying something next time.

 

What do you mean by more than one God? What can these gods do? Large majority of religions believe that all of these gods end up being the one God.

But my question to you is this: What exactly makes a god? and also:

If God is this ultimate oneness than how can you compare these gods to this ONE ultimate reality that we sometimes call god? Are the parts greater than the whole? Is the whole more able than the parts?

If a part makes itself out to be the whole (although can be connected to such), is that delusional?

What's the difference between Buddha (a god) - what the Bible prefers as: 'princes of principalities' - and the creator of these gods? (What is creating these gods?)

What is giving these gods their power and abilities?

Like a soldier in the military, he does not grow out pistols, but is given to them by the military. Is a single soldier the entire military and the provider and source? Or are these provisions given to the soldier through a higher power (the military)? Can a single soldier make itself out to be the entire military?

 

Yes, there is only one true God but there are many gods or ones who want people to believe they are God. So a person can be easily mislead. The Bible points out that Satan is transforming himself into an angel of light and that he is misleading the entire earth. So when someone says that there is only one God, I have to ask who he is talking about, if then the person avoids the question like J.Q. just did, I have to assume that he is being mislead.

See the problem is that it is easy to say "I believe in God and there is only one" but when pressed for details then it becomes a little harder because then you have to come up with a reasonable explaination for why the things are the way they are. Such as why does his "God" continue to allow wickness on the earth? Is his God wicked or does he just enjoy wickness? He can't blame it on Satan 'cause "Satan doesn't exist". You see My God has a book, that he had written, that explains these things but it seems that J.Q.'s "God" just can't be bothered even to have his believers explain why he should be considered the true God.

 

AHHH, FREUDIAN SLIP!!

 

I don't necessarily disagree with you, however you should also consider that God can make himself (bah, I hate emasculating "Him"...anyway) known in many ways. I would also suggest that you try to talk about things without using the bible as the definitive answer for everything. I understand that this is your belief, and this is a Christianity forum, but when speaking to those who may not share your belief in the infallibility of the Bible you could try actually discussing the ideas within it. Truth is not limited to one form, and a true believer can express what is in his heart without using the Bible as a shorthand for actual discussion of ideas.

First of all, you don't have to assume anything. If the purpose of this discussion is to get at some truth, then assumptions about what other people mean and using that to continue the discussion just creates one big mess. I know this is my first actual post on here, but I have noticed this happens quite a bit.

The question "who are you talking about?" when thrown at someone's idea of God is not a trivial matter and is challenging for some to express.

What kind of details are you looking for exactly? I'm not sure I understand. You type a lot of things but for someone who is not in your head it makes for very hard reading.

The true God is in your heart, in your soul and in the fiber of the universe.
This quest of trying to explain "the way everything is" is pure mental masturbation and definitely not the way to connect with God. I say this because God is not an idea and not a symbol. There can be a lot of truth expressed in ideas and symbols, but they are not truth itself. The same applies for God.

I don't mean to say that there isn't great wisdom contained in the Bible, there definitely is. And I don't mean to say that there aren't real prophecies in the Bible, because I believe there are. I just see a constant, incessant drive of mistaking an idea of God -- usually one's own -- and the expression of God, with God itself.

Watch out Mikey, sometimes the devil appears as a kindly old man!

Much love to you all

 

Among the Hebrew words that are translated “God” is ’El, probably meaning “Mighty One; Strong One.” (Ge 14:18) It is used with reference to Jehovah, to other gods, and to men. It is also used extensively in the makeup of proper names, such as Elisha (meaning “God Is Salvation”) and Michael (“Who Is Like God?”). In some places ’El appears with the definite article (ha•’El′, literally, “the God”) with reference to Jehovah, thereby distinguishing him from other gods.—Ge 46:3; 2Sa 22:31

So, anything that is worshiped can be termed a god, inasmuch as the worshiper attributes to it might greater than his own and venerates it. A person can even let his belly be a god. (Ro 16:18; Php 3:18, 19) The Bible makes mention of many gods (Ps 86:8; 1Co 8:5, 6), but it shows that the gods of the nations are valueless gods.—Ps 96:5.

I only compare them to show that these other gods are as nothing in comparison to the true God.

Buddha himself was a man and never said he was anything but. But men have made him into a god.

As for who is creating these gods, God created men and angels and gave them the free will to do as they choose. Satan, who was one of the angels, chose to go against God, thus making himself Satan and the Devil, Satan which mean resister and Devil which means slanderer.

God himself has given everyone and everything their power and abilities but it is they who choose how to use them.

Using a ruse, a false deception, sometimes a single soldier will attempt to make himself out to be a large army.

 

Busted!
I'll go back and change it.

 

This is as you say, the “Christian forum” and we are thus talking about “Christianity” and thus the Bible is the definitive answer for everything “Christian”. If we were in the “Buddhist forum” and thus talking about “Buddhism”, I would not use the Bible as the definitive answer for everything “Buddhist”.

Also after you have discussed things with me a bit you will see that as the subject of a thread is farther away from the Bible the less I refer to the Bible.

Actually I can assume anything I like, it’s still a reasonably free country and if my assumption is wrong he is free to correct it. The messes usually happen when the assumptions are not expressed and the other person does not know what they are.

I did not intend it to be a trivial matter and know that it is challenging for some to express but if you’ll notice J.Q. didn’t mention any of that, he just blew it off.

I didn’t want to limit his expression as to who his “God” is but if you read my post to jmt you will see that I said that, explaining why there is wickedness would be a good start.

Once again, real nice, “The true God is in your heart, in your soul and in the fiber of the universe” but doesn’t tell me who your “God” is either. I don’t know about the Universe that you live in but in the Universe I live in there is real evil, so if “God” is in the fiber of the Universe, does that mean that your “God” is evil? If not, why is there evil and wickedness in the Universe and how can it be in the fiber of "God"?

“I just see a constant, incessant drive of mistaking an idea of God -- usually one's own -- and the expression of God, with God itself.” So let’s see if I have this straight, I wouldn’t want to make any assumptions about it, So your “God is an it, a kind of Big nebulous thing, that having any idea about it is pointless and any attempt to try and understand why this thing does what it does is, how did you say it, “is pure mental masturbation”. I’m sorry but this all just seems to me to be more double talk about the mystery of “God”, it seems the God I worship has the ability to explain himself a little better.

Yes, I believe that the devil appears in many disguises and uses many people for his purposes, without them even knowing it.

That is why I say don't take my word for it look it up in the Bible for your self.(Acts 17:11)

Which brings up the question, how do you know he’s not using you? Or are you like J.Q. and believe that he doesn't exist?

 

Okay, I already granted you this. My point was something else entirely. I apologize if I didn't make it clear. This is indeed the Christianity board, but as I understand it, that doesn't mean it's for Christians only. If that's the case then I have made a big mistake and I'm sorry!

But if this is a place to discuss Christianity, which I think it is, rather than a place for Christians to hang out, then we should be able to express our own thoughts on the things we talk about without using the Bible as a be all and end all. After all, different people can read the same thing and interpret it differently. You may hold the view that the Bible doesn't need interpretation, but even then the fact remains that people do so and thus it may be helpful to try and get our points across using other means.

I have read quite a bit from you, and you do seem to be a very knowledgeable and capable person. I did not mean to suggest otherwise.

Of course you can assume anything you like, but my point was that it's usually not helpful to a discussion. When people have to go back and correct each others' assumptions things can get quite convoluted and the point of the discussion may be lost.

This is true. I did not really mean to take sides in this thing, simply pointing out some things I noticed is all.

I would love to get into this with you, but I haven't slept all night and really need to do so. In the interest of time I will resume this discussion with you a little later I really do have quite a bit to say on this.

No, you misunderstand. "My God" is no more an it than "your God" is a he. Unless you really think of God as a man in the sky, in which case...I need reevaluate my entire approach to this discussion. I explained that the explanation of God is not God himself, and that God explains himself in many ways to different people. This is why I think it's important not to idolize the various forms and explanations, but make use of the great love God gives. I hope you can understand, and appreciate that.

I could ask you the same thing. And if you say because you follow the Bible, let me remind you that even Satan can speak scripture if it so suits him, and many people have done wicked things in its name. They may have been misguided, but none the less a deeper, more sincere answer is required here.

To answer your question: I know that Satan doesn't use me because I try to give as much love as I possibly can in any given situation and I have learned to forgive freely and genuinely.

 

mad kudos B!! well said.