Is the DEVIL real?

How do you view the Devil? Do you think of him as a real person who tempts people to do wicked things, or does he merely represent the principle of evil?

 

I assume you mean the Christian devil?

To me, the biblical Satan is a metaphor representing distraction and sensory self indulgence. He is portrayed as ultimately "evil" because a fixation upon these things will always lead you astray from any sort of spiritual path.

 

it depends if you choose to believe in it or not

 

Quite true

but I happen to think that the christians switched the concept up a bit
should be the other way around replace the devil with god and god with the devil and its all good

 

For a long time i've thought of the biblical satan as representing mind/ego/illusion, and in that sense, temptation, fear ect. So when Jesus says "get behind me satan", to me it's like he's centering himself to see the truth and not be led by illusion, and saying that thought is meant to serve rather than rule. So in short, satan is thought.

That's my take on it.

 

Satan is symbolic for the dark side of the mind.


x

 

same here, I always thought the Devil represented an unbalanced ego

as people often deny the concept of a Devil, this metaphor goes over their head, and those happen to be the people who need to meditate on this message the most

 

My view is that stan is a complex symbol - but mainly the devil represents the animalistic, instinctual side of our nature. At least to christians.

Of course, there's also the Tarot card 'the devil' which seems to represent a higher state of consciousness, psychic balance etc. on one hand, and inner opression on the other.

It's no co-incidence that the form in which the devil is often depicted is derived straight from pre-christian european gods such as cernanous, pan and so on. Those cultures worshipped forces of nature which under the new christian dogma were to be seen as evil.

 

I think Satan is just humanity without love, all the evil shit we do on this planet, I don't think Satan is one entity just the collective evilness of humanity
ya know like if the body of God is just one big collection of love
Satan is just the opposite one big collection of hate
and humans are in the middle filling them up with either their love or hate

idk I'm drunk

 

It depends on your personal perspective. If any of you are christian and are saying that satan is a metaphor then you are inventing your own new religion. Within the bounds of christianity satan is a sentient being. He was once one of God's favored beings in fact and held a high position in the ranks of heaven. So gifted and powerful that he challenged God himself and convinced 1/3 of heavens angels to stand in his corner against their creator. He is not just an ideal or a concept if you are a christian. If you are not then he can be whatever you want... or not want him to be.

 

Yep, what Mothman said ^

 

The way I see it is that God represents the good and all things positive in the world, whereas the devil represents the bad, the negative and wrong doing. I do not believe that there is a being who is either rather a perception.

Just like Father Christmas represents happiness and toys, warmth and family for children, adults see santa and tend to feel the same and they know he isn't real, but the feeling he represents is like what god and the devil portrey.

 

^nothing wrong with your concept unless you are a christian. if you are not a christian then the entire bible should be no more than a story to you, but as most wiccans are quick to point out(love you witches)satan is a christian idea so they own the patent on him and in their religious text he is clearly depicted as a ruthless, cunning hater of your soul. Not a metaphor representing elements of human behavior. I don't really understand non christians giving any kind of meaning to satan or jesus at all.

 

yes satan himself may be a christian concept, but the idea and good and evil is not christian. I don't call evil satan, just as I don't call the good things in the world god, but if I wanted to use that metaphor when talking about religion I think it fits. You should remember that most things in Christianity have been taken from other belief systems, the idea og god and satan being representative of good and evil isn't so far fetched.

 

in my eyes, all external deities are make believe.

 

mostly pagan.

 

Like I said. Nothing wrong with your concept unless you are a christian. Sure it fits God/satan good/evil... I never mentioned it being far fetched. I just don't see the point in people of other philosophies/religions to speak metaphorically of christian deities when they can simply say good and evil.

 

I call myself a Christian because I try to follow the teachings and example of Jesus, not all of the elaborate doctrinal overlay added by Paul and various Church councils of the fourth century and after. I think Jesus probably did believe in Satan and thought he was real, so that's one of his teachings I don't follow, except metaphorically. It's a free country; I guess you can regard people as anything you want.

 

I'm with you to a point. I believe christians are way of course when it comes to following Jesus example. There are many things in the bible that are left to interpretation but to know the scriptures(which you questioning Paul's teachings suggest that you do) and to still see satan as a metaphor is a stretch. He is referenced from one side of the bible to the other.
Michael fought and will fight with a metaphor? Will a metaphor be cast into the lake of fire? Will a metaphor be loosed for a thousand years? Jesus had dialogue with a metaphor? A metaphor challenged God for the throne? Why does this metaphor have a name? Did God ask a metaphor "have you tried my servant Job"?

If something so personified over and over in the bible is only a metaphor to you then why take any of it seriously? Why not just look at the whole thing as a story about good and evil? You are free to believe what you want and I respect your opinions I simply don't get your thinking on this.

 

... or why not just take the whole thing as a metaphor and not just Satan

Michael = metaphor
lake of fire = metaphor
1000 years = metaphor

... ect ect