What is the Devil?

To the Christians out there. Do you see the Devil as:

--an actual being, running around trying to convince us to do evil, to woo souls to his side.
--an intangible, abstract thing, more of a negetive energy or vibe
--Not a being or seperate anything, but a personal selfishness that comes from within, akin to the "ego" that New Agers/Eastern philosophies speak of
--nothing at all (don't believe in the devil/evil)
--I'm not a Christian

 

haha, come on man it was right on the options list! oh well, no worries.

 

For me it is definitly abstract. Can't really decide if it is external or internal though.

 

Abstract too. Ego was close, but I didn't vote. I don't know if it's eternal, but I view the Devil as a personification of doubt. When Jesus is tempted by 'the Devil' for instance...to me it reads like Jesus' own internal dialogue, him having doubts about his own divinity before becoming 'Christ'.

Jesus couldn't at this point turn the stone to bread, because he was still overcome by doubt, the Devil. But instead of thinking he was therefore not the Son of God, Jesus says:

In other words, just because he can't turn the stone to bread doesn't mean he's not one with God. In a way anyone can be the living embodiment of this archetype.

 

i was raised christian but i don't really classify myself as one
but i anwsered without reading
i also believe its the ego such as in jung's philosophies

 

pop terror, the point i'm getting at with the word ego is basically what you said. Just some sort of internal thing. They call the devil the "author of confusion" right? Well, it sounds like in this case you see this author of confusion as abstract (not a literal evil dude), and internal (something personal, not coming at you externally). It's impossible to cover every situation in such a poll, but all I'm wondering about is how christians view satan, generally. Clarification comes in the posts, not the poll.

 

they call the devil just about everything...

 

Wow, here's a question to make me think. I'm not sure to be honest with you if The Devil is negative energy or just a parable to describe man's will or an actual being etc. I usually refer to this "devil" as the enemy. Now before you start talking about how I'm weird and that's paranoid let me explain myself. To me The Devil in the embodiment of what Christianity isn't. Whether it's a real being which it could be to me is less important than what it actually represents. When you think about cheating or stealing...I think that's the enemy. Again, it could very well be just another part of me as a man. An old survival instinct we no longer need. Whatever it is it isn't Christianity. Hence, my term the enemy.

 

Portal: Yes, you could make a convincing case that the "Devil" is at least a symbolic embodiment of all the qualities that are opposite to those of Jesus.

The problem comes in when people claim that everything that isn't Christian originates with the devil.

 

Mmmm..I can't really vote on any of these categories. I think the devil represents energy in one sense - the instinctual, animalistic side of human nature - also to an extent, the ego, esp. when the ego is under the dominance of the lower nature. The devil is both within and without.

Really, the 'devil' is any force which tends to prvent humans from attaining peace, knowledge, bliss and so on.
So -'the devil's in the whiskey, the devils in the women' (sorry ladies, no offence meant) - but also the devil can be in religion too, and I'd even go further, and say that some of the more narrow sects of Christianity are in fact worshipping Satan under the divine name.

 

Spook, I know what you're saying. I for instance wouldn't point the finger at anyone of another belief system and say,"FULL OF THE DEVIL". I've seen people do this and it makes
me cringe. Actually, in my own post I said the opposite of my Christian beliefs. Which is true to ME. To me across the board though stealing for instance is never okay. That would be the work of "the devil". Again it's hard for me to define what that is but I know it ain't good. I wouldn't though point at a Buddhist Monk or Muslim Cleric and say that's the work of the devil. For one it's uberjudgemental. For two these religions have their own set of demons not unlike my religion. Far be it from me to give them the Christian devil to deal with as well. LOL

 

I think that evil is real: a real thing, but I think it is both external and internal.

People are capable of extreme love. And extreme sin, betrayal, ugliness and hate.

So I think that there is real evil which can affect people.

 

We agree for once.

However, in Christian terms, sin is the tool of this Devil/evil force in the universe.

Sin is so powerful that sometimes we think we are working for good, using Scripture, when in reality we are actually persecuting the Savior all over again. George Bush is crucifying Jesus all over again.

 

I went for 'ego' because it is my belief that it is the idea that we as humans escaped from being 'at one' with this earth and god, and it is the ego of which we evolved which seperates us from god.

Having the ego, we have choice, we can go with the selfish, greedy choice, and only care about ourselves and deem ourselfs as completely special and different then the universe and out of nature, or we can be part of god.

 

But I mean the devil, not evil. When you read in the bible about Satan, how do you see him/it? Do you just equate devil with evil?

 

I belive the devil is a actual being. As real as G-d and he can be just as influintal as G-d can be. However he dosen't have the power G-d has. For example Satan can posses someone and inflict them with a sickness. I belive Satan can take that sickness away, however where G-d heals and destroys it. Satan simply tells the spirit of sickness to stop...

The diffrence is G-d can restore the body mind and spirit. Satan can merily stop the spirit he controls and leave the body in the state its in, no restoration.

 

Please re-read your Blake! The road of excess, I think you'll find, leads to the palace of widom not the tower. (Proverbs of Hell, in 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell')

 

Popterror: "Jesus couldn't at this point turn the stone to bread, because he was still overcome by doubt, the Devil."

Sirius: "Ok, that's your opinion...but what if Jesus Christ "pretended to be doubtful" just to prove us that "devil" exists?"


Or, he COULD turn them to bread, but the true temptations were not just to do these things simply, but the selfish nature of it. To use his power for himself, rather than the world. The devil tells him to make the rock into bread (the test of personal comfort), tells him to throw himself over a cliff since he knows the angels would save him (test of personal security), then tempts him saying he can be the ruler of all the kingdoms (test of power, really a combo of the first two). These are the basic temptations we face from our ego: comfort (desire), security (fear), and power (desire and fear combined). To get every desire, to escape every fear, and to have personal control over each, these Jesus certainly had but refused to use selfishly.

In my opinion, I'd say this is when his ego-crisis was over for good, and he reached total enlightenment ("...and the angels ministered unto him.")

 

I don't really believe in a Devil figure, like a character, walking around on earth. At the same time, since Lucifer is said to have been the angel;;; fallen from the sky like a morning star, I'm not sure I believe in angels either.

I don't really picture gods as human figures. That said, however, I think that it is possible that God could have manifested Godself as a human being.

At the same time, (and I know this isn't really "Christian",) I think there are a lot of yogis, prophets and holy people that have existed that are Christs, or anointed ones.

...

 

that's cool. But don't let those at the seminary hear that, haha. Are you still there, or what?