What has the Devil done that is really that bad?

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Going by what is in the Bible, what has the Devil done that is so horrible?

God destroyed almost every living creature on earth
God killed the first born children of Egypt

What has the Devil done of that magnitude ?

It's kind of like the video that went around a few months back about the Karate Kid on how Daniel LaRusso was in actuality the aggressor and Johnny was really the victim and protagonist.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

Do you have kids??? When one of them has ever disobeyed you, didn't you discipline them? To teach them a lesson? And what if the kid kept doing the wrong and each time do it in a more rebellious way? Doesn't your punishments become more strict with each deliberate wrong??? Similar idea

I punish a kid for what he did. I don’t punish all kids for actions done by others

That is what God did when he killed the first born of Egypt. Not for what they did, but for what the Pharoh did

That is an act I would expect from a Devil. Can you point to anything in the Bible that the Devil did that would be the equivalent?

Don't forget Pharoh lost his first born as well...…..so he would know the pain of his own rebellion.

That's just it with the Devil......he doesn't really do any physical type thing...…...he lies & deceives all of Gods children to rebel and act against Him. Like telling Eve it's just an apple, go ahead & eat, what's the old man going to do to you His chosen & protected??? All the while he knew what God was going to do for such action of disobedience. He knew that not only Eve would suffer, but all woman kind after her. Adam was also convinced to rebel & eat, and he too suffered and all mankind after him.

OK ...let’s look at that
What did the pharaohs son do to deserve death? What did anyone’s child do to deserve death?

and what did Jesus do to deserve death at the hands of the Romans, and direction of the Jews, His own people?

It was not the Devil that crucified Jesus
That would be another good story you could blame on the Devil

So tell me in your opinion who is worse...…...the one that unwittingly does the act? or the one that knowingly instigates it to happen?

 

[rightwinger]

Going by what is in the Bible, what has the Devil done that is so horrible?

God destroyed almost every living creature on earth
God killed the first born children of Egypt

What has the Devil done of that magnitude ?

It's kind of like the video that went around a few months back about the Karate Kid on how Daniel LaRusso was in actuality the aggressor and Johnny was really the victim and protagonist.

That kick to the face should have gotten him disqualified

 

[rightwinger]

I punish a kid for what he did. I don’t punish all kids for actions done by others

That is what God did when he killed the first born of Egypt. Not for what they did, but for what the Pharoh did

That is an act I would expect from a Devil. Can you point to anything in the Bible that the Devil did that would be the equivalent?

Don't forget Pharoh lost his first born as well...…..so he would know the pain of his own rebellion.

That's just it with the Devil......he doesn't really do any physical type thing...…...he lies & deceives all of Gods children to rebel and act against Him. Like telling Eve it's just an apple, go ahead & eat, what's the old man going to do to you His chosen & protected??? All the while he knew what God was going to do for such action of disobedience. He knew that not only Eve would suffer, but all woman kind after her. Adam was also convinced to rebel & eat, and he too suffered and all mankind after him.

OK ...let’s look at that
What did the pharaohs son do to deserve death? What did anyone’s child do to deserve death?

and what did Jesus do to deserve death at the hands of the Romans, and direction of the Jews, His own people?

It was not the Devil that crucified Jesus
That would be another good story you could blame on the Devil

So tell me in your opinion who is worse...…...the one that unwittingly does the act? or the one that knowingly instigates it to happen?

The Devil had nothing to do with crucifying Jesus

It was the Italians

 

[onefour1]

First I would tell you that you are mistaken to believe that what God has done is bad or evil. I refer you to a post I made in another thread:

This life is a probationary mortal state. It is not the eternal state that the soul of mankind will dwell in forever. It is a temporary state that is made and controlled by God to give us learning and understanding and to test us to see if we are willing to choose good over evil. God is the overseer of this temporal state and it is his right and responsibility to decide when we are to come into this realm and when we are to leave it. This life is not the end all of our existence. We are eternal beings who have an eternal spirit and will be resurrected with an immortal body. Life goes on. This temporal state on earth is an infinitesimally small part of our eternal existence. It is not the reality of eternity that we all will live in forever immortally. It is a learning ground to learn how to have a body and to control it. It is a learning ground to go through difficult experiences that are not part of immortal life. God is the overseer of this mortal existence and has the right to control the outcome of this temporary state. This life is an opportunity to learn to walk by faith and to learn to overcome problems. It is an opportunity to be a good being of our own volition. It is a test to see if we will be faithful in being good beings when God is not before our very eyes. It is a chance for us to exercise our free will to choose good over evil. It is only a temporary state of being in which God does have the power and authority to give life and take it. You cannot kill and immortal and eternal being. The commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" was given for this life only to we mortals. God is the overseer of this life and is not subject to this mortal commandment that he gave to mankind but He is the one who in over this life and controls all existence within it. He is God and this temporal existence is just that, TEMPORAL. His giving and taking of life in this world is not subject to eternal law. It is his right and duty to oversee this temporal progressive mortal state of mankind that was never designed for eternal existence but only to be temporary under his direction and wisdom.

Recognizing God's position in eternity is necessary to understanding God. Man's purpose in existence is to become like God. The New Testament states:

Matthew 5:48
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

This temporary life is a school for God to test us to see if we are willing to accept his word and become like him.

Satan, on the other hand, is hell bent on thwarting this plan of God. Through his cunning and craftiness, he was able to lead 1/3 of the hosts of heaven against God. They were eventually cast out of heaven and will eventually be put into outer darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Revelation 12:3-4
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:7-11
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angelsfought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Satan and his minions are spirits. They have been denied having bodies of flesh and bones. For this reason they often attempt to possess the bodies of those who have been given one. They have been placed on this earth to temp mankind. They do not have the power to force man to sin but only to temp him. It is up to mankind to resist or follow Satan. One of the first accounts we read of is that of Cain, a son of Adam:

Moses 5
1 And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.

2 And Adam knew his wife, and she bare unto him sonsand daughters, and they began to multiply and to replenish the earth.

3 And from that time forth, the sons and daughters of Adam began to divide two and two in the land, and to till the land, and to tend flocks, and they also begat sons and daughters.

4 And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.

5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.

6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.

8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the nameof the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.

9 And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.

10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.

13 And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.

14 And the Lord God called upon men by the Holy Ghosteverywhere and commanded them that they should repent;

15 And as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned; and the words went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree; wherefore they must be fulfilled.

16 And Adam and Eve, his wife, ceased not to call upon God. And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said: I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words. But behold, Cain hearkened not, saying: Who is the Lord that I should know him?

17 And she again conceived and bare his brother Abel. And Abel hearkened unto the voice of the Lord. And Abelwas a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

18 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.

19 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

20 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering;

21 But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

22 And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?

23 If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;

24 For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.

25 And it shall be said in time to come—That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent.

26 And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord.

27 And Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord, because of Cain and his brethren.

28 And it came to pass that Cain took one of his brothers’ daughters to wife, and they loved Satan more than God.

29 And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.

30 And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.

31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.

32 And Cain went into the field, and Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And it came to pass that while they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him.

33 And Cain gloried in that which he had done, saying: I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands.

34 And the Lord said unto Cain: Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said: I know not. Am I my brother’s keeper?

35 And the Lord said: What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood cries unto me from the ground.

36 And now thou shalt be cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.

37 When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

38 And Cain said unto the Lord: Satan tempted me because of my brother’s flocks. And I was wroth also; for his offering thou didst accept and not mine; my punishment is greater than I can bear.

39 Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the Lord, and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that he that findeth me will slay me, because of mine iniquities, for these things are not hid from the Lord.

40 And I the Lord said unto him: Whosoever slayeth thee, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And I the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

41 And Cain was shut out from the presence of the Lord, and with his wife and many of his brethren dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

42 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch, and he also begat many sons and daughters. And he builded a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

43 And unto Enoch was born Irad, and other sons and daughters. And Irad begat Mahujael, and other sons and daughters. And Mahujael begat Methusael, and other sons and daughters. And Methusael begat Lamech.

44 And Lamech took unto himself two wives; the name of one being Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.

45 And Adah bare Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and they were keepers of cattle; and his brother’s name was Jubal, who was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

46 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron. And the sister of Tubal Cain was called Naamah.

47 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah: Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

48 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech shall be seventy and seven fold;

49 For Lamech having entered into a covenant with Satan, after the manner of Cain, wherein he became Master Mahan, master of that great secret which was administered unto Cain by Satan; and Irad, the son of Enoch, having known their secret, began to reveal it unto the sons of Adam;

50 Wherefore Lamech, being angry, slew him, not like unto Cain, his brother Abel, for the sake of getting gain, but he slew him for the oath’s sake.

51 For, from the days of Cain, there was a secret combination, and their works were in the dark, and they knew every man his brother.

52 Wherefore the Lord cursed Lamech, and his house, and all them that had covenanted with Satan; for they kept not the commandments of God, and it displeased God, and he ministered not unto them, and their works were abominations, and began to spread among all the sons of men. And it was among the sons of men.

53 And among the daughters of men these things were not spoken, because that Lamech had spoken the secret unto his wives, and they rebelled against him, and declared these things abroad, and had not compassion;

54 Wherefore Lamech was despised, and cast out, and came not among the sons of men, lest he should die.

55 And thus the works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men.

56 And God cursed the earth with a sore curse, and was angry with the wicked, with all the sons of men whom he had made;

57 For they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on his Only Begotten Son, even him whom he declared should come in the meridian of time, who was preparedfrom before the foundation of the world.

58 And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost.

59 And thus all things were confirmed unto Adam, by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent forth, that it should be in the world, until the end thereof; and thus it was. Amen.

We see from this that the secret works of murder to get gain and secret combinations of murder all began with Satan who taught these things to the children of Adam in the beginning of the world and continues with such things today.

 

[rightwinger]

Interesting links

It appears Satan’s biggest sin was being in opposition of God. He is accused of tempting man but we all know man is capable of being tempted on his own. Blaming mans weakness on Satan


What your links lack are any serious transgressions against mankind.
It is God doing that in punishing the innocent

 

[rightwinger]

And Cain said unto the Lord: Satan tempted me because of my brother’s flocks. And I was wroth also; for his offering thou didst accept and not mine; my punishment is greater than I can bear.

Once again, Cain Cannot accept guilt on his own but blames the temptation on Satan.

 

[Votto]

Going by what is in the Bible, what has the Devil done that is so horrible?

God destroyed almost every living creature on earth
God killed the first born children of Egypt

What has the Devil done of that magnitude ?

It's a hell of a thing to think your daddy was such a bad person, isn't it?

 

[rightwinger]

I still see no evidence of the Devil inflicting intentional harm on human beings

In fact, massive catastrophes like hurricanes, wildfires, volcanoes are known as.........Acts of God

 

[rightwinger]

Going by what is in the Bible, what has the Devil done that is so horrible?

God destroyed almost every living creature on earth
God killed the first born children of Egypt

What has the Devil done of that magnitude ?

It's a hell of a thing to think your daddy was such a bad person, isn't it?

Just call me Damien

 

[Indeependent]

If I were to write the Bible, I would have blamed the Great Flood on the Devil

I would not have used it as a reason to worship my God

Where is a devil mentioned in Genesis?
Nowhere.

 

[toobfreak]

Going by what is in the Bible, what has the Devil done that is so horrible?
God destroyed almost every living creature on earth
God killed the first born children of Egypt
What has the Devil done of that magnitude ?

 

[Slyhunter]

Yes. The very first one that introduced sin into the world. The lie that caused every single sin, all the pain, all the destruction, everything.

Everything you want to name goes right back to the Garden and the lie.

That is quite a stretch

Adam and Eve acted on their own volition, just like the rest of us do.
It is called personal responsibility for our own actions

God destroyed the world
The Devil introduced temptation

Totally false. You really don't know the Bible, do you?

Splain it to me in terms of evilness

Tell you what. You put in the good faith effort. You read Genesis chapters 2 and 3. I recommend the ESV or NIV translation. They are short chapters. Read that and get back with me and then we'll discuss. If you want to debate Christians on their terms, you can expect to read their texts.

I asked what the Devil did that is so bad

You should be able to explain it without homework assignments

I believe the Devil gave mankind their freedom. Showed them how to think. God would have us all puppets worshipping his greatness. God would have us all mindless zombies in awe of his mightiness.

 

[rightwinger]

That is quite a stretch

Adam and Eve acted on their own volition, just like the rest of us do.
It is called personal responsibility for our own actions

God destroyed the world
The Devil introduced temptation

Totally false. You really don't know the Bible, do you?

Splain it to me in terms of evilness

Tell you what. You put in the good faith effort. You read Genesis chapters 2 and 3. I recommend the ESV or NIV translation. They are short chapters. Read that and get back with me and then we'll discuss. If you want to debate Christians on their terms, you can expect to read their texts.

I asked what the Devil did that is so bad

You should be able to explain it without homework assignments

I believe the Devil gave mankind their freedom. Showed them how to think. God would have us all puppets worshipping his greatness. God would have us all mindless zombies in awe of his mightiness.

Devil seems to be a catchall scapegoat for mans inability to resist sin

Don’t blame the man.......The Devil made me do it

 

[Indeependent]

Totally false. You really don't know the Bible, do you?

Splain it to me in terms of evilness

Tell you what. You put in the good faith effort. You read Genesis chapters 2 and 3. I recommend the ESV or NIV translation. They are short chapters. Read that and get back with me and then we'll discuss. If you want to debate Christians on their terms, you can expect to read their texts.

I asked what the Devil did that is so bad

You should be able to explain it without homework assignments

I believe the Devil gave mankind their freedom. Showed them how to think. God would have us all puppets worshipping his greatness. God would have us all mindless zombies in awe of his mightiness.

Devil seems to be a catchall scapegoat for mans inability to resist sin

Don’t blame the man.......The Devil made me do it

The Devil is a Roman Catholic Christian concept.
Makes it easier to kill people who disagree with you.

 

[JustAnotherNut]

The Devil seems to be a scapegoat for all the weaknesses of man

Anger, jealousy, rage, infidelity, lying........all are the responsibility of the human doing it........The Devil is given the blame

Just like the Pharohs son

May God have mercy on your soul

 

[Slyhunter]

Tell you what I'll worship God if he gets rid of the pain in my feet and my need to take bipolar medication. Not in some afterlife that'll never be proven as truthful until it's too late to matter, but NOW.

 

[MaryL]

Going by what is in the Bible, what has the Devil done that is so horrible?

God destroyed almost every living creature on earth
God killed the first born children of Egypt

What has the Devil done of that magnitude ?

I kind of forgive god for causing all the pain and evil in the world. Because it doesn't matter.
I used to curse god. And pray for forgiveness. Not anymore. I realized it doesn't matter what we think. Stupid unnecessary harmful stuff is bound to happen, it's just random chance. No god necessary. Hate to contradict Einstein, but God does gamble, hell, God is all about random chance. And not mercy or love, I am afraid.

 

[night_son]

Going by what is in the Bible, what has the Devil done that is so horrible?

God destroyed almost every living creature on earth
God killed the first born children of Egypt

What has the Devil done of that magnitude ?

The question "What has the devil done that is so horrible" perfectly illustrates our Age as one of popular wickedness. An Age where the willful ignorance of the majority, in choosing moral relativism over fear of consequence for actions, demonstrates the widespread success of the founders of anti-life, anti-human nature, anti-logic philosophies in convincing hundreds of millions and more people to approach fundamental right and wrong as a social construct of ultimately low importance and variability, since concepts of right and wrong can be intellectualized or redefined to suit a given situation, or intellectualized away, out of the way and without consequence--altogether. The universal attractiveness lies in the deceptive promise that ultimate freedom removes the individual from personal responsibility and the consequences of bad actions or deeds.

Nearly every major religion embraces the personification of dualism: competing forces locked in eternal struggle for domination of mankind and the world--creation vs. destruction, life vs. death, light vs. darkness, wisdom vs. foolishness, truth vs. lie, right vs. wrong, and light vs. darkness. In one of the most ancient religions known to modern man, Zoroastrianism, we find perhaps the near beginnings of the personified concept or embodiment of archfiend or chief adversary of life, logic, light and wisdom, as a symbol possibly associated with and derived from the Scythian serpent god Afrasiâb--god of perhaps the ancient Persian's most feared enemy or enemy god.

Hinduism, while arguably much more ancient than Zoroastrianism and far more complex than Judeo-Christian monotheism, has also accounted for personification of antithesis to its Trimurti of prime creation/benevolent deities, in demons, giants, Kali as light/dark and many others less clearly demarcated by purely good/evil black and white boundaries, yet manages to distinguish well between all powerful, personified forces of evil capable of influencing Man and even intervening in his historical timelines.

In ancient Greece we find the Chthonic or underworld deities including Hades, a god of the underworld and god of wealth; of wealth being perhaps an excellent token or symbol representative of human darkness, abuse and greed. Mictlantecuhtli in Aztec creation mythology is/was a god of death and the underworld whose worship involved cannibalism--an excellent as it is horrifying personification of evil or anti-life. In ancient Egypt there was Apep, another serpent deity who embodied or personified chaos, or darkness, in eternal opposition to light and wisdom and civilization.

So you can plainly see human history since time immemorial is overabundant with examples of belief in the personification and embodiment of "un-created" or deity-like beings of evil capable of both influencing mankind or leading him against life and human nature, and even intervening in his history to change its course for the worse.

At last we arrive at Judeo-Christian belief in the above described personification of evil, or anti-creation and anti-life. In Genesis chapter 3 we find the serpent tempting an as yet unnamed Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil who in turn convinces Adam to do the same, thus incurring all kinds of wrath from God for their lack of personal responsibility. Many, many interpretations of the Eden serpent-identity exist, however, when taken in the context of the many creation/anti-creation beliefs of other religions involving the serpent as symbol or personification of darkness/chaos/anti-life/anti-good/anti-wisdom, in my opinion, its meaning or identity becomes very clear.

Also in Genesis chapter 3 God curses the serpent to an eternal, unpleasant fate (possible representation of being cast down out of heaven), curses both Adam and Eve as a result of the serpents successful influence or interference, and seems to verbally comment on the threat of the first man and women becoming like "the gods" and lastly, places an eternal guardian on the tree of life to keep mortal men away from it and allegedly away from a final step required to become godlike. All results/consequences of the devil's interference in God's plan for Man?

(How?) Much later in the New Testament Christ's interactions with the devil better establish its personification as a being who embodies ultimate veneration of the flesh and the mundane, the re-creation or mutilation of all God has created, of rebellion against God, defiance of Christ's teachings and self for/as the path to ultimate salvation/eternal life, and essentially, antithesis of light, truth, wisdom, logic, human nature, righteousness and good. Thus, to stand for or worship or even to commit no act of (willful) ignorance other than denying the devil's existence or questioning what is so bad about it, one accepts or condones its wisdom over God's, and all the chaotic anti-human darkness it personifies. Good luck with that.

Now, delving into the philosophy and psychology of the devil-mankind relationship, let us begin with God and Logos as ultimate representation of The Father. The Father (eternal, infinite) and the father (biological one) both represent wisdom. The First embodies endless, most primeval (galactically speaking) wisdom, while the second embodies wisdom handed down both ancestrally (of generational father-to-son teachings) and of the flesh in genetic material and ancient instinct. In defying the Father, we sin, both against the Logos within us and without, and against self and other people--in arrogance of claiming to know better. In defying the father, we believe we know more than or are wiser than, all the generations who came before us, and the survival lessons required for them to learn and practice for us to exist, not to mention defiance of our ancient instinct, passed down biologically. To summarize, defying earthly or Heavenly fathers, at its core, means we think we are wiser (know more) than either or both, which is a really, really damn bad thing to think, and an even worse life philosophy on which to base our actions and rules for living.

The devil enters the picture in tempting us away from the Father's wisdom or into believe we know better. The devil represents peer pressure "on high" as the boy who convinces us to play in the falling down empty factory building or smoke our first cigarette. But the devil's lethal to human life and future on Earth threat is not in its initial temptation or influence to defy the father. Rather, the devil's first temptation often seems to lead to what looks like commission of a small act of defiance which then snowballs after the fact into catenae or entire chains of escalating bad and defiant behaviors. For example, it tempts you into that abandoned building. Once inside you fool around setting small fires, breaking glass, toppling old machinery. Then, when you try to escape the burning structure, you run, trip over a fallen machine, fall through the floor and shards of glass slice you to ribbons. Ultimately, you're scarred for life over half your body and whole surrounding neighborhoods burn down. Fun, fun.

Perhaps a beginning of the Age of ignorance and denial of the personification of primordial evil was the discovery of electricity. Prior to electricity and widespread intense indoor lighting, sundown brought a heavier, more primal darkness against which men stood heavy vigil even in the bobbing ever waning light of oil lamp and candle, until each dawn came at last to burn away his deepest fears lurking within night dark spaces and within his own mind. Could we have been so foolish to believe "manmade" light could also illuminate the darkest corners of antiquity within and without of our thoughts and plane of existence?

Of course the nascence of scientific thinking disproved many of Man's most intimate, longest held myths, ultimately making us less terrified of our own shadows and of the sun sinking below the horizon each evening. Without the proliferation of science, art, philosophy and ultimately logic and reasoning, what dark age would still envelop our lives to this day?

Nevertheless, I along with many millions of others believe that certain ancient wisdom; wisdom extant since the first man breathed his first breath, remains as true and important for our survival now as it was then. Even though we can as a race explain away many, many dark myths and demons of the past as symbology for the now better understood projection of human thought, the devil--or concept of the personification of evil--will never be one of them. There's just too much ancient wisdom evinced across too many radically different cultures since our beginning to dismiss the likelihood of Its existence. Ask yourself just what kind of level of arrogance you'd need to possess in order to deny or dismiss thousands of years of our forefather's teachings, let alone the living Words of the Father, because you think you know better. You'd require the Mount Everest of arrogance for that.

But, after all, they say the devil is in the details.

 

[sparky]

St Michael, Lucifer, devil....

lets's not forget 1/3 of the angels followed him

why?

one has to pick it out of the grand biblical metaphor , Genesis

God created humans , but humans lacked self awareness or free will

Thus the apple, the dispute, the banishing....

Adam/Eve started wearing fig leaves after the snake appeared...

~S~