Of all of the platitudes and adages that come out of Christian's mouths, there is one phrase in particular that I just find hysterical. 'Funny as shit. It usually surfaces when people are critical of the Christian's god, and it's usually when they have nothing to counter the criticism with.
So, I guess it's basically a last ditched effort to threaten someone into belief, amounting to, "Oh yeah? Well, you're going to get it later, so neener, neener, neener!!!" Anyone who's spent any time on the playground in elementary school remembers this sort of thing.
Can all of us, believers, and even former believers, agree that Satan is God's worst enemy? Non-believers would be playing along under the pretense that it's all true, of course. So, yes? I mean, who has consistently been a thorn in God's side since day one? Who gives God the most brain damage? Who has single-handedly drafted the most believers and brought them on over to the dark side? Who is the biggest perpetrator of evil?
Answer: Satan, aka, the devil.
Christians: Let's get real. No one mocks God more than Satan. No one. And yet, look---God has not so much as slapped Satan on the wrist. God stands there with arms folded while his worst enemy throws a ginormous monkey wrench into his "Plan".
God is clearly mocked, and yet, God does nothing; zilch; nadda.
Since the idea that neither character exists is not up for consideration to a "True Believer", I'd be curious to hear a defense for this. Anyone?
6 comments:
If God is omnipotent, then he created Satan and is letting him run wild for whatever reason- and there are many theories as you well know.
If God is omnipotent, then he created Satan and is letting him run wild for whatever reason- and there are many theories as you well know.
True, that. As the story goes, one of God's angels rebelled in heaven, only to later be cast out and become God's worst enemy, "Satan". This, alone, should raise an eyebrow since we are to believe that heaven and God's presence preclude "evil" of any sort. Choosing to rebel against God? How would that not fall under "evil"? But as you point out, yes, God lets Satan run amok for whatever reason, wreaking havoc on what was originally intended to be a Paradise, aka, Heaven on Earth.
You say there's a lot of theories, and one of the leading theories (or apologetic) is that "evil" is necessary for "free will". If you're like me, you find that to be seriously methed up, given that God originally intended to dwell with his creation here on Earth as an earthly "Paradise". This now becomes a case of believers wanting their cake and to eat it, too, because the premise contradicts the outcome.
Anyone who values reason and common sense must see that something's got to give. If "evil" is necessary for free will, and further, if the omniscient creator knew this in advance, then why in the hell(pun intended) did this creator originally intend to dwell with his creation in a "Paradise" devoid of "evil" here on Earth???? Why, if God won't be mocked by his creation, does he not deal with the guy who's presumably responsible for making the creation mock God?!?!?!?
Stuff that makes you go..."Hmmmm"(and for some, stuff that makes you ditch Christianity and its book of contradictory nonsense)
Doesn't this all fall under, "Who can know the mind of god?"
That said, I saw this interesting video that hypothesizes that Satan/devil etc. are not what we think:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jTgBdPmA_8
Doesn't this all fall under, "Who can know the mind of god?"
Sure, if you're a Christian it falls under that. But as we know, they only ask that question when they're stumped. The rest of the time they can mysteriously know God's mind just fine.
As for the vid', I confess it became a bit too tedious for me at around the 15 minute mark, mainly because the lady, who early on charged that Christians will latch on to two or three verses and then draw their conclusion..e.g...conclude that the traditional story of how the angel Lucifer was created in Heaven, and then rebelled and was later cast into Hell, yadda, yadda, is true. But yet, she seems to be guilty of the exact same thing..i.e..latching onto select verses that she (maybe) finds more interesting, or for whatever other reason.
Point being, the bible's scriptures contradict one another. That much is beyond argument. Moreover, if one is going to go the trouble of learning certain words in certain verses in the original Hebrew, that's fine and all, but why stop there? Get a lexicon and learn the whole bible that way, then. 'Not sure if I'll finish watching the vid'. Maybe in small intervals. Idk.
Either way, thanks for providing another perspective.
I understand - her voice and chaotic/excited presentation were tough to stomach ... especially early, but she settles in a bit to focus more on the classic language use and how words like "satan", in the original hebrew, mean "adversary and that the word is affixed to mortal kings and god (el elohim) himself and thus the word is essentially the equivalent of a job description and not a proper name/noun. Overall she ends up focused on how the original words are used in their contemporary context and thus discovers that there is no ONE "Devil/Satan/Beelzebub" referenced in the bible as is currently believed.
See if you can't stomach your way through the rest of it since it's a pretty fresh look/take on the concept of hell and satan and I'm interested in your opinion given your superior knowledge on the subject.
Re: the "Lexicon" ... as I understand, that's precisely what she did in learning and understanding the original languages (not just certain words)
Correct, her voice grates on the nerves. Idk. Like I said, if I finish watching it, it will have to be in intervals. lol
@ Alice,
If you happen to check out the vid', I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. Thx
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