Demons - Is There Evidence They Exist?

[nPeace]

What isn't adding up for you?

Just look at yourself as an example. There is the physical 'you'. And there is the idea of you that exists in both your mind and in the minds of all who know or know of you. And consider how those ideas of you effect your physical being. Especially your own idea of you. It's constantly determining and effecting everything you do. And much of what is done to you, too.

So reality is an idea?
For example, when the universe was discovered, was it an idea, and is it still an idea?

An idea, is defined as
1. a thought or suggestion as to a possible...

• a mental impression
• an opinion or belief

Do you have another definition you have in mind?

 

[nPeace]

Sometimes I wish I was really an alien and could leave this crazy planet. Just a dream though. I'm stuck here.

View attachment 80520

I know the feeling. The question is, why is it crazy? Obviously, people's mentality... but which ones?

 

[Alien826]

Would that not depend on what is being examined?
Is science the most reliable at our gaining knowledge and truth regarding ethical, moral, aesthetic, social, "issues"?

Interesting question. As many of these "issues" are subjective in nature, it often comes down to personal preference. Is homosexuality morally right or wrong? We can use science to examine the phenomenon of homosexuality in humans and other species. We can observe what harm has followed from (for example) the recent more relaxed attitudes to homosexuality in Western societies. In the end though, science doesn't tell us what we should decide. But it does help us to decide.

I'd suggest though that subjective decisions are not particularly accurate. And if you are going on to say that religious belief is subjective .... I'd agree.

 

[nPeace]

I just did. Please connect the dots between your claim and please explain what the evidence is and how it ties into your claim.
I did not see any evidence that demonstrates the veracity of your claim.

No, you didn't explain anything. You simply complained, despite the OP providing what you claim isn't there.

 

[nPeace]

Interesting question. As many of these "issues" are subjective in nature, it often comes down to personal preference. Is homosexuality morally right or wrong? We can use science to examine the phenomenon of homosexuality in humans and other species. We can observe what harm has followed from (for example) the recent more relaxed attitudes to homosexuality in Western societies. In the end though, science doesn't tell us what we should decide. But it does help us to decide.

I'd suggest though that subjective decisions are not particularly accurate. And if you are going on to say that religious belief is subjective .... I'd agree.

So science does not answer all questions, including universal morality, God, etc. When it comes to things of that sort, and spirit, is there anything that does?
When it comes to questions regarding the purpose of life, and suchlike, do you dismiss those as questions that have no real answers?

 

[Alien826]

I know the feeling. The question is, why is it crazy? Obviously, people's mentality... but which ones?

I honestly don't know. I believe your religious ideas are "crazy" (no offense meant). You probably feel the same way about my lack of belief. The underlying craziness is though, why do we have such wildly varying views of the world? We both have the information available to us. Neither one of us lacks intelligence. Yet from the conclusions we draw we might as well be living in two different versions of some "matrix".

 

[nPeace]

I honestly don't know. I believe your religious ideas are "crazy" (no offense meant). You probably feel the same way about my lack of belief. The underlying craziness is though, why do we have such wildly varying views of the world? We both have the information available to us. Neither one of us lacks intelligence. Yet from the conclusions we draw we might as well be living in two different versions of some "matrix".

I know why, but you're probably tired of hearing it and would rather remain in your world.
These worlds wont collide, nor mesh. One will go... according to one means of gaining knowledge and truth - the Bible.

 

[Alien826]

So science does not answer all questions, including universal morality, God, etc. When it comes to things of that sort, and spirit, is there anything that does?
When it comes to questions regarding the purpose of life, and suchlike, do you dismiss those as questions that have no real answers?

I would say that universal morality does not exist in the sense that you mean it. The problem is that we don't have an agreed definition of "good". If we did, we could test our candidate moralities against that. God? I see it as unproven and unlikely, though once again we need a firm definition of "God" to test our theories against.

So I would say that we have many competing claims of what answers these questions.

I do think that theoretically we could come to answers, but they would simply be universally agreed, which of course would be a lot better than what we have now.

I'm not sure I'm being clear, sorry. It's a simple question with a far from simple answer.

 

[Alien826]

I know why, but you're probably tired of hearing it and would rather remain in your world.
These worlds wont collide, nor mesh. One will go... according to one means of gaining knowledge and truth - the Bible.

I wish I had as much confidence that my belief system will "win" one day, but I fear the craziness will go on. Let's leave it at that.

 

[YoursTrue]

Actually, if you focussed on US, you would think the demons are not only sleeping, but partial.

1	Venezuela	82.1	17.9
2	Papua New Guinea	80.4	19.6
3	Afghanistan	78.4	21.6
4	Haiti	78.3	21.7
5	South Africa	75.5	24.5
6	Honduras	74.3	25.7
7	Trinidad And Tobago	70.8	29.2
8	Syria	69.1	30.9
9	Guyana	68.8	31.2
10	Jamaica	67.5	32.5
11	Peru	67.5	32.5
12	Somalia	66.7	33.3
13	Brazil	66.1	33.9
14	Nigeria	65.8	34.2
15	Angola	65.8	34.2
16	Namibia	64.6	35.4
17	Cameroon	64.2	35.8
18	Argentina	64.0	36.0
19	Mozambique	63.7	36.3
20	Bangladesh	62.5	37.5
21	El Salvador	62.1	37.9
22	Bolivia	62.0	38.0
23	Puerto Rico	61.7	38.3
24	Us Virgin Islands	61.2	38.8
25	Dominican Republic	61.1	38.9
26	Colombia	60.8	39.2
27	Ecuador	60.7	39.3
28	Zimbabwe	60.6	39.4
29	Libya	60.4	39.6
30	Bahamas	60.3	39.7
31	Guatemala	60.1	39.9
32	Chile	58.7	41.3
33	Ivory Coast	57.5	42.5
34	Kenya	56.8	43.2
35	Fiji	56.7	43.3
36	Uganda	55.9	44.1
37	Maldives	55.2	44.8
38	France	54.6	45.4
39	Tanzania	54.4	45.6
40	Mexico	54.1	45.9
41	Kyrgyzstan	53.9	46.1
42	Costa Rica	53.7	46.3
43	Mongolia	53.5	46.5
44	Cambodia	53.0	47.0
45	Botswana	52.6	47.4
46	Belize	52.3	47.7
47	Uruguay	51.9	48.1
48	Malaysia	51.6	48.4
49	Belarus	51.4	48.6
50	Algeria	51.4	48.6
51	Ethiopia	51.4	48.6
52	North Korea	50.7	49.3
53	Paraguay	50.6	49.4
54	Nicaragua	50.2	49.8
55	Myanmar	50.0	50.0
56	Iran	49.8	50.2
57	United States	49.2	50.8

Worldwide, the increasing crime is a problem.
Some lands had never experienced crime, other than "petty" theft, but no more.
However, the seesaw motion does not give us the real picture.
Go to this website, and scrub through the interactive graph, from 1990 to 2021.
It's possible to find data, for earlier years.

The world crime rate increased by 0.74% from 2019 to 20201. According to the Global Crime Index 2022, crime rates continue to rise worldwide, with no signs of slowing down2. In fact, the number of people victimized by crimes has doubled.


When I was a boy, we used to leave our door opened.
We heard our parents relate how they went away and left their houses unlocked... even at night.

Now, people have double locks and chains on their doors, iron bars, on doors and windows, as if they are in prison.
Persons even lament on how church buildings that once remained opened are now usually closed, and to gain access one needs to have a key, or request entry.
You think this is due to population growth.

Recently I saw a program like "live court tv" and it was a suit between two parents. One of the parents taught his child that "snitches get stitches," so when the other complained to her mama that her friend grabbed her doll, the belligerent child who learned that response from her father, physically assaulted and hurt the other one because she "snitched" and told her mother who then approached the other child's parent about it. The judge ruled in favor of the one who was assaulted. The point is that the other little girl was undeniably taught by her father to hurt someone who reveals an assault. Sad world we live in and happy that God will soon change it.

 

[YoursTrue]

The thing is, Jesus did not set out to convince everyone, since he knew that the majority would be as he described them - a wicked and adulterous generation. Jesus was looking for lost sheep, rather than stubborn goats.

(Matthew 25:31-33) 31 “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.

Thank you. I can happily say I was a lost sheep. And, as the song goes, "I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind...but now I see." It was not until I finally prayed to God after many years to let me know if He was there. He did. It took a while after that but God kindly took me, miserable me, by the hand. Through many struggles and turmoils He kept me by Him.

 

[SkepticThinker]

No, you didn't explain anything. You simply complained, despite the OP providing what you claim isn't there.

I just did. Please connect the dots between your claim and please explain what the evidence is and how it ties into your claim.
I did not see any evidence that demonstrates the veracity of your claim.

If the OP provided what I'd ask for, I wouldn't be asking for it.

Can you try to connect the dots for us, or are we going to play silly games instead?

 

[PureX]

So reality is an idea?
For example, when the universe was discovered, was it an idea, and is it still an idea?

The universe was always an idea in our minds. And it was always a thing apart from our ideas of it, too. Still is, ... both. Because it exists in the physical and in the metaphysical realm, where ideas (cognition) and physics intersect and effect each other.

An idea, is defined as
1. a thought or suggestion as to a possible...

• a mental impression
• an opinion or belief

Do you have another definition you have in mind?

Yes, ideas are "ordered cognitive experiences" that sentient beings use to respond to, and within, the physical realm.

To 'perceive' is also to 'conceive'. And it's through ideation that we do this.

That second definition above seem way out of place, to me. "Opinions and beliefs" are attitudes we hold TOWARD ideas, they are not ideas in and of themselves.

 

[YoursTrue]

I would say it's a given that a hard life can make people hardened and tough, which can make them indifferent to others and willing to kill to survive. If people are hungry most of the time because there's little to no food, it seems that there would a propensity to store, save, ration, and even hoard food - even in times of plenty. That's where greed comes about, due to an underlying fear of running out.
needed or required.

Well, once again an interesting point is brought out. My father's parents left Nazi invaded territory before they got to them. My parents developed a hatred of certain peoples and persuasions because of what so many did. And what the masses were taught. They had a hard life but didn't want to die.

 

[nPeace]

I would say that universal morality does not exist in the sense that you mean it. The problem is that we don't have an agreed definition of "good". If we did, we could test our candidate moralities against that. God? I see it as unproven and unlikely, though once again we need a firm definition of "God" to test our theories against.

So I would say that we have many competing claims of what answers these questions.

I do think that theoretically we could come to answers, but they would simply be universally agreed, which of course would be a lot better than what we have now.

I'm not sure I'm being clear, sorry. It's a simple question with a far from simple answer.

That's okay. I'll attempt to relieve any stress I caused. In other words, I'll let you know where I am going.

The writings of the Bible are not new, but have been around for centuries. In these writings, we find answers to all these questions - not fickle answers, but definitive... conclusive, and what is more, they 'stand' alongside information that have proved reliable, so as to bolster faith in the trustworthiness of these answers.

Hence, for persons who trust the Bible based on such evidence, we have a means of gaining knknowledge and truths where science doesn't attempt to answer, or fails to answer.
For those who dismiss this way of acquiring knowledge and truth, that's okay. It is a part of the reality.
(2 Thessalonians 3:2) . . .for faith is not a possession of all people. . .

 

[nPeace]

I just did. Please connect the dots between your claim and please explain what the evidence is and how it ties into your claim.
I did not see any evidence that demonstrates the veracity of your claim.

If the OP provided what I'd ask for, I wouldn't be asking for it.

Can you try to connect the dots for us, or are we going to play silly games instead?

Don't accuse me of your actions, and wasting my time with it.

 

[nPeace]

Recently I saw a program like "live court tv" and it was a suit between two parents. One of the parents taught his child that "snitches get stitches," so when the other complained to her mama that her friend grabbed her doll, the belligerent child who learned that response from her father, physically assaulted and hurt the other one because she "snitched" and told her mother who then approached the other child's parent about it. The judge ruled in favor of the one who was assaulted. The point is that the other little girl was undeniably taught by her father to hurt someone who reveals an assault. Sad world we live in and happy that God will soon change it.

Yes, parents can only instill in their children, what's in the parent.

 

[nPeace]

The universe was always an idea in our minds. And it was always a thing apart from our ideas of it, too. Still is, ... both. Because it exists in the physical and in the metaphysical realm, where ideas (cognition) and physics intersect and effect each other.

Yes, ideas are "ordered cognitive experiences" that sentient beings use to respond to, and within, the physical realm.

To 'perceive' is also to 'conceive'. And it's through ideation that we do this.

That second definition above seem way out of place, to me. "Opinions and beliefs" are attitudes we hold TOWARD ideas, they are not ideas in and of themselves.

Right, so the universe existed as a reality. It was not an idea. Brains did not exist for eons.
Same with God, angels, demons, etc.

I don't really want to focus on what man came along later and thought.
God was not an idea in Adam's head. Maybe the image of God was, but that is different.

There is no reason for me to focus on what's in man's head. That's not what I am talking about.

 

[Alien826]

That's okay. I'll attempt to relieve any stress I caused. In other words, I'll let you know where I am going.

No stress, just a difficult question to answer fully in this limited venue.

The writings of the Bible are not new, but have been around for centuries. In these writings, we find answers to all these questions - not fickle answers, but definitive... conclusive, and what is more, they 'stand' alongside information that have proved reliable, so as to bolster faith in the trustworthiness of these answers.

Hence, for persons who trust the Bible based on such evidence, we have a means of gaining knknowledge and truths where science doesn't attempt to answer, or fails to answer.

Yup, that's pretty much trivially true. No disrespect, just that it boils down to "people who trust the Bible trust the Bible". Which is fair enough.

For those who dismiss this way of acquiring knowledge and truth, that's okay. It is a part of the reality.
(2 Thessalonians 3:2) . . .for faith is not a possession of all people. . .

You realize that verse describes me as wicked and evil, right? "And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith".

 

[nPeace]

You realize that verse describes me as wicked and evil, right? "And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith".

LOL