Implausability of Satan.

[Blackdog22]

The Implausibility of Satan
I often hear Christians talk about Satan, "The Great Deceiver". When I tell them that I am quite confident there is no such being, they ask me how can I be so sure? Therefore, I decided to write this article to explain why I find the existence of such a being to be extremely implausible.

So who is Satan? Satan is supposedly a powerful, supernatural being created by God. God intended Satan to be good. Yet Satan turned evil. How is it possible that God--from whom only good things come--created a supernatural being that turned evil? Right off the proverbial bat, this seems to make the idea of Satan hard to believe. Note that Matthew 7:18 says, "a good tree cannot bear bad fruit." How could the "bad fruit" of Satan have come from the "good tree" of God?"

Read the full article HERE

This is not my work, but it brings up some very good points that makes Satan unbelievable in general. Of course that is if you believe Satan is a being and not a metaphor for some unknown evil.

 

[Blackdog22]

I would also like to add one more thing. Consider that Satanism is one of the smallest religions in the world. Isn't it odd that a being with free will that is able to tempt us at will, freely, and with supernatural powers; isn't even able to construe more than 1% of the worlds population to follow him?
" Ah," you say, but Satan tricks people into following other religions! "Why?" I ask. Let us consider the being Satan. He was tossed out of Heaven because he wanted to be worshiped above God. He wants more than anything to be God himself. So why would a being, who has the resources to make HIS religion big, go through the trouble of pumping Allah up? Seems a little odd for a being who wants all the worship to himself. Sharing that worship with Allah simply makes no sense. Would it not make more sense for Satan to spend his time and energy convincing people Satanism was the way? Why waste time on a religion that offers you no benefit? Unless of course the story of Satan is false and Satan has no pride issues. Which of course makes the entire Bible questionable.

 

[ChristineES]

After years of study I have come to the conclusion that Satan isn't a literal being, but the symbol of our desires, temptations greed, etc. Such statements in the Bible such as "Satan entered Judas" and even Jesus being tempted by Satan can be explained this way- Jesus is considered 100% God and 100% man- the 100% man being relevant in this case. And Job was never a literal story (where we first hear about Satan).

 

[Blackdog22]

After years of study I have come to the conclusion that Satan isn't a literal being, but the symbol of our desires, temptations greed, etc. Such statements in the Bible such as "Satan entered Judas" and even Jesus being tempted by Satan can be explained this way- Jesus is considered 100% God and 100% man- the 100% man being relevant in this case. And Job was never a literal story (where we first hear about Satan).

A couple of questions Christine. If Satan doesn't exist who holds the reigns to Hell? or do you not believe in Hell? If not then does everyone go to Heaven? Also if Job wasn't literal then what was the meaning of the story? Follow God and die by some unknown being? Who could of possibly been the character Satan in the story? What about Revelations and the coming of the Anti Christ who is Satan incarnate? Do you think that Satan incarnate is simply our desires incarnate? If so, how does that even make sense?

I ask these questions because from the logic that I live by, without the possibility of Satan, I lose the possibility of the God of the Bible.

 

[ChristineES]

A couple of questions Christine. If Satan doesn't exist who holds the reigns to Hell? or do you not believe in Hell? If not then does everyone go to Heaven? Also if Job wasn't literal then what was the meaning of the story? Follow God and die by some unknown being? Who could of possibly been the character Satan in the story? What about Revelations and the coming of the Anti Christ who is Satan incarnate? Do you think that Satan incarnate is simply our desires incarnate? If so, how does that even make sense?

I ask these questions because from the logic that I live by, without the possibility of Satan, I lose the possibility of the God of the Bible.

I believe "hell" to be the separation of humans and God. And I didn't say Satan did not exist; just that it wasn't a literal entity. We have flesh and we live accordingly to our fleshly desires.
Job was a story about faith: Someone who didn't lose faith and didn't curse Job, no matter how bad it got. You have to admit that none of us, even with all our troubles, have it as bad a Job had in this story. Like me, for example: I have 2 autistic sons, both my husband and I are having trouble finding a job (we live in California, where the unemployment rate is 12%), among other things. But I have my faith. We have all we need, very few extras, but enough (my husband's Navy retirement and my sons' SSI keep our heads above water until we find work). We are happy, though.

 

[Blackdog22]

I believe "hell" to be the separation of humans and God. And I didn't say Satan did not exist; just that it wasn't a literal entity. We have flesh and we live accordingly to our fleshly desires.
Job was a story about faith: Someone who didn't lose faith and didn't curse Job, no matter how bad it got. You have to admit that none of us, even with all our troubles, have it as bad a Job had in this story. Like me, for example: I have 2 autistic sons, both my husband and I are having trouble finding a job (we live in California, where the unemployment rate is 12%), among other things. But I have my faith. We have all we need, very few extras, but enough (my husband's Navy retirement and my sons' SSI keep our heads above water until we find work). We are happy, though.

God Christine. I hope things get better for you. I would honestly rather not get into this conversation with you since any debate that could possibly hurt your faith would be a futile and evil exercise in human decency. However I would want to ask, do you believe that God actually sent the order to unemploy you and cause your sons autism in order to make you worship him harder? That is the main difference in real life and the story of Job for me.

 

[ChristineES]

God Christine. I hope things get better for you. I would honestly rather not get into this conversation with you since any debate that could possibly hurt your faith would be a futile and evil exercise in human decency. However I would want to ask, do you believe that God actually sent the order to unemploy you and cause your sons autism in order to make you worship him harder? That is the main difference in real life and the story of Job for me.

No. I don't believe God caused my husband to get fired and I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time, which is why I am not finding anything. And I don't believe God caused my sons to be autistic.
I went through a period several years ago of anger, because of my oldest son's diagnosis (my youngest son has Asperger's and is much higher functioning). I did blame God. But then I decided to stop the blaming game and just be happy my oldest son is very happy and a good kid. Besides, my daughter is normal.

 

[Blackdog22]

No. I don't believe God caused my husband to get fired and I was a stay-at-home mom for a long time, which is why I am not finding anything. And I don't believe God caused my sons to be autistic.
I went through a period several years ago of anger, because of my oldest son's diagnosis (my youngest son has Asperger's and is much higher functioning). I did blame God. But then I decided to stop the blaming game and just be happy my oldest son is very happy and a good kid. Besides, my daughter is normal.

I can only imagine how difficult that would be. What I mean reguarding blaming God is according to the story of Job, correct me if I am wrong, God sends Satan to turn Job against him and murder his family, however what is learned from the story is a stronger faith. According to the story it appears God sent the order to allow an evil being to destroy Job in order for Job to love God more.
My question is if that is the belief of the story, that it is okay for God to allow terrible things to happen so that we grovel before him harder. Why would it not be possible for bad things that happen to us here on earth be commands by God, so that we will grovel before him?

 

[Thesavorofpan]

Actually I don't believe Satan is an super powerful evil being that we make him out to be. He's evil, there no doubt it, but I think he was stripped of his powers when he got booted from heaven. Actually the only power that he has is, he's a smooth talker which he probably developped over the thousands of years humans been here. Also I think the major factor in his success is that were so evil that we make it child play. We enjoy doing evil things so therefore were easy to persaude to his will.
I think the reason why God hasn't obliverated Satan is he doesn't seem him as a threat and or he keeps him there to show the other Angel's what happens when you go against him.

 

[Midnight Pete]

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.

 

[MW0082]

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.

Compared to greatest trick convincing us there is a god.....? lol

 

[Meow Mix]

Actually I don't believe Satan is an super powerful evil being that we make him out to be. He's evil, there no doubt it, but I think he was stripped of his powers when he got booted from heaven. Actually the only power that he has is, he's a smooth talker which he probably developped over the thousands of years humans been here. Also I think the major factor in his success is that were so evil that we make it child play. We enjoy doing evil things so therefore were easy to persaude to his will.
I think the reason why God hasn't obliverated Satan is he doesn't seem him as a threat and or he keeps him there to show the other Angel's what happens when you go against him.

Why would god allow a being so evil to smooth talk other people into things? God allows entrapment, in other words? That's pretty evil on God's part, don't you think?

If God were Internal Affairs he'd be corrupt as hell for letting that fly.

Also if Satan has no powers, how is he able to magically whisper in our ears in a non-conversational manner?

None of this makes sense.

Why would God need satan as an example or trophy for the other angels, who ostensibly can see the glory of God pretty up close in heaven? I don't get any of these suggestions.

 

[Meow Mix]

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.

What if the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing humans that the various holy texts (including the Bible) were inspired by God and not by him?

It sure would explain the petty indictments against victimless crimes (like homosexuality, eating shrimp, etc.) and the mass genocide in the Old Testament and the almost gleeful torture of Job just to essentially win a bet ("See? Job still loves me. I told ya so!")

 

[Goodlivn]

I dont buy the Satan story. It appears to me to be borne out of mankind's propensity to explain the inexplicable. to find reason or order in what seems to be out of control. How do you explain 'bad' things happening to 'good' people? a Satan type character exists in most known mythologies and he is a very convenient target. God is responsible for whats good and (since you have to explain it) it would only follow that somebody has to be the blame for all the bad. Humans arent even completely to blame for the bad things they do because they only commit "sins" as a result of the Satan character introducing it into the world.

one time i was pumping gas one sun. morning and a church van pulled up full of elderly passengers and driven by an older gentleman. the old guy pulled a little too close to the pump and hit one of the little poles stationed there and there was a loud bang. nobody was hurt but you can imagine how this would upset older people. this was a simple case of the old guy's eyes not being what they once were but as the passengers filed out i heard several of the ladies say, "This is nothing but Satan work" (or words to that effect)

whether it is a fender bender in 2010 A.D. or a sick cow in 2010 B.C, Satan's creation was inevitable IMO.

 

[Blackdog22]

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.

"Oh yes! That sounds nice. All the problems with the Devil are gone now..."

Is that the response you expected? This phrase isn't based on Biblical theology, it is a very simple phrase to get very gullible, or willing people to accept unreasonable beliefs without much thought put into it.

The reason I say this is because the phrase doesn't line up with the character of Satan as we know it. Satan was cast out of hell for wanting to be worshiped above God was he not? He threw away everything he had so that he could be worshiped as God is worshiped. However you want me to believe that this prideful being who only wants to be worshiped, not only has one of the smallest religions on the planet, but wants us to believe he doesn't exist? For what purpose? Do you honestly think that he is jumping for joy that Allah and Buddha are more worshiped than he is?

If Satan does exist. Surely he has failed his goal of being worshiped as God. Since according to the Bible he is destroyed in the end and this is his only shot at being God. Some villain....

 

[tomato1236]

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.

From 2 Nephi 28:

22 And behold, others he aflattereth away, and telleth them there is no bhell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful cchains, from whence there is no deliverance.

 

[Meow Mix]

I still think Melkor is the coolest devil. This Satan/Luciver/whatever dude has nothing on the real Dark Lord.

 

[james2ko]

then free will does not exist.

You sure about this? You did an excellent job exercising yours by denouncing satan's existence.

 

[Blackdog22]

You sure about this? You did an excellent job exercising yours by denouncing satan's existence.

The idea is if Satan is capable of putting fake fossils on the planet, and if he is capable of forming religions that have nothing to do with him, that have just as much evidence of being real as the "True" religion. If this being can secretly get us to do things without our knowledge of it. If he can "possess" us and throw us into walls like Christians believe. Then we have about as much free will as the action figures you had growing up.

 

[logician]

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.

Except this supposed being didn't, a great many people believe there is such an entity.