Who is Satan? Or what does Satan represent to you?

[Liu]

Well I'm no expert on Judaism, but I thought there were forms of it were that is the belief. If that isn't the case then Judaism can be taken out of the list I made, that doesn't affect my point anyway.

 

[Desert Snake]

Well I'm no expert on Judaism, but I thought there were forms of it were that is the belief. If that isn't the case then Judaism can be taken out of the list I made, that doesn't affect my point anyway.

You seem to be conflating 'opposing god', with Satan. Satan is nowhere near a 'god'. That is traditionally, probably an extremely fringe belief, so I don't know why you are comparing it to ''deities'', in general. The 'god' satan thing has probably grown in popularity? not sure, but it isn't what the word means, even in a very broad sense. So, the ''opposing god'', thing, just isn't applicable

 

[Liu]

You seem to be conflating 'opposing god', with Satan. Satan is nowhere near a 'god'. That is traditionally, probably an extremely fringe belief, so I don't know why you are comparing it to ''deities'', in general. The 'god' satan thing has probably grown in popularity? not sure, but it isn't what the word means, even in a very broad sense. So, the ''opposing god'', thing, just isn't applicable

That would only be an issue if I'd believe in one of the Abrahamic religions.
But my belief exists independently of them - I just take the name of one of their mythological characters as one of many names I use to refer to my concept of deity since this concept has, as I described above, some similarities to that mythological character. I don't say it's necessarily the same being.

And I didn't even say that Satan in Abrahamic religions is a god (his Zoroastrian origin Ahriman is one, though), just that it is an opposer of the Abrahamic god in some versions of these religions.

 

[EtuMalku]

You seem to be conflating 'opposing god', with Satan. Satan is nowhere near a 'god'. That is traditionally, probably an extremely fringe belief, so I don't know why you are comparing it to ''deities'', in general. The 'god' satan thing has probably grown in popularity? not sure, but it isn't what the word means, even in a very broad sense. So, the ''opposing god'', thing, just isn't applicable

Are you discussing the word Satan etymologically or philosophically? Because the word is Judaic; ha satan while the principles of the Prince of Darkness extend much further back in time.

 

[Desert Snake]

Are you discussing the word Satan etymologically or philosophically? Because the word is Judaic; ha satan while the principles of the Prince of Darkness extend much further back in time.

There may be similarities, however in some of these religions, the persona isn't really like ''satan'', at all, /even in a broad sense. Merely an opposing deity, as well, is not enough to just associate it with 'satan', /broad usage/, either.
Anyways, perhaps a new thread

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Are the Psalms made up ?_________ The Psalms speak of death as sleep - Psalms 6:5; Psalms 13:3; Psalms 115:17; Psalms 146:4

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Okay, but I'm still struggling to understand what you mean by god of what is bad.. Do you mean creator of bad things? Or ruler of badness? Or dispenser of bad things? etc.
Yup.
Okay, but in what sense is Earth currently a/the world of badness (if that is what you mean - it wasn't clear to me)?

Satan is the ' god ' as in what is behind the badness in today's world - Revelation 12:12; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:13
Prof. Antony Flew concluded that " There are evils in abundance which could Not be put down to a consequence of human sin".
In other words, sin alone could Not count for all of earth's troubles.
Perhaps one could say that Satan is like a puppeteer who behind the scenes is pulling the stings to stir up, instigate, troubles.

In 'What sense Earth is currently a world of badness' is described for us at 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:13
There we find described a selfish distorted form of love that the world displays, which is in sharp contrast to the definition of godly love as defined at 1 Corinthians 13:4-6

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Satan, the make believe boogeyman created to give Christians a scapegoat for all the bad crap that happens.
Besides, if you know Hebrew then you would know that Satan is not a person/being...it is a title that means "the adversary." If we are playing chess, you are 'ha-satan'...the adversary.

True, we do Not know Satan the Devil's actual name - 1 Peter 5:8
Satan is a title ( resister ) as is Devil ( slanderer ) and Serpent ( deceiver ) and Dragon ( destroyer )
Satan's given name being missing does Not mean he is not a creation. It just means his actual name is Not revealed.

As Prof. Antony Flew concluded that " There are evils in abundance which could Not be put down to a consequence to human sin ".
We are all responsible to act responsibly toward God. We are all drawn out by our own desires ( good or bad ) - James 1:13-15
In other words, Satan can't make us do anything we do Not want to do.
Satan and Adam introduced and brought ' death ' into the human family.
We can Not resurrect oneself or another, so we need someone who can do that for us.
According to Scripture, Jesus can and will resurrect the dead - Revelation 1:18 - then enemy death will be No more on Earth
- 1 Corinthians 15:26; Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 22:2

 

[Neo Deist]

True, we do Not know Satan the Devil's actual name - 1 Peter 5:8

That is because there is no devil...well, except for Hillary.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

It seems plausible that the Prince of Darkness (by whatever name) would have a will of it's own, but I can't say for sure.

Tell me more about this Prince of Darkness.

 

[EtuMalku]

Tell me more about this Prince of Darkness.

The Prince of Darkness is the archetype of Man's Isolate Consciousness and the presenter of our Black Flame.
You may know this archetype as Azazel / Iblis

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Mainly these:
(sorry for the wall of text, it is a huge topic and I tried to be concise as possible)

No problem at all! Thank you for taking the time to post these.

I believe that if one wants to search for enlightenment or even just mundane personal development it is helpful if not necessary to remain flexible and be able to change one's views.

I agree.

reality is based on eternal change and conflict, so I don't see Satan as a principle of mere opposition to the forces that be, but rather as a fundamental aspect of being.

Again, I agree.

Related to that, Satan is also often called Lucifer, meaning bringer of light.

Here we differ. I see Satan and Lucifer as two distinct beings. Satan is my enemy. Lucifer is my friend and ally.

And there are some biblical characters that are often equated with him that play a role in which they bring some kind of hidden knowledge to humanity which formerly belonged only to god, e.g. the snake in the garden of Eden, or Azazel in the apocryphal book of Enoch.

Yes, I can see how one might think this.

Many of those behaviors that are normally called sins are completely natural, healthy behaviors

Again, I'm inclined to agree!

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Not if you believe in God as omnipotent

Right, but there we differ.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Because I choose to believe in God based on my personal observations of both nature and the cosmos.

Fair enough!

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Nobody owns force imo.

God?

If Satan can have power, then other so called people can have power too and there would be more than one corrupting force.

Sure.

The forces would overwhelm goodness.

I don't see how that necessarily follows, though.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

Like us and all entities, from a spark of Atma/God/Brahman encased in a bodily form (physical or above the physical). Through actions of free will some go badly astray.

How do these sparks arise? Why?

 

[The_Fisher_King]

As in "That is what God tells me."

Still don't follow, I'm afraid. Why does that lead you to say 'Ouch'?

 

[The_Fisher_King]

The Nomos, within a culture or geographic region, is the collective array of things, ideas, concepts, and behaviours that constitute 'normal' or 'acceptable'.

Ah, okay, I see what you're saying now. Thanks.

 

[savagewind]

God?

I suppose. I know God IS power. Power is real. God is real. Satan is not real imo. Satan is the influence (force) that some people allow for the corruption of life.

Sure.

OK I don't know much about this and I am making it up as I go.

I don't see how that necessarily follows, though.

I might be wrong, but it seems right to me. A gang of weak and stupid people can do a lot of damage. One stupid, weak person can't do much.

 

[The_Fisher_King]

In 'What sense Earth is currently a world of badness' is described for us at 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:13
There we find described a selfish distorted form of love that the world displays, which is in sharp contrast to the definition of godly love as defined at 1 Corinthians 13:4-6

So is there no goodness in the world? No godly love?