Is There a Devil?
Many Bible based religions teach that Satan the devil is the cause of sin in this world. They teach that Satan the 'devil' is a real person or one of God's fallen angels. Is this true? Why do religions scare people into believing the devil is real? Do they benefit from teaching this? Or do they sincerely believe in the devil is the cause of wickedness today?
What Does The Bible Say?
How can we interpret what the Bible says about the devil? Please check out these scriptures. Should we accept Satan as a real person? Or are there other ways to understand what the Bible says? 1 John 3:8-10; Matthew 4:1-6,11; 2 Timothy 2:26; 1 Peter 5:8; James 4:7; 1 Timothy 3:6,7; Rev 20:2,10; Ephesians 6:11; Ephesians 4:27; John 13:2; Luke 4:2-9; Rev 12:9-12; John 6:70; Matthew 13:39; Acts 13:10; John 8:44; Matthew 25:41; Acts 10:38;
Let's remember that the Bible is an ancient book. Even though many people accept that the Bible is 'inspired' by God, it was not physically written by God. The Bible is collection of many books written by ordinary people who had incites and 'inspiration' to record what they were thinking about. Most of us are inspired to do things as well. Sometimes we get inspired to clean the house or take out the garbage. Someone was inspired to write this article. Perhaps they believed that God was guiding them. Bible writers may have felt the same way.
History Of The Devil.
The devil's history has evolved over thousands of years. From a historical perspective, ancient people may have believed that the devil was real. Why is that? Ancient people did not have the knowledge we have today. They wrote what was real for them based upon their limited knowledge of science.
For example, if the community happened to drink contaminated water and thousands of people died, they didn't understand why this happened. They didn't understand germs, bacteria, and the cause of disease. Ancient scholars no doubt pondered upon why bad things happen. Could it be that Satan the Devil was tempting them to do bad things and God was punishing them by wiping out entire communities?
Is The Devil Real?
Instead of taking responsibility for the spark of evil within all of us, it is easier for people to blame someone else when they 'sin' or do something wrong. As you recall in the Bible, Adam blamed his wife and his wife blamed the serpent. Of course the snake had no one to blame.
According to the Bible, God bought the lie that a snake deceived Eve and caused her to sin. The Bible says that the serpent was punished by God for deceiving Eve. Genesis 3: 1-24. Do you believe that animals can talk and give advice to humans? If you don't, God probably didn't either. The Genesis account is not meant to be taken literally at face value. It was an interesting story to explain why life is tough and why bad things happen to good people. It was a perspective of an ancient author.
As in ancient times, most people today refuse to take responsibility for the evil that exists in all of us. Instead they blame the devil. One of Satan's demonic angels deceived them, just like Eve was deceived by the snake. They say that the temptation was so great, they couldn't resist. Thus they believe that evil is not entirely their fault. Their ego will not allow them to admit full responsibility for their actions. For most people it's too painful to admit they did something wrong. It's less painful to blame someone else.
Who Is Satan The Devil?
Some people say that God is all there is. There is no devil. God is the only thing that's real. God is everywhere. If God is everywhere, where does the devil live? Does God share the same house with Satan and his demon angels? If not, how can we understand evil as represented by Satan the Devil?
If God created all life on this planet, then it is possible that we all share the same consciousness. In other words, even though we are free to do whatever we want, the spirit of God could be the consciousness that keeps all of us alive. If God is 'everywhere', it's logical that he lives in all of us and we share the mind of God. [1]
If God created us and keeps us alive, why do some people reject God? It's because we are created free in God's image. Even though the spirit of God resides in all of us, we are free to choose evil. As long as even one person in this world chooses to have evil thoughts, a spark of evil could exist all of us. All that's needed is a tiny spark to ignite a raging forest fire. Evil can spread fast and fire is a good way to explain the torment people experience. Evil causes intense pain and suffering for everyone living in hell.
It doesn't matter which religion we belong to. When the conditions are right, all of us have the capacity for hurt others. We have the potential for evil as much as we have the potential to be loving like God. 1 John 4:7-20; Luke 6:35
For this reason some people believe that evil and love lives in all of us. God is love. Satan is evil. We can choose God or we can choose Satan. Sometimes we make God happy and sometimes we make Satan happy. We are all tempted by the devil from time to time. God's love is our true nature because God is our Creator. Leaving God's love usually results in pain and suffering. Hell can be a very real place for those who choose evil instead of God's love.
God, Evil, And The Prince Of Darkness.
Satan is darkness. God is light. When people choose to stray from God's light and into the darkness, Satan is there to greet them. Here's how to understand the reality of Satan the Devil.
When you walk into a room, you will find a 'light switch' somewhere on the wall beside the door. You will not find a 'dark switch'. Why? Because light is real. Darkness is not. You cannot darken a room by turning on a dark switch. Darkness is merely the absence of light. Likewise Satan the Devil is not real. Evil is merely the absence of God's light which is love. 1 John 4:12,16,20; John 13:34; John 15:20;
The Fear of Satan and His Demonic Angels.
Many religions teach that Satan and his army of demon angels are very real. For centuries, fear has been an effective tool to control members and command loyalty. The thought that demons are real angels tempting them to disobey God, makes members more resolved than ever to obey God's laws as explained by their church. Satan and his evil angels create fear in the minds of people who are controlled by religious programming. Fear is a powerful motivator.
What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe?
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe the devil is a real angel that rebelled against their ancient God Jehovah thousands of years ago. They believe that the entire world, - everyone except for their organization of course, is controlled by Satan the Devil. This includes all human governments and other religions. Fortunately Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in war, guns, weapons, or physical violence. If they did, they would be very dangerous. But the are not. Jehovah's Witnesses are harmless. They are peaceful people who leave judgment of outsiders to their God Jehovah. 1 Cor 5:12,13. They are neutral in all worldly affairs.
Temptations Of The Devil.
JW's believe that Satan is trying to lure them away from Jehovah and 'his' organization, the Watchtower Society. That's why members are afraid of reading opposing viewpoints or religious literature from other churches, attending other churches, voting, running for political office, and associating with outsiders who disagree with their beliefs. See 141 Things Jehovah's Witnesses Can't Do
Resisting The Devil.
JW's are afraid that Satan the Devil will tempt them into leaving 'God's organization'. To Jehovah's Witnesses the world is black and white. You are either on God's side. Or you're on the devil's side. God's organization is their religion. Everyone else is dominated by Satan the Devil. See the Watchtower Sept 1, 1989
Even though all people can 'sin' and make mistakes, Jehovah's Witnesses are determined to keep Satan out by disfellowshipping members who disagree with their doctrines. They believe that they are chosen by God to be his people. They believe they are God's organization and everyone needs to belong to their religion to be saved at armageddon. Therefore in order to please Jehovah God, they must keep their organization clean. [2]
Resisting the temptations of the devil and his organization, means that Jehovah's Witnesses must resist worldly thinking. JW's are separate and isolated. They believe that the entire world except for their organization is dominated by Satan. However they believe that before armageddon comes, there is hope for individuals outside of their organization. Therefore out of love for their neighbors, they go door to door inviting worldly people into the safety and protection of their church.
For Jehovah's Witnesses, resisting Satan means resisting doctrines and viewpoints contrary to Watchtower teachings. Jehovah's Witnesses pride themselves in being 'like minded'. Anything that threatens their unified world, causes much concern. [2] Since unity of beliefs is so important to the Jehovah's Witnesses, independent thinking is discouraged. Systems are in place to prevent this from happening. See Mind Control and why it's very hard to convert a Jehovah's Witness to Christianity.
Fear Of The Devil.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Satan is a wicked angel that is trying to turn everyone against God. All of us know that fear is a powerful motivator. The best way to experience the fear Jehovah's Witnesses have for Satan the Devil without becoming a member, is to visit the Watchtower's official website and typing the word 'devil' in the search box.
1. Some believe that God creates all living things and he is everywhere. Therefore he must logically reside in each one of us. God is light. The word 'namaste' means 'the light in me sees the light in you'. Wickedness is merely the absence of God's light and love. Without God we'd be dust. Even though people are free to choose evil instead of love, God resides in all living things because he is everywhere. Could that be why God hears silent prayers? Could that be why God is kind to the wicked and ungrateful? Luke 6: 35.
2. Jehovah is not like Jesus. Christians have a personal relationship with God and he is their only authority. Christians are free from rules, regulations, and sacrifice. Religions do not save Christians. They are free to attend any church or none at all. They stand before God as individuals. They have a direct spiritual relationship with God, symbolized by baptism. Matthew 28:18,19.
Jehovah is a tribal God. Worshippers of Jehovah must be loyal to the rules and regulations of their tribe. Sacrifice is required. Individual rights and freedoms are not important. Survival of the tribe is the only thing that matters. See Jehovah vs Jesus
Your Comments.
Sept 2, 2011. Regarding the previous post. Satan is mentioned in the old and new testament. See Online Bible
Aug 24, 2011. The Old Testament is not mentioning Satan. Instead it mentions the Accuser as a servant of God. Satan as a person is occurring in the New Testament only -- this is a problem within Christianity: if it is not going to be judaizing (like the JWs) then the New Testament is a more "authoritative" source, nearer to "truth", then the New Testament interpretation "overrules" the Old Testament interpretation.
The best NT exception to the "Theory of Satan" is James [1:13-17] -- for this problem I have no good solution, but blaming "Satan" for all my own evils is not a moral position as far as I can see.
|
