RabbleRabble Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 One of the funny things about this story is that as you start learning more about what a complete dick God was (especially in the OT), Satan starts to look like a sort of tragic hero. I could be wrong, but it's my understanding that this is the basis for Satanism. I think you are correct. I'm afraid my knowledge about Satanism is limited to the Wikipedia page though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpheliaGinger Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 As for Satanism, it really depends on what version you follow. Some theistic Satanists regard him as the original god, some Church of Satan followers see Satan as the ultimate foe, and then you have those that see him as a sympathetic figure. I've also had major problems in seeing Christianity as a strict monotheism. Christians revere the son, the father, and the holy spirit as separate entities, but they also imbue Satan with god like power too--at times appearing to be greater than that of Yah's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Genesis Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 I've heard this before. If I remember correctly the idea is that God created everything including Satan. Satan started out as one of the angels and then made a decision to go against God in some sort of power struggle. Or maybe he just didn't like taking orders. And then God threw him and his lesser angel followers down to whatever hell type place they reside in. They based this belief on their intrepetation of Ezekiel 28 but the chapter doesn't specify it's about Satan and only mentions a King of Tyre, so is this just more examples of xtians trying to insert their theology back into the OT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight-mindwanderings Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I had a friend who dabbled in Satanism. From what he did, its hardly a religion and they neither see Satan as a god or as a real figure so much as a concept. Its all about personal freedom over all else, disdain for authority, personal power. I didn't think it was that bad, though a bit intense for me. I can see how some might get more theological with it but the basic ideas are the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpheliaGinger Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 From what I remember, the Church of Satan doesn't really regard Satan as a god or deity, but more of a figure head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabbleRabble Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I've heard this before. If I remember correctly the idea is that God created everything including Satan. Satan started out as one of the angels and then made a decision to go against God in some sort of power struggle. Or maybe he just didn't like taking orders. And then God threw him and his lesser angel followers down to whatever hell type place they reside in. They based this belief on their intrepetation of Ezekiel 28 but the chapter doesn't specify it's about Satan and only mentions a King of Tyre, so is this just more examples of xtians trying to insert their theology back into the OT? Yeah, support for this story in the OT seems flimsy to me. The whole concept of Satan seems to change between the OT and NT. I think the story of the fall comes more from Revelation 12: 7-9 and the Christians looking for confirmation in OT passages decided context didn't matter? And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. You may find this page on the history of Satan interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 As for Satanism, it really depends on what version you follow. Some theistic Satanists regard him as the original god, some Church of Satan followers see Satan as the ultimate foe, and then you have those that see him as a sympathetic figure. Aren't a lot of "Satanists" actually atheists just mocking religion? That's kinda the impression I've had recently, but I don't know anyone claiming to be a Satanist, so it's not really an informed impression. I've heard this before. If I remember correctly the idea is that God created everything including Satan. Satan started out as one of the angels and then made a decision to go against God in some sort of power struggle. Or maybe he just didn't like taking orders. And then God threw him and his lesser angel followers down to whatever hell type place they reside in. They based this belief on their intrepetation of Ezekiel 28 but the chapter doesn't specify it's about Satan and only mentions a King of Tyre, so is this just more examples of xtians trying to insert their theology back into the OT? The OT passage I've heard used the most for this is Isaiah 14:12, which says, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" Christians claim this is about Satan, and it's where the devil's name Lucifer came from (the only verse with "Lucifer"). However, the passage is actually referring to the King of Babylon (verse 4), and makes no mention of the devil/Satan at all. A lot of Christians don't seem to care about context when they can pull a verse out and turn it into something convenient for their doctrine (actually, I think a lot of Christians don't really understand the concept of "context," probably due to the way the Bible is set up in little snippets known as verses). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest S.gal83 Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 When I was a christian and a youth, we used to have a christian camp. During the camp, there was an activity which we must do. We must go out the street to drag people to our camp. We will grab people from the shopping mall, train station and just about everywhere in Singapore. We will entice them to come to our camp with free food and free party. When they come to our camp, we will preach to them after they had their dinner. I remember more than 100 youths give their lives to Jesus during that camp. My pastor was so excited, saying that it was proof of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of people. What did "giving their lives" look like? Did you see these people again? Phanta They said the sinners prayer. Yes, we do see some of these people again, though not all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Genesis Posted September 8, 2009 Author Share Posted September 8, 2009 I'm so glad that the door to door evangelizing is done with for now and the guest speaker is gone now so I don't have to hear his crap anymore. I didn't even bother to meet him once because his bigotry pissed me off even more than our regular preacher does. On Sunday, the guest speaker said that if you have friends who are non-Christians, then you should get new friends, because Jesus obviously did not have dinner with prostitutes and tax collectors. He also believes skeptics actually use the whole "Jesus didn't really die on the cross, they just tortured him enough to make him unconscious" argument, but never cites any examples where this argument has been used and I've never seen any skeptic use this argument once before. They had 31 converts last week and four more that Sunday morning. How can somebody honestly buy into this non-sense? Then again, all the converts were already Christians of some sort but had simply converted to another denom. But even compared to other fundie churches in the area, the COC seems even more ridiculous in comparison. I fail to see how anyone can buy into the COC's ridiculous logic even if they are Christians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpheliaGinger Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 Then again, all the converts were already Christians of some sort but had simply converted to another demon. That's more like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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