HuaiDan Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 We've all heard the speculation: what if the conventional judeo-christian perception of the metaphysical struggle between good and evil is completely the reverse of what's happening on the spiritual plane? What if Yahweh were really the devil, and Satan really the benevolent god? I gave this notion due consideration one day as I was perusing the market streets of Shanghai where I live, trying to reconcile. This is what happened. Good and evil are aesthetic contructs used to give higher value to the concepts of pleasure and pain. What gives us pleasure, in an ultimate sense, is good, and that which causes pain is evil. Giving a donation to the homeless is good vis a vis the homeless need the money more than you do, the dollar you give benefits the homeless more than whatever loss you suffer by giving it, hence the overall "pleasure" of society is increased. Likewise, while smoking may afford immediate pleasure, it's evil because the long term effect cause incalculable pain and suffering. As you can see, trying to quantify good and evil can get a little messy... Now, good vs. evil seems like pretty flimsy grounds to wage a metaphysical battle on. However, it's what 3,000 bce goatherders could comprehend. What if the real basis for the eternal conflict wasn't good vs. evil, but all knowing vs. all powerful? Good and evil aren't quantifiable, but power and knowledge are. The biblegod of the old testament, while undisputedly all-powerful, seems highly illogical and often contadictory. Lucifer, on the other hand, proves in the book of Genesis that he's the one with a grip on reality, but also the one cast out of heaven because he simply can't beat Yahweh. Lucifer: the bearer of light. Light is the metaphorical representation of knowledge. Satan is the wily one. What if they were originally the dynamic duo that created the cosmos, only to become dichotomized afterwards? What if the cosmic battle isn't one of good vs. evil, but of knowledge vs. power? Not really a hard theological issue, just a thought for further speculation. Discuss. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scitsofreaky Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Isn't knowledge power? If they are not, I really don't see how the relationship between knowledge and power is different from good and evil. Good and evil can only exist together, that is, good does not exist without evil. But good and evil are just constructs humans have created. Good is to not be evil, and to be evil is to not be good. Since they cannot exist separate from eachother, this means that they don't really contain separate identities. The true identity is that which contains good and evil. Assuming knowledge and power are opposites, then one cannot exist without the other. So like good and evil, knowledge and power only exist in relation to eachother, so they don't have separate identities. If this is so, then Satan and God are just labels of the opposites of a single identity, much like yin and yang are two aspects of the Tao. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MQTA Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Letter from Lucifer and God says it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts