Satan? Fear Not

The order of battle in resisting the Devil is spelled out in Jam. 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

So is not just to merely resist Satan but to submit ourselves to God first. Once we achieve that, the devil will flee. Though he might come back but then we'll be better prepare the next time around.

I have a problem however with the Catholic Theology that says that: "Satan and the other devils were created as good angels by God." That's mere speculation.

The choice to block our own awareness of, and to not care about the suffering of others is evil. "True Belief" is evil to the degree that we impede our own awareness by ignoring elements of reality that contradict the belief, or teach someone else to ignore elements and perceptions of reality, including the suffering of others.

We are not all knowing, consequently beliefs are necessary as working premises to help us in improving our awareness and coping, but excessive attachment to a belief, like excessive attachment to anything, is the root of suffering. Beliefs should be loosened or adapted or let go of when further evidence arises that gives more credence to an alternate belief, or to a further developed version of the inital belief.

We don't truly know whether Satan does exist (not yet proven) or does not exist. There is anecdotal evidence, but certainly nothing incontrovertible. We do know that people are themselves very capable of great evil, particularly when they ignore the great value of all other people.

It is more useful to develop our awareness of the present moment and live with compassion and kindness than to attach too much to "true beliefs" based on the past or future. We do know how to reduce the amount of harm that we and other people do to each other, we just need to focus on being more active and effective in this work. A little more awareness could even help in exorcising the animosity that arises in many of the comments on this blog.

Let's take care of each other. God and Satan will take care of themselves.

Common sense tells us that if God were "all-loving and all-powerful", things would be other than than they are.

Salmonella grows on chicken meat, it doesn't grow on icebergs.

Hitler was able to do what he did because the substrate was there - a people ready willing and able to believe the what he was saying. Humans are like that, you know.

I find most believers feel that atheists are against what they believe, when the truth of the matter is we are more likely to be against the fact that they *can* believe such nonsense, without question. That in fact a virtue is made of the willingness to suspend disbelief.

The content of your True Belief is irrelevant, and I really don't care: Christianity, Islam, Nazism or communism, all take place in the unquestioning mind of the person who has made a virtue of True Belief.

This devil is a scam invented to allow believers the ability to still believe their god is all-good when there are such people as Hitler around. It's one scam built to enable another.

Btw. If that's still an outstanding question anywhere in the corner of your mind as an authority on the 'Work Of God,' it's really not too late for you to do something constructive.

I'm not seeing it has much to do with getting sex and human affection backwards.

You game, or just looking to blame someone else for you screwing up the kingmaking, *again?*

How bout.... if it helps....

'God.'

Is *sooooo* big, that the incomprehensibility is good for more than claiming sexual hangups must fit in, somewhere, but rather...

Brace yourself.

What you call 'God' is *big enough to look like more than one dude at once.*

Don't have a coronary.

What if...

Our world's actually bigger than us, and *possibly* somewhere in your little universe, knowing this might help prevent you from facing your God, looking at a cinder and saying, 'I *really* tried to stop people from enjoying sex unless they were unwilingly-married. Do I get Paradise, now?'

Just breathe a wee lil bit. If your God is good, he's probably more patient than any of *us.* Or so we say in Pagan land.

Yes, somehow we find condoms less complicated than you seem to. but there are plenty of problems that I'm sure all this holy inspiration could be working on that doesn't involve making sure that any queer people don't steal your unwanted and unintended kids from yer 'pious' orphanages.

Monsignor.

You can say 'Satan's' at fault for what *you* advocate *never working out,* while making sure that 'rebellious' kids are fair game for clergy who play on your insistence that not being straight is 'evil,' ...to cover their misdeeds...

I could say.

I've heard what you say here before. In other contexts.

You want 'forgiveness,' stop looking for devils and make yourself useful.

Monsignore. Pfft.

"How did that pathetic corporal accomplish such evil -- the Holocaust, world war, the devastation of his country? What forces were at work in his soul which created such malice, such irrational hatred?"

He proposed at once that there was something to be feared, but that it was not to be feared, as long as everyone obeyed.

He simultaneously inflated the fears and hatreds and denials, while claiming an 'ultimate destiny of victory' which could only be foiled by someone somewhere, disobeying or failing to 'believe.'

And of course, helped create the desperate conditions where tyrrany could take hold.

You asked.

'How could this have happened.'

Many Catholic priests posed that as inexplicable, perhaps Satanic, ...pure evil... metaphysical,

...Despite many tales passed down of English Witches fighting on that front, among others, sure as Bran's ravens..

Such answers, maybe fortifying at the time to man, didn't really answer the question.

A question I heard many Catholic priests pose as a 'mystery.'

I certainly ended up, asking. 'How.'

It's not in my personal faith to regret asking a question. But.

How that happened, was set up, is not so different from what you're doing now, what is it, 'Monsignor,' ...and of all lessons I think I've learned in this life, this was one question I sometimes might wish I'd never asked.

Fact is, your 'It must be 'Evil' ideas only make you want to keep directing the shame-and-blame elsewhere. People try to say the Germans were Commies, Pagans, 'secularists,' (Catholics as opposed to Protestants, or vice versa, etc) whatever you please... Anything but what they were being at the time.

Anything but what was happening at the time.

Any question or answer but *how.* It. Happened.

Bad people involved, certainly. But they didn't invent what they used.

They found it.

THOMAS G BOHLIN

You wrote, " However, we need not really fear Satan and his devils, because God is all-loving and all-powerful, and through his son Jesus Christ has given us all the resources we need to resist them."

You are wrong, we have been given all the resources we need to conquer satan and his cohorts.

As I have said, God wins, satan loses, a tie is unacceptable.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Lucifer, Satan & by Many-Names is: The Opposite [BAD-Character-BROTHER] & impostor & Competitor of that "GOOD" [Character] Mr. "Jesus Joseph" of Nazareth, the Angel in flesh, turned "Christ"; as gods [BROTHER & SON too] Angel gone Bad?