how can you be sure that the devil is evil and the bible is correct?

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please don't use the quote button to quote this entire text as it is long and just uses up the page. instead please refer to this post as the OP(original post).

as the title suggests, I would like to ask the question of why you think that god=good and the devil=bad and the bible=truth.

now from what I think I know about the devil is that he is/was a fallen angel (I don't know whether this holds true in the Christian religion) who is trying to "overrule" god (still I don't know if this is true in Christianity).



from the bible
put simply the story of god and the devil in genesis is this...
god created the universe. god created man/woman with free will. god put man/woman in a garden. god put a lovely looking tree bam smack in da' centre of the garden that man/woman were NOT meant to eat from.
even from the last paragraph you can see that something fishy is going on here... this is almost exactly like leaving two kids in a room with a knife in the centre and expecting them not to touch it...
a snake just goes into the garden and tells eve to eat from the tree, and she did. looking back over the start of the bible I can see no mention of the "devil" anywhere here but please correct me if I'm wrong. because it does not say it was the devil in disguise it would not be irrational to assume that it could be god in disguise. god comes "down" from wherever and starts looking for the 2 (naked!) people. god punishes man/woman for following orders that he knew they were going to take without question and made the choice not help out the ones he "infinity loved". and don't say it would have interfered with free-will, because it would not if he still let them have a choice of whether to follow his orders or not.
god kicks out man/woman. god gets flaming sword to defend the tree of life.

from this we can assume the following...
1) god created universe
2) god make stupid people
3) a snake made them smart
4) god is very trigger happy when it comes to punishment
5) [insert atheist joke about god looking for naked people here]

all that being said how do we know that the bible is accurate? I mean it's all well and good doing the "bible wheel" (the bible was written by god-->it says it was written by god in the bible-->god is omnipotent-->see step 1) but using that basicly means that I can say "I am omnipotent" and using that wheel I am unfalsifiable.
another way you could say that you know that the bible is correct is because lots of people think it is. now lots of kids (younger than myself I might add) that Santa and the tooth fairy are both real. and it even goes to common mis-conception, I mean how many times has someone said "I'm just going to hoover the house." this makes no sense because that would mean that the brand "hoover" = vacuum cleaner (and it doesn't BTW :)). you also have to consider that for a statement to make sense one (of the potentially many) opposites MUST be true, for example: 1+1=2 one opposite 1-1=/2 (=/ means not equal to) makes sense however the only opposite to "many people think it's true so it's true" is "not many people think it's true so it's false" and that.... just doesn't make ANY sense
another way you could say it's correct is that "you feel it when you pray". now, have you ever considered that humans possess the ability to control what we are feeling to a certain extent? source youtube /watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gPBzanM7wU0#t=134 skip to 2:15 if your browser does not do it for you (please remove the space from the web address my post count is <50 so the spam bot filter won't let me post links or pictures or PMs)
also you must know that text does get re-written and changed over time (the original scripts can't last forever right? (well... unless they were carved into diamond.... you know... just so the god can get his word across unlike those "fake religions") so it would not be unreasonable to think that (from he amount of times the devil appears in the bible) someone over the years wrote a few words wrong that lead to other people to misinterpret it and maybe get the completely wrong message.

so all that being said how can you be sure that what you are following is correct and (I think more importantly) are you receiving the original message? or are you just believing what you are hearing because that's what everyone else does and you accept their judgement with seeing if it makes sense to you?


PS: I am 14 years old so i probably have missed A LOT out of my argument. I would just like to see you peoples response to it :) also I would like to note that I am currently in the possess of reading the bible and I've got up to the end on genesis at the moment
 
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juvenissun

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as the title suggests, I would like to ask the question of why you think that god=good and the devil=bad and the bible=truth.

God == Good == True

The above is a definition.

Not-God = Not-Good == Bad [the definition of Bad]
Devil is Not-God, so devil = bad.
Bible is God's word, so Bible = good = true.
 
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Ken-1122

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as the title suggests, I would like to ask the question of why you think that god=good and the devil=bad and the bible=truth.

now from what I think I know about the devil is that he is/was a fallen angel (I don't know whether this holds true in the Christian religion) who is trying to "overrule" god (still I don't know if this is true in Christianity).



from the bible
put simply the story of god and the devil in genesis is this...
god created the universe. god created man/woman with free will. god put man/woman in a garden. god put a lovely looking tree bam smack in da' centre of the garden that man/woman were NOT meant to eat from.
even from the last paragraph you can see that something fishy is going on here... this is almost exactly like leaving two kids in a room with a knife in the centre and expecting them not to touch it...
a snake just goes into the garden and tells eve to eat from the tree, and she did. looking back over the start of the bible I can see no mention of the "devil" anywhere here but please correct me if I'm wrong. because it does not say it was the devil in disguise it would not be irrational to assume that it could be god in disguise. god comes "down" from wherever and starts looking for the 2 (naked!) people. god punishes man/woman for following orders that he knew they were going to take without question and made the choice not help out the ones he "infinity loved". and don't say it would have interfered with free-will, because it would not if he still let them have a choice of whether to follow his orders or not.
god kicks out man/woman. god gets flaming sword to defend the tree of life.

from this we can assume the following...
1) god created universe
2) god make stupid people
3) a snake made them smart
4) god is very trigger happy when it comes to punishment
5) [insert atheist joke about god looking for naked people here]

all that being said how do we know that the bible is accurate? I mean it's all well and good doing the "bible wheel" (the bible was written by god-->it says it was written by god in the bible-->god is omnipotent-->see step 1) but using that basicly means that I can say "I am omnipotent" and using that wheel I am unfalsifiable.
another way you could say that you know that the bible is correct is because lots of people think it is. now lots of kids (younger than myself I might add) that Santa and the tooth fairy are both real. and it even goes to common mis-conception, I mean how many times has someone said "I'm just going to hoover the house." this makes no sense because that would mean that the brand "hoover" = vacuum cleaner (and it doesn't BTW :)). you also have to consider that for a statement to make sense one (of the potentially many) opposites MUST be true, for example: 1+1=2 one opposite 1-1=/2 (=/ means not equal to) makes sense however the only opposite to "many people think it's true so it's true" is "not many people think it's true so it's false" and that.... just doesn't make ANY sense
another way you could say it's correct is that "you feel it when you pray". now, have you ever considered that humans possess the ability to control what we are feeling to a certain extent? source youtube /watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gPBzanM7wU0#t=134 skip to 2:15 if your browser does not do it for you (please remove the space from the web address my post count is <50 so the spam bot filter won't let me post links or pictures or PMs)
also you must know that text does get re-written and changed over time (the original scripts can't last forever right? (well... unless they were carved into diamond.... you know... just so the god can get his word across unlike those "fake religions") so it would not be unreasonable to think that (from he amount of times the devil appears in the bible) someone over the years wrote a few words wrong that lead to other people to misinterpret it and maybe get the completely wrong message.

so all that being said how can you be sure that what you are following is correct and (I think more importantly) are you receiving the original message? or are you just believing what you are hearing because that's what everyone else does and you accept their judgement with seeing if it makes sense to you?


PS: I am 14 years old so i probably have missed A LOT out of my argument. I would just like to see you peoples response to it :) also I would like to note that I am currently in the possess of reading the bible and I've got up to the end on genesis at the moment
Excellent point! After all; of all of God's creation Satan knew God best! And based upon what he knew of God, he rejected him. People know very little about God and based upon what they know of God they praise him. Maybe if people knew God the way Satan knows God, they would reject him too!

Ken
 
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AlexBP

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as the title suggests, I would like to ask the question of why you think that god=good and the devil=bad and the bible=truth
When I walk outside I see and hear and smell and feel the sunshine, the trees, the bushes, the flowers, the animals, the water, the snow, the rocks, and so forth. And through my senses I know that these things of nature are good, and hence God is good since it's God who made nature.

You are correct in noting that in the book of Genesis, there is no mention of the Devil in the Garden of Eden. Later thinkers convinced themselves that the Devil was one of the same with the serpent, but that's not a statement that's in the text.
 
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God == Good == True

The above is a definition.

Not-God = Not-Good == Bad [the definition of Bad]
Devil is Not-God, so devil = bad.
Bible is God's word, so Bible = good = true.
generally speaking most people define "good" as being the act of helping others to achieve the highest amount of happiness for all, however "evil" or "bad" would be the act to help your self and to achieve the highest amount of happiness for them self.
also the way you are using the word just makes it sound like: you don't know what good is and just use it as a compliment, or you're saying that god is a metaphorical being and is mealy a social construct.


The Devil... let's see.

You have spirit correct?
would i put a stopper in your argument if i told you that I don't believe in souls and spirit?
Right, just wait for a moment and see if he thinks he can take it.

No? No Devil.
how does this relate to the accuracy of the bible or the devil's morality?
 
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2PhiloVoid

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please don't use the quote button to quote this entire text as it is long and just uses up the page. instead please refer to this post as the OP(original post).

as the title suggests, I would like to ask the question of why you think that god=good and the devil=bad and the bible=truth.

now from what I think I know about the devil is that he is/was a fallen angel (I don't know whether this holds true in the Christian religion) who is trying to "overrule" god (still I don't know if this is true in Christianity).



from the bible
put simply the story of god and the devil in genesis is this...
god created the universe. god created man/woman with free will. god put man/woman in a garden. god put a lovely looking tree bam smack in da' centre of the garden that man/woman were NOT meant to eat from.
even from the last paragraph you can see that something fishy is going on here... this is almost exactly like leaving two kids in a room with a knife in the centre and expecting them not to touch it...
a snake just goes into the garden and tells eve to eat from the tree, and she did. looking back over the start of the bible I can see no mention of the "devil" anywhere here but please correct me if I'm wrong. because it does not say it was the devil in disguise it would not be irrational to assume that it could be god in disguise. god comes "down" from wherever and starts looking for the 2 (naked!) people. god punishes man/woman for following orders that he knew they were going to take without question and made the choice not help out the ones he "infinity loved". and don't say it would have interfered with free-will, because it would not if he still let them have a choice of whether to follow his orders or not.
god kicks out man/woman. god gets flaming sword to defend the tree of life.

from this we can assume the following...
1) god created universe
2) god make stupid people
3) a snake made them smart
4) god is very trigger happy when it comes to punishment
5) [insert atheist joke about god looking for naked people here]

all that being said how do we know that the bible is accurate? I mean it's all well and good doing the "bible wheel" (the bible was written by god-->it says it was written by god in the bible-->god is omnipotent-->see step 1) but using that basicly means that I can say "I am omnipotent" and using that wheel I am unfalsifiable.
another way you could say that you know that the bible is correct is because lots of people think it is. now lots of kids (younger than myself I might add) that Santa and the tooth fairy are both real. and it even goes to common mis-conception, I mean how many times has someone said "I'm just going to hoover the house." this makes no sense because that would mean that the brand "hoover" = vacuum cleaner (and it doesn't BTW :)). you also have to consider that for a statement to make sense one (of the potentially many) opposites MUST be true, for example: 1+1=2 one opposite 1-1=/2 (=/ means not equal to) makes sense however the only opposite to "many people think it's true so it's true" is "not many people think it's true so it's false" and that.... just doesn't make ANY sense
another way you could say it's correct is that "you feel it when you pray". now, have you ever considered that humans possess the ability to control what we are feeling to a certain extent? source youtube /watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gPBzanM7wU0#t=134 skip to 2:15 if your browser does not do it for you (please remove the space from the web address my post count is <50 so the spam bot filter won't let me post links or pictures or PMs)
also you must know that text does get re-written and changed over time (the original scripts can't last forever right? (well... unless they were carved into diamond.... you know... just so the god can get his word across unlike those "fake religions") so it would not be unreasonable to think that (from he amount of times the devil appears in the bible) someone over the years wrote a few words wrong that lead to other people to misinterpret it and maybe get the completely wrong message.

so all that being said how can you be sure that what you are following is correct and (I think more importantly) are you receiving the original message? or are you just believing what you are hearing because that's what everyone else does and you accept their judgement with seeing if it makes sense to you?


PS: I am 14 years old so i probably have missed A LOT out of my argument. I would just like to see you peoples response to it :) also I would like to note that I am currently in the possess of reading the bible and I've got up to the end on genesis at the moment

Well, let's see. I find that lying, cheating, and stealing don't seem to get anyone very far (which is what Satan advocates.) On the other hand, truth, fairness, and giving seem to generally get organisms further in life, both socially and physically. So, I think I'll go with Jesus on this.
 
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Ken-1122

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Well, let's see. I find that lying, cheating, and stealing don't seem to get anyone very far (which is what Satan advocates.) On the other hand, truth, fairness, and giving seem to generally get organisms further in life, both socially and physically. So, I think I'll go with Jesus on this.
How do you know Satan advocates lying, cheating, and stealing? Did God (or his book/Bible) tell you that or did Satan tell you that himself?

K
 
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juvenissun

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generally speaking most people define "good" as being the act of helping others to achieve the highest amount of happiness for all, however "evil" or "bad" would be the act to help your self and to achieve the highest amount of happiness for them self.
also the way you are using the word just makes it sound like: you don't know what good is and just use it as a compliment, or you're saying that god is a metaphorical being and is mealy a social construct.

"Good" is very very difficult to define. Your simple one simply doesn't work. I do know what is good. Because Adam ate the fruit which can tell good from evil.
 
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"Good" is very very difficult to define. Your simple one simply doesn't work. I do know what is good. Because Adam ate the fruit which can tell good from evil.

why does my simple definition not work? in terms of good and evil i think that the definition that i suggested works. if you think you "know" what it means please can you describe it?
 
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2PhiloVoid

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How do you know Satan advocates lying, cheating, and stealing? Did God (or his book/Bible) tell you that or did Satan tell you that himself?

K

What I find very odd is that people will ask questions about the nature of metaphysical entities while--at the same time--discounting the only sources by which we imply such entities exist.

If there is no Satan, then there is no reason to ask what his nature may be.
 
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Ken-1122

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What I find very odd is that people will ask questions about the nature of metaphysical entities while--at the same time--discounting the only sources by which we imply such entities exist.
It is not odd when asking a person who does believe such entities exist.
If there is no Satan, then there is no reason to ask what his nature may be.
As long as there are people who believe in Satan, there are plenty of reasons to ask what they believe his nature may be.

Ken
 
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Ken-1122

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generally speaking most people define "good" as being the act of helping others to achieve the highest amount of happiness for all, however "evil" or "bad" would be the act to help your self and to achieve the highest amount of happiness for them self.
Evil or Bad implies harm. Just because you are acting to provide the highest amount of happiness for yourself does not mean anybody is being harmed.

Ken
 
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2PhiloVoid

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It is not odd when asking a person who does believe such entities exist.

As long as there are people who believe in Satan, there are plenty of reasons to ask what they believe his nature may be.

Ken

Interesting response. Ok....However, it seems odd to press an inquiry as to whether Satan is actually a good being or evil being when the underlying assumption is that A) the source material by which we could evaluate and form a conclusion is already fallacious, and B) High skepticism regarding Satan's very existence is already cognitively coddled by the inquirer.

It is one thing to be asked a question by another person who believes Satan could be real but is wondering as to whether he is good or evil, but it is another to be asked by someone who we already know eschews anything we might assert about Satan's very existence from the beginning of the inquiry.

Sure...you're free to inquire for your own reasons (i.e. perhaps to psychoanalyze those who hold to such beliefs), but it seems odd (at least to me) to be asked a question by someone who does so in such a way that the very articulation of the 'speech-act' itself implies a deficiency in the intellect of the person being asked.
 
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Ken-1122

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Interesting response. Ok....However, it seems odd to press an inquiry as to whether Satan is actually a good being or evil being when the underlying assumption is that A) the source material by which we could evaluate and form a conclusion is already fallacious, and B) High skepticism regarding Satan's very existence is already cognitively coddled by the inquirer.
Actually both (A) and (B) are underlying beliefs held by the person asking the question; the question was asked under the assumption that Satan does exist.
It is one thing to be asked a question by another person who believes Satan could be real but is wondering as to whether he is good or evil, but it is another to be asked by someone who we already know eschews anything we might assert about Satan's very existence from the beginning of the inquiry.
Not if the goal is to learn how a person can address such questions and still continue to believe.
Sure...you're free to inquire for your own reasons (i.e. perhaps to psychoanalyze those who hold to such beliefs), but it seems odd (at least to me) to be asked a question by someone who does so in such a way that the very articulation of the 'speech-act' itself implies a deficiency in the intellect of the person being asked.
Just becasue I may not agree with someone doesn't mean I assume they are intellectally deficient. A deficiency in intellect is not implied by anyone in this conversation; as a matter of fact theists are some of the smartest people I know.

Ken
 
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2PhiloVoid

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Basically, Jesus said that Satan has only come to steal, kill, and destroy humanity. I have no reason to think that the text which encompasses Jesus' explanation here to have been tampered with. Additionally, if we simply take the cumulative data regarding Satan which the entire Bible offers, I think it is clear from the internal evidence that Satan is not on the side of humanity.
 
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Ken-1122

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Basically, Jesus said that Satan has only come to steal, kill, and destroy humanity. I have no reason to think that the text which encompasses Jesus' explanation here to have been tampered with. Additionally, if we simply take the cumulative data regarding Satan which the entire Bible offers, I think it is clear from the internal evidence that Satan is not on the side of humanity.
The question is; how do you know the bible is correct?

K
 
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2PhiloVoid

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The question is; how do you know the bible is correct?

K

Then the OP needs to rephrase his original question, which was: how can you be sure that the devil is evil and the bible is correct?

That is a different question, Ken.


 
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Then the OP needs to rephrase his original question, which was: how can you be sure that the devil is evil and the bible is correct?

That is a different question, Ken.
No it is not a different question. The OP asked 2 questions. I mentioned 1 of the questions in response to your reply. Nothing needs to be changed except you answering the question.

Ken
 
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