Understanding adversarial religious figures

[AV1611VET]

You could say still more authoritatively that John who preached repentance with baptizing those who came was really Baptist in the same way.

Been there, done that.

What about when the Holy Ghost filled John the [Independent Fundamental] Baptist, while he was still in Elizabeth's womb?

 

[FredVB]

Been there, done that.

What if we were living just like there was living originally in the perfect design from the Creator? What would we be?

 

[Robban]

Inspired by another post I made today, I decided to make a new thread addressing the subject of understanding Satan, or other religious adversarial figures. As this is a Christian forum, this thread is sort of geared towards Satan, though feel free to discuss any figure. In the case of Satan specifically, I've heard many Christian explanations for him: he is a fallen angel sent to cause trouble in the world, he is evil to god's good (dualist) or he doesn't exist at all and humans are completely responsible for their own suffering.

Many people associate certain symbols as "Satanic" or evil for reasons that are not always clear or have been lost to time. Other sorts of beasts and folklore have also been attributed to him. Sometimes he is depicted as a goat, in contrast to a sheep representing a good Christian. Some have compared him to Baphomet who is an entirely different figure but with imagery popularized by Eliphas Levi in the 19th century.

In the modern day there are several Satanist groups, most of them are atheist but some are in fact theistic. Sometimes religious zealots attribute political actions to Satan, such as secularists winning court cases against ten commandments displays or ensuring equal rights for other religions or the teaching of evolution. Christians have called other Christians Satanic even; Catholics, Unitarians, Mormons, liberal Lutherans and Baptists have all been at the end of this at one time or another.

Does your religion have an adversarial figure? If so, what are they called and how would you describe them? What is their role in the world? Do they literally exist or are they allegorical?

What are your thoughts on other religions' adversarial figures?

Short of complete derailment, other tangential subjects are allowed as long as they're connected to the OP. I look forward to seeing your thoughts.

Satan (verb)="Provoke, or "oppose".

The satan (noun)= job description, "a provocateur"

Job, Now the L-rd said to the satan...........now the satan left the presense of the L-rd.

I like this from the Zohar,
The satan is as a harlot hired by a King to try to seduce his son,
because the King wants to test his son,s morality and worthiness.

Both the King and the harlot(who is devoted to the King) truly want the son to stand firm and reject the harlot,s advances.

The satan is just another one of many spiritual messengers (angels) that G-d sends to accomplish His purpose in the creation of man.

Satan is not an independant power of evil.


"...from the place where the sun rises until the place where it sets.
there is nothing but Me.
I am G-d, there is nothing else. (I am He)
who forms light and creaates darkness.
who makes peace and creates evil;
I am G.d who makes all these."

Isaiah 45:7

 

[dlamberth]

What if we were living just like there was living originally in the perfect design from the Creator? What would we be?

I don't know. But what I do know is that for all but the last several thousand years of our more than 200,000 years (is it further back than than?) that Human Beings were much more connected to Nature, the Earth and the mystery than we are now.

 

[Starcomet]

I did really enjoy the video games Diablo I and II with the whole story of devils and angels battling it out with humans caught in the middle, but the third one was really disappointing.

The third game was still great in my mind! It is interesting that only one angel was concerned for humanity and sacrificed his grace to help them. All of the other angels were sitting on their high horses lol.

 

[FredVB]

I don't know. But what I do know is that for all but the last several thousand years of our more than 200,000 years (is it further back than than?) that Human Beings were much more connected to Nature, the Earth and the mystery than we are now.

What there was originally in the perfect design from the Creator models for us what is the ideal meant for us, the way restored creation in eternity that is in visions to include the redeemed would be, with no chosen hurt or harm to any. We would be better living more in the way modeled for us, as it will be in eternity for the redeemed. What if we lived how the redeemed are going to live in Heaven? How will that be like? Can we do that?