Bailey1138

An idea long these lines that interests me a great deal is something I read about in "Demian" by Herman Hesse. It mentions the god Abraxas (no, not the santana album). Abraxas represents the idea that everything is holy, good and bad, right and wrong, etc, etc. Essentially, he was one being that is both God and Devil. A little of topic, but something I find pretty interesting.

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"All you do is head straight for the grave, a face just covers a skull awhile. Stretch that skull cover and smile."--Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody

suede

considering the author was offering a "what if" scenario..O.K.it could be conceived that just by the thought,you choose good or bad....you sell your soul to the devil,or you give your life to god.Your next thought will be to act on that ,unless it was preconceived and you would have already said or done the act,still your act sets in motion a series of events that will occur due to the act.The consequences exist in both options,and by that ,could be considered of one entity.!
Yes ,I think interesting toob.s.

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End World Hunger

Rennoch

now, i'm not a christian, my faith is very different from it,
but we often her the infamous question "what if....?" since our faith demands that we question all things we are taught, (not that we do, but we try) we tend to grab all the available data before answering a question like this. 1. the question asks if the person claim the devil made them do it, do they go to hell?

this bring foreward three important questions:
1. is there a hell?
2. is there a devil?
3. can anything make somoene do something against their will?

the second two question i've never found affirmative evidence for, but the first.... well, i'll let you decide what to think. this is from a christian radio show it claims it's sounds recorded from siberia during a drilling operation:

WARNING! THIS IS VERY DISTURBING TO SOME PEOPLE. YOU MAY NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO IT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

http://www.av1611.org/sound/misc/dighell.ram

nessaVEDDER

I totally agree with Stoned Philosopher in that our deepest, primal urges are in constant conflict with our rational, human feelings and the "devil" is just what people called these primordial urges; to give them a name, an entity. The Devil (and God for that matter) are just entities that ancient peoples created to give structure and shape to their innermost, innate urges. God was created to give people a scapegoat, a reason to live "good" lives; something to get them through the tribulations of living day to day. The Devil was created to give a persona to what is "wrong."

I am an Athiest (maybe Agnostic is a more appropriate term) in that I don't really need "God" to help me through the difficult times that may be thrown my way. I completely understand why people need the "love" of "God" to help them feel special and looked after but I do not understand the brainwashing that accompanies a lot of the religions that exist today. I hope I'm not offending anyone by saying this. I respect every religion. To commit so wholeheartedly to something is truly awe inspiring but it just isn't for me.

Peace.

Nessa

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Jesus Christ, why don't you come save my life. Open my eyes and blind me with your light and your lies.

KWhite

Insofar as the Christian Devil is a concoction of those pagan Gods the Christians most wanted seen in a bad light, the question becomes a bit murky.
Baal was once a respected and much worshipped god, this figure is now commonly held as one of Satans lieutenants.
*He shakes his head* you are responsible for your own actions, you are the person who will need to redeem yourself.
There is evil inthe world, and it is ever man made, to attempt to shift the blame to some other entity is shirking your own responsibility.
Now this looked good on medieval recruiting posters, but has very little to do with honor.
When you commit an act, seen as sinful, or evil, then attempt to move the responsibility away from yourself, you merely increase the burden upon yourself.
It is what it sounds like, an easy way out.
Nobody rides for free mirage, and the devil, if such exists, cannot lay claim to my soul, without the intent of allowing it to do so.
Besides which, I do not believe in him, her or it.
There is enough evil in the world caused by us, I do not need a semi-godlike entity going around stirring up more.
see ya

DoritosMan

There is one freeeeky show here on TV that show every day late at night (around 3-4 am) and they show a church and this dude is talking how there are like 10 types of satan and then he performs a exorcism right there he starts to scream. " SATAN LEAVE THIS BODY< GO TO HELL SATAN, WE DONT NEED YOU WE HAVE JESUS IN OUR HEARTS" and everyone screams HALELUIA and AMEN
pretty twisted show

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another tasteless and odorless latin american

I pity the fool that dont use the search engine!

huh?

Haha, nice audio clip, Rennoch. But anyone could make that, of course. Here is the string of events, starting with what really happened, to how it became a story of scientists finding Hell:
http://www.snopes2.com/religion/wellhell.htm

On a related note, a plane crashed into heaven today.

Why did I post all this? I made me do it.

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"I spread disease like a dog,
Discharge my payload a mile high!
Rotten egg air of death wrestles your nostrils.
Launch the Polaris! The End doesn't scare us!"

Rennoch

i could've sowrn no one had noticed the joke. the warning is authentic tho. i showed it to a friend of mine, he feinted. couldn't beleive he did it, but it did scare him. i knew the story, (mostly) but i still thought it a good tale

Ganjx

"I am an Athiest (maybe Agnostic is a more appropriate term) in that I don't really need "God" to help me through the difficult times that may be thrown my way. I completely understand why people need the "love" of "God" to help them feel special and looked after but I do not understand the brainwashing that accompanies a lot of the religions that exist today. I hope I'm not offending anyone by saying this. I respect every religion. To commit so wholeheartedly to something is truly awe inspiring but it just isn't for me."

religion isnt for you, not god. to believe in nothing is to be empty inside. someday in some lifetime youll realize this. i used to have the exact same line of thinking...shame on religion for leading us to this conclusion. when you accept god (ANY GOD) as part of you, you will become much more powerful. there is nothing to commit to! just be true to yourself. by the way im not offended at all, im not very easily offended because i recognize the ignorance in the offense. if you think that anyone who believes in a higher being is a weak irresponsible jesus-freak then you are ignorant in that respect. though it is true that many religious people are like that, not everyone who is conscience of their creator is religious!

as for the author's "what if" i offer you this...
people put entirely too much emphasis on the importance of language. the truth of the matter is that language was primitively constructed and is frivolously used. if affirming something to yourself like "i accept jesus christ as my personal savior" or "i sold my soul to the devil" assists you in the creation of your reality, then yes i suppose those words have led you to your fate. but understand that mere words are propelled by thought. your thought is what will get you to your imaginary hell.

by the way...there is no "animalistic" side to humans. anything a human is capable of is considered humane. i dont think humans practice enough animalism! how arrogant is it to think we are so much better than animals? most animals are more advanced than us in every way other than intellect. not much of an edge if you ask me. look how we use it! i think every time an animal is shun from his pack he should say "i couldnt help it, it was my humanistic side!"

ruffly translated: ruff ruff---ruff ruff ruff

nessaVEDDER

I believe in myself and what I can achieve. If I rely on others and an otherworldly "being," I am putting my life, my dreams, my future in the wrong hands. I should be the one navigating my ship, not anyone else, and especially not "God."

Peace.

Nessa