How powerful is Satan?

[Hygro]

So eventhough I am the most vile human being, I can still be righteous?

Man, I don't know. your vileness keeps me awake at nights

 

[MobBoss]

So righteous life is ultimately self-determined? You say yourself you're not perfect, but are still leading a "righteous" life. I guess I am to.

I try to live a biblical life....ergo, a righteous life. David, who was certainly righteous, did not lead a perfect life and himself sinned a great sin. But, he repented of that and returned to Gods ways.

I dont embrace my imperfection, I try to minimize it, put it down and repent.

Thats being righteous.

@CG....you can repent and be forgiven....all you have to do is ask God.

 

[GenMarshall]

I dont embrace my imperfection, I try to minimize it, put it down and repent.

Thats being righteous.

I dont know why, but that seems to be good sound advice.

 

[drachasor]

I am immune as long as I live a righteous life....and JollyRoger is an atheist. That pretty much sums it up.

Now I'm just a big city atheist, but it seems to me that your attitude demonstrates a great deal of hubris.

-Drachasor

 

[Kafka2]

--


Baffling you IS easy.

--

Second time you've quoted that post of mine. I didn't think it was that noteworthy.

I'm not querying your intelligence or education in the slightest- but take a look at your posts from a position of detachment. The one thing they lack is a way to make them comprehensible to another reader. I'd love to actually grasp the reasoning you're putting forward- I honestly would- but it really needs a large helping of explanatory material in plain English, rather than more cryptic fragments.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

(but the bible is one of the last places I would look for guidance on how to become righteous. Possibly there might be something good in the New Testament, but the Old Testament seems laughably irrelevant and even dangerous).

Some people like to harp on certain parts of the Old Testament, but the fact is that for all its ambiguity there are parts even of the Old Testament that clearly demonstrate what is correct moral behavior. Heck, I think Isaiah spent far more time talking about helping the poor than did Jesus. Obviously, one needs to apply one's one intelligence to anything, but the Old Testament is not all the same.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Some people like to harp on certain parts of the Old Testament, but the fact is that for all its ambiguity there are parts even of the Old Testament that clearly demonstrate what is correct moral behavior. Heck, I think Isaiah spent far more time talking about helping the poor than did Jesus. Obviously, one needs to apply one's one intelligence to anything, but the Old Testament is not all the same.

Especially when rendered this way.

Sounds almost modern, doesn't it?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

"Go to bat" certainly seems a little odd in that context, but as it is a modern English idiom, it works . . .

 

[scy12]

Fiction that only those who are mentally ill , would believe

 

[MobBoss]

Now I'm just a big city atheist, but it seems to me that your attitude demonstrates a great deal of hubris.

-Drachasor

/shrug. Just paraphrasing whats in the bible about living a righteous life and the benefits thereof. As a christian, shouldnt I believe what the bible says?

 

[warpus]

/shrug. Just paraphrasing whats in the bible about living a righteous life and the benefits thereof. As a christian, shouldnt I believe what the bible says?

It's the other way around - If you believe what the Bible says, then you're a Christian.

You shouldn't believe what it says in the Bible just because you were baptized into Christianity.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Fiction that only those who are mentally ill , would believe

Ah, I see, it is mental illness to view helping people and living a virtuous life is more important than the outward signs of religious observance.

At least, that is assuming you read the verses to which Erik linked before assuming that it is insane to believe what it says. But to do otherwise would be absurd, no?

 

[MobBoss]

It's the other way around - If you believe what the Bible says, then you're a Christian.

You shouldn't believe what it says in the Bible just because you were baptized into Christianity.

I disagree. If the bible is indeed Gods handbook for life, isnt it incumbent upon Christians, who are serious about their faith, to apply its lessons to their life and learn from its wisdom?

I am a Christian because of Jesus; however, Jesus was pretty clear about the meaning of the bible - it is the bread of life and the word of God. It is completely right for a christian to base his walk in life on the teachings in the bible.

I mean really...what kind of christian would I be if I didnt believe the word of God?

 

[silver 2039]

Which Bible? There are many of them.

 

[frob2900]

Some people like to harp on certain parts of the Old Testament, but the fact is that for all its ambiguity there are parts even of the Old Testament that clearly demonstrate what is correct moral behavior. Heck, I think Isaiah spent far more time talking about helping the poor than did Jesus. Obviously, one needs to apply one's one intelligence to anything, but the Old Testament is not all the same.

With good intentions I'm sure you could make any old book a useful moral guide, so that's a moot point. The old testament is probably of historical value, but so is the Epic of Gilgamesh or the Iliad. Seeking moral guidance from them is just as relevant as seeking moral guidance from the national epic of the Judaic tribes.

Heck, I'm sure I could use Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill as moral allegories if I just "used my intelligence".

 

[scy12]

Ah, I see, it is mental illness to view helping people and living a virtuous life is more important than the outward signs of religious observance.

At least, that is assuming you read the verses to which Erik linked before assuming that it is insane to believe what it says. But to do otherwise would be absurd, no?

I am not referring to the verses that Erik Linked but to the general belief that people that act in ways we find irrational , evil and so on are influenced by Satan.

It confuses one thing with another and stereotypes people based on mythology.

If someone is evil (?), by associating it with Satan , how is it stereotyped ?
Well i will let you guess.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

@frob: Well, if that is the case then why criticize those who do choose one in particular?

(Although quite frankly, although I have never seen the movies in question I think it quite likely they do not have the same positive moral messages found in the Bible. The issue with the Bible is that there are some you see as good and some you see as bad, not that there are none that are good.)

@scy: Well, first of all if you were not referring to the posts above you you should have said what you were referring to. Second, I challenge your claim that belief in Satan, or in evil, is a sign of mental illness, even if it did always produce negative results.

 

[warpus]

I disagree. If the bible is indeed Gods handbook for life, isnt it incumbent upon Christians, who are serious about their faith, to apply its lessons to their life and learn from its wisdom?

I am a Christian because of Jesus; however, Jesus was pretty clear about the meaning of the bible - it is the bread of life and the word of God. It is completely right for a christian to base his walk in life on the teachings in the bible.

I mean really...what kind of christian would I be if I didnt believe the word of God?

Well, what I mean is this:

If you actually believe the Bible to be word of God - they you're a Christian.

If you are Christian by name, and believe the Bible by extension, and you only believe it "because you're Christian", then that's something else entirely. It's a bit dishonest.

 

[scy12]

Well, if that is the case then why criticize those who do choose one in particular?

(Although quite frankly, although I have never seen the movies in question I think it quite likely they do not have the same positive moral messages found in the Bible. The issue with the Bible is that there are some you see as good and some you see as bad, not that there are none that are good.)

Because there are anachronistic messages in both the Illiad and the Bibble. Messages that even if it did made sense once , now they don't. Using one as a moral guideline is one thing . Using Mythological creatures as an explanation of human behavior is something entirely different.

 

[frob2900]

Well, if that is the case then why criticize those who do choose one in particular?

Because all the examples I gave are very poor moral guides. Wouldn't it be just as good to read a *shudder* self-help book on "How to be a kind person", if you don't already know? The problem is, you should never choose one in particular. You should remain open to the issue and never decide to close your heart and mind to new information.

Which is what you do if you single out the bible.

(Although quite frankly, although I have never seen the movies in question I think it quite likely they do not have the same positive moral messages found in the Bible. The issue with the Bible is that there are some you see as good and some you see as bad, not that there are none that are good.)

With 2000+ years of people polishing the message and huge amounts of apologetic philosophers I'm sure they would.