Satan Good Or Bad, ?????? Options

Is satan (Lucifer) really evil i mean if you follow christian beliefs. I know he is supposed to be the most evil being/deity ever. But what happened to the souls of those who were bad before Lucifer became the devil i mean once he was Gods highest regarded angel. So is it to be assumed that every one was just perfect before satan come around. Or was God just scared that Lucifer was becoming more powerful or just as powerful and decided that he wanted to remain supreme. So he banished Satan was god just being power hungry and didnt want to share his rule? Anyone have any thoughts on this i do not believe in christ or any of that personally but i do like to know as much as possible so when people (general people in my area are christian) question what i belive i can put it to them so to say. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sport_boxing.gif)

They broke away for religious freedom to worship God as they say fit, they weren't breaking away to become an archetypal symbol and being that represented the opposite of God for the rest of eternity. Sure the actions were both the same but the reasons very different. Intention behind action is often more important than the objective action. Example: a person might not steal money from a wallet that's laying around because s/he thinks they will not get caught, or someone might not steal it because it's the right thing to do. Both are the same actions (or lack of actions but I'm sure you understand) but for very different reasons, which reflect very different mindsets entirely.

If that's you're response, then you've missed my point entirely.

The concept of Satan, objectively, is not so much an evil one, just an adverse one. The spirit of adversity. The spirit of conflict and resistance. That is the essence of "Satan." The very name means adversary!

I stick by this statement through my years of research. Linguistically speaking, Satan, or Shaitan, mean "accuser," or "adversary," respectively. This carries the thought-form energies that possess the distinct disposition not unlike a prosecuting attorney (coincidentally, such are thought to be evil as well!).

To say Satan is evil is to mean that the Americans during the time of the colonies were evil for their endeavors to lead a revolution against the British. It means that Tibet is evil for posing some sort of challenge to China's authority.

You missed the point on my statement. Where you were coming from was an approach from the premise that satan is a reflexive for "evil." I argue from the view that satan is more like a preposition: At, below, under, above, etc. The Satan of Christianity is Paganism. The Satan of Islamic Fundamentalism is America (for the time being). The Satan of 1700's America was Great Britain, and the Satan of 1700's Great Britain was colonial America. I argue from the premise that a more accurate interpretation of Satan is one of a property that can be described in relation to something else. I once thought of Satan as a single, archetypal being, but after so many years of learning, I realized more and more that the world cannot really support such a being's existence. Instead, I found it much more applicable across a wider range of belief systems to think and understand Satan as a property and facet of reality that has a place in the cosmos amongst many other axioms of reality. (ie. Life, Law, Chaos, Motion, Money, Sex, Love, etc.) I argue from the premise that by proxy of wider applicability of my argument to other views and beliefs, the degree of truthfulness of my belief is greatest (to the best of my awareness,) until someone either shows me an interpretation with even wider applicability, or prove to me that the basis for constructing my premise (logic by proxy of applicability) is fundamentally wrong.

I argue that in no way does "Satan" truly oppose "God," because the two are inextricably bound to each other, if the Christian faith is placed under scrutiny. If other world views are taken into account, Satan, as the Christans know, does not truly exist. There is no ABSOLUTE evil or adversary, able to be separated in mind and/or vaccuum, to the human race except the human race itself.

Sure the actions were both the same but the reasons very different. Intention behind action is often more important than the objective action.

Yes and no. Epicurus, a philosopher from Ancient Greece, posited that Pleasure is the highest good and Pain was the highest evil. Other philosophers posited that Altruism was the highest good, and Selfishness was the highest evil.

Intention is one thing. Result is another. They are but yin and yang in a large wheel. But is it how the wheel is built that matters? Or is what matters whether or not you are using the wheel to travel? Consistency and work are what matter, regardless. For every action, there is a result. Law of Cause and Effect. Even if no damage was intended, if damage is done, reparations have to be paid or repairs need to be made. If damage was intended, but no damage done, well... thank your lucky stars nothing happened to you, and reexamine why it is so necessary to cause damage in the first place.

We speak of Good and Evil, and find that our interpretation is an amalgam of both. Isaac Asimov, arguably one of the most intelligent humans of all time, made this statement. We see, through critical introspection, observation of others, and retrospection of our own life experiences, that Good and Evil are not black and white, but a gradient that alternates in waves much like all other properties of this universe. We have an up and down, a left and right, a black and white, yes, but the degree of which they are applied are ultimately our choice. Metaphorically speaking, there is no destination for the "up," nor is there a destination for "God." Justly so, there is no destination for "down," nor a destination for "Satan." They are directions in which we travel our lives. Vectors!

At least, this is my conclusion based on observations in my life.

This post has been edited by Xenomancer: Aug 12 2010, 07:24 PM