Lucifer

[lisah]

The entire problem with religion is that is takes the concept of Lucifer entirely too seriously, especially when the real evil has always been man himself.

GC himself is evil.  He may not see it, but he is.  

He would rather prevent a great advancement than admit that his god is fiction.

My general impression is that in the face over overwhelming and nasty criticism GC has been more gracious than most members, including myself.

As for Swedenborgian theology we take references to Lucifer as not a single entity but rather a collection, like Legion, of evil spirits. Nevertheless Drich's answer still holds. Those who desire to place themselves above God's authority will be cast down. Think of every thread or reply on AF in which atheists stand in judgment over God because the world does not conform to their expectations of what an all-mighty creator should in their minds should be able to create.

I stumbled upon Swedenborg when researching Helen Keller. I haven't read a lot of Swedenborg's ideas, but it seemed very complicated. However, his writings I also found to be some of the most creatively inspired writings that I have read to date. Interesting stuff.

I am not making the connection that atheists stand in judgment over God so much as people. How can one judge what one does not believe in? It makes no sense to me.