Disclaimer: The following arguments are presented with the assumption that god and Satan are real (which they are not), the subject being "could Satan have been the author of the bible in that case?"
An underestimated enemy is far worse than either. If you don't know the enemy, you can keep on building your defenses to counter any level of strength. But if you know the enemy and have underestimated him, then he has the advantage of knowing that you are not as secure as you think.
That is why Satan included himself in the bible, presenting himself as a weak and ineffectual fallen angel. He wants you to feel safe in believing you have god's protection when you don't.
That is exactly what Satan wants you to think. He wants you to think that you are supposed to believe the bible without questioning it, so when you go to hell, he can say "Gotcha".
He wants you to think that unbelief is a sin. He added the other, more obvious sins along with it because lies are more palatable when accompanied partly by truth.
He wants you to think that to god, your good deeds have the value equivalent of dirty rags, so that you'd think that spreading the "message of god" is more important than actually doing good deeds. He wants you to think that your sins are erased simply by having faith and accepting JC, so that you wouldn't actually work to erase your sins and then you will go straight to hell into his waiting arms.
Imagine if a being like god actually existed, what would he be like. He wouldn't care about people believing in him, because he doesn't need others to validate his existence. He wouldn't care about spending eternity listening to praises of his glory, he'd know how awesome he is. He wouldn't care if people followed arbitrary rules he might or might not have made up just because they believe he did. He'd want people to make up their own fucking minds about things rather than taking his word for it and if they came to a different conclusion, he wouldn't penalize them for it.
A mediocre mind seeks to control and demands obedience from other minds, where as an extraordinary mind seeks company of equivalent measure. If there is a god, the only thing certain is that he'd be fucking lonely. Maybe that's why he created humans - in the hopes that eventually there might be someone out of that species he could hold an interesting conversation with. Someone who would possibly make him say "Huh, I never thought of it like that". If so, he'd definitely not want any fundies in heaven because the only things they say is already laid out in a bible - a book written specifically to screw him over.
(February 10, 2012 at 12:09 am)brotherlylove Wrote: Again, an unknown enemy is more effective than a known one. If Satan wrote the bible he wouldn't have included himself in it, or any of the embarassing details of his fall from grace.
An underestimated enemy is far worse than either. If you don't know the enemy, you can keep on building your defenses to counter any level of strength. But if you know the enemy and have underestimated him, then he has the advantage of knowing that you are not as secure as you think.
That is why Satan included himself in the bible, presenting himself as a weak and ineffectual fallen angel. He wants you to feel safe in believing you have god's protection when you don't.
(February 10, 2012 at 12:09 am)brotherlylove Wrote: We're judged for all the sin we have committed, such as lying, cheating, stealing etc, in which unbelief is simply one. It is what your salvation hinges upon, but sin itself is the reason for the judgement. Scripture says our good works are filthy rags before a Holy God..they don't justify us. It's only our faith that is counted to us as righteousness.
That is exactly what Satan wants you to think. He wants you to think that you are supposed to believe the bible without questioning it, so when you go to hell, he can say "Gotcha".
He wants you to think that unbelief is a sin. He added the other, more obvious sins along with it because lies are more palatable when accompanied partly by truth.
He wants you to think that to god, your good deeds have the value equivalent of dirty rags, so that you'd think that spreading the "message of god" is more important than actually doing good deeds. He wants you to think that your sins are erased simply by having faith and accepting JC, so that you wouldn't actually work to erase your sins and then you will go straight to hell into his waiting arms.
Imagine if a being like god actually existed, what would he be like. He wouldn't care about people believing in him, because he doesn't need others to validate his existence. He wouldn't care about spending eternity listening to praises of his glory, he'd know how awesome he is. He wouldn't care if people followed arbitrary rules he might or might not have made up just because they believe he did. He'd want people to make up their own fucking minds about things rather than taking his word for it and if they came to a different conclusion, he wouldn't penalize them for it.
A mediocre mind seeks to control and demands obedience from other minds, where as an extraordinary mind seeks company of equivalent measure. If there is a god, the only thing certain is that he'd be fucking lonely. Maybe that's why he created humans - in the hopes that eventually there might be someone out of that species he could hold an interesting conversation with. Someone who would possibly make him say "Huh, I never thought of it like that". If so, he'd definitely not want any fundies in heaven because the only things they say is already laid out in a bible - a book written specifically to screw him over.
