Monday, March 31, 2008

The Tricks of Satan

So far, I have covered "doubting God's Word", and "God doesn't want you to enjoy life".

Today's trick is covered by the same verse as the last one (Genesis 3:5, "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.").

I believe this is probably the second most common trick -- "You will be as god".

This is the key behind so much bad theology/philosophy. Atheism has aspects of this: kill God, and man can ascend the throne.

What more is there to say? Satan uses it because it works. "Find the divine in you", "have faith in you", "believe in yourself", "your divine spark", "live your life as you please".

7 comments:

GCT said...

Before you talk about atheism, perhaps you should ask one and actually find out about it.

Kill god? Please. There is no evidence for god, so there is no reason to kill it. And, if you think that having faith in yourself is a bad thing, and giving yourself meaning in life is bad, then what have you got? What does god give you, except the potential for a paradise once you get out of this life. Which, BTW, you should want to exit as quickly as possible so that you can get to heaven, shouldn't you? Why do Xians cry at funerals? Why do Xians not yearn for death?

nedbrek said...

Philippians 1:21 "For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain."

We cry at funerals because we hurt. Yea, it's a little selfish. We're thinking of ourselves.

GCT said...

You prove my point. If to die is gain, then why do you not long for death?

nedbrek said...

Because life is a gift from God. We are to thank God for our lives. At the same time, we don't fear death (much).

GCT said...

But, it's not a gift, is it? It's something to pass the time before paradise. IOW, he's keeping you here while others get to go to heaven, especially aborted fetuses and miscarried fetuses or infants that die very young. Life is a gift? It's a long test that god is giving you to see if he can't send you to hell for messing up. The longer you live, the more chance that you will go to hell. If this is a gift, then what does god consider a curse?

And, I call BS that you don't fear death or that Xians don't fear death in general. The whole reason why we have these notions of life after death is because the idea of death scares us.

nedbrek said...

I consider my life a gift, even when it isn't going well. Just to see the sunrise, or feel the sun, or see birds. Eat ice cream. Isn't life pleasurable?

My place in heaven is secure, nothing can snatch me from God's hands.

While I'm here, I can plead with others to trust in God. Then they will be my friends for eternity. If I should die without witnessing to them, I may never see them again.

Sometimes I fear death (usually in the moment), sometimes I pray for death. I think even unsaved people go through that. Part of it is our bodies, our instinct is to avoid death.

GCT said...

"I consider my life a gift, even when it isn't going well. Just to see the sunrise, or feel the sun, or see birds. Eat ice cream. Isn't life pleasurable?"

According to your theology, you shouldn't. The longer you live, the longer you stay out of heaven, which will be so much better than this. Of course, we both realize that life is precious and pleasurable, but in my case it's because I have a rational outlook. For you, it's only because you are inconsistent that you can feel that way.

"My place in heaven is secure, nothing can snatch me from God's hands."

Where did you get that idea? Can't god change his mind and decide not to save you, or is god impotent once he saves someone? Does this mean you can go on a murder spree and still get into heaven? Can you become an atheist/Muslim/Jew/Hindu/etc. and still get into heaven?

"If I should die without witnessing to them, I may never see them again."

Why should that matter? Do you think that you'll be able to be sad in heaven whether they are there with you or not?

"Part of it is our bodies, our instinct is to avoid death."

We all fear death, which is why some people took it upon themselves to make up fantastic stories about everlasting life. Those stories got passed on and eventually became the Xian stories of heaven and hell (and other stories for other religions).