On Satan
I don't remember how I ended up looking up "fallen angels" on Wikipedia, but as I read through the article, there was so much going through my mind. And still, these thoughts swirl around, bordering on blasphemy.
I believe in God, but not Satan. I think I should believe in Satan though. But this is not Satan as tradition sees him. The Satan in my mind does not crouch in the shadows, whispering and tempting passers by to abandon virtue. I think the role of Satan is much larger and much more important than the "embodiement of evil". From what I've read and what I choose to believe, Satan is equivalent to God. He does not tempt or encourage sin.
Satan's role is to make us think. Perhaps that's what was distorted. Perhaps thinking became heresy. I suppose I should explain my beliefs. To me, God is hope. God is good and kind and like a parent, teaches humans right from wrong. If God is a parent, then Satan is a friend. But not the goody-goody kind of friend that turns and walks away if you do something wrong. Satan is the one who sits there and goes "Ok, we shouldn't steal...but why not?"
It's like...he's not asking you to steal, he just wants you to think about why you shouldn't. So that we don't just know its wrong, but so we know why. Satan and God aren't physical beings or incarnations or embodiements. They are forces, ideas. And they guide us. Below are some things I found in Wikipedia, the inspirations of this blog:
"It is generally accepted by most Christians that the fallen angels were cast out of Heaven because of actions taken against God.These actions were enabled because the angels were granted free will. Generally, these actions included active rebellion, doubt in God's motives or plans, or a rejection of the system of Heaven. Pride is often involved, especially in cases where an angel believed itself to be more powerful than God (Lucifer being the prime example among these), Although it is said that Lucifer, the first Angel and favorite son didn't want God's power, but, instead felt that God was enslaving humanity, even though they were happy in the Garden of Eden, they were still 'Thralls of God'. This is considered one of the reasons Lucifer tempts Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge so that they can come to their full potential,after all Lucifer was the Angel of Light, Music, and beauty,and with Light also comes knowledge, and while being in the Garden of Eden meant eternal paradise it also meant eternal ignorance"
See what I mean? Well, you don't have to. It's just food for thought. And this too:
There is a Sufi version of the story that states that Lucifer was the angel who loved God the most. At the time of the angels' creation, God told them to bow to no one but Him.
However, God created mankind, whom he considered superior to the angels, and commanded the angels to bow before the new figure. Lucifer refused, partly because he could not forget the first commandment, but also because he would bow to his beloved God only. The other angels saw Lucifer as insubordinate, and expelled him from Heaven.
Those who believe in this version do not consider Lucifer or the fallen angels to be demons, since they did not rebel against God by refusing his mandate, but rather believed that creatures should bow before only God, and no one else.
Both excerpts are from the Wikipedia article on "Fallen angels". And they both lead me to believe all I've stated in this blog. God can honestly be seen as a parent. He seems a bit vain, but a parent. And Lucifer, Satan, whoever, wasn't a bad kid. He was the kind of kid we need in this world: the person who questions everything.
Sanitation, expiration date--question everything. Or shut up and be a victim of authority.
I believe in God, but not Satan. I think I should believe in Satan though. But this is not Satan as tradition sees him. The Satan in my mind does not crouch in the shadows, whispering and tempting passers by to abandon virtue. I think the role of Satan is much larger and much more important than the "embodiement of evil". From what I've read and what I choose to believe, Satan is equivalent to God. He does not tempt or encourage sin.
Satan's role is to make us think. Perhaps that's what was distorted. Perhaps thinking became heresy. I suppose I should explain my beliefs. To me, God is hope. God is good and kind and like a parent, teaches humans right from wrong. If God is a parent, then Satan is a friend. But not the goody-goody kind of friend that turns and walks away if you do something wrong. Satan is the one who sits there and goes "Ok, we shouldn't steal...but why not?"
It's like...he's not asking you to steal, he just wants you to think about why you shouldn't. So that we don't just know its wrong, but so we know why. Satan and God aren't physical beings or incarnations or embodiements. They are forces, ideas. And they guide us. Below are some things I found in Wikipedia, the inspirations of this blog:
"It is generally accepted by most Christians that the fallen angels were cast out of Heaven because of actions taken against God.These actions were enabled because the angels were granted free will. Generally, these actions included active rebellion, doubt in God's motives or plans, or a rejection of the system of Heaven. Pride is often involved, especially in cases where an angel believed itself to be more powerful than God (Lucifer being the prime example among these), Although it is said that Lucifer, the first Angel and favorite son didn't want God's power, but, instead felt that God was enslaving humanity, even though they were happy in the Garden of Eden, they were still 'Thralls of God'. This is considered one of the reasons Lucifer tempts Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge so that they can come to their full potential,after all Lucifer was the Angel of Light, Music, and beauty,and with Light also comes knowledge, and while being in the Garden of Eden meant eternal paradise it also meant eternal ignorance"
See what I mean? Well, you don't have to. It's just food for thought. And this too:
There is a Sufi version of the story that states that Lucifer was the angel who loved God the most. At the time of the angels' creation, God told them to bow to no one but Him.
However, God created mankind, whom he considered superior to the angels, and commanded the angels to bow before the new figure. Lucifer refused, partly because he could not forget the first commandment, but also because he would bow to his beloved God only. The other angels saw Lucifer as insubordinate, and expelled him from Heaven.
Those who believe in this version do not consider Lucifer or the fallen angels to be demons, since they did not rebel against God by refusing his mandate, but rather believed that creatures should bow before only God, and no one else.
Both excerpts are from the Wikipedia article on "Fallen angels". And they both lead me to believe all I've stated in this blog. God can honestly be seen as a parent. He seems a bit vain, but a parent. And Lucifer, Satan, whoever, wasn't a bad kid. He was the kind of kid we need in this world: the person who questions everything.
Sanitation, expiration date--question everything. Or shut up and be a victim of authority.
I don't know what I believe either,
and I'm quite confused actually about my own "religion"
But I actually really do agree with what you are saying here. i dont believe in 'satan" or "the devil" either...I mean. why would God even create such a terrible thing??
but this blog deffinatly answers my question in a way i never even considered.
well done. i like this blog :]
Bubble Wrap., December 15th, 2007 at 09:30:47pm
this is how i think of religion: ultimately WE have our own choices. I personally do not believe there is a Satan whispering in your ear to do bad things. I do believe in a God, but not the God that the Catholic church has taught me (my family is Catholic, and I've seen a growing trend of kids forced to believe something turn against it when they start to gain their own ideas about the world...). Anyway, this is a very interesting theory, but I'm not quite sure I believe it any more than I believe the Catholic version of Satan. The God I believe in isn't one that rejects people from heaven and sends them to hell if they aren't Christian. What kind of God is that??? Lol. I think I'm going to write a blog in reply to this cause this comment is getting pretty long. Check it out once I get it up!
suburban.zombie, December 15th, 2007 at 06:06:04pm
ive grown up in a 'catholic' school system and what not. I do not consider myself to be Christian or Catholic, even though i get the whole, "But Isabel, you were baptised, that means you are Catholic".
Catholic is in the mind, not a physical form, meh. Anyways, i have also been in 2 Catholic schools, primary school and high school. Both of these schools taught me nothing and i only saw how much Satan was riduculed rather than talked about.
People think that Satan is the bad guy, there is no bad guy. At a Catholic school, they never teach you how to think, they only made you think like them until they had you brainwashed into their thoughts enough so that they can lead you onto 'their' life.
I have changed schools, and now i go to a public school, but i realised that we never learnt about Satan, even though it is apart of Christianity. Biased(sp) much?
Vegemite, December 15th, 2007 at 10:03:23am
Well, I don't know what I believe, but this is certainly an interesting concept.
Miley Cyrus, December 15th, 2007 at 04:10:42am