QUOTE(FrankBlunt @ Jan 1 2006, 03:39 AM) [snapback]1000048[/snapback]
Boltwave,
There is nothing universally evil. That's an ancient concept designed to render mankind weak in the face of forces over which he's said to have no power. So, to whom do you turn when faced with this alleged evil? The ones who collect your money every Sunday. Please re-read our conversation from yesterday in the "Possession vs. Mental Illness" thread, where you agreed on my point regarding Adam and Eve. If that element is untrue, then how can any part of the scripture be trusted? Don't we constantly hear of 'lies mixed with truth', and that being an unholy method?
Please also see my response to EDW74. I'm terribly sorry, Boltwave, I really am. I know how much you and so many others in this world want to believe the scripture, but age and tradition alone do not translate to holy status. There have been so many edits by monarchs that no one knows what to trust. Some find comfort in believing it's the message that counts, but why build a structure on such a shaky foundation? Take the message with you if desired, apply it to your own daily life, and rely on your own wits, not that of a bureaucracy. You'll have much more strength in individuality than within any form of membership.
If it's true that Christ did indeed have dealings with malevolent spirits, it is simply unfortunate that humans of the time were led to believe that they were "demons" who could only be suppressed by Christ, and propogated that belief to future generations. I have dealt with the forces that you and Azalin have so frequently referred to as "demons". They're no longer a threat to my life and there was no external intervention whatsoever. I'm visited by spirits constantly, nightly in fact, and not all are well intentioned. Apathy, laughter, and sympathy, as necessary, are my tools. I don't laugh directly at the spirits, because I respect every single one of them, but I laugh privately at the failed effort. You're going to be much happier once you begin to accept all spirits as your brothers and sisters, whether or not they mean you harm.
Apathy is the best defense in most cases, but with the molesting and raping spirits, I utilized sympathy. That's right. I felt sorry for them, and they couldn't stand it. They'd rather pester someone else who releases emotions such as fear, anger, and arousal. Grade school bullies, Boltwave. Grade school bullies, nothing more. Keep that thought forever with you in your spiritual travels. Taxing as it may be to accept, you have the same power that you believe only one former Earthling to have. Everyone does.
One might think that sympathy would sadden me and leave me more vulnerable. Unlike the other emotions such as fear, hate, arousal, and anger, sympathy is a state of mind and remains within me, strengthening me. I'm not breaking down as the spirits would hope with that sentiment. I realize that all spirits who are suffering, whether or not they are frightening others, require understanding and healing. The spirits feed from anger and fear quite vigorously, and the emotions are, quite literally collections of energy being transmitted and received.
I have no clue how physically destructive or grandiose in scale the Emily Rose possession became, and I don't care. Her beating heart could have leaped from her chest and played chopsticks on a nearby piano, and that wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. However, the energy only becomes as powerful as the victim and "support" system allow it. It grows, and grows, and grows the more people get angry at it, fear it, etc. The emotions could almost be thought of in terms of metaphysical protein shakes, causing the spirit to bulk up.
In regard to happenings strictly in the physical realm: buildings are destroyed, cities are bombed, and diseases kill. The terrible things that happen in the physical world are learning experiences, tragic as they may be, not universally evil. And you could be talking about the Holocaust, the attack on the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima/Nagasaki, 9/11: we all learned something from those events, and to label them evil and let it worry you only depletes your level of happiness. They're tragic, undoubtedly, but the past cannot be altered. I assume you're speaking of universal evil, but if I alone choose not to label it evil, then it's not an absolute, is it?
Evil is a man-made perception rooted in misunderstanding and fear, and "demon" is a convenient label often abused. A man who is referred to as evil, such as Osama Bin Laden, is typically confused and scared. Hitler, for example, as a young boy, had brilliant prospects as an artist, and was highly gifted at sketching landscapes, but was denied entry to a prestigious school for his inability to draw the human form. Bitterness ensued. His plight didn't even begin to match my own, but I can still sympathize with his reaction to the rejection and the suffering it causes. So, if the school had allowed him entry, who's to say he wouldn't have become the next DaVinci or Monet? He may have had no impact whatsoever on the Jewish community, countless Germans, or the world as a whole had that pathway opened for him. Was Hitler a bitter, misguided, and destructive proponent of mass genocide, hated by billions to this day? Yes. Do I think his soul is ultimately evil and unable to be healed? No. As one of God's souls, I do not hate him. Hate is self-destructive. It's directed inward and doesn't harm the one being hated by any stretch of the imagination unless that person allows himself to be affected.
Evil is too absolute, and there's not a single human being or soul to whom I would apply it. It's not in my best interest. Giving a soul a perception of having ultimate power over me is foolish, and every spiritual battle would be lost before it began.
I agree with much of what you said, but then again, Satan can drive hate into us, but you are absolutely right when you say that it is foolish to give all negativity over to the power of the devil. Some would even say there is a reaching point, in which someone sins to such an extent they are branded with "the mark of the beast" supposedly your heart is filled with Satan's will 100% and in that stage even if you do repent, your still going to hell, a false assumption I might add, everyone has a choice until they die, I don't know if you even have a choice to repent at that time, who knows really.
It sounds like to me you believe in the ghost phenomena, and not demons or for that matter, Satan, the people that were cleansed by Jesus where in fact not mentally ill, I'm sure Azalin, and educated man may be able to find some verses I believe where Jesus had spoken about mental illness and spiritual possessions.
Again, Satan tried all of his energy on getting Jesus distracted from God's will and turning his own on him, Satan wanted to acheive power of him, making him his servant and at his bidding, Jesus rebuked the devil, and knew everything about his disguises and traps of temptation.
Jesus was even confronted by the evil spirits themselves, they wanted to truly see if Jesus could drive them out, and he did just that. with great power in mind, but here's my point, Jesus appointed those that understood his power to follow in his footsteps and to drive out evil spirits with his assistance.
If you are ignoring the spirits, but they won't go away and continue to visit you, why not at least give effort and shun them away for good, it sounds like your saying if you came across a person demonically possessed you would ignore their problems and that person will be miracolusly healed.
There are two sides actually, we can give the devil power by acknowledging him and the fear he inflicts, or we can ignore him and allow him to gain even more access to those he chooses.
H.G. Well's greatest quote is stated right here:
"The greatest lie the devil ever played on the world was to say he never existed, or that he existed too much." That's all I have to say on the manner