So anyway. The concept of Satan doesn't hold any real spiritual value to me. Just artistic and comical value. I think Satan is one of the psychological constructs that our culture has formed, deriving from our desire to give a name and a face to the darker aspects of our psyche. In itself this is a healthy thing, many cultures have done it. But I don't like the model of there being an 'ultra malevolent Satan' as opposed to an 'ultra benevolent God'. Personally, I disagree with the way mono-theistic religions tend to polarize the universe (and thereby the human psyche) into two extremes of good and evil. There is no real 'evil' in the universe; evil is a concept that we've made up. Everything needs an opposite in order to exist, but neither of the opposites is superior to the other. And the same goes for the darker aspects of our psyche. We all have 'darker' aspects to our personality. Sometimes we're aware of them, and sometimes they are burried deep within our subconscious. But they are always there. The thing is, there could be no consciousness if there was no subconscious. Nor could there be altruism, kindness or generosity were there no darker, egocentrical parts to our psyche. ED: Got to thinking... I'm not entirely sure about that last line. What if altruism and kindness are the 'natural' and 'neutral' course of events, as Buddhism proposes? Gah, this stuff is complicated...
Ouch. That hurts, y'know. If you really don't like it, just ignore it. It's not harming anyone. It's just for fun.
Yeah, but good and evil aren't real rite? I mean, we can experience something as good or bad, but that's relative, rite? The universe consists out of poles, but it's a human thing to name one pole good and the other pole evil.
Call it what you will, evil serves a purpose. It gives people something to fight against, and conflict is a catalyst for evolution.
That's the point, really. Because good and evil exists only if we think it does. If we can't think, it can't exist. I guess I can explain more in depth. The first thing most people realize is that absolutes don't exist. There are infinitely many shades of grey. However, if you think about it, you can look at every shade and say if it's more white than black, or more black than white. This judgement varies for every person, but every person can decide. So, in essence, good and evil exist, but differently for every person. However, they can only exist if your decide to make the distinction. Making the distinction between good and evil requires knowing neither exists. And, since evil exists only in that people do things they think are good and other thing are evil, the person to point out the subjectivity of evil is the creator of evil.
Good, evil... wicked phenomenon, yes? But you know, Satan may be no more 'evil' than say, fire... It all relies on your own point of view, and there is always more understanding to be gained before anyone can cast their judgement.
Bownty's right. Satan is a completely subjective phenomenon. And while sharing opinions is great, there are better topics at hand. For example, me.
Things got all philosophical on me there. I don't know how to respond. I could outline what I think of the whole God vs Satan deal but seeing as this isn't supposed to be a serious thread I'll hold my tongue. To me, Satan isn't the one who introduced evil into the world. He only introduced free will--the capacity for humans to make our own decisions. A lot of evil gets done on free will, sure; but a lot of good gets done on it too, and what's more important than doing good because God told you to, is doing good because you actually know it's good. Conscience is more valuable than blind obedience. But Satan is still going to hell for having broken God's law, and he of course knows this. All he wants is some company when he gets there. I've got your back bro. ~ ♥ Satan x Kelly 4ever ♥ ~
