tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post3227278550159899496..comments2024-01-25T00:50:10.679-05:00Comments on Thoughts from a Sandwich: The Devil Made Me do itDagoodShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04557451438888314932noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-53380029413354990072012-06-16T23:11:51.401-04:002012-06-16T23:11:51.401-04:00Unfortunately, Anonymous 12:13, your methodology i...Unfortunately, Anonymous 12:13, your methodology is revealed as “Those who believe as I do (and believe the same Bible and believe the same interpretation) are not deceived; those who do not believe as I do are deceived.” That really isn’t much of a method—I hope you can see why it is not persuasive in any way.<br /><br />I look for three things in a method:<br /><br />1) Objectivity. Remove as much bias and prejudice as possible, even those we do not realize we have.<br /><br />2) Consistency. A method equally applied to claims opposing our own, as well as our own. Something we can utilize in multiple disciplines.<br /><br />4) Transformative. When the method provides results unexpected or undesired, we modify our own position.<br /><br />As you can see, your method fails on all three counts: 1) it is completely subjective dependent on your own feelings, 2) it is inconsistent as it is inapplicable to opposing claims and 3) it will never change your own position.<br /><br />Keeping this in mind, your claim my blog posts are “ranting” and that Satan has “worked on” me is not at all persuasive; you are simply expressing an unfounded, unsupported feeling.<br /><br />Of course you are welcome to having such feelings, but why…for the life of me…you think being the 1000th person to tell me something you can’t back up would be convincing puzzles me.DagoodShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04557451438888314932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-57632275330124242972012-06-15T22:24:31.932-04:002012-06-15T22:24:31.932-04:00It really hasn't created more difficulties. Yo...It really hasn't created more difficulties. You either believe the Bible to be true or you don't. Faith is not something you can make someone have through evidence. As far as determining which scriptural texts are as accurate to the time if being written, I would suggest following Canonicity. For example, the Mormon bible is obviously wrong as it was just changed from the original recently in comparison to the contemporary writings of the OT and NT. And as far as Satan goes deceiving who and everybody, yes he may try but if you believe there is a devil then you believe in a God, who is in control. The problem rests here: we are human and are limited. God has revealed himself in general and specific revelation. We shouldn't be so worried about having all the answers to every detail about everything. Should we research, seek and learn as much as possible? Of course! But to say "well since man can't possibly know Everything, God doesn't exist." My lack or anybody else's lack of being able to answer these questions to YOUR liking, does not prove anything about God's existence or non-existence. <br /><br />So yes, many people, even believers can be deceived whether it's through evil intervention or just by their own minds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-41573369191263955952012-06-15T15:57:33.259-04:002012-06-15T15:57:33.259-04:00Anonymous 12:13: To summarize my answer to your q...<b>Anonymous 12:13:</b> <i> To summarize my answer to your question, [“What method do we use to determine who is being deceived by Satan and who is not?“]for Christians it is the Bible. </i><br /><br />But couldn’t Satan have deceived the writers? Couldn’t Satan have deceived those determining canonicity?<br /><br />For example, the very next (obvious) question—if this is our methodology--<b>which</b> Bible? The Tanakh? The Protestant? The Catholic? The Eastern Orthodox? The Mormon? And which sections within said Bible? Ending of Mark? The Pericope of the Adulterous Woman?<br /><br />Indeed, one could certainly argue <i>somebody</i> did some deceiving just by adding those sections into the Bible—what method do we use to determine whether they were deceived? According to Christian dogma, Satan existed (and was already in the deceiving business) long before the very first words of any book in the Bible were written—how can we know they weren’t deceived if our methodology didn’t exist until after Satan was deceiving?<br /><br />Further, even those who agree on which Bible to use argue, debate and claim others are being deceived when it comes to interpretation. <br /><br />No…you looked for an ad hoc method and what you proposed has only generated more difficulties and has not advanced a solution one bit.DagoodShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04557451438888314932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-49127902012901923222012-06-15T15:00:22.764-04:002012-06-15T15:00:22.764-04:00That question cannot be answered so easily. For a ...That question cannot be answered so easily. For a believer, truth comes from the Bible, so obviously anything contrary to the word of God could be considered a deception. For example: for some people who claim to be a Christian yet do not know the word have been deceived by this new phenomenon, called the "Secret". It has nothing to with Christianity, in fact is the exact opposite, but people are buying into it, integrating it into their religion. Similarly, maybe many Christians who you have come across have develop their OWN views of things that outrage many non-Christians, but they also outrage many Christians as well. <br />Unfortunately, many Christians have been stumbling blocks for others because they can be very wrong in what they say or do. These are all not necessarily "Satan's doing". We are very much capable of screwing up our own lives without the help of any outside source. It's not like there is a guy with horns and a pitch fork standing there on our shoulder whispering in our ear. No one chooses God or seeks after Him, so if anyone has ever made statements that they are better because they have all the answers, they themselves are deceived by their own arrogance. To summarize my answer to your question, for Christians it is the Bible. It's hard to answer for others as I don't know where they go to for answers. For some, it might fit into the typical post modern answer, "whatever you feel is right and a good answer based on your own beliefs". For someone who does not believe in evil, it would be most difficult to determine where truth would come from. The problem with me trusting my own feelings with regards to something so big as God, creation, souls, etc is that we don't have all the answers. Many times my feelings have led me to very wrong decisions. Just because the concept of God and salvation may seem "ridiculous" doesn't automatically make it not true. For example, because we see childbirth all around us, we don't think anything of it, but if you do think about it, how mythological or crazy does it sound that a human being came from "nothing", grows in a woman's belly and pops out fully formed at the end of 9 months? For a little child, it's so hard to understand. Sometimes we are still like little children, things are too big to comprehend, therefore they must be impossible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-3950246390357008962012-06-15T12:54:33.064-04:002012-06-15T12:54:33.064-04:00Anonymous 12:13
Good. I am glad you are reading....Anonymous 12:13<br /><br />Good. I am glad you are reading. I encourage you to continue to do so. Not just my blog, but blogs I link to and books I list. Test what I say. You see something incorrect, feel free to comment and point it out. <br /><br />You are not the first (nor probably the last) to claim I was being deceived by Satan. You know what the problem with this is? If one is being deceived, they don’t know it! The reason con games work is NOT because the person being conned understands the truth—they are deceived into believing a lie.<br /><br />Now, I can envision four (4) possible scenarios:<br /><br />1) I am being deceived by Satan, and do not know it;<br />2) You are being deceived by Satan and do not know it;<br />3) We are both being deceived by Satan and do not know it; or<br />4) Neither of us is being deceived by Satan.<br /><br />Obviously I hold to the fourth option as there is no Satan…but here is the question I ask everyone who indicates I am being deceived by Satan. So far none have answered, so you could be the first.<br /><br />What method do we use to determine who is being deceived by Satan and who is not?DagoodShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04557451438888314932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-58650786157183020902012-06-15T12:13:09.934-04:002012-06-15T12:13:09.934-04:00Satan HAS created his own version of Christianity....Satan HAS created his own version of Christianity. And it's worked on you, as I've read several of your blogs many of your rantings have to do with "so-called Christians", not the word of God. Of course the devil would love to twist truth just slightly and keep people as far away from it. Good job on pointing out exactly what he's up to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-21578758218314985712012-03-06T15:00:33.038-05:002012-03-06T15:00:33.038-05:00I can't seem to find any in a search by user o...I can't seem to find any in a search by user or by keyword, although my old ID pops up. <br /><br />No big worries, was just looking for some more material to stare at instead of getting work done.Hiero5antnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-58563557120779965662012-03-06T10:26:03.869-05:002012-03-06T10:26:03.869-05:00My handle was "blt to go." Alas, it see...My handle was "blt to go." Alas, it seems all my posts are ancient, and in the Archives.DagoodShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04557451438888314932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-33297261620552090372012-03-05T21:59:15.389-05:002012-03-05T21:59:15.389-05:00Dagoods --
off topic, but I've seen you menti...Dagoods --<br /><br />off topic, but I've seen you mention you used to frequent IIDB, but I can't find anyone with that handle. Did you ever actually post there, and if so what was your handle?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-65890670729478829762012-02-15T20:27:02.666-05:002012-02-15T20:27:02.666-05:00DaGoodS... Would you possibly be willing to email ...DaGoodS... Would you possibly be willing to email me so we can talk? If you are, my email is lookingforanswers@aol.com. Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-31605080116860071952012-02-09T08:51:23.838-05:002012-02-09T08:51:23.838-05:00I've often wondered what's in it for Lucif...I've often wondered what's in it for Lucifer? <br /><br /><i>Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19</i><br /><br /><i>And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Matt. 8:28-29</i><br /><br />If the demons and by all accounts Lucifer, himself, know this and that there is an appointed time, why do they continue in their "sin"? Can they not repent? What's in it for them? They obviously know there will be a time when they will be tormented.DMahttp://www.gulliblestravelsdma.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-78648979987053303952012-02-03T15:55:06.853-05:002012-02-03T15:55:06.853-05:00Which got me to thinking…assuming arguendo there w...<i>Which got me to thinking…assuming arguendo there was a demi-god Satan, in competition with God, what would Satan do to keep as many people out of heaven as possible (assuming Satan had such a goal?)</i><br /><br />...<br /><br /><i>In short…if I was Satan and I wanted to create an alternative religion to keep people out of heaven…I would create Christianity. </i><br /><br />But you'd have to stipulate in your scenario that Christianity isn't true. Because if it <i>is</i> true, and you wanted to create an alternative to heaven, then "creating" Christianity would be the exact opposite of what you should do.Sam Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884738370893218595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-26098836601918900062012-02-02T12:38:15.373-05:002012-02-02T12:38:15.373-05:00An undergrad one day fought back tears as she conf...<i>An undergrad one day fought back tears as she confessed to me that she was afraid that she didn’t want to go to heaven.</i> Clay Jones<br /><br />I want to comment on this post, but every time I think about what Clay Jones wrote, I am so baffled that I don't know where to start. All I can think to say is "Are you f**king kidding me?"Vinnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08955726889682177434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-6274672360477587072012-01-31T17:39:34.487-05:002012-01-31T17:39:34.487-05:00This isn't exactly a fresh idea. The whole &qu...This isn't exactly a fresh idea. The whole "how can this work" question has been something theologians have puzzled over for centuries. And since they're all basically making it up as they go along, the answers vary.<br /><br />Personally, I think you can go a little further, though: if Satan really wants to keep people out of heaven, then he could go a lot further than merely telling them they only have to avoid really big sins. He could use religion to make them sin in the guise of virtue. Holy wars come to mind, of course, since the whole idea of forcing people to believe is automatically futile (which has implications for Islam), but there are all sorts of other options. What could be more effective than to create a faulty moral system and then persuade people to judge and punish each other for perceived minor infractions of that system? In fact, the more contradictory that system was, the more frequently religionists would be able to construct a reason to go after each other.<br /><br />In short, Satan would not merely create Christianity, but would continue on to create fundamentalist Christianity. And probably Islam as well -- it is likewise expansionist, contradictory, and encourages punishment on flimsy rationale.The Vicarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-23400743299145792292012-01-31T16:19:34.929-05:002012-01-31T16:19:34.929-05:00Agree with The Wise Fool. This is a pretty intere...Agree with The Wise Fool. This is a pretty interesting analysis! Christianity doesn't really make sense in any logical way.Brian Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20896717.post-37901017205778890522012-01-31T14:42:36.033-05:002012-01-31T14:42:36.033-05:00Great argument here. I've often thought of th...Great argument here. I've often thought of the "what's in it for Satan" angle with only mediocre answers at best, like just to spite God. But, in the end, it makes less sense than having to kill something innocent for atonement.<br /><br />Of course, there are different denominations and sects of Christianity which claim that Satan has indeed integrated into other sects and denominations within Christianity. Catholics normally bear the brunt of this, with the Pope often seen as Satan incarnate. :-)TWFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06016277303703254572noreply@blogger.com