Aresthena

Welcome aboard our ship of life!

I was reading your profile. I'm not familiar with Arestao so I'll have to google. Is it a demon?

Your profile also says:

I Question and mostly hate Society as a whole, and like to associate myself with intellectual, mature people.

You mean you don't like the sheep mentality of society?  Hate  may be a rather strong word. Are there no intellectual mature people in society...lol.

Your quote:

If perhaps I was given the opportunity to change my religion, I would.

What would you change it to and why can you not change it? Are you interested in Satanism?

What is a demon exactly? Is it a spirit from here or from the other world that resides in someone's body? Or is it some kind of lost soul without a home?

I'll have to think about what you are writing. I do believe demons (if such exists) aren't totally evil.

We have a thread by rishi newly started which is also speaking about evil.

Protection Prayer:

I surround myself with Light and Love

The Christ Light of Love and the Christ Light of Protection

That only good may come to me and go from me

I ask for this protection and I accept it

In the Name of Jesus, the Christ.

Hi! I'm back already....

I googled arestao. I'll post links here for others who may not be familiar with it. It isn't anything bad; its  not a demon...lol. It means living life to the fullest i.e. not following the herd. Possibly its wicca? We have a very intelligent person named "Witch" on the forum who is Wiccan. I read the links which appear to be fine.

I'm sorry, I know very little about demons. Many people believe evil comes from within ourselves because we choose to think evil thoughts. I agree that evil in whatever form is complicated.

Ummmm...Do you not think that taking over somebody elses body without their permission is kind of evil. And because the person wants the demon out, the demon gets pissed off and throws a hissy fit? Your logic seems quite illogical to me. The person who has become possessed has every right to get rid of the demon who was not invited, by any means they choose. The demon should shut it's stinking, whinning mouth and do what it is told to do.

If an exorcism makes the demon angry and agitated.....HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK THE HUMAN BEING FEELS?

Hahahaha!!!

That is a great response to that young womans post! LOL

Bolt

Not going to ruin my day, gotta tell ya. I could give a jolly rip if a demon sees me as special. There is One who does see me, indeed sees all of us as special, and it is to Him that I give all honor and glory.

Demons are agents of deception, they are under the lordship of satan the father of lies.

It would seem to me that you are believing lies young woman.

This is exactly what they want. Don't fall for their lies.

It can only lead to your ruin.

Bolt

Amen, brother.

 Stardust, Arestao is not a demon lol. But you did discover the right site. Read it, it changed my life. And thanks for the welcome. By the way, no, I am not interested in Satanism. There is nothing about it that intrigues me. Wicca would be more like it.

Oh, and consumingfire? You really don't have to get all defensive like that. This site is for open minded individuals, not for defensive debates and people who do not know how to read without being bias. 

Wow, who would want to be special to a demon?

Bolt

Well I really have no idea. Some religions say that some people are more "special" than others. 

Debate is exactly part of why this site exists. You don't get to set the terms of why this site exists or who it is for.

 Sorry, I just don't have any sympathy for demons. Please explain to me exactly why it is that humans should just let demons possess them with out trying to rid their body of demon filth? Does the demon have the right to act with violence against the person? If I catch a thief in my house, do I not have the right to expell him from my property? If a person is possessed by a demon univited, that person has every right to rid him or herself of that demon. The demon should just shut it's pie hole.

My post was not defensive as I was not responding to a personal post but to your opening post. I had nothing to be defensive against. I was merely responding to what I believe are flawed and somewhat dangerous ideas. I have my opinions and you have yours. We each have our own right to those opinions and to express them, which I was doing.

And please tell me how open an open mind has to be in order for it to be open. Does disagreeing with an idea or concept that an individual puts forth make one automatically close minded? 

Again, you don't get to set the terms for who is open minded and who is not. 

Religions have been wrong on alot of things, even christianity.

Everyone has a special quality that deserves to be revieled to each indevidual.

How we rank ones special qualities, is flawed in many cases.

It's when we look at things with the mind of Christ is when it all becomes clear, that God ranks our special qualities according to how we accept & use them, He doesn't rank them for what they are.

Not like we do.

Unfortunately, we all can't have the same gifts, & sometimes we are not as stoked about our gifts as we would be if we had someone else's gift or special quality that is God given.

This can sometimes lead to problems.

But be assured, we all have something to offer in this world for the good, it's how we accept them & use them that makes the difference.

Bolt

Why would anybody care if a demon sees them as special?

Now I Sing by Pocket Full of Rocks

CF, I think you been watching too many  movies like the, Exorcist, Ghost, and the Omen. They are only movies they ony exist in Hollywood. I choose to live in a world where demons and Satan  only exist in the minds of those who choose to believe in them. For me they are not real. Human beings don't need any help for doing injustices they are quite capable of this without any outside help. I think if Satan truly existed he would want people to believe he is real and not the other way around.

Why do you think satan would want people to believe that he's real?

Bolt

Hi Bolt, the same reason god would like us to believe he is real for the power that comes with it. I for one believe satan is a fictional character. It is like the child who is afraid of the dark and thinks there is a monster under the bed but when you turn on the light and show the child there is no monster under the bed then that imaginary monster has no power over the child. Turn on the light Bolt. I got to go to bed now and check under it just in case there is a monster. Bye.

On the contrary, any power that is extended to satan is through his deception, not from people who believe he is real.

Most people who believe him to be real know that he is no threat as long as we place the authority of Christ above him, & use this authority through Jesus the Christ to combat satan's influence on this world.

Even most satanists don't think satan is real, it is his deception that gives him any form of gratification because as long as we are in a decieved state, we are lost like he is, & the promise of God is at high risk, if we hold no faith in the promise.

The promise consists of having faith in it for it to be fully established.

Deception robs us of this faith, & part of this deception is deceiving us of the fact that he is a threat.

We are decieved if we don't believe he is real.

And misery loves company.

This satan's main goal is to decieve us from the truth through carnal deception, if he was exposed to all for who he is, then his deception would hold no power here on earth.

Bolt

A quote from the net about demons:

Just for the sake on conversation, perhaps the church believed it was necissary to conclude that the good Spirit of God & angels were to be seperate from the satanic spirit & demons.

Bolt

Hi bolt.....lol....

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. I've no clue!

I do know that the Catholic church way back when wouldn't have existed without Satan,the devil, and the demons. Satan was/is the best friend of the church. The people paid money called "indulgences" I think (?) to get forgiveness for their sins? No Garden of Eden, no serpent, no Satan would equal no church wouldn't it? Why would the people need the church?

P.S. I do believe in God but I also believe there was a bit of hanky panky going on within the Catholic church...lol...

This is Kahlil Gibran's  story of a priest who encounters a very ugly ill man lying in a ditch.  He rescues him and the man turns out to be Satan. Naturally, the priest is horrified. Satan relates the following story to him:

And Satan protested, "My disdain for Humanity is not greater than your hatred for yourself.... You are blessing Michael who never has come to your rescue.... You are cursing me in the hour of my defeat, even though I was, and still am, the source of your tranquillity and happiness.... You deny me your blessing, and extend not your kindness, but you live and prosper in the shadow of my being.... You have adopted for my existence an excuse and weapon for your career, and you employ my name in justification for your deeds. Has not my past caused you to be in need of my present and future? Have you reached your goal in amassing the required wealth? Have you found it impossible to extract more gold and silver from your followers, using my kingdom as a threat?

"Do you not realize that you will starve to death if I were to die? What would you do tomorrow if you allowed me to die today? What vocation would you pursue if my name disappeared? For decades you have been roaming these villages and warning the people against falling into my hands. They have bought your advice with their poor denars and with the products of their land. What would they buy from you tomorrow, if they discovered that their wicked enemy no longer existed? Your occupation would die with me, for the people would be safe from sin. As a clergyman, do you not realize that Satan's existence alone has created his enemy, the church? That ancient conflict is the secret hand which removes the gold and silver from the faithful's pocket and deposits it forever into the pouch of the preacher and missionary. How can you permit me to die here, when you know it will surely cause you to lose your prestige, your church, your home, and your livelihood?"

Like you said, "Good and evil are two faces of the same coin."

Humans do love to make things simple and lable something. However, that quick thinking doesn't so anything (*cough*like war*cough*). I have read plently of books that question the concept of demon, evil, and angels, good. Because some of them are complicated, but as society starts to change out of the old values question like these upset older people, who start calling us demons.

I can't offer much to this conversation, but it's like everything else in life. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Don't listen to rumors. Don't judge a person/or a thing before you get to know it. And this whole evil and good thing is just another from of racism.

I don't watch those kind of movies. I believe that demon possession is real, rare, but really none the less. You can choose to live in any kind of world you wish, that's your choice. For me, I believe in the dichotomy of good and evil.

Hello Aresthena and welcome to the WonderCafe,

I think that is true in a certain context.  Specifically a Christian context.  I suspect that is the end result of translation and lost meaning.  Classic Christian Angeology posits that in the beginning all Angels (messengers) are good.  A rebellion led by Lucifer results in a third of the angelic host being cast out of the heavenlies to take up residence in, on or around earth.  Those cast out messengers are referred to a demons.

Demon is a Greek word and had its own meaning before being included in texts that would eventually become the New Testament.  More properly Daemon is a term that comes out of classic mythology and may refer to the Gods themselves or subordinate deities (ie, muses), the spirits of specific places (the power behind the oracle of Delphi) or finally attendant spirits.

That works as general statement bearing in mind that the term Daemon also has a history from Classical mythology.  Within the context of Christianity the understanding of Demon is considerably narrower.

I would agree that Demons would possess complexity of character only to the degree that they are not understood completely by humanity (how can we test what we even think we know about them?).  As to their moral comprehension I am in doubt.

In classical mythology their caste (being Gods or demi-gods themselves) they rank above humanity which may be their plaything.  They do not appear to be bound by any specific morality save the overarching morality of Zeus and that is a dubious morality at best.  There does appear to be boundaries established.  Nymphs and Dryads, for example, only hang out in specific places.

In classical theology their purpose or affiliation determines their morality.  Angels, serving as messengers of God operate under God's direction.  Demons, serving as agents of Lucifer, operate to oppose God's direction.  If there is any complexity involved it is a matter of strategy deployed rather than purpose.

I'm not as confident about this as you appear to be.  Demonic possession has been stereotyped and Hollywood is not the best resource for information regarding possession.  Scripture itself shows a broad range of individuals described as possessed and differing effects.

King Saul is said to be possessed.  That possession does manifest itself in violence yet that violence is periodic and typically directed at David who has been anointed King to replace Saul.

The Gadarene demoniac is a recluse who appears to keep to himself.  Efforts to subdue him have proven unsuccessful until Jesus cast out the legion of demons alleged to be possessing him.

There is a young child who is possessed the demon routinely throws the boy into fire or water.

There is a maid servant who is possessed and the demon possessing her appears to be able to predict the future.

Again, this comes out of a Judeo-Christian context which shows that demonic activity routinely opposes the will/direction of God.

Paul's references to principalities, powers, thrones and dominions appears to be the closest connection between the Biblical Demon and the Mythological Daemon.

A better question might be, "If they are morally complex creatures how do the justify their taking possession of our bodies against our will?"

I'm not up on my Classic Mythology so I have no recollection of possession stories from that corpus.  The closest connection might be the siren call which lured sailors to their death on the rocks.

I'm not following your train of thought here.  Can you please try to clarify?  Demons are violent because of these special people or Demons are violent with those who aren't special people?

I'm not following you here either, what sides are there to choose between?

I don't think this position holds water.

Biblically Angels and Demons are two separate entities not mixtures of both.

Mythologically the mixture would be based on the whim of the Daemon.  Good or Evil fortune would be the result of whether or not you pleased or offended the respective Daemon.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Is this Hell?

Rotting corpse there do hang

Decaying flesh on the dead man's fang

Hellish nightmares all around

Hideous creatures have you bound

An eternity of misery is your fate

If you could take your life you wouldn't contemplate

The sweat from your body has wet the bed

You grab a towel to dry your forehead

Everthing must not be as it seems

A sigh of relief it was only a dream

Everything must now be alright

Only to find Satan has come to bid you a hellish GOODNIGHT.

This was a highschool poem I wrote. Scarey ,eh, booo!

 Hi revjohn. 

The sides that can be chosen from are the Christians' beliefs - either you choose to side with God, or you side with the devil. That's what I was referring to, because most Christians in the world would choose the first without question.

There are many things about Christianity that bother me. Christians and Catholics alike do not question many things about their religion. That is why I question it. But I have been to Christian "gatherings", and what I saw I did not like. The people have no Mindfulness. No Questioning. The follow and do what they are told.

And because of the fact that there are people out there, who are mindful and questioning, I think that seems more "special" to demons.

I have watched "A Haunting" quite a lot of times. It is a channel here in the US about real hauntings that have occurred. There were several of them that were "demonic possession" cases. And as I noticed, there is a specific pattern to whom the demons possess. In those cases, they always possessed a family member, that comes from a Christian family. In every single separate possession, the people possessed were from an average family, living in an average community. These people represent 95% of the American population. Hardworking normal people who attend church. But are otherwise just like everyone else - not questioning, and certainly not mindful.

The demons obviously know who they choose. I've never heard of a case where a demon possessed someone of another spiritual belief, or a background in demonology.

I used to be just like every other Christian - devout and following. But when I started questioning everything, demons no longer frightened me, and I found a Gateway to many possibilities. That is when I discovered things are not all they seem, or are told to be by Christianity.

Thank you for your time, John.

Peace and safety to you as well.

Demons have never frightened me, and I also question everything. This is the thing that really steams me. A lot of people assume that Christians never question anything and just follow blindly. What a load of road apples. A large part of why I became a Christian IS because I questioned everything. I switched denominations because I questioned everything. I believe what I believe because I question everything. So this whole "Christians never question anything" to me is a very fallacious and ignorant statement.

No, not really. It's quite cliched actually.

 CF, you can believe in God without being a Christian. God does not love Christians more than people from other religions. God is not "religious" - he is Himself. He does not want people to "worship" him. God and Gods in general are nothing similar to us, and they either help us or they don't. I am sure that God wants to help us, but Christianity is hardly the way. 

And why? Because Christianity launched crusades a long time ago, crusades that killed anyone who believed in anything else but God and Christ. People were condemned and burned alive because they believed in Nature and Magic. Christianity was created with the sole purpose to oppress people and use force against "non believers". People back then had NO choice. They were either Christian, or they were likely killed because they were not.

Do you really believe that God wanted such a thing? And Christ? How do you think Jesus would feel, knowing his name was used to justify such acts against people?

God is not religion. He is more than any of us can possibly comprehend, and Christianity gives him a bad reputation. Muslims and Christians have long had dealings with each other, always fighting, and justifying their actions in the name of God and Allah. The Gods are not responsible, humanity and it's broken Society is.

1) Show me were I said that one has to be a Christian to believe in God. I never said that, anywere.

2) God loves everybody, equally. No argument there.

3)I believe that God does want us to Worship Him.

4) You say that Christianity is hardly the way. That's an opinion. Just because you say so does not make it fact.

5) You say Christianity launched the crusades. Correction. A certain denomination within Christianity were resopnsible for the crusades. Just because one specific group of people do something that is repulsive does not mean that the rest of the people support it. Or are you suggesting some kind of involvement by proxy. This whole "Christianity is resposible for the crusades" argument is weak and fallacious.  Caucasians were largely responsible for the slave trade. Does that mean that all caucasians through out history and for all time are responsible for the slave trade? Ridiculous. When one human murders or rapes another human, are all humans guilty of those acts?

6) Again, you present a weak and fallacious argument when you say Christianity was created to oppress people. Correction. Some people use the Bible and Christianity to oppress people.

7) I think Jesus is saddened at the fact that a specific group of people with in a faith system use His name to abuse people and spread hate. Those kind of actions however are not limited to specific groups within Christianity. You can find people in ALL faith systems that spread hate and ignorance. Even atheists are not immune to such antics.

8) You are right when you say that God is not religion and that He is more than anybody can comprehend. But once again you present a fallacious argument when you say that Christianty gives God a bad name. Some within Christianity certainly do give Him a bad reputation. But guilt by association is not a very solid argument.

9) Just because a group of people within a faith system claim to act in the name of God, does not mean they speak for the rest of the people within that faith system. That is another fallacious argument.

You seem to be creating straw men arguments for your position which does not help your arguments in the least.

Hi Aresthena,

This is truthiness.  It sounds true without being true.

Some housekeeping first, Christians are Catholics there is no difference.  If you want to point to differences you can point to differences within Christianity where there are Orthodox, Roman and Protestant catholics/Christians.

Some history second.  Christianity has been challenging itself since the Apostle Paul was included shortly after Pentecost.  Christianity continually is wrestling over doctrinal positions which would indicate that it is constantly questioning what it claims to know/believe.  The only part of Christianity, or any thought system, which does not question what it knows or claims are the fundamentalist edges which are significantly smaller than the whole.

I am certainly not going to challenge your experience.  I will challenge that what you experienced is the sum total of Christian activity.  I too am aware of Christian groups that do not advocate questioning.  Again, this strategy is not part of most Christian groupings.

Is it the fact that they are questioning of all things in general or some things in specific that make them more "special"?

I have questions here about causation and correlation.

Does average family + average community + church going = not questioning and not mindful?  Or, is it that not questioning and not mindful are traits that are found alongside of other traits such as belonging to an average family and living in an average community and attending an average church?

How vast is your experience?

You have never heard of a case does that mean that there has never been a case or could it mean that there are cases which you have not heard of.

Interestingly all of the Biblical examples I cite happened to individuals within Judaism as Christianity was not established at the time.

My experience differs.

Every encounter I have had with the demonic (I would argue two classify as demonic oppression and the third possession) induced very strong impressions/feelings of fear.  I would state, without exception, the fear experienced in those encounters was far greater than any other experience of fear ranging from automobile accidents, to near drownings, to electrocutions or loved ones in peril.

In those experiences my resistance has borrowed heavily from the tradtions that I have recieved as well as counsel from a spiritual presence that dwarfs the demonic.

Some tradition I put no stock in.  The Roman rite of exorcism and the Protestant/Evangelical belief that getting the demon to name itself give an individual power over it strike me as false.  Prayer, I have found, is good defence and offence.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Well I would also like to extend a welcome to you Aresthena.

I would also agree with CF & revjohn with their posts, I don't agree often with revjohn but here I do.

The last part of revjohns previous post has interest to me.

I have had demonic activity in my life since I was about 6years old.

One thing I noticed most with all the experiences I've had, was the more I would resist, the more the demonic activity persisted.

I'm not going to go into detail, but I will say that even when using the name of Jesus, the activity would persist & it would take time for it to stop each time it would happen.

So I've come to the conclusion there is more than just using the name of Jesus to expel these demons.

The first time I actually recognized this activity to be demonic was when I was 13.

I snuck into this most skuzziest of movie theaters  in downtown Hastings, in Vancouver with some fellows who lived in the same group home as I did.

The movie was the Exorsist.

After watching that movie I realized the things that happend to me previously were of a demonic nature, as I had no idea of what demonic possesion was before watching that movie.

My experiences was not like movie however, the movie didn't scare me, at least the contents of the movie didn't.

What scared me was the realization of what was involed with my experiences, as it was nothing like the movie.

Shortly after seeing the movie I had another episode, & I cried, "God help me" & it immediately stopped.

It scared me, alot!

Throughout my life I was having these episodes, most times were at bedtime.

I know many would consider these things to be a product of sleep paralysis, but I don't believe it is that simple.

I believe sleep paralysis is just a scientific name for demonic activity, as science doesn't want to accept the paranormal, so they give other explanations to hopefully explain it.

I had many experiences to where I would have episodes, & it was with great fear, that I would cry out in God help me & the older I was, the longer it would take for these episodes to stop.

After becoming a christian, I though all my problems are over, this demonic activity would come to a close & I would just call on the name of Jesus & they would stop.

Well, that was not the case at all, it stared to get worse, I would cry out in Jesus name & claim to rebuke this evil entity in Jesus name & it would take forever for it to stop.

I was confused, If Jesus is the name above all names & is claimed through the christian faith to have power over the darkness, why does it take so long for it to stop, & why does it keep happening, & even get worse?

It would literally scare the shit right out of me.

It wasn't until this one time where I got the impression that fear was very much a huge part of this reason.

I was so tired of this happening & I was just fed up. I just layed there & prayed, no fighting, no rebuking, this spirit or demon.

I just layed there & prayed calmly for God through Jesus Christ to make it stop, this time I was so fed up that I just didn't care either way, even if I was to die it was if I just didn't care anymore & I had absolutely no fear. It was the first time I had no fear, & all this freaky stuff was going on & I wasn't afraid at all, when I came to terms with the fact I wasn't afraid, it stopped, & no harm came to me.

After that experienc it would happen again & again & I would just pray calmly & without any fear, it was quite a liberating experience to say the least.

I would just lay there & give thanks to God & tell Him how much I love Him, even with this thing going on.

It got to a point where I would just laugh, in a laughter of joy, when it happened knowing that as long as I don't fear, it will stop. & no harm will come to me.

It's been a quite a while where this demonic force would give me any problems at all.

But there was a flipside.

I became complacent in my faith, actually I lost my faith, & became what other christians would consider, "backslidden".

To make a long story short, I allowed demonic activity to reside within my heart & mind to where I was entertaing thoughts of a kind that were very very far from Christ like.

This was when I had a different experience,  it must be about a year ago now.

I had a different experience that I won't go into detail, & it was not demonic.

& it was totally unexpected, & it happend when I was wide awake & functioning at work by myself.

& again when I got home that day.

It completely changed my life.

Now I know what I'm here on this earth for.

Bolt

Hi Aresthena, welcome,

I've often wondered if humans could control the elements, would we call upon the rain to water our fields if we wanted to go to the beach? Would we eliminate the power of hurricanes and tornadoes and ignore the annual spring cleaning that takes place on the earth? Would we have chosen to be rid of the lightening and never know that electricity exists? Would we have eradicated evil and failed to see the beauty in a tear?

Coexisting with "demons", I think, compels us to become stronger, stand taller, and rise above the adversary. Without an antangonist the pearl would not exist. Without God, evil would dominate.

 Evil can be complimentary to good, but not the other way around. Evil prefers to work alone. 

1 John 4:4 (NIV)

4.) You, dear children are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you (Christ) is greater than the one (Satan) who is in the world.

 Thanks for sharing Bolt.

I can't say I have experienced demonic activity, but I know for a fact that my sister has. She used to be a very different person back then, and so was I, but she had gone down the wrong path too far. She had extreme anger issues back then. 

Let's just say that my sister could have passed for a Satanist if she gave it her best shot. She was very violent.

One day I think that God subconsciously told me to do something about it. And so I did. I sat my sister down and had a serious talk with her. She changed then. She later told me that I had sounded like Jesus. My words had obviously gotten through.

My sister experienced her first demonic activity shortly after. It was during the night, while she was awake. Thankfully, nothing bad happened, although that same demon appeared at least two more times in the same manner.

I've only ever met demons in my dreams. But I know that I have met them for real. I managed to talk to one of them. That demon had, a week beforehand, told me that he would come to me. To my somewhat surprise, he did at the time he said he would.

From my conversation with this demon, I've learned that it is not impossible to reason with some of them.

Reasoning?

If you look at a demon as a superior entity, then it would be in their best interest to seem reasonable, don't you think?

Don't let them decieve you. The cost is so great.

Definately, don't let fear be a factor.

As soon as you are enlightened to the truth that God holds you far more superior to any agent of deception, & even holds you more superior to his own angels, & if you hold firm this truth.

You will find that they will become quite unreasonable indeed.

Bolt

      Aresthena,

   You say you are open minded ,what about this scenario --

     There is a spiritual warfare going on. The Bible makes this very clear in Ephesians, chapter 6v12: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
    God in Luke, chapter 10v19: Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you   Here we are given power over Satan and his demons.So according to this we ourselves allow the demons access in our physical bodies by being ignorant of our power and rights here on earth .

    The battle is over possession of bodies.Jesus died so all humans could be delivered from the kingdom of darkness and the Holy Spirit resides in us already. Satan and his demons must find a body to possess and gain access to that body .

  Jesus does not violate man's free will.  He is pictured in Revelation 3:20 as standing at the door, knocking, waiting for the door to be opened so He can come in.  If God, who is all-powerful, cannot violate man's will, demons certainly must honor man's will if they know what the Bible says and follow it.  The devil will try like crazy to open that door, but it is ultimately up to us whether we let Satan in or not.

                        blessings     

I do not plan on letting Satan in. I am quite aware that there is a spiritual warfare going on, too.

But I cannot make a choice. I am bound by my principles, and by who I am, not to side with either force. Call it Balance, but that is who I am.

If one side acts too violently against humanity, or the other, I shall be there to step in and do my best to stop a spiritual disaster from happening. I take information from both sides, and make my own judgements from thereon.

I trust my instincts, and make my decisions upon what I think is best. My role in this spiritual battle between Good and Evil is to keep things fair, and keep things balanced. There can never be too much of one or the other.

I have my own personal dealings with the demons. God has played a big role in my life, for which I am thankful, but I am who I am. I do not serve a particular group. I serve Balance and Justice. I serve what is true.

Aresthena,

You say you are open minded and - like me - seek truth; what about this scenario -- demons and angels are as fabricated and unfounded as gnomes, faeries, ghosts, goblins, unicorns, centaur, thousands of diverse 'gods', the kind and mighty FSM and a million other mythical 'entities'.  There is no real basis for any of these concepts and you've been indoctrinated into belief of things that do not exist, have never existed and never will exist. 

Most of these concepts arose during periods of profound ignorance and superstition and it is time to critically evaluate the likelihood of the existence of that which has never had one shred of evidence.

As for 'Good' and 'Evil' (I read these capitalized words as your meaning nouns of some sort that imply entities), they are simple words with a variety of meaning such as 'that which is good, valuable, admirable or beneficial'.  Yes, good and evil are traits that exist in variable ways in people, but hanging them on mythical creatures or as entities per se does an injustice to them as simple traits.  For your consideration in your quest for truth.

 BrettA, you cannot know for certain that all of those things do not exist.

I would like to ask you to think for a moment - If you truly really think that all those things are not real, and just a fragment of our imagination, then do you actually believe that we, as human beings, are alone? That we are the only ones, and that is it? Nothing spiritual, nothing paranormal. Not even God? 

Of course, a majority of people think that there is no such thing as angels and demons and mythical creatures. But you need to understand that life is not as simple as you would like it to be. It is not.

Think of air, for a second. We cannot see air, but it is there. Just because we do not see angels and demons, does not mean that they do not exist.

I am open minded, because I accept the fact that there are things beyond what we can see. There is such a concept as good and evil, and it goes beyond the bully or good-willed person. As I said before, it is NOT that simple.

No, of course I can't know for certain, Aresthena - I merely presented the scenario for your consideration, as I stated.  Your 'alone' question is baffling on the face of it - of course we're not alone - we're products of ~3.9 B years of evolution and other life is abundant; but yes, I actually do believe that there is nothing spiritual, nothing paranormal and no 'Gods' at all of any type.  After all, there is no evidence despite enormous efforts over centuries to come up with evidence.  If I accept one (say, 'Ra' or magic), why should I not fully accept every and every unsubstantiated concept ever believed by anyone, anywhere?

Hmmm... Now with your "you need to understand... it is not" makes you sound quite positive of your position; again, for which there is no evidence (my main reason for dismissing such concepts as gnomes and gods).  Air of course can be measured, broken down by component, weighed and felt, so any parallel between this very tanglible thing with huge volumes of evidence (so huge as to be unneeded to specify, I'd suggest) and any of man's thousands upon thousands of 'Gods' is quite false - there is no parallel or realistic comparison at all (quarks and muons might fit better, in my opinion).

And of course I also accept the fact that there are things beyond what we can see (subatomic particles as noted, but also good, evil, emotions, antimatter, time and I'm sure I could think of others).  But if you are indeed open minded and seek truth, did you in fact consider what I suggested (that there are no gods, faeries, angels, etc., etc., etc.)?  I see no evidence that you considered this in your text at all - only questions about my thoughts, statements of what I "need to understand", and so on.

I'm essentially with BrettA on this one and do not believe in separate entities that are good and evil beyond ourselves.  However perhaps the characteristics of what others believe to be angels and demons are what I attribute to life in general...cms

 Yes, I have considered that which you suggest.

I have even considered the possibility of life to be a mere illusion. We might as well be Asleep, just like in the Matrix. Anything is possible.

I think that I will have live more in order to truly believe in something. Many questions have remained unanswered. But while I'm at it, can't I at least imagine that mythical being are real? Anyone here is free to believe in anything they want. 

You got your point across, BrettA, but I cannot relate to it.

Yes you are free to believe what you want, just like BrettA & cjms are free to believe what they want.

I would be careful though.

Bolt

Anything is possible, but I humbly submit that things with evidence are somewhat more likely, and things with abundant evidence are far more likely.  Except for the fact that indoctrination and brainwashing works, I'm always mystified that some people choose to believe in things with zero evidence over things with enormous bodies of evidence... especially when those with evidence directly conflict with something with no evidence - 'young-earth creationism' a la Christianity being a prime example.

Good - hope you're happy with whatever you end up with and of course you can imagine and believe in anything you choose... hopefully, I've said nothing indicating the contrary to you.  One thing I would suggest for you though is to learn in an appropriate manner - don't listen to atheists on theology and don't learn evolution from a creationist... but again, just for your consideration - and as guidelines, not absolutes.  Edit:  One last question - can you relate to the possibility that there may in fact, be no minotaurs, leprechauns or hobbits?

I will consider that which you said about atheists and evolution, BrettA. I can only hope that someday I will know more than I do now, which will bring me closer to the truth. But one thing is for certain - I will always dislike Society.

Thank you for your time, and as people in Israel have said, Peace and Safety upon you.

(Yes I think that I can relate to that - these "things" are quite fictional and I think I'm positive that they do not exist on Earth)

Hear, Hear