Just saw a post from someone to the following link and it got me wondering...?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqi5F5MqqTQ
No need to watch it again if you've already seen it, but I started wondering about a hypothetical possibility regarding god and satan.
Could the abrahamic religions have been worshiping the wrong guy all along?
Consider the following in this possibility: -god is judgmental, egotistical, vengeful, and often cruel (particularly in the OT). -satan accepts anyone and actively recruits people to join him -god condemns us infinitely for finite offenses against him. Even for something as little as questioning his existence (for which he has left no concrete evidence of). -satan allows us to live our lives as we see fit and welcomes us at the end of things -god allowed his only son to be killed; likely he authored the scenario that led to his sons torture and death. -satans son is supposed to unite all people under one flag for a common cause.
-satan is often referred to as "the father of lies", and "the great deceiver"; is it possible that he has deceived the faithful from the very beginning?
*NOTE* I am probably best considered an agnostic atheist, so I consider the existence of either diety unlikely in the extreme; I just think this is an interesting possibility.
2008-08-23T23:31:39Z
sleepy bear got me thinkin about this with his/her response to the other question I saw.
2008-08-23T23:41:06Z
Don't forget the many versus in the bible that condone rape and murder; even to the point of murdering unborn children: "The people of Samaria must bear their guilt, because they have rebelled against their God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to the ground, their pregnant women ripped open." (Hosea 13:16)
2008-08-23T23:43:09Z
You must also remember: god did allegedly guide Abraham, Joshua, etc... he guided them to kill, rape and pillage their way through a race after race of people whose only offense was to worship the wrong god. The god you worship has repeatedly committed genocide in his own name.
the waterbourne AM2008-08-23T23:46:31Z
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Let's also not forget that he allegedly cast man out of paradise for "EATING FROM THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE".... what kind of being would be so threatened by our desire to learn unless it had something to hide?
It is only AFTER we begin to use our minds that we are no longer fit for this "god" character.... how interesting.
The responses coming from the christian side of this are also indicative of how a great a sin it is to even question the nature of their deity....a deity that seems to rule by fear.
I gotta say, I really like where you're heading with this one!
*EDIT*....love the name too....poodlewurst HA!
**EDIT 2** How many wars have been waged in the name of this god? How many have been waged for satan? The only ones that can be laid at the feet of this satan guy are indirectly attributed to him by.....(drum roll)....the bible and the guy claiming to be a vengeful god of love (as though vengeful and love just go together naturally).
"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." - Richard Dawkins.
Yahweh is all the things in practice that we're meant to believe Satan is in theory. I am also an atheist (or tooth-fairy agnostic, whichever you prefer) and I find your theory really fascinating.
If I were to assume for a moment that this religion were true then I think it is very likely, when you think about it, that there was a God/Satan mix up. After all isn't the idea of Satan to mislead and cause wrong doing? As you've said their God not only condones and encourages atrocities in his name but also condemns natural things such as sex unless done under very strict guidelines. Sex is very important for human survival so why would the 'good' deity put restrictions on it while the 'bad' deity encourages it? The idea of the punishment of hellfire for following Satan rather than God can also be turned on it's head because it could simply be an empty threat to keep people in line and promote wrongdoing in the name of God.
I also agree with the comment someone made above me that it's strange God would become so upset when we seek knowledge, what has he got to hide? If he created the world surely he wouldn't have created things he didn't want us to see/know about. On a similar note what's with the not being allowed to inquire into other religions, what is he afraid that we might find out about?
It is a very interesting possibility. Very thought provoking. Thanks :)
It is said God made a covenant with the Jewish people. The three major religions which trace their roots back to Abraham are often referred to as the Abrahamic(Abramic) Religions. These are: Judaism, Christianity, Islam.
Jesus himself is descended in some fashion from Adam's third son, Seth.
Now ask yourself, why did the church take so long to exculpate the Jews as a whole from the collective and heritable charge of "deicide"? It ought to have been simple enough to determine that the Sanhedrin of the time, whatever it may have done, could not have bound all Jews for all eternity. The answer is equally simple: If Christianity had to excuse one group of humans from everlasting blood-guilt, how could it avoid excusing them all? Two millennia of ignorance, cruelty & superstition dissolve in an instant when we notice that even some early believers were shrewd enough to see though the whole sham. Hence, Heresy.
I find it extremely interesting to witness just how offended these christians are at a purely philosophical and rhetorical question. Even after admitting that you aren't a believer, and that this is nothing but a reasoning exercise, it is still met with open hostility by many posters here..... how very christian of them. (I particularly enjoy the comment by the christian demanding some kind of rectal abuse as atonement for the unforgivable sin of not agreeing with his answer).
The few that weren't openly angered simply dismissed it out of hand and ran away, tails tucked.
Is your faith so fragile? Is your god so weak? Can you not even begin to utilize your mind without abject fear of divine retribution?
Maybe you really are worshiping the wrong dude......
What the.... this actually smacks of an original idea on R&S.
Isn't this one of the seven signs of the apocalypse?
I gotta just re-iterate to those that are so quick to dismiss this without even a second thought....consider your source.
Of course the bible WOULD cast satan as the bad guy and predict his eventual defeat. Taken as is in a typical christian twists of logic, this would almost constitute proof of the big "switcheroo".