rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (12/08/84)
Here's a question: ... (... or two) If Satan is so good at deceiving people into false beliefs (i.e., those who adhere to other "wrong" systems of belief), how can you KNOW that what you have experienced is "real" (i.e., as you would like to believe), when it might really be the manipulations of Satan? Hasn't your own introduction of Satan into the fabric of your belief system made your whole set of beliefs suspect? Remember, you can't use the Bible as evidence here. Many of those that you feel are deceived by Satan (e.g., Ken Nichols mentioned Catholics) use the Bible as their source, so your use of it would be equally suspect. (This question was originally directed to Ken Nichols, hence the "you"s all over the question. Take "you" to mean each one of you who would like to answer the question. By the way, don't complain that this belongs in net.religion.christian, not because I'm "anti-subgroup" in general, but because our administrator won't create it here. So, don't complain to me...) -- "Send the recording back into the medium." Rich Rosen pyuxd!rlr
jnelson@trwrba.UUCP (John T. Nelson) (12/13/84)
If Satan is so good at deceiving people into false beliefs (i.e., those who adhere to other "wrong" systems of belief), how can you KNOW that what you have experienced is "real"... Remember, you can't use the Bible as evidence here. Many of those that you feel are deceived by Satan (e.g., Ken Nichols mentioned Catholics) use the Bible as their source, so your use of it would be equally suspect. You can't know... unless you are absolutely sure that... 1) God has protected the Bible from any corruption by Satan. The one and ONLY source of truth and guidence in this evil and satanic world. 2) God protects those who originally accepted Jesus Christ with an open heart. Obviously those "awful Catholics" corrupted and twisted the word of God in their hearts so they were fair game for even MORE twisting by the evil one. and thus... 3) Satan has power over those who are amenable to "the other" ways of thinking. So there can be only ONE true way, and every sect thinks that they represent it. Praise be Strunk and White - John
chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuqui[The Time Traveller]) (12/14/84)
> > If Satan is so good at deceiving people into false beliefs > (i.e., those who adhere to other "wrong" systems of belief), > how can you KNOW that what you have experienced is "real"... > Remember, you can't use the Bible as evidence here. Many of > those that you feel are deceived by Satan (e.g., Ken Nichols > mentioned Catholics) use the Bible as their source, so your use > of it would be equally suspect. There is only one thing that cannot be deceived. It can be ignored, it can be pushed away, it can be hidden, and yelled at, and misinterpreted, but your conscience cannot be decieved. You may not admit it to yourself, you may choose to ignore it, but there is a part of you that knows when you do evil. This is the Jiminy Crickett in everyone of us, the voice of God that in every one of us. The great works of religion aren't the voices of God, they are the tools that allow us to refine that little voice, and the voice cannot be deceived by any force or being. -- From behind the bar at Callahan's: Chuq Von Rospach {allegra,cbosgd,decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA The evil that men do lives after them; the good it oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious... And Brutus is an honorable man