Further to cap'n spanky ' question.

[Nelli]

'Tis weird as I was going to ask the same thing! cap'n spanky it seems no-one quite answered your question, or agreed with it. If the Devil is evil and trys to corrupt us, then if we are corrupt and go to hell, why does he punish us.....this is not a question about religion. This all occurred to me whilst watching Futurama...what about you cap'n spanky?

[jjf2003]

Satan is 'The Deceiver'. He hates Humankind and his sole aim ever since his expulsion from Heaven is to destroy us. He is The Enemy of Mankind, The Destroyer, the Eater of Worlds. He tempts and corrupts us to do evil, but so far from rewarding us for being bad, will lead us to destruction. That is his way and his purpose. He's not a nice bloke. He wouldn't be much of a Devil if he was.

[molly]

My own belief, as I did try to explain earlier, though perhaps not very well, is this. The ideas in bible did not originate from god himself as I don't believe he exists. The bible was written by man as a code of ethics to live by.It was written in a form that would be understood by the people of the time in which it was written. If god was created by man then the devil was also created by the same man and consequently they serve the same purpose in the mind of the writer, that is to bribe or to threaten people into living good lives. Of course that is the opinion of a non-believer. I'm sure there are others out there who believe I'll go straight to hell, but I don't believe you have to be a Christian or indeed be of some other religion to be a good person. You can be good for the sake of good itself, not because some 'God' tells you to be.

[incitatus]

ijf is mixing religions-the enemy of mankind (hebrew stn = satan) The dewstroyer (siva=hindu) The eater of worlds (kachaminda chamgunga=buddhist demon)

[Maudlettice]

Bells. Small portable bells. They will route the foul fiends, maleficent demons and Spirits of Evil which ride upon the storms, protect your harvest, stop your soul being torn asunder from your body, guard your home when you are asleep and helpless, guard you when the evil spirits stand at the foot of your bed and protect you from the evil influences in the air. Wear as many jingling golden bells as you can, bronze or brass if not, sewn into your clothes. Devils and evil spirits cannot abide the sound of bells, and the thwarted Powers of Evil slink away in the darkness pursued by the notes of bells. Answerbankers, have your bells christened.

[Nelli]

Thanks people, you see what annoys me most about the whole 'Christian' thing is that (A) The Devil was created by them out of the old Pagan God, the pagan god was horned and hoofed etc .... but NOT evil, and Christians wanted control and superiority over the 'old religion'. (B) The reason for this, probably a royalty thing, the monarchy wanted control over people and money which equals power, so they manipulated Christianity to their own ends......therefore I have sympathy and belief in the 'old religion'......[Nelli understands that she has really generalised in this post! ;-)] ..... anyway what do you think?

[jjf2003]

incitatus - I am not confusing religions. Evil is known by different names in different cultures and beliefs. Nelli - nobody 'invented' our dark side. It has always been there.