Positivity and the lures of satan!

Way back on another forum the subject was raised of the lures of satan, his tricks to deceive, seeking our damnation. One guy responded by saying he only believed that we are surrounded by bodhisattvas (enlightenment beings) He was a westerner but said he had totally escaped any Christian indoctrination.

In Buddhist texts like the Lotus Sūtra, in its imagery, Buddhas are eternal and there are many of them. The vision of the universe that it assumes and teaches is one in which sacred influence is everywhere, though often unseen and unrecognized. The Buddhas are everywhere trying to help us to attain salvation/enlightenment.

(Buddhism does know of an "evil one" - Mara - but such a being is more seen as the embodiment of all unskillful emotions, such as greed, hate and delusion, and often pictured in scripture as the personification of the instincts antagonistic to enlightenment. There are even stories of the conversion of Mara to the Dharma!)

Anyway, I did find this guys attitude as very positive and life giving - that we are surrounded only by "forces" seeking our welfare.

To a certain extent, in the Old Testament Satan is seen as virtually acting at the bidding of God (see the book of Job) and not as in the NT as a power of pure evil let loose by God to test and deceive us. And of course, one has to ask exactly why a God who "wills that all be saved" (according to the NT) would ever allow such a being to hold such power. I suppose some like the drama of the contest, especially those who presume that they have avoided being deceived!

Sometimes I think the greatest trick of the Devil is to convince us that he exists!

What do others think?

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Crazywaterspring · 61-69, M

The freedom and self autonomy of Satanism make a lot more sense than Christianity's guilt, fear and damnation.

Here's a secret: very few Satanists believe in a literal Satan.

SW-User

@Crazywaterspring Thanks. Using such terminology as "Satanism" still sends a minor shiver down my spine (😀) but I'm pleased to hear about any lack of literalism.

Sadly some forms of Christianity [i]create[/i] the very things that it then seeks to relieve.

PrincessOfHell · F

@SW-User I consider myself a satanist and it is more empowering compared to christians guilt, fear, submission and at times spread of hatred and judgment.

Satans origin lies in other religions especially within pagan demons and was stolen by christians who needed a scapegoat to make their God look better in comparison because he is the actual cruel one.

JollyRoger · 70-79, M

@PrincessOfHell I can appreciate your observation that Christians (the Church itself rather than the lambs who follow it) do create demons for the purpose of creating contrast between people's behaviors. That God seeks us to be better (to prove our souls) is His purpose for giving us life so we may have our own will and yet have a goal for the end of our lives.
I need to ask though... as you proclaim to be a Satanist (Why don't you capitalize his name as it is a name?), what do you gain by your counter-culture stance?

PrincessOfHell · F

@JollyRoger [quote]do create demons for the purpose of creating contrast between people's behaviors[/quote]

Yes the institutions did and still demonizes people who are just being themselves or are not harming anyone or are just being educated, in order to control people. That's part of organized religion.
What I take even greater issue with is the evil that is the christian God and the people who follow their probably made up god. Christians who are terrible people due to a belief in the Bible or who use the Bible to justify their horrible behaviour.
[quote]His purpose for giving us life so we may have our own will and yet have a goal for the end of our lives.[/quote]

That would be your interpretation of a scripture filled with cruelty and atrocities. There is no mercy in the ideal of the christian God. It is an anti-human one created by humans in order to control and exploit others.

[quote]what do you gain by your counter-culture stance[/quote]

I would rather call it a sub-culture that is anti-christian. Christianity is losing its grip on the world and I'm part of a culture with great aesthetics, morals and activism that embraces the fact that conservatism and bigottry is losing. I've met great people in my branch of this movement and It's good for my mental health. Satan as a literary being that hey maybe even exists, is inspiring.

JollyRoger · 70-79, M

@PrincessOfHell hmmmm..... What do you see will happen to your soul at the end of your life here in our physical world? Will you be proclaimed a savior of people? What 'good' is being done by the people you (perhaps) worship? Are the people you are looking up to doing good things for the other people in the communities where they live? Or: Do they live in a commune type of community?

PrincessOfHell · F

@JollyRoger I hope I will become one with nature once I die. The heaven christians speak of would be a nightmare.

[quote]Will you be proclaimed a savior of people?[/quote]
????

[quote]What 'good' is being done by the people you (perhaps) worship?[/quote]

I don't worship people what made you think that?
The people I surround myself with and the people I share a belief with do a lot to help out and are way more friendly, accepting and supportive than any christian I have ever met.

JollyRoger · 70-79, M

@PrincessOfHell Second time around on this matter of being "anti-Christian".... is it only Christianity that you feel is evil? What do you feel about Islam, Judaism, Buddhism as other major religions? What do you think of the activities of an atheist such as Vladimir Putin and his goals? AND: I'll take this space to state that not all atheists are like Putin just as not all Christians are like those you think are evil.

PrincessOfHell · F

@JollyRoger I don't like Islam either and Judaism as a religion is something I regard as problematic as well. Buddhism on the other hand is mostly peaceful and a philosophy.

[quote]What do you think of the activities of an atheist such as Vladimir Putin and his goals? [/quote]
First it's cheap to use a man like Putin to represent Atheism which is not even a little bit homogenous and follows no doctrine therefore is incomparable to any religion.
Putin while probably not a bliever himself uses religion to help justify the atrocities he is committing. Putins goal is to build another tsarist russia and to exercice control. His homophobia for example is something he has in common with most monotheistic institutions and with many believers. It's born out of a conservative worldview that can exist even without being religious.

[quote]just as not all Christians are like those you think are evil.[/quote]

Not all Christians have to be evil for christianity to be problematic. Many justify predjudices, violence, discrimination and disciminating laws on their religion and religious institutions work through hierarchies and control. The Bible is a historic document falsely used as a moral guide. It has caused suffering in the past and does so to this day.
Nice christians are only those who don't take their faith very seriously. Think about that.

JollyRoger · 70-79, M

@PrincessOfHell I have thought about it and the good outweighs the bad. I don't see where Satanism asyou describe it is the worship of Satan as a god