Posted on 07/27/2017 4:12:15 AM PDT by vannrox
The shock claim comes from a scientist who has spent more than 40 years researching the subject.
According to Henry Ansgar Kelly, a research professor from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), there is actually “no evidence” to sugges the devil should be portrayed as evil.
Instead, Professor Kelly suggests Christians have got it wrong and Satan was actually trying to do good and is on God’s side, but got “overzealous” in his judgements.
He said: "There's little or no evidence in the Bible for most of the characteristics and deeds commonly attributed to Satan.
"A strict reading of the Bible shows Satan to be less like Darth Vader and more and more like an overzealous prosecutor.
"He's not so much the proud and angry figure who turns away from God as he is a Joseph McCarthy or J. Edgar Hoover.
“Satan's basic intention is to uncover wrongdoing and treachery, however overzealous and unscrupulous the means. But he's still part of God's administration."
The professor blames the misrepresentation of the devil at the feet of third century philosopher Origen of Alexandria.
In his best known work, ‘On First Things’, Origen argued that the mention of Lucifer in the Old Testament must refer to Satan, but Professor Kelly says there is no reference to ‘Satan’ or ‘the Devil’ in the Old Testament and followers of Christianity have simply confused the two.
Professor Kelly says "'Lucifer' is Latin for light-bearer”, and Lucifer in the Old Testament is actually a reference to a tyrannical Babylonian king who is “cast to the ground”, which is where the confusion begins.
He said: "Origen says, 'Lucifer is said to have fallen from Heaven. This can't refer to a human being, so it must refer to Satan.'
“Subsequent church fathers found this reasoning persuasive, and so did everyone who followed them."
More confusion comes from the story of Adam and Eve, says Professor Kelly, where once again, people have assumed that the serpent is the Devil.
He said: "Nobody in the Old Testament — or, for that matter, in the New Testament either — ever identifies the serpent of Eden with Satan.
"The serpent is just the smartest animal, and he's motivated by envy after being jilted by Adam for Eve.
"Everyone else has said that by the time Satan gets to the New Testament, he is evil, he's an enemy of God, but that's not so.
"The whole biblical picture of Satan is that of a bad cop to Yaweh's good cop in the Old Testament, and to Jesus' good cop in the New Testament. Throughout, Satan is someone who works for God."
Professor Kelly admitted: "What I'm saying will be scandalous to some people.”
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“Christians” didn’t declare Satan evil, Yehova did.
Most Christians follow Satan’s “Saved by Grace” gospel enthusiastically.
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Funny.
Many *scientists* (read evolutionists) who have posted here on FR have continually told us that science deals with the natural, material world and that is not for religious beliefs, and yet here we have *scientists* way overstepping what they are qualified to speak on to presume to speak authoritatively on a subject that they, by their own admission, they are not qualified to speak about.
And we are supposed to listen to them because they are *experts* in a different field?
[[Funny.
Many *scientists* (read evolutionists) who have posted here on FR have continually told us that science deals with the natural, material world and that is not for religious beliefs, and yet here we have *scientists* way overstepping what they are qualified to speak on to presume to speak authoritatively on a subject that they, by their own admission, they are not qualified to speak about.
And we are supposed to listen to them because they are *experts* in a different field?]]
One good inspection of the human genome calls all evolutionist a liar . It’s complex code and just like a computer program it has a programmer. Code doesn’t happen by accident and anyone who has programming experience KNOWS just how HARD it is to make anything truly random . Random number generators are not really random .Someone made us and our genome is just another part of the creation that testifies of him .
(Romans 1:19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
(Romans 1:20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Atheism is just another old religion which rest on faith , BIND faith.
(Psalms 14:1) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
(Psalms 53:1) To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
They know God is real but they hate him . If they really thought he didn’t exist they wouldn’t even bother trying to smash anyone that brings him up.
(Psalms 10:4) The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
Wow - if there were a medal for wasted lives, this boob would get the gold.
Thanks for the references
Yeah, they never do better to explain information than somewhat appeal to the Laws of Thermodynamics and claim that in all the disorder, pockets of order sometimes appear and then cite things like hurricanes and gemstone crystal formation.
As if that even begins to compare to the unbelievable complexity of the simplest organism, not to mention the DNA code.
Matter of fact, last I heard, the DNA is even more complex than they previously thought. There is code within the code.
Wow it sure is a good thing this guy came along after all those thousands of years to straighten us all out.
I sure hope he told Jesus how HE got it wrong about the enemy.
I disagree. Jesus spoke of Satan as an actual being.
A keyword search of Satan revealed quite a number of references to him and his activity.
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?search=satan&version=ESV&searchtype=all
The more they examine DNA the more they that the part they deemed useless strands of junk the more they find what labled as junk has a purpose .
Take a look at the stars , even they testify of him.
We know they were set in a clockwork motion and they don’t move randomly. We figured the math out . We know where they are and were they will be at certain time . We even know where they were in the past by the same math . No randomness in their pattern of movement . If there was randomness and chaos in their pattern of movement space travel would be impossible.
How could you send a space probe out to a set destination if there was no order ?
They teach evolution as fact even though they know the evidence they based it on was manufactured . Piltdown man - it’s proven they put an apes jaw on a human skull cap .Nebraska man was proven to be pig bones .Their lies are still taught as fact
HOWEVER - while unbelievers will ALSO be in the presence of God, His light will be piercing their souls and revealing all of their sins, and the guilt will be unbearable - so a hell for them. For eternity.
I have no idea how accurate it is. But I likened it to a child and his mom (well - me and my mom!). It would be one thing to be caught doing something and chastised for it - but then it was forgiven and forgotten.
It would be another thing if EVERY time I saw my mom for the rest of my life she would say “You haven't taken any change from my jar have you today? Remember when you were eight and you stole that quarter so you could buy candy!? You are so naughty!!”
Personification, according to Webster:
1. attribution of personal qualities; especially: representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form.
2 a divinity, or imaginary being representing a thing or abstraction.
Calling Satan a personification of vanity does not disqualify him from being an actual being. Instead it means that vanity is the poisoned spring from which flows all his other evil. It is what makes him the king of evil, ruling over all other evil.
I see what you meant.
I misunderstood the initial meaning.
Says the Roodian cult follower, the servant of the Father of Lies.
I think you’re correct .. there were NO Christians until after the DEATH OF CHRIST.
So, it must have been GOD who declared the devil EVIL.
My Christianity causes me to believe this to be so.
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