# "Satanic"- Or Harmless Fun? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 31, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satanic-or-harmless-fun/121702 "2002-07-31T15:43:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satanic-or-harmless-fun/121702/121 "2002-08-07T00:26:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mandielise \* > **Squish, what he’s arguing (I believe) is that Jesus was not just god but man. That means he had all the powers and respect of a deity, but he felt the pain and suffering of a human being - that’s a huge point in Christianity.** Ah, I see. > [@](#): > > \*\*It seems here we’re arguing using ideas that aren’t fully accepted. Talkinghead states that god has been “in the trenches” which is not a fact - we don’t all believe that. Squish states that the same god “created evil and suffering” which is again not a fact - and not everyone believes that. \*\* When you come done to it, none of this is a matter of _fact_. 🙂 So, let me take a looksee: [ul] [li]God created the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and forbade man to eat of it[/li][li]Thereby denying man that which would enable him to have free will[/li][li]The serpent told man to eat of the Tree, thereby giving him free will[/li][li]Yet the serpent was created by God, so where did he get free will?[/li][li]Presumably, man created evil once he had free will[/li][li]But if God is omnipotent and omniscient, why couldn’t he control man?[/li][li]And, if God is the Creator of all things, and he created Man, didn’t he then also create evil? That is to say, what is the amount of God’s culpability?[/li][li]God does indeed, in the Bible, tell men to do all manner of evil things[/li][/ul] Maybe the whole thing is, after all, some sort of alien experiment gone horribly wrong. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satanic-or-harmless-fun/121702/122 "2002-08-07T00:27:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dreamer \* > \*\* > > Despite everything you continually say about how your relationship with God was “just like mine”, it’s things like this that make me wonder. Did you know God or did you not? If you searched your heart and he never showed himself to you, how could you have LOVED him? \*\* Dreamer, I understand that you believe in god and love what you believe in, but please don’t question somebody elses feelings. What you feel and what another person does are not the issue here and shouldn’t be compared. Belief and the emotions that go along with it are different for each person. You should realize that by now. ---
**Author:** ![dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satanic-or-harmless-fun/121702/123 "2002-08-07T00:33:11Z")
I’m not questioning the feelings of **mandielise**. But if she can say that she understands how _my_ relationship with God is and that she had the same thing, I feel I should be able to question what kind of relationship she had and if indeed, it was the same as mine. I’m in no way trying to put any negativity on this discussion and I hope you don’t take it that way **mandielise**. ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satanic-or-harmless-fun/121702/124 "2002-08-07T04:21:06Z")
I don’t take it as negativity, I just feel like nothing I can say will convince you and I’m sick of trying to illustrate my point. I wish you could talk to some of my old Christian buddies to get a feel for who I used to be (and I never ever lie, so if they say I said something, I really believed it). I’ve told you that I loved him. I’ve told you that I had a personal relationship with him and spoke to him all throughout the day every day. I’ve told you that I did devotions - that wasn’t just to read and learn, it was because I believed that the Bible was god’s word and the only way to really talk to him. I’ve told you that I listened intently for hours when I was looking for an answer. When I went to church, it was to worship and not just to be seen. I debated non-Christians. I lived a 100% Christian lifestyle - I never went to any parties with my friends, never drank or did drugs or had any sexual relations beyond a kiss, etc… I believed what the bible said 100%, and I believed in its promises, so I tried my best to make god proud of me and to show him that I loved him by doing his will for me. Now, if this sounds like you, then I was right. If I left something out, that doesn’t mean I didn’t believe it - it means there was a lot involved with what I believed and I might have forgotten to mention one thing. I’m sorry if this shocks you and makes you re-evaluate stuff. It IS possible to feel all these things one day and then realize they were all in your head the next. Well, it DOES take longer than that, but still. Again, I’m not trying to change your mind… I just wanna show you that as much as y’all believe people only turn away from Christianity because of sin or whatever, it IS possible to realize that you really don’t believe in it at all. ---
**Author:** ![dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satanic-or-harmless-fun/121702/125 "2002-08-07T04:51:19Z")
It doesn’t really matter then if your Christian life was anything like mine. It was yours and I won’t be asking you anything more about it. Your story doesn’t shock me or make me re-evaluate anything and I would say my Christian life is actually different in alot of ways. So that’s that and thanks for taking the time to explain 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TalkingHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TalkingHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TalkingHead)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satanic-or-harmless-fun/121702/126 "2002-08-07T17:19:20Z")
Wow! see this really does spark big discussions, I like it because everyone is passionate – I can’t stand it when people are blaze. at least we can all agree that we have some strong beliefs! Now, let’s go play Magic! and talk about if it’s evil or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/satanic-or-harmless-fun/121702.md?page=6)