NoahVail Posted September 18, 2020 Posted September 18, 2020 I've never seen a comprehensive chart of Satan's powers. This is odd to me, given how this entity can effect us in intimate and profound ways and without physical interaction. For example, he seems to be able to impact thoughts without having to transit any of the 5 senses. He can seemingly do this to a billion people simultaneously and at great distances. Can also effect the physical world on a similar scale? What other uber-human abilities does he have? His billion plus network of non-embodied souls hints at limits to abilities (otherwise, why would he need them?) What are some specific limits? If humanity numbered a billion, billion people across multiple galaxies, would his impact be equally effective? What does Satan's billion node comm system look like? Does any of it operate outside known physical laws? What specifics can we reasonably deduce? I assume that he can't influence beings created by a God other than Elohim but what is the nature of that limitation? If sentient non-hominoids came to visit, could he impact them? If not, why not? I have questions. Do you have answers?
Popular Post The Nehor Posted September 18, 2020 Popular Post Posted September 18, 2020 “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” -C.S. Lewis 5
Kenngo1969 Posted September 18, 2020 Posted September 18, 2020 47 minutes ago, NoahVail said: I have questions. Do you have answers? No. I sense ... bad faith. (Then again, that might just be my suspicious side.)
snowflake Posted September 18, 2020 Posted September 18, 2020 Job 2 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. There are a few areas in the Bible where we have valuable information about Satan, I am not sure if he has a body or not or is spirit that "possesses" individuals, but it is clear that he was walking up and down in the earth. 1
Maidservant Posted September 19, 2020 Posted September 19, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, NoahVail said: I've never seen a comprehensive chart of Satan's powers. This is odd to me, given how this entity can effect us in intimate and profound ways and without physical interaction. For example, he seems to be able to impact thoughts without having to transit any of the 5 senses. He can seemingly do this to a billion people simultaneously and at great distances. Can also effect the physical world on a similar scale? What other uber-human abilities does he have? His billion plus network of non-embodied souls hints at limits to abilities (otherwise, why would he need them?) What are some specific limits? If humanity numbered a billion, billion people across multiple galaxies, would his impact be equally effective? What does Satan's billion node comm system look like? Does any of it operate outside known physical laws? What specifics can we reasonably deduce? I assume that he can't influence beings created by a God other than Elohim but what is the nature of that limitation? If sentient non-hominoids came to visit, could he impact them? If not, why not? I have questions. Do you have answers? I agree that the vague idea of an evil kingpin entity having thought (and other, more) impact over distances and number of people is deeply flawed. I feel that many of the ideas we continue to carry regarding Satan are sectarian and not scriptural. Edited September 19, 2020 by Maidservant 1
Maidservant Posted September 19, 2020 Posted September 19, 2020 5 hours ago, snowflake said: Job 2 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. There are a few areas in the Bible where we have valuable information about Satan, I am not sure if he has a body or not or is spirit that "possesses" individuals, but it is clear that he was walking up and down in the earth. I love this passage. Although I do think that Job is a fictional account, and also mainly metaphorical, it does represent the thinking regarding a Satan of those who wrote it/added it to scripture. We read the part about walking up and down in the earth. We conveniently skip over the part where he is one of the Sons of God and emanates from the presence of the Lord with a mission from him. That is terrifying to our inherited Greek essentialism (a universe with two equal sides of good and evil--which ancient Jewish thought as evidenced in the Old Testament does not have). Please note that this Satan also does not tempt, he destroys. It is Job's friends who do the tempting. 2
Robert F. Smith Posted September 19, 2020 Posted September 19, 2020 8 hours ago, NoahVail said: I've never seen a comprehensive chart of Satan's powers. ................................... I have questions. Do you have answers? I have tried to address such questions in the following study: https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aj5g2S0y64JGjg19dNnd3PAyN7e0?e=aJqsQW 2
InCognitus Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) On 9/18/2020 at 7:02 PM, Maidservant said: I love this passage. Although I do think that Job is a fictional account, and also mainly metaphorical, it does represent the thinking regarding a Satan of those who wrote it/added it to scripture. We read the part about walking up and down in the earth. We conveniently skip over the part where he is one of the Sons of God and emanates from the presence of the Lord with a mission from him. That is terrifying to our inherited Greek essentialism (a universe with two equal sides of good and evil--which ancient Jewish thought as evidenced in the Old Testament does not have). Please note that this Satan also does not tempt, he destroys. It is Job's friends who do the tempting. I think of the "sons of God" as a people in a covenant with God, and technically the verse says that Satan "came...among" them, and I'm not sure that really implies that Satan is one of the sons of God. This passage and Job 1:6-7 have always intrigued me too, not so much for what the verses say but for what they don't say. Regarding the Job chapter 1 verses (6-7), all of the commentaries that I've ever read on those verses describe this as a "heavenly scene", but that has always bugged me because the text never says that. And I see it is in the context of the prior verse, describing it as a time for presenting of burnt offerings: Quote Job 1:5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. This context also has Satan going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down it. But I find the language of the sons of God coming "to present themselves before the LORD" to be very much like the language elsewhere in scripture where the priests are making offerings three times a year in coordination with the feasting times: Quote Exo 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty) Exo 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Exo 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. And also Deuteronomy 16:16: Quote Deu 16:16 "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:" So in Job 1:5-7 and Job 2:1-2 it sounds like to me that the sons of God were doing their normal offerings before the LORD on the predetermined "day" like they have done before, and Satan came among them and decided to but in to the conversation. I've never read anything that supports my opinion on this so I may be out in left field, but I also don't believe in reading more into a verse than it actually says. Edited September 20, 2020 by InCognitus Fix quote in quote overlap issue
InCognitus Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) Edit isn't working right now, and I can't fix the messed up quote that I tried to make from Maidservant in the prior post. In case someone is trying to figure out what I was responding to, it was this: On 9/18/2020 at 7:02 PM, Maidservant said: I love this passage. Although I do think that Job is a fictional account, and also mainly metaphorical, it does represent the thinking regarding a Satan of those who wrote it/added it to scripture. We read the part about walking up and down in the earth. We conveniently skip over the part where he is one of the Sons of God and emanates from the presence of the Lord with a mission from him. That is terrifying to our inherited Greek essentialism (a universe with two equal sides of good and evil--which ancient Jewish thought as evidenced in the Old Testament does not have). Please note that this Satan also does not tempt, he destroys. It is Job's friends who do the tempting. See above for what I was trying to say to this! Edit: I fixed it now that I know where to find the edit button - but there's a problem with quotes in quotes. Edited September 20, 2020 by InCognitus
rpn Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 He can't to anything to us without us giving him the space to do it. I think he can show and tell us stuff including lies of all sorts and levels, but that is the limit to his "power". He can't get into our head unless we let him. He apparently can take over the bodies of pigs though.
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 On 9/18/2020 at 3:08 PM, Kenngo1969 said: No. I sense ... bad faith. (Then again, that might just be my suspicious side.) Bad faith brings another dimension to the strong/weak faith model. I like it. Well worth pondering. I'm sorry about your suspicious side. Lot of that going around. I hope for a day when we're not okay with it.
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 On 9/18/2020 at 10:01 PM, Maidservant said: I agree that the vague idea of an evil kingpin entity having thought (and other, more) impact over distances and number of people is deeply flawed. I feel that many of the ideas we continue to carry regarding Satan are sectarian and not scriptural. I'm not challenging the existence of Satan. My questions are about understanding the characteristics outside his psychology.
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 On 9/18/2020 at 10:02 PM, Maidservant said: We conveniently skip over the part where he is one of the Sons of God and emanates from the presence of the Lord with a mission from him. Satan also does not tempt, he destroys. It is Job's friends who do the tempting. To the first, that's where my follow up questions would eventually go. They're about differences/similarities in abilities between Christ & Satan and any beings who might have been created between them and ourselves. To the second, my understanding is Satan is pretty tempty with us, right? If that weren't the case, I'd probably want to know that.
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 3 hours ago, rpn said: He can't to anything to us without us giving him the space to do it. I think he can show and tell us stuff including lies of all sorts and levels, but that is the limit to his "power". He can't get into our head unless we let him. He apparently can take over the bodies of pigs though. Okay. So, you and I influence people via their senses; that's our only pathway to someone else's brain. Now let's assume I've given Satan space and he now has an avenue to tell me lies. Can he tell me lies without going thru any of my senses? Can he tell lies directly to my brain? Pigs are fairly smart as far as animals go. If intelligence is the deciding factor, could Satan could take over a Capuchin monkey (Wikipedia says it's the most intelligent)?
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 I am reading all the other posts and material. Your thoughtful replies are appreciated.
Kenngo1969 Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) On 9/18/2020 at 1:08 PM, Kenngo1969 said: No. I sense ... bad faith. (Then again, that might just be my suspicious side.) 1 hour ago, NoahVail said: Bad faith brings another dimension to the strong/weak faith model. I like it. Well worth pondering. I'm sorry about your suspicious side. Lot of that going around. I hope for a day when we're not okay with it. Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm referring to when I say "bad faith," and that ain't it. Nice try. Thanks fer playin'! Edited September 20, 2020 by Kenngo1969
Kenngo1969 Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 1 hour ago, NoahVail said: ... Pigs are fairly smart as far as animals go. If intelligence is the deciding factor, could Satan could take over a Capuchin monkey (Wikipedia says it's the most intelligent)? As if I needed an example. Thank you for justifying my suspicion! Moving on!
Kenngo1969 Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) Burp! Edited September 20, 2020 by Kenngo1969
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 14 minutes ago, Kenngo1969 said: As if I needed an example. Thank you for justifying my suspicion! Moving on! Dude. If you can't answer any of the questions, just say so. Life is too short to try to win at internet.
Kenngo1969 Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) 11 minutes ago, NoahVail said: Dude. If you can't answer any of the questions, just say so. Life is too short to try to win at internet. Right. You're just an honest, sincere seeker after truth, with honest questions that we ... just can't answer ... whose very screen name is either: (a). A prediction of where all of these interactions with this alleged "honest seeker after truth" will end up; (b). A mockery of things that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hold sacred; or (c) both. Tell me, do you happen to be crowing on any other boards about your ability to make us all chase our tails on this one? Edited September 20, 2020 by Kenngo1969
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 On 9/18/2020 at 11:11 PM, Robert F. Smith said: I have tried to address such questions in the following study: https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aj5g2S0y64JGjg19dNnd3PAyN7e0?e=aJqsQW This is a lot of information. I'm not clear that it addresses any of my questions but I could be missing something. Regardless, it's a good read.
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 7 minutes ago, Kenngo1969 said: Right. You're just an honest, sincere seeker after truth, with honest questions that we ... just can't answer ... whose very screen name is either: (a). A prediction of where all of these interactions with this alleged "honest seeker after truth" will end up; (b). A mockery of things that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hold sacred; or (c) both. Tell me, do you happen to be crowing on any other boards about your ability to make us all chase our tails on this one? I like you. You're funny. Folks are answering; together we're zeroing in. It's been good. Thirty years ago I ripped-off my screen name from a 50yo Firesign Theater album. When signing up here, I lacked the ambition to come up w/ anything better. I do have fun examining dark things (as part of healing). My best guess is you're translating fun into mockery. If so, that's kind of sad. Fun isn't mockery nor does it preclude sincerity. I did sign up on on other LDS board while I was waiting on this one to process my application. If we take these two boards and add them to every other platform where I discuss similar content - we get two boards. Although I haven't actually done any Satan stuff at the other one. I could though. Also, I appreciate all your interest in me. I absolutely adore talking about myself. Anytime is good!
Robert F. Smith Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, NoahVail said: This is a lot of information. I'm not clear that it addresses any of my questions but I could be missing something. Regardless, it's a good read. Thanks. I tried to stick to what could be known intellectually, aside from speculation. However, there are some useful sources which might help with your other questions: Stephen Taysom, “’Satan Mourns Naked Upon the Earth’: Locating Mormon Possession and Exorcism Rituals in the American Religious Landscape, 1830-1977,” Religion and American Culture: a Journal of Interpretation, 27/1 (Winter 2017):57-94, online at https://www.academia.edu/31631773/_Satan_Mourns_Naked_Upon_the_Earth_Locating_Mormon_Possession_and_Exorcism_Rituals_in_the_American_Religious_Landscape_1830-1977_Religion_and_American_Culture_a_Journal_of_Interpretation_27_1_Winter_2017_?email_work_card=view-paper . http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/53091-exorcism-in-the-lds-church/ https://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/05/joseph-smith-the-mighty-prophet-of-the-restoration?lang=eng. Pres. James Faust: "It is not good practice to become intrigued by Satan and his mysteries. No good can come from getting close to evil. Like playing with fire, it is too easy to get burned" http://lds.org/ensign/2007/01/the-forces-that-will-save-us?lang=eng. https://www.lds.org/topics/satan?lang=eng . Malachi Martin, S.J., Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans (1976/HarperOne, 1992). Quote The four stages of the "process of possession:" 1. "First, the actual entry point, the point at which Evil Spirit enters an individual and a decision, however tenuous, is made by the victim to allow that entry." 2. "Then, a stage of erroneous judgments by the possessed in vital matters, as a direct result of the allowed presence of the possessing spirit and apparently in preparation for the next stage." 3. "Third, the voluntary yielding of control by the possessed person to a force or presence he clearly feels is alien to himself and as a result of which the possessed loses control of his will, and so of his decisions and his actions." 4. "Once the third stage is secure, extended control proceeds and may potentially reach the point of completion-perfect possession." He explained these stages do not always appear in this order but ultimately do appear over a length of time. Edited September 20, 2020 by Robert F. Smith 1
Kenngo1969 Posted September 20, 2020 Posted September 20, 2020 34 minutes ago, NoahVail said: Thirty years ago I ripped-off my screen name from a 50yo Firesign Theater album. ... Which Firesign Theater album is that?
NoahVail Posted September 20, 2020 Author Posted September 20, 2020 13 minutes ago, Kenngo1969 said: Which Firesign Theater album is that? How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All. Side 2, Nick Danger. Noah Vail was the announcer. It's weird how most comedy, eventually, isn't funny any more.
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