Originally Posted by
Blaze
sinning is what leads to being entrapped by evil. evil is always there waiting to tempt us.
I can agree with this but only as a metaphor. Taken literally, I cannot agree with it.
Originally Posted by
Blaze
the Bible emphasizes the need to have the truth inside us....the truth is what fends off evil i think and keeps us strong. evil is kind of like always trying to seduce us with promises of power and prestige...yet when we are seduced by this, we end up actually being powerless and ashamed. so it's like a paradox.
I can agree with this also on a metaphorical level. I do agree about the paradox part.
Originally Posted by
Blaze
think of your good old fashioned cartoon villain. typically he has this terrible childhood and yet has this inner part that want to do good. we connect to this vulnerable inner child and we want to trust him and help him. but his bad side always overwhelms this part of him. while he may have some power in a sense, the things he does, and the people he associates with who are the type that are inclined towards power and to be drawn to him, they always betray him and his actions are self defeating. so he has a temporary illusion of power.
I think we want to help him because that inner part of him that wants to be good is who he truly is... the rest of it is where he has gotten lost. It does seem to be true that sometimes people get so lost they can't find their way back, and that others' attempts to help them fail. I must always believe they can find their way back though (even if it's unlikely).
Originally Posted by
Blaze
but true power comes through weakness and submission. admitting when you are wrong and making amends for that. forgiving others for their sins and flaws.
I agree about admitting when you're wrong... I think that weakness is weakness though... er... maybe it's just semantics.
Originally Posted by
Blaze
getting your strength through God or your higher power or remembering the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf.
I do not take the Bible literally, or agree with most (if any) literal interpretations of it.
Originally Posted by
Blaze
i know you probably don't want to hear about Jesus. it's verboten to say his name. somehow Jesus Christ has become like Voldemort. riddle me that batman.
I think Jesus was a cool enlightened individual, but I don't think he was most of the things in a literal way that people tend to say he was when they are interpretting the Bible literally.
Originally Posted by
Blaze
people are evidently not incapable of changing. but change will be much more difficult for some than for others, depending upon how entrapped one has become.
I agree.
Originally Posted by
Blaze
we live in a wicked world.
the world is as we believe it to be... I don't agree that it is wicked.
Acts of terrorism. Bin Laden is like the ultimate cartoon villain.
I'm rather skeptical about the news media's portrayal of Bin Laden, though I do think it's probably some brand of the truth (most likely). In any case, since I know nothing about Bin Laden aside from what appears in the news, I can't really say anything about what he is like.
this is not to say that all is evil in the world, there are many wonderful creative things. God has created them and man has created them. in this way we are created in God's own image.
I don't really believe in God in this sense. I don't believe "God" literally created anything, especially not in 7 days.
but true evil is truly very very close to good. at times it is almost impossible to tell the difference.
I don't believe in true evil.