Armageddon

gemmagemma Posts: 4
edited July 2006 in A Moving Train
For this thread, let's make it a given that the story told in Revelations about the battle between God and Satan is true. God has told everyone what happens and who wins and, no surprise here since it's his book, it's God. And God is the most powerful being in the universe, so if he says it's true, it's true. So then why is Satan even bothering? He knows God wins. He can't change what God says happens. It doesn't make sense that Satan would wage a war he knows he loses.

There seems to be two ways to go with this. Either Satan knows God is not as powerful as he has led his creation to believe and knows he has a chance to win. Or the outcome is determined (God wins) and it's just a pointless exercise in violence. (Which would indicate that God and Satan have some major issues.) I've never understood how Christians can see it any other way but obviously they do. Can anyone explain that?
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  • CommyCommy Posts: 4,984
    gemma wrote:
    For this thread, let's make it a given that the story told in Revelations about the battle between God and Satan is true. God has told everyone what happens and who wins and, no surprise here since it's his book, it's God. And God is the most powerful being in the universe, so if he says it's true, it's true. So then why is Satan even bothering? He knows God wins. He can't change what God says happens. It doesn't make sense that Satan would wage a war he knows he loses.

    There seems to be two ways to go with this. Either Satan knows God is not as powerful as he has led his creation to believe and knows he has a chance to win. Or the outcome is determined (God wins) and it's just a pointless exercise in violence. (Which would indicate that God and Satan have some major issues.) I've never understood how Christians can see it any other way but obviously they do. Can anyone explain that?
    Hell has a bible too....in their version they win.
  • prytocorduroyprytocorduroy Posts: 4,355
    I'd like to reference Dogma here:

    God is infallible, and proving God wrong would unmake existence. I'm sure Satan is sick of Hell and would do anything to get out of there ;)
  • Pfft, I don't know. Maybe Satan has convinced himself he has a chance to beat God. I mean he turned a third of the angels in Heaven to his side right? Being in Hell probably just pissed him off more, but whatever no one knows any of this stuff for sure. We're faithful, we all believe.
    "It is not the duty of the court to question the wisdom, or lack thereof, used by the Legislature in enacting laws of this state."
    --Alabama Supreme Court, Ex Parte T.D.T.
  • hailhailkchailhailkc Posts: 582
    gemma wrote:
    For this thread, let's make it a given that the story told in Revelations about the battle between God and Satan is true. God has told everyone what happens and who wins and, no surprise here since it's his book, it's God. And God is the most powerful being in the universe, so if he says it's true, it's true. So then why is Satan even bothering? He knows God wins. He can't change what God says happens. It doesn't make sense that Satan would wage a war he knows he loses.

    There seems to be two ways to go with this. Either Satan knows God is not as powerful as he has led his creation to believe and knows he has a chance to win. Or the outcome is determined (God wins) and it's just a pointless exercise in violence. (Which would indicate that God and Satan have some major issues.) I've never understood how Christians can see it any other way but obviously they do. Can anyone explain that?

    If his "list" says I am going to my aerobics class, I must go.

    A. The problem here is that the idea of a list introduces the error that there is a set list of things that the person must accomplish, because it is on a list for them to do.* This is not the case.* You do not go to the gym because it is on the list that you must fulfill.* It is simply an advance recording of what you will do based on the choices you will freely make.
    B. A better understanding of the "list" idea would be if God wrote a list of the things you did after you did them.*He can do this since He is in the future and can look back from the future to see what you chose to do at any time.* Time is relative to God.*Because you have already done them freely (from God's future perspective looking backward), the list can be made accurately by God.* Since He is also in the past and present, He can even show us this list in advance...only for Him it happened a long time ago as He watched you freely do what you wanted to do.*So, since God is in all places at all time, He can look back in time to get the list, and then even reveal it in advance to you.* It would be a list of things you freely chose to do -- or should I say, that you will freely choose to do.

    Satan…not so much. Satan has none of this "omnipotent" power that God has. Satan knows the ending, but he doesn't know what his actions and misdeeds will lead to. His is NOT omnipotent. Thus, he continues to fight and try to pull others away from God, and to stop God through the destruction of Israel. Besides, Satan rebelled from the beginning. Don't forget that he used to be an angel. He's always been rebellious. Satan was allowed to roam the earth by God, and he knows that if he can destory Israel, he can stop Christ from returning to Earth.
    MOSSAD NATO Alphabet Stations (E10)
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  • MeatwagonMeatwagon Posts: 108
    Satan is playing his role on this just as we all are. Somebody has to play the bad guy, or the story would suck. It's all a plan, man!!!
    Axis of justice.com
  • MeatwagonMeatwagon Posts: 108
    Is it just me, or has the Christian bashing picking up speed these days????
    Axis of justice.com
  • sonicreducersonicreducer Posts: 713
    chuck norris will round-house kick the ground so hard that everyone will die from from the massive earthquake,...

    this is the real armageddon,...

    there is no way to stop the chucketh,...
    you're a real hooker. im gonna slap you in public.
    ~Ron Burgundy
  • miller8966miller8966 Posts: 1,450
    gemma wrote:
    For this thread, let's make it a given that the story told in Revelations about the battle between God and Satan is true. God has told everyone what happens and who wins and, no surprise here since it's his book, it's God. And God is the most powerful being in the universe, so if he says it's true, it's true. So then why is Satan even bothering? He knows God wins. He can't change what God says happens. It doesn't make sense that Satan would wage a war he knows he loses.

    There seems to be two ways to go with this. Either Satan knows God is not as powerful as he has led his creation to believe and knows he has a chance to win. Or the outcome is determined (God wins) and it's just a pointless exercise in violence. (Which would indicate that God and Satan have some major issues.) I've never understood how Christians can see it any other way but obviously they do. Can anyone explain that?

    Revelations is the story of god vs satan? I think what your reffering to is Miltons Paradise lost.
    America...the greatest Country in the world.
  • not4unot4u Posts: 512
    the republican clones with the the hitler gene installed will destroy all the good of mankind. Then god will destroy the earth along with all the republicans and thier clones. lol. sad but true, lol
    we don't want war, but we still want more?
  • OutOfBreathOutOfBreath Posts: 1,804
    Heh, we're at the omnipotent and good problem again then are we? I'll go along with satan and god existing and such as presented here (although I also think this is largely from paradise lost).

    In order for there to be good, there must be evil. Every coin has the other side. So if God wanted good to exist in the world, he needed evil to define it against. Hence, he needed satan. Considering him being omnipotent and omniscient, he created lucifer in exactly that way so that he would rebel, and so that many of the angels would follow. Claiming they were free to act first is nonsense. Either God knew everything at the moment he made them, or else he is not all-knowing if he must look back from the future after the fact. And still, he would know the exact result before he created anything.

    So this concept of God can either be all-powerful, but in no way all-good as we would understand the term. Or God is all-good, but not all-powerful so that things happen that he did not exactly intend. One of them has to give.

    Me I see it as a pointless rhetoric exercise really, as I remain certain that any creative god, would be far bayond our comprehension at any rate, and might not have any particular interest for our atom of the heavens.

    But, if God created Lucifer, and is all-powerful, he knew that he had now created evil. Frankly, I could accept that, you'd just have to budge the all-good part a bit. (Besides from the fact that I dont believe any of it)

    Peace
    Dan
    "YOU [humans] NEED TO BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT AREN'T TRUE. HOW ELSE CAN THEY BECOME?" - Death

    "Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
  • PaperPlatesPaperPlates Posts: 1,745
    Meatwagon wrote:
    Is it just me, or has the Christian bashing picking up speed these days????


    Nah, par for the course around here.
    Why go home

    www.myspace.com/jensvad
  • danmacdanmac Posts: 387
    Leaving aside the cartoon characters, where does Man fit into this?
    A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects
    are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider
    god-fearing and pious: Aristotle

    Viva Zapatista!
  • NCfanNCfan Posts: 945
    gemma wrote:
    For this thread, let's make it a given that the story told in Revelations about the battle between God and Satan is true. God has told everyone what happens and who wins and, no surprise here since it's his book, it's God. And God is the most powerful being in the universe, so if he says it's true, it's true. So then why is Satan even bothering? He knows God wins. He can't change what God says happens. It doesn't make sense that Satan would wage a war he knows he loses.

    There seems to be two ways to go with this. Either Satan knows God is not as powerful as he has led his creation to believe and knows he has a chance to win. Or the outcome is determined (God wins) and it's just a pointless exercise in violence. (Which would indicate that God and Satan have some major issues.) I've never understood how Christians can see it any other way but obviously they do. Can anyone explain that?

    It's my understanding that the book of Revelations has been removed and then added back to the Bible many times throughout history.

    It's funny to think that generations of humans and Christains lived their lives without knowing of Revelations, and then there are generations who did live with it and believe it.

    Kind of makes you think about the legitamacy of the whole thing doesn't it...
  • danmacdanmac Posts: 387
    NCfan wrote:
    It's my understanding that the book of Revelations has been removed and then added back to the Bible many times throughout history.

    It's funny to think that generations of humans and Christains lived their lives without knowing of Revelations, and then there are generations who did live with it and believe it.

    Kind of makes you think about the legitamacy of the whole thing doesn't it...


    Well yeah, there is that, and there's also the millions of years of history that pre date the writing of any religious novelty item.

    How do these bibles explain anything like that? You know, dinosaurs, evolution, animals, blah blah blah.
    A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects
    are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider
    god-fearing and pious: Aristotle

    Viva Zapatista!
  • onelongsongonelongsong Posts: 3,517
    gemma wrote:
    For this thread, let's make it a given that the story told in Revelations about the battle between God and Satan is true. God has told everyone what happens and who wins and, no surprise here since it's his book, it's God. And God is the most powerful being in the universe, so if he says it's true, it's true. So then why is Satan even bothering? He knows God wins. He can't change what God says happens. It doesn't make sense that Satan would wage a war he knows he loses.

    There seems to be two ways to go with this. Either Satan knows God is not as powerful as he has led his creation to believe and knows he has a chance to win. Or the outcome is determined (God wins) and it's just a pointless exercise in violence. (Which would indicate that God and Satan have some major issues.) I've never understood how Christians can see it any other way but obviously they do. Can anyone explain that?

    easy question. THY WILL BE DONE. Jesus could have stopped the crusifixion but didn't. it was Gods will because Jesus had to be killed in a manner that will always be remembered. the devil is gaining power (so he thinks). look at the number of athiests and agnostics on the board alone. anti Christs. never in history has there been so much anti religious feelings; thus; it seems the time is right. this anti religion stance is the reason revelations cannot be explained as past events as so many scholors try to do. this one key point was missing.
  • caifan82caifan82 Posts: 321
    the devil is gaining power (so he thinks). look at the number of athiests and agnostics on the board alone. anti Christs. never in history has there been so much anti religious feelings

    Hell yeah! I'm the anti christ! Makes me feel special.

    Go Devil go!
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  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    gemma wrote:
    For this thread, let's make it a given that the story told in Revelations about the battle between God and Satan is true. God has told everyone what happens and who wins and, no surprise here since it's his book, it's God. And God is the most powerful being in the universe, so if he says it's true, it's true. So then why is Satan even bothering? He knows God wins. He can't change what God says happens. It doesn't make sense that Satan would wage a war he knows he loses.

    There seems to be two ways to go with this. Either Satan knows God is not as powerful as he has led his creation to believe and knows he has a chance to win. Or the outcome is determined (God wins) and it's just a pointless exercise in violence. (Which would indicate that God and Satan have some major issues.) I've never understood how Christians can see it any other way but obviously they do. Can anyone explain that?

    Have you tried looking for the answer in Wikipedia? :confused:
  • onelongsongonelongsong Posts: 3,517
    caifan82 wrote:
    Hell yeah! I'm the anti christ! Makes me feel special.

    Go Devil go!

    cute. the first guy to stand up and draw fire.
  • caifan82caifan82 Posts: 321
    cute. the first guy to stand up and draw fire.
    No, not cute. Evil.
    Mexico City - July 17th 2003
    Mexico City - July 18th 2003
    Mexico City - July 19th 2003
    Monterrey - December 7th 2005
    Mexico City - December 9th 2005
    Mexico City - December 10th 2005
    Mexico City - November 24th 2011
  • boxwine_in_hellboxwine_in_hell Posts: 1,263
    gemma wrote:
    For this thread, let's make it a given that the story told in Revelations about the battle between God and Satan is true. God has told everyone what happens and who wins and, no surprise here since it's his book, it's God. And God is the most powerful being in the universe, so if he says it's true, it's true. So then why is Satan even bothering? He knows God wins. He can't change what God says happens. It doesn't make sense that Satan would wage a war he knows he loses.

    There seems to be two ways to go with this. Either Satan knows God is not as powerful as he has led his creation to believe and knows he has a chance to win. Or the outcome is determined (God wins) and it's just a pointless exercise in violence. (Which would indicate that God and Satan have some major issues.) I've never understood how Christians can see it any other way but obviously they do. Can anyone explain that?

    Because Satan is a stubborn prick and his Mom told him to never quit.
    one foot in the door
    the other foot in the gutter
    sweet smell that they adore
    I think I'd rather smother
    -The Replacements-
  • easy question. THY WILL BE DONE. Jesus could have stopped the crusifixion but didn't. it was Gods will because Jesus had to be killed in a manner that will always be remembered. the devil is gaining power (so he thinks). look at the number of athiests and agnostics on the board alone. anti Christs. never in history has there been so much anti religious feelings; thus; it seems the time is right. this anti religion stance is the reason revelations cannot be explained as past events as so many scholors try to do. this one key point was missing.


    Did he actually just call atheists "anti Christs"?




    Wow. :D
    Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
  • AhnimusAhnimus Posts: 10,560
    Did he actually just call atheists "anti Christs"?




    Wow. :D


    lol, I'm agnostic, but I don't think religion is totally a bad thing. Christ was a hip dude too, he had long hair like all those grunge rockers I like.
    I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
  • Ahnimus wrote:
    lol, I'm agnostic, but I don't think religion is totally a bad thing. Christ was a hip dude too, he had long hair like all those grunge rockers I like.

    Jesus was the man alright. I can just hear the Ramones singing 'Jesus is a Punk Rocker' in my head right now...
    Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
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