Mageth

SOO one of god's angels was actually a serpent, and God, pissed at him for talking his kids into eating some fruit, cursed him to crawl on his belly and eat dust? That doesn't compute.

BTW, Revelation 12:5 also refers to Satan as a dragon.

In 1 Peter 5:8, Satan is referred to as being "like a roaring lion". Is he some kind of shape-shifter?

Was Satan a serpent, a dragon, or a lion when he visited God in Heaven for a little chat, and friendly wager, in Job?

winstonjen

You're most welcome!

A mafia hitman.

sophie

So now you're admitting it. You think its a good thing. A fitting thing. So therefore I was correct in my characterization of your comment.

It is fitting I give all my money to my daughters. This is good for them. It is not good for me.

I think it is fitting. It does not necessarily imply good. It may be good for the transgressors to feel the pinch they have been pinching others with all their lives, but it surely would not be good for the benovelent omniGOD. The reasonming here would be omniGOD must necessarily do good for the sinners, thus they recieve their dues.

I am sure this logic evades you and most atheists, but let me review the case of giving all my money to my daughters. This act of mine is for their good. Good will come out of this act. For my personal being it is not a good thing. Can you comprehend the ambivalence?

Mageth

Well, it would seem only proper for God to alert them to the real danger in the Garden. Surely God knew Satan would try to tempt them, and knew Satan (if that's who the serpent was, which is questionable) was so very cunning and deceptive. If he warned them about the fruit, it would only make sense to warn them about the serpent.

And why did god let the serpent (very ambiguously interpreted as being Satan) in the garden in the first place? Did he trick God into letting him in?

Magus55

Satan is both the great dragon, and the serpent. They are titles, and Satan probably can change into a different form.


Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

As to "like a roaring lion", have you ever heard of the word, simile?

Doctor X

Save that the serpent is never called a "stn."

It is a later interpolation; though, I must confess, I rather prefer the gnostic argument that the serpent is Jesus trying to help the humans escape the enslavement of the evil demiurge.

I mean . . . come on! . . . he has to wander about the garden looking for Adam!

I reiterate a great book on the development of our favorite "stumbling block" to "prosecutor" to Guy-who-Knocks-Up-Rosemary is Forsythe's, The Old Enemy: Satan and the Combat Myth.

--J.D.

Mageth

As to "like a roaring lion", have you ever heard of the word, simile?

Perhaps you should ask yourself that question, and also ask yourself about the words "metaphor" and "myth", in regards to the Genesis account and the Revelation account.

Yes, Mageth is "very cunning and deceptive" as well, and was rather hoping you would fall into that trap.

Hedwig

What sounds worse to you? Being limited to the point that choosing evil is as unlikely as being able to fly without aid of a plane or some other assistance...or burning forever in the fires of hell?

Biff the unclean

Are you reading the same bible I am? Because in mine the god character says that if they eat the fruit he is going to kill them. Eat it and that very day you'll be dead meat.
We can always rely on you to change what the bible says

Magus55

There is no middle ground with free will. You either have the ability to choose good or evil, or you don't. The first allows free will, the second doesn't.

And the first one sounds worse to me because 1) I want to be able to freely worship and love God, not have no other choice, and 2) Jesus saved me from Hell, so why would that be an issue?