I have never heard of it.
Then please do some research on Dualism - it is rearing it's ugly head inside Christianity, once more. Also, check out Augustine and C.S. Lewis on the definition of evil.
You said its more exciting. Yeah, true, but there are times when I wish I could slink off into some backwoods and just stay out of it. That, however, is not the calling on my life. True, Satan has no power, BUT WE ARE STILL IN A BATTLE FOR OUR SOULS!
Jesus won the battle. All we have to do is submit to His justification and sanctification, which means love.
This is what Scripture says about battle:
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
And what does all that really mean? It is a war against our false self. Paul uses battle imagery to illustrate the difficulty of not falling into old habits - we are to throw off the Old Man or the Ego and start loving others. That is the true battle. The fact is, if it were possible to love perfectly, sin would cease to exist. Unfortunately, many Christians evade personal responsibility by blaming Satan for tempting them, just like our ancestors - it didn't fly with God then and it doesn't fly now.
Dear friend, if you don't believe that we are in a war, I pity you, because you have some useless armour and weapons then! The war might have been won, but our souls are not safe until we have left this earth. Tell me, is Paul talking about some nice love where we just let evil triumph? NO, NO, NO! He is talking about war, a real war, a literal war. Even Jesus, the Prince of Peace, told us that he would bring division, or better put, a sword, a rending!
Why does everyone think love is 'nice' and 'grandmotherly'? I am not talking about some warmed-over, hippie, flower-power! I am talking about sacrifice! Love is denial of the ego. Love is what Christ did for us on the cross! Nothing mamby-pamby about it! It is the whole purpose we were created and everything we forgot how to do when Adam and Eve stopped looking at God and saw they were naked - the birth of the false self!
Mat_10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Of course! Love is sword! Just think what would have happened in Congress over the weekend if the Congressmen din't spend the entire time making sure they could blame each other for raising the debt ceiling? If they really were 'public servants' they would actually serve the public instead protecting their seat in Congress. If we were able to truly love and vote in a manner that reflected it, they would all lose their seats and that would be threatening to them - just like it was threatening to the Pharisees when they encountered Christ's perfect love.
I think the words of our lord should settle it once and for all. While we are no longer waving swords like the Israelites, we still are in battle, a battle of the spiritual realm that is evidenced in the physical.
Love is the only way out.
You said that God was meeting a 'tough desert people where they were at.' Let me assure you, NOTHING has changed as far as humanity is concerned. You seem to have missed the Scripture I posted earlier that was pre-Law. Was that just to the people of Noah's day?! I don't think so!
So, the Holy Spirit has had no affect on the world? The Kingdom of God in our hearts is a complete failure? We have completely lost our saltiness? Certainly not!
Gen 9:5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
Gen 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
We got ourselves into this mess and God is getting us out of it.
If there is any doubt about what was just stated, God said that if a man murders, by MAN his blood will be shed. Something interesting to note, is that it says Num 35:19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
It seems to be that there was an actual avenger of blood. I would say that it would be a family member, and it was up to that person to avenge his relation's death. Put that into today, it is up to the family of the victim to decide whether they want to forgive the murderer or not. If a family of someone who has been brutally murdered is calling for the death penalty, I would not stand in their way.
Yep. He was limiting the bloodshed to just the murderer, rather than the tradition of ancient people, which was to kill the whole family of the murderer.