Seems to me that our ideas about the Devil are more about our own pride than an accurate portrayal of the Prince of Darkness......in fact, the more clever we believe ourselves to be, the more ingenious the Devil has to become in our minds, in order to have the ability to deceive us. Of course, if you stop for a minute, it is a crazy way to think; yet, it sure is prevalent, We, the same people who were not created perfect like Adam and Eve, think that we can only be deceived through elaborate means, when A&E were duped unto death with a piece of fruit?
I've heard some Christians go so far as to believe and report that the Devil, himself, appeared to them or possessed someone they know - in their minds, he is practically omnipresent......
Others have developed complicated, elaborate, sensational, overarching schemes that the Devil will use someday to deceive and claim us for Hell - suggesting omnipotence.........
Many people have the idea that the Devil knows us personally - he knows what we are tempted by and every detail of our history. As if he were omniscient.......
First, we are not that important or that bright.
Second, the Devil does not have any of the attributes of God. He is a created being. He is not interested in having any personal relationships - especially with other created beings. He wanted God to bow down to Him - why would he care if dust mites, like ourselves, worshiped him?
Third, we are a people who cannot go a day without damning ourselves to Hell without God's forgiveness, and that is just through our own sinful behavior; not even taking into account the curse of the Fall. Judgmentalness, selfishness, sex, drugs, consumerism, materialism, and all forms of disorder and disobedience are tripping us up all the time - how does a train wreck (Lucifer's rebellion) from antiquity influence the train wreck of humanity more than just as a cautionary tale?
We have a strange image of the Devil - on one hand we give him godlike characteristics and on the other, we think of him as really dumb and one dimensional - having a long term interest in our fate? challenged through the centuries by tempting us? Finding meaning from chaos and disorder? Sounds more like the Joker from Batman than an accurate understanding of a real, created being who disobeyed his creator.
The bottom line is, no one needs to be particularly bright or even moderately persistent to deceive us - average criminals do it everyday. Go check your email for examples from Nigeria. Transforming the devil into a cartoon nemesis, instead of facing our own disordered and sinful behavior does not shift the blame off of ourselves before God, it only repeats the actions of Adam and Eve trying to hide because they were naked.
I've heard some Christians go so far as to believe and report that the Devil, himself, appeared to them or possessed someone they know - in their minds, he is practically omnipresent......
Others have developed complicated, elaborate, sensational, overarching schemes that the Devil will use someday to deceive and claim us for Hell - suggesting omnipotence.........
Many people have the idea that the Devil knows us personally - he knows what we are tempted by and every detail of our history. As if he were omniscient.......
First, we are not that important or that bright.
Second, the Devil does not have any of the attributes of God. He is a created being. He is not interested in having any personal relationships - especially with other created beings. He wanted God to bow down to Him - why would he care if dust mites, like ourselves, worshiped him?
Third, we are a people who cannot go a day without damning ourselves to Hell without God's forgiveness, and that is just through our own sinful behavior; not even taking into account the curse of the Fall. Judgmentalness, selfishness, sex, drugs, consumerism, materialism, and all forms of disorder and disobedience are tripping us up all the time - how does a train wreck (Lucifer's rebellion) from antiquity influence the train wreck of humanity more than just as a cautionary tale?
We have a strange image of the Devil - on one hand we give him godlike characteristics and on the other, we think of him as really dumb and one dimensional - having a long term interest in our fate? challenged through the centuries by tempting us? Finding meaning from chaos and disorder? Sounds more like the Joker from Batman than an accurate understanding of a real, created being who disobeyed his creator.
The bottom line is, no one needs to be particularly bright or even moderately persistent to deceive us - average criminals do it everyday. Go check your email for examples from Nigeria. Transforming the devil into a cartoon nemesis, instead of facing our own disordered and sinful behavior does not shift the blame off of ourselves before God, it only repeats the actions of Adam and Eve trying to hide because they were naked.