Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and practices

[Dream]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

Demons are one of the top reasons to look again at the gospels and say, "Maybe I am reading this wrong?" At first, demons seem like a cog that just wont turn, but that is only because language and culture have changed so much. They do fit as you become more interested in the expressions used in the gospels, a translation problem.

Among protestants there have been some very unhelpful 'Ministries' out there that do not want to study or question, that only want to lead. To them, Psychology is an evil thing that competes against them. Well, yes it does compete against them. Dude, get your freak on and go see one of their shows.

 

[Avi]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

I consider myself an apologist or a faith defender which is taken from example of the Bereans in the book of Acts. We search the scriptures for the answers rarther than depending on mans interpretations.

Faithfulservant, thanks for sharing your thoughts, you are clearly a dedicated and devoted person.

 

[citizenzen]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

We search the scriptures for the answers rarther than depending on mans interpretations.

Hmmm... how do you think the scriptures got written down in the first place, if not for man's interpretations?

 

[Faithfulservant]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

Hmmm... how do you think the scriptures got written down in the first place, if not for man's interpretations?

Slippery slope questioning

Timothy 3:16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.​

​

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” Mark 13:31


​

 

[citizenzen]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

Slippery slope questioning

If one could find examples of scripture evolving over time, are the subtle changes due to man's hand or is God sending down the edits from above?

Which translation is God's and which one is man's?

Is the New American Bible the product of editors or God?

New American Bible: "In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,"

King James Bible: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."​

Just one line in and already different. Who's responsible for that?

Slippery slope indeed.

 

[Faithfulservant]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

If one could find examples of scripture evolving over time, are the subtle changes due to man's hand or is God sending down the edits from above?

Which translation is God's and which one is man's?

Is the New American Bible the product of editors or God?

New American Bible: "In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,"

King James Bible: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
​

Just one line in and already different. Who's responsible for that?

Slippery slope indeed.

Then you do what the scholars do and read it in the original hebrew or greek. No need to quibble over translations. Thats what God gave us
brains for.

Word by Word – Genesis - learn hebrew bible words translation pronunciation

yes CZ even YOU can learn to read in hebrew so you can answer these questions yourself.

 

[Faithfulservant]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

Then you do what the scholars do and read it in the original hebrew or greek. No need to quibble over translations. Thats what God gave us
brains for.

Word by Word – Genesis - learn hebrew bible words translation pronunciation

yes CZ even YOU can learn to read in hebrew so you can answer these questions yourself.

I assure you that some of us actually do a word study and dont just take it at face value. But I wouldnt expect you to know that so I am telling you that there are people that do study it in the original language... its amazing because in this day and age.. ANYONE can learn how to do this.

 

[citizenzen]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

Then you do what the scholars do and read it in the original hebrew or greek. No need to quibble over translations. Thats what God gave us brains for.

You seem to forget that there were decades of oral transmission before a word of a scripture was ever written down in either of those languages. Interpretation, cultural and human influence and human error would greatly change how the story was told.

Did you ever play the game Telephone as a child? Did the story ever end the same way it started? This isn't a condemnation of scripture, just an open-eyed acknowledgement that humans shaped the story. Seems pretty rational to me.

 

[Faithfulservant]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

You seem to forget that there were decades of oral transmission before a word of a scripture was ever written down in either of those languages. Interpretation, cultural and human influence and human error would greatly change how the story was told.

Did you ever play the game Telephone as a child? Did the story ever end the same way it started? This isn't a condemnation of scripture, just an open-eyed acknowledgement that humans shaped the story. Seems pretty rational to me.

I think that if you spent as much time researching the cultures and beliefs as you do reasons why they are flawed you might not need to ask questions like these.. and you are not the only one.

Do you know any jews at all??

BB could answer this so much better than I and I am sure he has somewhere and Im sure he would let me know if I was wrong somehow but its basically this. God dictated the first 5 books to Moses while he was conscious. The prophetic writings were given to the prophets through dreams of visions in which they put down in their own styles. If you ever heard a Jew recite their Torah it is word for word.. its not like telling a tale to a child at night for generations.. its a sacred thing held in trust to a people who take it very seriously. You talk about culture being a factor.. Thats a big thing because no other race on earth has held their culture, even without a place to call theirs, as long as they have...the only thing they had that they could carry down generation upon generation is their religious beliefs and traditions.

Theres also the part that you arent going to get no matter what and that is the faith and belief that God inspired it and kept it supernaturally intact into this day and age. I trust that my God is powerful enough to keep something as sacred as His Holy Word intact from the moment it was received by Moses kept by His people and to today by the faithful remnant of His people. It is the oldest religious book in history.. it has been reprinted more times than any other book and has held as the best seller since it was first printed. If anyone thinks thats by chance than they are fooling themselves on purpose and most assuredly in denial.

I would also turn this question back to you...

The tripitaka were initially oral compositions... How can anyone be sure that they stayed intact? barring influences by culture changes, interpretations and basic humanity etc... ??

Right.......

 

[citizenzen]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

The tripitaka were initially oral compositions... How can anyone be sure that they stayed intact? barring influences by culture changes, interpretations and basic humanity etc... ??

I couldn't give a flying fig about the tripitaka. I even had to look it up to know what you were talking about. That's the difference between how I practice my religion and you, yours.

With Buddhism you only need a few simple guidelines to put one on the path to enlightenment. All of the ancient Buddhist texts are superfluous artifacts and have nothing to do with one's ability to end delusion and ignorance.

This is why from my perspective reliance on texts and scriptures is such a waste of time. What matters is what's in your heart and mind this very instant. I learn more from listening and breathing than I ever will from reading and thinking. And I also learn from you FS. You teach me patience and compassion, for which I am grateful and promise to improve upon.

Peace out.

 

[Faithfulservant]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

I couldn't give a flying fig about the tripitaka. I even had to look it up to know what you were talking about. That's the difference between how I practice my religion and you, yours.

With Buddhism you only need a few simple guidelines to put one on the path to enlightenment. All of the ancient Buddhist texts are superfluous artifacts and have nothing to do with one's ability to end delusion and ignorance.

This is why from my perspective reliance on texts and scriptures is such a waste of time. What matters is what's in your heart and mind this very instant. I learn more from listening and breathing than I ever will from reading and thinking. And I also learn from you FS. You teach me patience and compassion, for which I am grateful and promise to improve upon.

Peace out.

See your belief sounds more to me like self-worship. I believe you have just substituted the Most-High with yourself.

Im glad that I am teaching you something as important as compassion and patience. You also are teaching me something.. you are validating all my scriptures to me... every single one. so Thanks!

 

[citizenzen]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

See your belief sounds more to me like self-worship. I believe you have just substituted the Most-High with yourself.

The Most-High and I are one. When my body passes away the illusion of separation will disappear completely. So glad to strengthen your faith. I guess I'm like your guru... or angel.

 

[immortalitylost]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

Well the thing about a written word is that it is subject to interpretation. Different cultures see things in different ways, vastly different ways, and it's the same with different generations.

Can you honestly say that you view the bible the same way as a child in Africa does? The same way that Jewish converts or Roman did just after Jesus' time?

Even if the word stayed the same. Exactly the same, which it has not, it couldn't have. Even then, it would be interpreted in vastly different ways throughout time and across continents.

The bible being a number one best seller since it was printed is great, but can you really say that that fact isn't due mainly to the nature of Christianity? It has always been a religion about spreading the good word, taking it to places that have never seen it. Christians feel morally obliged to pass the word along. It's part of who Christians are.

The bible is the written history of a religion. And I agree that it is about faith, whether you believe it is the inspired word of God.

But I like to keep my faith in God alone. All of it. So I do not have faith in this book as being God's word. But I do have faith that it is the word of God's people. A group of them in any case. And that's enough for me to take it for what it is, a history, and a guide.

Sometimes people "read too much into it" in my mind. But that's only to be expected, right?

Ja, ne.

Oh yeah, lol game of telephone. The brain ninjas are at work in my words. Mwahahah!

 

[VSAngel0309]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

What are your views on demon possession as Christians? And I'm not just talking about "Exorcist" style possession either. I would like to see the full gamot of views from Christian viewpoints, if you may.

Also...

There is a lady that I know who says that practicing martial arts and yoga, as well as meditating, can open you up to demon possession. Also, symbols from other religions represent demons.

I don't even know what to say to this....

Any thoughts?

I am a Christian who believes that in order to understand one's own belief system, all others must be closely examined. In educating myself, I have practiced meditation, studied and applied the concepts of Buddhism, and observed Hindu practices, to see if it is true that they are horrible as I was taught they were in church. Most of what is taught resonates with just about any other belief, however, in practicing transcendental meditation, I experienced an entity trying to invade my body. It felt disgusting and I was rendered basically helpless. If it weren't for the fact that I called upon Jesus to help me when this happened, I might have been in real trouble. Needless to say, I ceased meditation right away. I really just wanted to be able to control my ADD mind to help me in my science career, but it ended up being something I wasn't expecting. Also, even though there are a lot of truly beautiful people practicing faiths other than Christianity, I just haven't felt the purity and beauty I feel when I follow the precepts God gave humanity in the Bible. Not the judgmental kind that alienates people but the compassionate and loving and accepting kind that promotes accountability and nurturing at the same time. It is a shame that a lot of potential Christians are pushed away by the actions of well-meaning but ignorant Christians.

 

[Snoopy]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

Hi V,

One thing Christians can do then is diss other religions, presumably to help shore up their membership. If I wanted to know about Sikhism I'd talk to Sikhs; get it from the horse's mouth and all that. That church is just giving Christians a bad name, don't they know about interfaith dialogue?

Snoopy.

 

[Snoopy]

Re: Demon possession and demons represented by symbols from other religions and pract

I couldn't give a flying fig about the tripitaka. I even had to look it up to know what you were talking about.

With Buddhism you only need a few simple guidelines to put one on the path to enlightenment. All of the ancient Buddhist texts are superfluous artifacts and have nothing to do with one's ability to end delusion and ignorance.

Peace out.

Without the tripitaka, how could the Buddha's few simple guidelines have come to you?

s.