This tidbit is from the pentecostal, fundy, right-wing Charisma magazine...
Seems an R. T. Kendall wrote a "daily devotional" in a book called All's Well That Ends Well. R. T. wanted to inform those silly enough to read his stuff that they need to understand "how the devil works."
Here's the important thing: The devil (Satan) is a creation of god and is doing god's work in the world. Yup! You must "Learn that every satanic attack is with God's permission and has a purpose."
But never fear, for God is stronger than Satan and while God may allow Satan to attack you, God will also be with you so you can stand up to Satan! Isn't that cool? What a cool God!
But wait, there's more! Maybe god isn't so cool! You have to be very, very careful, 'cause the devil is really sneaky and is an "accuser;" she'll make you feel stupid (for following Jesus), and she is a liar. And that's why you have to be so very, very careful 'cause the damn devil is going to "use a close relationship to get at you".
Psst! Maybe it's your brother, or sister, or boyfriend or girlfriend, or priest or pastor or teacher or god forbid, your spouse! Holy crap! "The devil will use that to discourage you. ... we must put our trust in Jesus Christ alone, because even the best of God's people, and sometimes those closest to us, will disappoint us sooner or later."
Well, this is simply too hard to take. God creates the devil and sets her loose on us poor unsuspecting souls. And if we go the devil's way, we'll spend eternity burning in the fires of hell. Now R. T. Kendall says that god will be there to help us fight the devil, but obviously that doesn't always work and because we're weak and fragile we're gonna trust those closest to us who will be used by the devil to do her work. Sounds like a no-win to me.
What a mess!
Who needs such a goofy god?
Or, perhaps R. T. Kendall doesn't have a freaking clue what he or she is talking about! You think?
3 comments:
God ain't the devil He the savior AND he not goofy chu idiots he's a VERY IMPORTANT GOD DUDE He is the savior of us all
I think perhaps Kendall put it awkwardly, which is also multiplied by your lack of theological understanding. (I mean no offense by that comment.) Ultimately all that happens, even your blog and my comments, fall within the providence of God. Providence is not direct control. God is not a puppet master. Even the free-will choices of rebellious creatures ultimately fit into a divine plan. God has commanded men not to sin, but even their sins, though contrary to God's declared will, somehow fit into the ultimate plan. The best example is the sin of Judas in betraying a friend and the sin of the romans in executing an innocent man. Both were evil acts and injustices. Yet, this all fit into God's plan to provide payment for sin through the sacrifice of Messiah, in order that those who trust God and turn to him can be completely forgiven. So even the devil's rebellious actions ultimately fell within the overarching divine plan. We see it most clearly in the cross, but most of the time we are without a clue. God is infinitely more brilliant that we have any concept of.
Dear Fred,
Well, let us see...I have a graduate degree in theology...and have been involved I biblical and theological study for over 50 years! Some time ago it became clear to me that the kind of religion or Christianity you espouse is a crock!
It matters not what the bible says for the bible is a collection of material written by ignorant people who knew almost nothing except for ancient mythologies and superstitions, many of which ultimately made it into the Bible.
The God which you profess is a monster created by fearful and ignorant Semitic tribesman. The Jesus which you call the Messiah, the Jesus of the Gospels, did not exist but is a fictional composite conceived in order to put flesh on the bones of the Christ figure which had cropped up in multiple areas in the Med area and was adopted and preached by Paul.
You can go through life hanging on to your fantasies but that is what they are - fantasies. Let them go, realize that there is no guy in the sky that demands a blood sacrifice because his honor has been tainted - that is plain old paganism.
Enjoy! Try to do the best you can and treat others with respect for we are in this together and we need each other.
There is no mean old god to send you to hell if you don't believe the right stuff. Just think how wonderful that is! You can now live with real joy and you can really love people for what they are rather than needing to convert them to some crazy Christian fundamentalism which the fictionalJesus, being an Orthodox Jew would not recognize.
Best wishes, and I wish you joy freed from the shackles of religious depravity.
I know all about how depraved it is, for I was part of it for way too long. Thank god, no longer! :-))
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