...with their views on good and evil, and there is still debate today about what Blake’s true feelings were and how they were conveyed through the poem. This paper will simply explain the nature of the poem and the events that come together within it. The beginning of Marriage sets up an image of a man walking through a “perilous path” that is described as “The vale of death” (Blake 1.4-5). Rintrah, a personification of wrath, watches the man be swayed from his path by the “sneaking serpent,” which can easily be interpreted as the Devil (Blake 1.17). The man is driven into the wild to fend for himself, where he will struggle and be tempted by the good and evil sides of himself and of the world. The next plate that Blake writes is not in a poetic form, but instead calls forth a challenge to the Swedenborgian view of religion. He humorously writes that “it is now thirty-three years since its advent: the Eternal Hell revives. And lo! Swedenborg is the Angel sitting at the tomb: his writings are the linen clothes folded up” (Blake 3). Blake’s jokes about Swedenborg’s relationship to Jesus Christ and his changes to the Christian church lead into his next point, which is how contradictory he believes these religious teachings to be in the first place. Blake claims that “Without contraries is no progression” (3). He claims that everything has an opposite, and without those, no man can move forward. This is where the religious get their concepts of Good and Evil, which they easily...
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...The Problem Of Evil There are many events throughout the world that occur, that we cannot explain. The evils that exist are moral and non-moral evils. The moral evils that exist are poverty, oppression, persecution, war and injustice. The non-moral evils that occur frequently but not usually on a daily basis are earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, flood, drought, and blight (philosophy. Lander.edu/intro/hick.stml). These evils happen with thousands of people dying daily for no reason. The problem of evil is a touchstone of any religion. The direct confrontation with evil results in suffering, and thus endless questions about the meaning of life. That is why all religions have to give a proper answer regarding the origin, nature and end of evil (www.comparativreligion.com/evil.html). Many people think these occurrences are evil and why does God allow them to happen. To believe in God is difficult because of all of the evil that he allows. This is because many evils (for example, the suffering of children) seem to serve no justifiable purpose. Therefore, these kinds of evils count against the existence of God. These evils are called gratuitous (or pointless) evils. (http://www.equip.org/articles/addressing-the-problem-of-evil-). The pointless evils that exist show that God may not exist. The different religions of the world justify that a God does exist. Many religions of the world believe that you cannot have good without evil because it helps to keep things balanced...
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...and Satanology Kati Bowlin Theo 201-D27 Religious dualism is the belief that teaches that the world consists of two basic forces; good and evil. God is viewed as the representation of good, Satan is the representation of evil. This belief is widespread and the majority of people would probably say that this is just the way things are. The eternal battle between God and Satan is constantly portrayed in movies and television as two equal forces battling over the souls of man. Satan is viewed as a fallen angel carrying a big hatchet against God. On the flipside, God is seen as the control freak who just sends His angels to do whatever He needs done. While this view can make a good movie, it’s contrary to what the Bible teaches. Unlike what pop culture would have us believe, God and Satan are not equal in their power and the battle between good and evil was won a long time ago. The Bible teaches that Satan is a created being. He was originally created as one of God’s angels, possessing all of the attributes of an angel, the power of personality and the freedom of choice. He let his pride get in the way of reason and he convinced himself that he was worthy of God’s throne and glory. He also failed to believe that if he committed a sin that God would punish him. He rebelled and God punished him by casting him out of heaven along with the angels who rebelled with him. In Isaiah 14:12-17, we are given some insight into the fall of Satan and his subsequent banishment from God’s presence...
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...Reflection Paper 2 Introduction: My second reflection paper will address the subject of Angels and Demons. Having little life experience with Christianity until being baptized in April of 2014, angels and demons were only in movies and not to be considered real or anything to really think about. Liberty University classes have opened my mind to a new world, church is not just for attending on Sunday and socializing with other like minded Christians but it is to contemplate a world beyond what is seen by man. Angels and Demons are real and with some serious study of the subject a person can see it all around and it having been all around since the beginning of time. Theological Definition of Angels: There are ten major theological areas of study and angels are part of that ten, this study is called “Angelology”. Scholars have many views about angels and some even ignore the subject all together but they are clearly documented in the Bible. According to Roman Catholic doctrine God is so powerful and at the sight of him a human will perish and that God created angels to serve as his liaison with the mortal world and act in God’s name, and since they do not have the tendencies of human flesh they serve as the bridge that separates the Holiness of God from the people of this earth. (KJV, Hebrews 1:14) Angels are essentially “ministering spirits”. Biblical Definition of Angels: Angels are mentioned in over thirty books of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Clearly...
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...James Francis Danby. I will discuss the images within the painting as well as the language, occurrences, culture, purpose, reasoning, and my own personal response to this piece. The story that comes to mind when I first see the painting “Apocalypse” is the story revealed in the book of Revelations from the Bible. The image of the angel unveiling the mysteries of the seven seals and the revelation of Jesus Christ to “John” is the vision that I think of when looking at this painting. The painting portrays a very heavy feeling of gloom and torment as if something has already occurred. The dialogue that the painting seems to represent is one of a violent, yet religious tone. One can sense the angel’s prophesying of the coming evilness, anguish, and struggles, as well as the tones of having faith in something that is much grander and will ultimately occur, bringing along with it the hope and the goodness pertaining to the everlasting future of the human spirit. My perception of the painting, along with the mental dialogue previously described, is a scene of the good triumphing over evil. The aftermath that has already occurred (the evil) is not quite over and is represented by...
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...Are Angels Real? Read This Story and Decide for Yourself An Angelic Encounter This is a personal story that happened to me. Some people read this and say that they believe I was visited by angels. Others say it is bogus. Read it and tell me what you think. The verse that corresponds to this first story is: Hebrews 13:2 - Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. I believe I encountered angels one day while on a bicycle ride. I'm not sure if God was testing me as the above scripture makes clear, but I am sure the meeting with these angels was not of this humanly world. I ride a road bicycle quite a lot. I used live out of town so my rides either headed back into town or way out toward the middle of nowhere on the highway headed to the next town. The highways of New Mexico are usually sparsely traveled. On this particular day, I was battling a headwind and it was a bit of struggle. I couldn't wait until I got out around 10 miles because the 10 miles home would be fast with the wind on my back. About 3 miles from home, I came up to the top of a small hill and noticed a white mini-van about 100 feet down the other side of the hill. As I approached it, I noticed that the young man standing next to the van had taken a badly deteriorated flat tire off the van and had his spare laying next to it. There were rubber and steel belts all over the place as the blow out appeared to be sudden and dangerous. I stopped...
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...made the heavens, earth and the angels. In particular he made he made an angel named Lucifer. Lucifer was the lead angel and was the most beautiful angel. Lucifer was also was the lead angel over music. God made the angels to serve him and to help with humanity. God created humans and loved them. Lucifer became jealous of Gods rule. He did not like the creation of humanity. He did not want to serve humanity. Lucifer felt humans were beneath the angels. Lucifer then persuaded other angels to join his idealism. Lucifer began a war in heaven. Lucifer and his angels were defeated. They were then cast out of heaven. With his betrayal to God’s plan he was exiled to hell. The contrasts between these two entities are very easy to make. The likeness between these two entities is a little harder, but nevertheless they do have similarities. God and the Devil are similar because they both make an impact and can affect the human race. God wants you to accept him and give you free will to make your own choices in life. God lets you make the choices in your life but he warns you to stay away from the ways of Lucifer. Humans should cleanse themselves and stay away from evil. The devil will also use free will as a tool. He does not cause you to do bad things. Humans do evil all on their own. Lucifer just sets the stage for humans He is the anger in all of us. Lucifer or any of his fallen angels for that matter can whisper in your ear. He can make you fall into evil ways because Lucifer is cunning...
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...The Coexistence of Good and Evil The first couple paragraphs of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” presents a family who has been dealt with a delirious old man with wings that showed up in their courtyard. Pelayo and his wife Elisenda had been dealing with an immense amount of crabs inside their house at the time and a sickly child who has had a temperature all night and had thought it was due to the stench brought on by the crabs. The couple had then reached out to their neighbor women who “knew everything about life and death” (590). The woman had explained to them that he was an angel who had been defeated by the storm and was there to take the child’s soul away. She advised Pelayo and his wife to club him to death but instead, they had dragged him out of the mud and locked him in a chicken coop where the hens live. The sickly child’s fever had vanished and had an appetite again shortly after the old man’s arrival. The family soon realized they could make a profit by charging admission because of all the attraction that this old man with enormous wings has brought. Though this old man was held captive throughout the entire story, many good things had happened during his presence. There are many key symbols in this short story by author Gabriel Marquez that allow me to believe both good and evil co-exist. The story begins with a dark setting by describing the most dreadful occurrences one could endure. One of the first occurrences described was...
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...are built on the never-ending contest of ourselves in good and evil. It occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue is immortal”. In Peace Like a River, Leif Enger, evil constantly re-spawns and personally attacks the good. The morality play is clear throughout the novel, and it is obvious who represents good and who represents evil. At the beginning of the novel Reuben portrays his father as a wholesome man, or possibly an angel. The first insight on this is when Reuben is looking out the window at his father, and he sees him walk off the edge of his truck. Reuben winced, “He went on pacing-God my witness- walking on air, praying relentlessly, a good yard of absolutely nothing between the soles of his boots and the thistles below” (17). Jeremiah is surrounded by the super natural, and it is apparent he holds a strong relationship with God. Reuben struggles with asthma, and Jeremiah tries his best to assist it. Reuben’s asthma could be considered evil, because it is a constant struggle menace on him and Jeremiah. As Reuben has an asthma attack Jeremiah shouts, “Reuben Land, in the name of the living God I am telling you to breathe” (3). Jeremiah is shouting at Reuben because he has control over his asthma, and is able to power through it if he puts his mind to it. This is comparable to God exacting power over a demon. It is said that angels are supposed to guard and protect the good from evil. This is evident with the beating of Tommy Basca and...
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...thought and of religion. Religious dualism is the belief that there are two opposite powers in the universe: good and evil. Some say that this is manifested in the biblical revelation of God versus Satan. Ethical or ethico-religious dualism asserts that there are two mutually hostile forces or beings in the world, the one being the source of all good, the other the source of all evil. [1] The universe becomes the battlegrounds for these opposing beings, identified respectively with light and darkness. The dualistic idea is not biblical at all. Scripture does not teach that there are two equal opposing forces that have eternally existed and it does not teach that the universe consists of opposites, nor does it affirm that Satan and God are equal and opposing forces. God alone has existed eternally. God, according to Scripture, is infinitely greater than Satan and will eventually cast Satan into hell. This could not be done if they were equal and opposing forces. The belief is not biblical. Christian theology generally accepts a modified moral dualism, recognizing God as supremely good and Satan as a deteriorated creature bent everywhere upon the intrusion of evil.[2] However, this is not dualism in the sense of its usual definition, since Christian theology does not consider Satan to be ultimate or original, and sees him ultimately excluded from the universe. Evil is Not Eternal and does not have eternal existence. When God created the heavens and the earth...
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...his rebellion against God, suggesting that they might gather their forces for another attack. Beelzebub is doubtful; he now believes that God cannot be overpowered. Satan does not fully contradict this assessment, but suggests that they could at least pervert God’s good works to evil purposes. The two devils then rise up and, spreading their wings, fly over to the dry land next to the flaming lake. But they can undertake this action only because God has allowed them to loose their chains. All of the devils were formerly angels who chose to follow Satan in his rebellion, and God still intends to turn their evil deeds toward the good. Once out of the lake, Satan becomes more optimistic about their situation. He calls the rest of the fallen angels, his legions, to join him on land. They immediately obey and, despite their wounds and suffering, fly up to gather on the plain. Milton lists some of the more notable of the angels whose names have been erased from the books of Heaven, noting that later, in the time of man, many of these devils come to be worshipped as gods. Among these are Moloch, who is later known as a god requiring human sacrifices, and Belial, a lewd and lustful god. Still in war gear, these fallen angels have thousands of banners raised and their shields and spears in hand. Even in defeat, they are an...
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...Everyone is capable of committing evil acts and some people take full advantage of this. In the tragedies Macbeth, Dr. Faustus, and The Picture of Dorian Gray the three protagonists make decisions which lead them down the path of wickedness. The supporting characters also act as evil beings by encouraging the protagonists to make bad decisions. With evil acts on their minds, the protagonists have many symbols that represent their conscience in different ways. Though obvious to the readers, the protagonists had to commit many evil acts to realize the errors of their ways. The protagonists of these stories commit many acts of wickedness which all lead to their final damnation in hell. As the age old question goes; Are people born evil or do...
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...wanted to fill the gap in the water, so God created dry land, and made the gathered water seas. Now he said there should be vegetation on the earth. The third day has passed. God said let there is the expansion of time telling from the seasons, and let there be light at night call it stars. The fourth day has passed. God then created every living creature to roam the earth, and blessed the bird. The fifth day has passed. God said I must make man I will make man in my own image of me, and blessed these creatures. The sixth day has passed. On the day of Creation God rested. God made a deal with man everything you see on earth is yours, for this is Eve’s garden. You may take any fruit, except the tree of knowing good and evil. If you eat the tree of knowing of good from evil you will surely die. Later the serpent temps Eve to go and eat the forbidden apple. At first she said no put in the serpents crafty ways, he convinced Eve into eating the apple. Not only was he able to trick Eve but also he made Eve convince Adam to eat the forbidden apple. The consequences of eating the apple were harsh. Now men have to provide and work for himself and his family. The woman was cursed from giving child labor, and the serpent was no longer a serpent it now has to move on its belly and has no feet. This curse lasted throughout all of mans life, and for this Cain shall be a wanderer, he shall not be killed for who ever...
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...The concept of religion itself is extremely complex and has been in existence for ages. Religion has been used as a mode of connection with a higher order being in order to have bliss in life and afterlife. There are different perspectives by many philosophers who argue about the controversial topic- existence of God. Some philosophers believe that due to the existence of evil and suffering in our world, it poses a serious challenge to the belief in the existence of a perfect God. In this paper however I am not concerned with the question whether God exists or not but I rather will be discussing the Western concepts of God as well as the Eastern one, followed by the dual existence of a higher being and evil. I will also emphasize on Immanuel Kant's perspectives on religion and radical evil as his views intrigued me the most among all the other philosophers, mentioning my own belief on religion and God. Western thought about God has fallen within some broad form of theism. Theism is the view that states there is a God, which is the creator and one who sustains the universe and is unlimited with regard to knowledge (omniscience), power (omnipotence), extension (omnipresence), and moral perfection. Western philosophy has interfaced most widely with Christianity, Judaism and Islam has also had some influence. The orthodox forms of all these three religions have embraced theism, though each religion has also yielded a wide array of other views. The western concept of God reveals...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Research Paper Submit ion for The fall of Satan: A Historical Approach Submitted to Cky John Carrigan, in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the completion of the course Theo 525 D02 (Summer 2014) Systematic Theology I By Matthew Dumler (26110162) August 15th, 2014 Contents Introduction 1 Gap Theory 1:1 and 1:2 2 Gap Theory Chapters 2 and 3 5 Before Creation 8 Conclusion 10 Introduction Before Genesis 1:1 God created the heaven of heavens (Nehemiah 9:6) with angels so numerous no one could count (Revelation 5:11). One of God’s most cherished creations, Lucifer, was placed in charge of guarding his royal thrown (Ezekiel 28:12-16). One day Lucifer took pride in his own beauty and his heart was filled with pride (Ezekiel 28:17). He began to think highly of himself and began to think wrongly of God. He began to take what rightfully belonged to God and began to put himself in God’s place. For the first time in all creation, one of his own had sinned against him. God judged him accordingly and placed him in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). The sacred scriptures tell us that after the fall, Lucifer was thereafter known as the Devil or the accuser. One question that remains to be answered is this: when did this event occur? Some theologians claim that Satan’s fall occurred before Genesis 1:1. Others contend that there was a gap that took place between...
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