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KeVin711cent
Guest
a catholic priest told me the devil is suttle, is this true ? how can he be suttle
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Mirdath
Guest
Plagues of demon-locusts and offers to buy souls kinda went out of style, you know?
But seriously, an enemy who is sneakier and more thoughtful is a more dangerous opponent and a more effective one. Subtility and cleverness aren’t necessarily virtues, why shouldn’t a devil possess those qualities?
But seriously, an enemy who is sneakier and more thoughtful is a more dangerous opponent and a more effective one. Subtility and cleverness aren’t necessarily virtues, why shouldn’t a devil possess those qualities?
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BeeSweet
Guest
Genesis 3:1
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made.”
Evil does not always appear to be evil. Kinda like how so many people can be convinced that abortion is just a choice rather than murdering innocent children.
The serpent is an interesting animal to choose as the representative of the devil. Unless you’ve been taught to know a snake can be a very dangerous creature, you may not on first sight judge it to be capable of much of anything. It has no legs, or claws, you don’t see its teeth unless it wants to show them to you. It doesn’t look like something that could do much damage. You have to know what they’re capable of before you develop a healthy fear of them. Such is the same with evil, it may not look all that harmful unless you know what you’re doing.
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made.”
Evil does not always appear to be evil. Kinda like how so many people can be convinced that abortion is just a choice rather than murdering innocent children.
The serpent is an interesting animal to choose as the representative of the devil. Unless you’ve been taught to know a snake can be a very dangerous creature, you may not on first sight judge it to be capable of much of anything. It has no legs, or claws, you don’t see its teeth unless it wants to show them to you. It doesn’t look like something that could do much damage. You have to know what they’re capable of before you develop a healthy fear of them. Such is the same with evil, it may not look all that harmful unless you know what you’re doing.
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Tom
Guest
Yes, she certainly can be.
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Della
Guest
Satan was once a very great archangel named Lucifer. He was far more inteligent than most human beings. He didn’t lose that when he rebelled against God, but rather he used his gifts to fight against the Creator who had made him so great. We human too don’t lose our intelligence if we give ourselves over to evil. Indeed, a great deal of the evils of the world have come about through intelligent people using that gift for destruction rather than for the good of others.
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Imryl
Guest
That would be telling, wouldn’t it. If you can think it up, it’s already been done.
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KeVin711cent
Guest
hey i was born on april 21st too and yeah you are realistic about it
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jam070406
Guest
questions.
i’ve heard apologists on Catholics Answers say that, according to Church teaching, the Church age that we are in now is the 1000 year reign with Christ in the book of Revelation.
wouldn’t that mean that the devil is still locked up until he is let loose for a while right before the second coming. as i understand it, this needed to be so the gospel could spread throughout the world. so, how effective is the devil if he is locked up? are demons still free and he commands them from the depths? how does that all work?
i’ve heard apologists on Catholics Answers say that, according to Church teaching, the Church age that we are in now is the 1000 year reign with Christ in the book of Revelation.
wouldn’t that mean that the devil is still locked up until he is let loose for a while right before the second coming. as i understand it, this needed to be so the gospel could spread throughout the world. so, how effective is the devil if he is locked up? are demons still free and he commands them from the depths? how does that all work?
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Nita
Guest
Kevin, you might enjoy the book “Screwtape Letters” by C.S.Lewis. It’s fiction, but can give you a sense of the sublety of the devil.
Nita
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lak611
Guest
subtle
One entry found for subtle.
m-w.com/dictionary/subtle
Main Entry: sub·tle
Pronunciation: 's&-t&l
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): sub·tler /'s&t-l&r, 's&-t&l-&r/; sub·tlest /'s&t-l&st, 's&-t&l-&st/
Etymology: Middle English sotil, subtile, from Anglo-French, from Latin subtilis, literally, finely textured, from sub- + tela cloth on a loom; akin to Latin texere to weave – more at TECHNICAL
1 a : DELICATE, ELUSIVE b : difficult to understand or perceive : OBSCURE
2 a : PERCEPTIVE, REFINED <a writer’s sharp and subtle moral sense> b : having or marked by keen insight and ability to penetrate deeply and thoroughly
3 a : highly skillful : EXPERT b : cunningly made or contrived : INGENIOUS
4 : ARTFUL, CRAFTY
5 : operating insidiously The devil is certainly skillful and crafty in his temptations of mankind. The devil is also very insidious in his manner of temptation.
One entry found for subtle.
m-w.com/dictionary/subtle
Main Entry: sub·tle
Pronunciation: 's&-t&l
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): sub·tler /'s&t-l&r, 's&-t&l-&r/; sub·tlest /'s&t-l&st, 's&-t&l-&st/
Etymology: Middle English sotil, subtile, from Anglo-French, from Latin subtilis, literally, finely textured, from sub- + tela cloth on a loom; akin to Latin texere to weave – more at TECHNICAL
1 a : DELICATE, ELUSIVE b : difficult to understand or perceive : OBSCURE
2 a : PERCEPTIVE, REFINED <a writer’s sharp and subtle moral sense> b : having or marked by keen insight and ability to penetrate deeply and thoroughly
3 a : highly skillful : EXPERT b : cunningly made or contrived : INGENIOUS
4 : ARTFUL, CRAFTY
5 : operating insidiously The devil is certainly skillful and crafty in his temptations of mankind. The devil is also very insidious in his manner of temptation.
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dranzal
Guest
As another poster pointed out, angels are far more intelligent that humans. Lucifer was a great angel and very intelligent. It is likely that demonic manifestations, possessions, etc are mere child’s play to him.
Consider what would be a successful way to attempt to thwart God’s plan of salvation for us lowly creatures. God wants us to baptize all nations (evangelize). This would build an ever growing “church”. Perhaps striking the church with divisions, conflicts, and scandals to discredit it would be a subtle way to bring humans down. False teachings and heresies would also be in this category. Many, if not all, things that fall even a little short of the complete Truth could initially be from Satan. Are there religions that appear very devout and holy but deny the divinity of Christ? Are there well meaning religions that firmly and vocally declare the original Church of Christ to be the Anti-Christ or “whore of Babylon”?
I’m not saying that these religions are Satanic. I am saying that Satan does his most substantial damage when he simply twists the Truth just enough to lead people away.
The good news is that Satan has apparently decided either to not read the Bible, or not believe it. He failed to recognize the inherent folly in Deicide even though it was right there in the Old Testament. He also ignores the FACT of his ultimate demise at the hands of St. Michael. Much of his antics will be in vain. The victory is certain.
:yup: :extrahappy: :dancing:
Consider what would be a successful way to attempt to thwart God’s plan of salvation for us lowly creatures. God wants us to baptize all nations (evangelize). This would build an ever growing “church”. Perhaps striking the church with divisions, conflicts, and scandals to discredit it would be a subtle way to bring humans down. False teachings and heresies would also be in this category. Many, if not all, things that fall even a little short of the complete Truth could initially be from Satan. Are there religions that appear very devout and holy but deny the divinity of Christ? Are there well meaning religions that firmly and vocally declare the original Church of Christ to be the Anti-Christ or “whore of Babylon”?
I’m not saying that these religions are Satanic. I am saying that Satan does his most substantial damage when he simply twists the Truth just enough to lead people away.
The good news is that Satan has apparently decided either to not read the Bible, or not believe it. He failed to recognize the inherent folly in Deicide even though it was right there in the Old Testament. He also ignores the FACT of his ultimate demise at the hands of St. Michael. Much of his antics will be in vain. The victory is certain.
:yup: :extrahappy: :dancing:
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