The Spirit and Satan: A dichotomy?

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Hello.

I happen to believe that Satan and the holy Spirit function in the same manner, only that one is benevolent and the other is not.

Is this how Catholicism regards Satan?

I am familiar with the CCC passages on Satan. But I am unsure if what is meant is that, he operates like the holy Spirit, only in evil.
 
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and thus is God. Satan is a limited pure spirit with billions of demons at his disposal. Although he’s influential, he’s infinitely limited and weak compared to God.
 
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To me, the Spirit is that voice of counsel during times of trial; and that image in mind, of what a good soul looks like. So when, for example, I encounter someone who tests me and my heart gravitates toward vindictiveness, it is the Spirit and image of Christ which fills my heart with love and compels me toward goodness. I do not think of the Spirit as being some kind of angel with a unique consciousness and personality; nor is the Spirit a person really, but more like a reality. I hope this makes sense.

It goes without saying that Satan is the opposite, except that, there is no image associated with Satan as Christ is with the Spirit.
 
I suggest you read the ones on the Holy Spirit. He is not just a feeling or a reality, he is God, the third person in the Trinity. Satan is a fallen angel that was created by and rebelled against God.
 
I don’t think there is a devil, just people not wanting god’s love.
 
I had read the CCC passages on the holy Spirit, although I never got the impression that the Trinity could perform a team hand-stack. My understanding is that the Trinity is an idea which enables us comprehend what is truly ineffable. Therefore, the Trinity is not really three persons like you and me, but something like it.
 
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Can we perfectly and fully understand what God is? No, and we never will at least while we’re alive. But God has revealed just a little about Himself to us and that little bit is that he is Triune.

EDIT: Changed “truly” to “perfectly”. Truly was a bad choice in wording.
 
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Theopanes are you Catholic? Is your name meant to be Theopanies( manifestations of God) ?
Theophanes said:
I had read the CCC passages on the holy Spirit, although I never got the impression that the Trinity could perform a team hand-stack. My understanding is that the Trinity is an idea which enables us comprehend what is truly ineffable. Therefore, the Trinity is not really three persons like you and me, but something like it.
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The Trinity is God. God the Father, God the Son and, God the Holy Spirit.

From the CCC http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p2.htm

The dogma of the Holy Trinity

253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the “consubstantial Trinity”.83 The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God."84 In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."85
 
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I am not Catholic; I am non-denominational; although I have my affection for certain denominations, like Catholicism.

I took this username after the Russian saint, Theophanes the Recluse, because I happen to be somewhat reclusive. Plus, the meaning is beautiful.
 
No. Satan was created by God. Lucifer is a creature so how could he possibly function like the holy spirit?
 
Because Satan doesn’t act against us using his own flesh, for he has none. Rather, he influences the mind and behavior of people to accomplish his will, just like the holy Spirit.
 
Satan does not have access to our mind and thoughts like God (which means the Holy Spirit) does. Satan, though fallen, was an angel, and so extremely intelligent and perceptive.
 
What I mean is that Satan can blow against us so to speak, like a strong wind. Yet, we decide whether to go along with the wind, or against it.
 
No, that’s wrong thinking. For Catholics.

The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity and is God. I think the issue here is you not understanding that God is the Trinity. Read what was posted. It’s a complicated concept. Three persons in one, all God, one God. The Holy Trinity is a mystery and can be hard to wrap our heads around. St Patrick famously used a Shamrock to explain the Trinity.

The devil is an angel who rebelled. The devil was made by God , as were us

And yes, ignore the devil. As Pope Francis says, don’t dialogue with the devil.
 
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I have heard it said, the settlers of the American frontier were actually monist in their conception of God, even though they revered the Trinity; it was a misunderstanding of the doctrine. Now, I consider myself a Trinitarian, and assume that I correctly conceptualize the Trinity; but I might be mistaken. So, let me explain my understanding using an analogy.

Take a smartphone; it is the universe, because everything about the phone is contained within the phone - God the Father is the person holding the phone, and the apps are people; God the Son is one app, which connects with other apps, on their plane of being; and God the Spirit is the cloud (synchronization), which reveals the Father’s mind and will. In other words, the Spirit is the data of who God is.

Now, I don’t believe that Satan is a user of the smartphone, nor is he an app; but rather Satan is corrupted data.

Does this make sense?
 
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