Does the devil exist?

what makes you think there is a devil

[Amilius777]

If I had to give a definition for the devil it would this.-

My feelings are that the devil is "the being of darkness". The way people have NDE and encounter the Being of Light whether they call it God, Christ, the Light, the Source whatever- that is the entity that created everything. The All in all.

Some people have encountered the opposite whether in the grotesque form of their own evil actions they did on earth, or an evil voice or even some come in the presence of a dark being. I feel that this is the devil. It is basically the principle of evil. It resides, or it's center is at the lower astral realms but it's influence stretches throughout the physical realm and other worlds.

The most logical answer to this is that God or the Being of Light created a counterpart to insure a balance of light and dark- so that spirits could choose their plight. The being of darkness has it's own intelligence and consciousness, (it's not an entity like me, or you or your dog) it was sometimes equated with a higher angel in the Scriptures, but even those analogies fall short because majority of Angels and demons are spirits like you and me but in different circumstances. I am going off track. The devil was suppose to act as a balance and work along with God's purposes. But because the Spirit of darkness would rather use it's godlike influence to gather and collect others to it's realm, it did just that and disobeyed the cosmic laws.

The being of darkness doesn't have to do much to manifest. Look at 9/11. A few human terrorists did that but they were manifesting the energy of the evil Power. That is why some claim that you can see "evil" and "demonic faces" in the fires which to this day have not been debunked. He now has those souls who did that horrible thing that day.

But this isn't something "easy" to do. It is not like how the Churches and religions make us fear. Majority of us are spirits incarnated in this realm to learn experiences, grow, and evolve and sometimes to be tempted because this "force" exists for the balance but that is it. Very few of us are "evil" or "extremely evil" and end up becoming agents of the Devil. It was not intended for us to "devolve" to that level, but with free will anything is possible. The Being of Darkness still has to cooperate with Cosmic Laws. It can not just do whatever it pleases, even though during the time of Christ it's influence was all over the place due to humankind's drop in consciousness, and Jesus was a single light within a dark age.

http://www.blindloop.com/wp-content/...ewtc_thumb.jpg

[Fairyana]

There is another logical explanation. If God is infinite love, he cannot create evil because if He created just one speck of evil, He would not be infinite Love.

If God is infinitely just, he cannot create perfect beings (angels) and make the others struggle (us) because in absolute justice He could just create all equally perfect. So it could be that He only creates souls that are blank slates and leaves each to evolve on their own (reincarnation is needed in this theory).

If God is infinitely wise, He could not have created a perfect being (angel) that would rebel against Him. A perfect being does not rebel, otherwise it would not be perfect to begin with. For and infinite perfect and wise God to create a perfect being which isn't perfect, makes no sense at all.

Finally, a being of absolute hate cannot ever be a polar opposite equal to God because hate is self destructive and love is constructive. Hate can only go so far and it self destructs, whereas love goes infinitely higher.

So it can be that the Devil is a soul or many souls that chose to go away from the light and were never angels to begin with. They will never match God in the polar opposite of His love and "power".

[Fairyana]

Now if God is a Universal consciousness, creator of the universe and everything exists in God... I don't know how the Devil fits into this view yet... Gives me something to think about. :-D

[Amilius777]

I don't think angels and archangels are created perfect. They stay within the light or stray from the light depending on their choices. They are usually spirits who desire to never incarnate or have no need to incarnate.

Majority of us are spirits who chose to experience this world, thus we incarnated; we usually continue to incarnate (reincarnate) to experience all we can or what we need to learn.

I don't think we start off as blank slates. We all have a unique characteristic of the Divine that came into existence the moment the Divine brought us forth from her/his mind. And we continue to develop that personality as we evolve. Our true self is in the eyes of God so to speak.

I don't think the Devil was ever an "angel" or "archangel" who decided to leave Heavenly happiness and create a war. That story is a metaphor. The Devil is likened to an angel in many stories but there is no direct reference to the Devil as an actual angel. I believe that the Devil is a part of the Whole, whose function was to be the balance of light and dark. Because this intelligence was given free will, it overplays and maximizes it's influence and "disobeys" the flow of the Universal Consciousness; thus creating imbalances. Usually human beings with their flaws and errors open doors to allow the devil, "the Spirit of Darkness" to run wild and control the world and influence it.

God didn't intend for this Entity to exert his power, but God never intended for angels and other spirits to join this Energy neither.

[LadyMay]

Originally Posted by Fairyana

Now if God is a Universal consciousness, creator of the universe and everything exists in God... I don't know how the Devil fits into this view yet... Gives me something to think about. :-D

Though the devil doesn't actually exist, God is all that is, including all the perceived 'bad'.

[Michelle11]

I don't believe in a devil. The belief I currently align to that isn't necessarily a popular view is that everything that happens in this world is done by agreement. Nothing happens to us without our consent. We aren't necessarily doing things on purpose but we sort of sign a contract to be a part of this learning experience come what may for the sole benefit of advancing our spirit. The lessons and experiences here can be quite horrific and I personally as a human question the value of such intense trauma but in the whole scheme of eternity human life is just a temporary blip and the rewards for signing on are quite immense is the theory. There is absolutely no way for us to not exist and so no matter what happens a person they will transcend any tragedy that may befall them.

Evil is opposition to one's personal freedom in this place. Since we are already free, evil therefore is something one does not understand how to flow through. Evil becomes an opportunity for more personal freedom through understanding.

Flowing through it sometimes works marvelously.

[desert rat]

Originally Posted by Classic

So who or what created "evil" then? What is the purpose of beings who cause only suffering and anguish? Who is responsible?

On the orgion of evil beings , I have no idea . On pain and sufering , we create our own reality . If we believe in pain and suffering , that is what we create. Call it karma , l.o.a. , or what you will .

[VinceField]

Classic

Anyone answering the question in your OP is coming from a place of belief, so be aware that you will not receive any answer revealing the true nature of the concept in question. Even those claiming to have some kind of experience backing their claims are coming from belief.

Also, keep in mind that focusing on ideas of this nature will be of little benefit to you in the way of making you a happier, more peaceful, more spiritual person.

Buddhism teaches that which does not lead a person to more wholesome states of being and helps one to release the defilements which cause a person suffering (attachment, aversion, and delusion) should be let go of if the person is serious about skillful self-development and personal growth. Perhaps this is something to contemplate when the mind becomes interested in such topics as devils and other unknowable mysticisms.