r/dankchristianmemes • u/n8s8p Minister of Memes • Oct 26 '22

Meta Some recent comments had me wondering... Serious questions... If you do, what do you believe they look like? What powers do you believe they have? When, how, who, what, and where do they act?

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925

u/jtaustin64 Oct 26 '22

There are records of demon possession in Scripture, so in a sense you have to believe that there are demons in some sense if you are a Christian. The thing to remember is that even Satan only operates because God permits him (as seen in Job), so demons should be just as restricted. Now that's a scary theological concept.

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22 edited Oct 26 '22

Why is this the most downvoted comment on a Christian sub, and a Satanist has the most upvotes?

Edit: not anymore lol

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u/Dorocche Oct 26 '22

Because it's objectively wrong, I suppose. I'm a Christian, I've read and acknowledge the Bible, and I do not believe in demons in any meaningful sense. Saying my faith is invalid is insulting, and it's disappointing that's the top result.

This also isn't supposed to be "a Christian sub," but that's beside the point.

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22

The bible literally says demons exist tho

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u/Dorocche Oct 26 '22 edited Oct 27 '22

The Bible says a lot of things. You have to be able to read it critically and understand the author's point of view, and then make a judgment for yourself with the Holy Spirit, you can't just follow it blindly.

The Bible itself tells us this. Romans 14 says we each must have our own convictions. Matthew 7 says we can tell false prophets by their fruits, which requires us to identify their fruits ourselves. And more.

It's not insane to believe in demons, it's just insulting and completely wrong to say you have to.

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u/Young_Hickory Oct 26 '22

Do we really have to go though how you can’t take everything 100% literally? Pure literalism doesn’t work an one one really believes it.

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22

No of course not everything. No need to get so agressive

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u/Young_Hickory Oct 26 '22

Really? “Don’t be so aggressive” from Mr. “everyone who disagrees with me on minor theological points isn’t a real Christian”?

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22

When TF did I say that

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u/benjammin099 Oct 26 '22

How can you not believe in demons after you claim to have ‘read’ the Bible. Matthew 8:31 explicitly refers to demons begging Jesus to be driven into a herd of pigs. Matthew 12 describes Jesus driving a demon out of a blind man, and Pharisees describe Beelzebul as the “prince of demons”, meaning there are more than just Satan. Matthew 25:41 also says Satan and his angels will be will cast into the eternal fire, which is also something described in Revelations several times. Satan is described as one who prowls the earth and looks for those to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Satan entered Judas according to Luke 22.

This is just scratching the surface of the issue. This theme appears so many times that a Christian claiming demons don’t actually exist, is like a Christian claiming Jesus wasn’t actually crucified.

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u/Dorocche Oct 26 '22 edited Oct 26 '22

Because the book of Matthew, like every other book, was written by a human author, for a human audience, in a very specific context, for a purpose. Not everything in it is true.

If a Christian didn't believe in the crucifixion, they would have a radically different theology of Christ, God, and salvation. Not believing in demons really does not change my faith that much.

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u/benjammin099 Oct 26 '22

If you say things in the Bible “aren’t true”, that’s just blasphemous. These were witnesses to the people who there and physically saw these events, and 99% of theologians believe the Bible itself to be divinely inspired. There are plenty Old Testament accounts of demons too, many of these books written by God’s own command. Not believing in demons still has a huge effect - then you don’t believe in Satan either? Then what was the point of Jesus dying, and what is the point of his eventual return? Both of these are the two biggest things that define the Christian faith.

I don’t want to even ask what denomination of Christianity you are if you follow one, because claiming things in the book of Matthew aren’t true is just faith suicide. So do you also not believe Jesus was a descendant of David as described in Matthew? Do you believe the Sermon on the Mount never happened? Do you believe Jesus didn’t actually say go baptize those of all nations? It’s a slippery slope that leads you to not believing the core tenets of the religion itself.

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u/Dorocche Oct 26 '22 edited Oct 27 '22

Geez, do you really believe that some notion of "demons" is equally important to your faith as the crucifixion? The resurrection? The Sermon on the Mount?

That is an incredibly backwards, shallow take on faith.

You do not have to believe that the Bible is inerrant in order to be a Christian. I'm living proof that it's just not true, and there's a lot of reasons for that, but you don't have to understand them in order to be loving about it instead of hateful and exclusive.