Results 1 - 8 of 8
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | What is a demon? | 1 Cor 10:20 | Lon3RB | 184469 | ||
I realize that you have a dictionary to look up words on your site. However, this particular question has a background to it. You see I am taking a "Relgions of the World Class." That means that I am discussing different religions. Hinduism and Islam is behind us now. I have already had the tests for those religions. And I am doing fairly well. We are now on Christianity. It may be to my disadvantage or advantage that my teacher has roots in India. She is a branch of the Hindu religion call a Jaine. Anyway, while discussing Christianity we were discussing the spirit world. Which would seem to be either good or bad. For example if you are discussing the Holy Spirit, Archangels, Seriphims or Cheribims, that is an up side to spiritualism. However, if you are discussing demons that is a dark side. We discussed all this. The question came up as to "What is a demon?" When discussing this the teacher brought up "The Seven Deadly Sins?" But is sin a demon. It seemed to me that it was an inaccuracy. Jesus "cast out demons." He "healed the sick." for example if someone had epilepsy , Jesus healed that person. So was a demon sickness or disease. That didn't seem right either. So I told the teacher that I thought that a demon was a being. So she replied to me that a demon "is a being that prevents you from getting what you want." I kind of agreed with that. However, I think there might be some inaccuracy in that statement. I have actually asked my senior Pastor of the Lowell Assembly of God this question about demons. I am using this website to gain a greater understanding of the word demon. I thought I did understand it. I thought perhaps a demon was an evil spirit. Yet it seems like much more than that. I haven't done a search for my question. I figure it is very much involved. So I would like some feedback. It's not that I want to start a debate. I actually want a deeper understanding of the word demon. |
||||||
2 | What is a demon? | 1 Cor 10:20 | DocTrinsograce | 184470 | ||
Hi, Lon... Angels are nonmaterial beings. There are more than a single "species" of angel mentioned in Scripture. Demons are angels that followed Satan in his rebellion. They oppose, and make every effort to destroy the works of God. They are, however, limited in power, and by the control of God. At a specific point in history they will be imprisoned for eternity in what the Bible calls the "Lake of Fire." Although Satan was the original author of sin, not all evil and sin is from Satan or his minions. Christian theology sees two other distinct components that work together in opposition to righteousness: the fallen nature of men and the worldly systems. The branches of Christian theology that deal with demons is called demonology. The Bible has much to say about these beings. I'd commend you to a good concordance, or a good systematic theology. (I make extensive use of the Systematic Theology by Dr. Wayne Grudem. It is well structured, fully annotated, and very readable.) In Him, Doc |
||||||
3 | Clearing up philosophical confusion | 1 Cor 10:20 | Lon3RB | 184570 | ||
The original question was "What is a demon?" This was first presented in my "Religion's of the World Class."At first she was connecting it with sin. But I knew that a demon was more than sin. I brought up Epilepsy. Strong's references Matthew 17:14-21. So the teacher wondered if demon was disease. I told her that wasn't it either. My last comment was that a demon was a being. The response was that a demon "is a being that prevents you from getting what you want." There was something inaccurate about that statement. In the Hindu philosophy I learned that the word "Yoga" in Hinduism actually means Yoke. Hindu's believe there are four paths to God. Christian believe there is only one. Christian's believe the path is straight and narrow. Christian's believe in salvation. t. Think for a moment about these four paths in Hinduism. For the reflective person, the path of knowledge. This is called jnani yoga. So in my notes I have Learning and Thinking. Under thinking I have prolonged , intensive reflection. I don't want to go too much into my notes. The second path would be for the emotional person. This is the path of love. Also called bhakti yoga. Hindu's believe that Christian's practice this type of yoga. The idea is to love with all your heart. Simply love. The third yoga was for the active person. It is the path through work. This is found in your daily chores and your job. You literally seek God out in your work. This type of yoga is called Karma Yoga. Karma also has another meaning. It is a philosophy within itself. "What comes around goes around." So if you do something bad to someone it will come back to you. And Hindu's believe in reincarnation. So they believe if you don't get it in this life, you will in the next. On the other hand if you do something good to someone, that will also come back to you. So you can have good and bad karma. The last path is a scary one. It is for the experimental person. Someone with a scientific bent. The book actually brings out experimenting with the mind. But they do this through the body. This is the psychophysical. It is called Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga has eight steps or "limbs" to it. I will only mention three. The first is to abstain from certain things. For example lying. The second is to observe certain things. For example cleanliness and purity. The third step is to keep your body from figiting. This step is posturing. It is the physical yoga we think of as exercise. The fourth step is controlled breathing. Learning to breathe is very important. The fifth step is controlling the senses. You are fully engrossed. The sixth step is concentration. Concentration beyond the unconscious. The seventh step is meditation. Which is on staying focused. And the eighth step is Unity. And on my test I put "to become one with that which you are meditating on." This is what Hindu's believe. They, Hindu's also believe in four goals. There is the "Path of Desire" which is Pleasure and Success. We eventually get fed up with this path and move on to the Path of Renunciation. Under "Renunciation I have Disillusionment and Despair. The feeling that it's not worthwhile to extend oneself. Life hold more than one is now experiencing. There are two signpost of Renunciation. Community and Duty. Will to get versus will to give. Will to win versus will to serve. Faithful performance versus respect and gratitude.What do people really want? On one hand my notes point to being, knowledge, and joy. I also have the "infinite something which has no limits. Infinite being. Infinite Knowledge and Infinite bliss.Then I quoted from the book "The World Religions by HUSTON Smith." the word "Liberation moksha release from the finitude that restrict us from the limitless being, consciousness and bliss our hearts desire.What people really want is Pleasure, Success, Responsible Discharge of Duty and Liberation. That is what Hindu's believe. All this is actual background for the statement which came up in class when discussing what a demon was. The last answer the teacher gave was that "A demon is a being that prevents you from getting what you want." So now we can ask several questions. Does a demon keep you from pleasure or joy? Does a demon keep you from Success? Does a demon keep you from what Hindu's call the "responsible discharge of duty." And lastly does a demon keep you from liberation? It is hard to tie in one philosophy with another. All of a sudden you get confused. I had to go back into my notes to find out exactly what the teacher was talking about. Remember the teacher has roots in India. I don't know if she actually comes from India. But some of her roots are there. So we are getting her perspective. |
||||||
4 | Clearing up philosophical confusion | 1 Cor 10:20 | DocTrinsograce | 184572 | ||
ah. | ||||||
5 | Clearing up philosophical confusion | 1 Cor 10:20 | Lon3RB | 184578 | ||
I don't know who made the comment "Ah." That doesn't seem to be an answer. It is more a sign of confusion. It seems as if everyone in my "Relgions of the World" class have had that look on their faces at one time or another. I had decided to take "Religions of the World" , not because I am a philosophy major. Although I have taken Intro to Philosophy. My suggestion is that if you are going to take "Religions of the World" to take "Intro to Philosophy " first. Anyway, my major isn't philosophy. It is psychology. I decided to take "Religions of the World" to make my self a more well rounded person. That way if I was ever counseling anyone, I would know where they were coming from. Just because you are a counselor or psychologist doesn't mean that everyone walking into your office will be a christian. The world has different beliefs. Before entering class I actually thought I knew what a demon was. I gave some background on Hinduism only because my teacher identifies with the culture of India. Hinduism comes from India. And the exercise we call Yoga actually comes from HInduism. But Yoga is a philosophy. It is more than an exercise. And on page 43 to 44 of "The World's REligions by Huston Smith" it says this about the psychophysical or raja yoga. We would simply call the this type of yoga "Yoga" , not realizing that in Hinduism Yoga is a much broader term. Page 43 to 44 " Its method is willed introversion, one of the classic implements of creative genius in any line of endeavor, here carried to its logical term. Its intent is to drive the psychic energy of the self to its deepest part to activate the lost continent of the true self. Risks are of course involved; if the venture is bungled , at best considerable time w ill hve been lost, and at worst consciousness can disintegrate into psychosis. Rightly done, however, under a director who knows the terrain, the yogi wil be able to integrate the insights and experiences that come into view and will emerge withheightened self-knowledge and greater self control." You don't have to understand the philosophy completely to understand that yoga can lead to psychosis. The question would then be "Why do it?" Westerners to the physical exercise, Yoga, as an exercise. In other words for better health. The physical exercise is the third step of raja yoga. We usually don't go beyond that. But there are other steps beyond the step three. We are talking about meditation. But even beyond meditation. We are talking about what happens during meditation. The state of consciousness you reach when you finally get to step eight. And then it can be hard to come back. People can literally meditate for hours. What we Christians call prayer, some would think as meditation. Some might even think that we meditate on the things of God. But prayer is actually a little different than meditation. You actually have to understand the philosophy behind the two. Prayer is actually one of the ways that we commune with God. |
||||||
6 | Clearing up philosophical confusion | 1 Cor 10:20 | BradK | 184579 | ||
Hi Lon, I can appreciate your perspective on this matter. Philosophy is one thing, but the knowledge of Christ quite another (Phil 3:10). From reading your response, it appears that the question has digressed far off-track from the study of scripture. Did you have a Biblically related question in mind regarding this topic? Additionally, might I encourage you to add a User Profile. This is a way we can get to know each other better and it aids in understanding where someone is coming from:-) Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |
||||||
7 | What does a demon do? | 1 Cor 10:20 | Lon3RB | 184581 | ||
The orginal question was "What is a demon?" My first definition of a demon was "A being the prevents you from getting what you want." That came from my "Religion of the World Class." Not to beg the question. But the original discussion was between me and my professor. She thought it had something to do with sin. But demon is not sin. Then we went the route of disease. Then I told her it was a being. She added "A being that prevents you from getting what you want." This came out of her own philosophy. She is a philosopher. And I am sure she has taught this class before. My question is biblical. Doc has done a lot to answer my questions. He has done a good job. The confusion I had wasn't in lacking knowledge in what a demon was. It was in clarifying it. I knew or thought I knew what it was before class. After class I became confused. I didn't think about going to reference books that I had at home. And Doc referred me to sources. However, it dawned on me to look there. This question is actually driving me nutty. Probably because I am concerned about how to answer it on a test. I have done well on my tests so far. ON Hinduism I received somewhere between a 74 and an 80. I don't know what I got on Islam. But I feel that even though we are now studying Christianity that I am still back in Hinduism. I don't know why. What we were suppose to do was study Buddhism next. But Islam goes into Christianity better. I think I have the first part of my question answered. That was what was a demon. You can define demon as a spirit. But the word spirit doesn't necessarily mean demon. That is because of the way spirit is used in the bible. Deity explains demon very well. I think I got that out of the Vine's. So that brought me back to being. The real confusion came with the last half of the statement. "A being that prevents you from getting what you want." There is actually a philosphy in the last part of the statement "prevents you from getting what you want." That comes from HInduism. And the teacher worded the answer that way because her roots are in India. And I gave background on where she was coming from. Maybe the answer was given a while back. Maybe I simply didn't get it. The reason being was because I was tied up in the philosophy while trying to have a biblical discussion. I have taken Intro to Philosophy before. I aced the course. So I am trying to stop my confusion. I was looking for an answer that could blow my confusion clear out of the water. |
||||||
8 | What does a demon do? | 1 Cor 10:20 | BradK | 184582 | ||
Hello Lon, As a believer who is a college graduate and one who has taken his fair share of philosophy, let me put this in perspective: Col. 2:2b, 3, "that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The answers you're looking for are found in the Word of God. The Person in Whom these reside is the Lord Jesus Christ. I would offer that the confusion you're having has to do with trying to root your answer in the world (your Philosophy professor) instead of the Word! Stop trying to reconcile your professors' wisdom with the truth of scripture. It can't be done. Rom. 1:22 states, "Professing to be wise, they became fools,". If you are a believer- which it appears you are- you already possess the answers. Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |
||||||