At 1/8/12 06:22 PM, Scarface wrote:
At 1/8/12 02:09 PM, EmmaVolt wrote:
At 1/8/12 01:44 PM, Scarface wrote:
So my other question is, does Satan have any effect on Earth?
Satan and his followers are able to utilize things such as disease, emotional/psychological pain, and animals to cause suffering. However, he is unable to harm a follower of Christ unless allowed (God never allows anything that we cannot handle and that won't make us stronger).
Forgive me for saying this, but that last part just sounds like bullshit. If something good happens, it's God's work, if something bad happens, it's just making us stronger. Why do God and Satan (or his followers) need to have ANY influence on Earth at all? Shouldn't it be just the people on Earth and no one else?
I cannot answer the last questions because it they are way to open ended, sorry. Should I clarify my point? Satan is the one who causes pain - but God must allow this (so that we are not given anything we cannot handle). God will help us through it and use this in us to make us stronger, if we are willing.
Can he tempt people, can he speak to them or convince them to do things?
Yes and no. Satan and his followers are able to make things appear attractive that can be extremely detrimental to your physical, emotional, and mental health. However, he is unable to completely control one's will. One must make a conscious decision whether or not to give into the temptation - which will always result negatively despite positive (temporary) emotions.
Why doesn't God just revoke that power?
Well, I cannot speak for God, but I would assume it is partly due to what i said above, and His allowance of freedom. But, this is halfhearted as I am not able to answer this fully.
Can he deceive them, or make the Earth seem older than it is (referring to Genesis and the Earth actually being 4.6 billion years old). Could Satan make the earth seem 4.6 billion years old if it wasn't?
Now, with regard to the age of the Earth, I believe you are hinting that believers are deceived into believing the world is 6,000 years old (or, perhaps that non-believers are deceived). Here is what I know:
I was referring to the world being 6,000 years old (I personally don't believe that) and Satan making it appear to scientists as 4.6 billion years old.
My answer still stands that yes, Satan could deceive even one person and cause a chain reaction of "smart people". But, your example was poor as I showed.
Does this make sense?
It makes sense, because I suppose God could just create something as being 4.6 billion years old if he wanted, but why would he? What's the point?
In order to sustain life, cause a habitable universe, and maybe even gift us with the glorious night sky. But again, you are asking a "Why would He" question, which I cannot answer definitively without some sort of opinion.
Also, DINOSAURS! They were never mentioned in the bible, and it's been proven that man and dinosaurs never existed on Earth at the same time. What explaination is there for that?
Yes they were. In Genesis, they are included with "land animals", "creatures of the sea", etc. Also, you should research the Behemoth and Leviathan - presumably dinosaurs during the time of Job. And no, it has not been proven that humans existed without dinosaurs forever; in fact, there is plentiful evidence to the contrary - such as footprints in limestone layers. Moreover, I, and many others, are curious as to why so many ancient civilizations depict large reptilian beings in their art when the earliest dinosaur recovered was in the 1800's.
I would also like to add that the word "dinosaur" is a recent invention. It used to be called "dragon".
I can defend this argument by stating that a universe created in "baby/youth" form would not have been able to support the Earth as it would have plausibly been extremely hostile to life.
I don't quite understand what you meant there, could you explain that part in greater detail? Are you saying the universe and Earth were created at the same time? Because that's not quite it. Scientists theorize that the universe is 10-15 billion years old, so it would have had time to 'mature' before the Earth was created, 4.6 billion years ago. Unless that's not what you meant, and if not, please explain.
You are mixing the apparent and actual ages again. The actual age of both the Earth and the universe is 6-14,000 years old (from creation). But, the apparent ages for them are different (just as adult trees, animals, and humans were different "ages"). Does this make more sense?
Why doesn't God revoke that power?
God allows some truths to be hidden away so that His glory may be seen by those who find the truth, and spread it to others.
Why would he want to hide the truth? Why wouldn't he want his glory to be apparent to everyone?
He does not hide the truth, he allows it to be hidden due to our freedoms and revealed through those who are willing to seek it - who also tend to be believers.