[Mercenary]

Honestly, I mean it. Why do we even hate the guy?'

The gift of reason? Promoting human nature? Punishing psychopaths and rapists? Offering a starving man food?

[Suntzu]

Well, God created Satan.

[Mercenary]

So? It isn't like there has never been a good child with a bad parent.

[Bulaba Khan Jones]

Punishing psychopaths and rapists?

Where in the Bible (I assume you are referring to the Bible) does this occur? At first I thought you were referring to the story of Jesus casting demons into a herd of pigs, but the story concludes with them killing themselves in the sea on their own.

[LV-GUCCI-PRADA-FLEX]

@Bulaba Jones I think he's referring to the idea that sinners go to hell, which includes psychopaths and rapists. That supposes that torture is a good thing to do to a bad person. One thing I never understood was how God tacitly approves of "sins" as long as they happen to "sinners".

[Frollein]

One thing I never understood was how God tacitly approves of "sins" as long as they happen to "sinners".

Because you are then the divine tool of His will. Of course, as soon as two opposing factions both claim to be divine tools, things get a bit iffy (unless you apply the other meaning of "tools").

[Scheherazade]

Honestly, I mean it. Why do we even hate the guy?'
The gift of reason?

Reason isn't a gift, but a curse, as even atheists like Schopenhaur pointed out to be responsible for much of societies' ills.

Even from a biological perspective, allegedly humans' rational minds aren't as evolved as their emotions, and excessive use of reasoning taxes the brain, hence where the saying that "smart people are less happy" comes from.

Promoting human nature?

"Human nature" isn't good, the lower "primal" nature, or "monkey brain" runs much like that of a chimpanzee and ironically discourages higher reason in favor of impulses even when they go against rational or higher interests.|

This is why people have unwanted children and pregnancies for example, they have sex irresponsibly because they allow themselves to just run on instinct, instead of using their higher reasoning or aesthetic faculties to override the monkey brain and make more logical decisions, as more civilized people do.

If everyone only acted according to higher logic rather than impulse, there would be no starving kids in Africa, or unwanted kids in foster homes, for example.

Likewise, rape and murder are "human nature", and animals do these things too, for example. That doesn't mean they are "good".

Human's aesthetic nature is of course superior to their lower, "primal" nature, hence philosophers and theologian, which is responsible for civilization and the arts, not "reason", if humans lived only according to their lower nature, which beckons them to do little more than eat, fight, and procreate, we'd still be living like cavemen.

Punishing psychopaths and rapists?

...ironic, because often militant atheists say that a "just God" wouldn't send anyone to hell, even Jeffery Dahmer or Ted Bundy.

Offering a starving man food?

Not sure if that's an intentional misquote of the story, or just ignorance.

Christ was undergoing aesthetic training, like that of many monks and gurus, and the Devil's intent wasn't to help him, but to interfere with his training.

[Scheherazade]

I think he's referring to the idea that sinners go to hell, which includes psychopaths and rapists. That supposes that torture is a good thing to do to a bad person. One thing I never understood was how God tacitly approves of "sins" as long as they happen to "sinners".

Seems that you're ignorant of philosophy and theology.

The act of punishing people isn't "good" or "bad" in a vacuum completely devoid of the context or intentions, nor does the Bible ever say that it is.

That's a silly argument, it would like be saying that there's no difference between keeping an African as a slave, and locking up a serial killer, because "imprisoning people is bad".... peroid.

In actuality however, the goodness or badness of decisions isn't based on the physical action in a vacuum, but on whether or not the intention conforms to universal morals.

Hence "thou shalt not murder", as murder of course is an act of killing under malicious circumstances. "Killing" in a vacuum on the other hand isn't wrong simply because it's a "physical act of killing", such as in just warfare, or self-defense.

You need to study philosophy and deontological ethics more if you want to make a credible argument.

Because you are then the divine tool of His will. Of course, as soon as two opposing factions both claim to be divine tools, things get a bit iffy (unless you apply the other meaning of "tools").

See above, you're not very informed of philosophy or deontological ethics.

You're just throwing out a strawman argument against "philosophical legalism".

[Zag Note: Please combine replies in one post, not several]

[quetzalcoatl]

Just for the record, Satan does not 'exist.' I'm using exist in a particular sense to mean Satan does not exist outside the human noosphere. We create Satan in the same sense we create God, or that we create pi. This does not mean that Satan has no effective power in our lives, but this power only derives from the importance we have collectively given him.

If the human race was wiped out by an asteroid tomorrow, Satan would disappear - along with God and pi. If reality is what exists outside of our minds, then reality is energy/matter and forces. At least, so far as I can ascertain this is the nature of reality. It may also be true that beyond the veil of Maya, there is only a universal consciousness, and that energy/matter and forces are a dream.

I can't figure which of these alternatives is the funniest.

[Mercenary]

Where in the Bible (I assume you are referring to the Bible) does this occur?

Most Christians believe that Satan punishes evil doers in hell.