Can the devil be real?

[COMMODOREII]

This happened to me when I was 17 yr old. I went to a church confirmation retreat to a location in the forest. My friends and I at the time all went.We got on the buses at around 8pm and the priest bless the journey before we left. We got to the camp at around 11:45 pm. It was ice cold outside and we were all tired from the trip. We got to our bunks and five boys including myself got to a room and chose our bunks. I had a friend in our group who was 15. The retreat group was made of boys and girls ages 8 to about 19. Girls got there own cabin and boys got our own. We went straight to bed as soon we got settled in that night. I dreamed of a hedge maze beautiful green. Mist in the air with scent of flowers. Birds chirping in the trees and it was daytime maybe early morning. I walked the maze looking for the center thinking if I could find it and hoping to find a treasure. Then as I got closer I noticed the birds stopped chirping. The air was still and I felt a chill over my whole body. I kept walking and saw a gate in the distance for the center of the maze. Then I heard my friend screaming. A blood curdling scream, he was terrified. I ran to the gate and stepped through. My friend in the fetal position yelling and screaming, "Get away!!!Leave me along!!! Help!!!". It was the devil taunting him and laughing. He kept saying things to him that he was going to be his and belong to him. My heart jumped and i was angry. Without thinking I yelled at the devil as I ran towards him. "Get away from him!! Leave him alone!!" The devil.looked up first looking at me. Then it looked at behind me as if something was there. Complete terror filled the face of the devil and it vanished. I looked around trying to see where the devil went. With no sign of the devil I walked over to my friend touching him on the shoulder. "It's ok. It is gone." He looked up at me and everywhere else. He looked relieved and I helped him to his feet. I woke up. It was morning and in my bunk. I was so stoked. I had never had a dream like that. I told all the guys i had to tell them the dream I had and it was about the devil. Everyone got in a circle including my friend who i dreamed about and told them exactly what i told you. At the end of the story I looked at my friend. His face was white. "I dreamed exactly what you dreamed but When I got to the center i was attacked by the devil and i wanted him gone. The next thing i knew is it is gone and you are helping me up to my feet. " Everyone in the room was dead silent. Ever since then I believe evil exists.

[smølf]

Can the devil be real, yes, but is he?

If the Bible is true, then he is real although on in the form most often portrayed, he would be the might angle in rebel against Gods sovereignty. Temporary master of the entire planet until judgement day, the rapture or Armageddon, whatever you will call it.

The devil in the form your describe do not exist even if the Bible is true, it is a Hollywood version not based on the Bible at all.

[COMMODOREII]

The creature i saw looked nothing like the picture. Lol i just chose the picture cause it looked cool. 😎

[Deathraider]

Nah.

I was forced to go to the retreat and in the middle of the night, people were screaming about a ghost and runnng Dow; the halls. At one point, someone got our holy water and yelled “The power of Christ compels you!” It was a lot of commotion outside my room. I didn’t get that much sleep that night.

[COMMODOREII]

😂😂😂

[KristaGrym]

Hell and heaven are on earth. If you don't believe just look into the persons eyes and you will see how putrid is their souls... if they have one

[COMMODOREII]

So if i looked in your eyes i would find?

[KristaGrym]

A good person

[COMMODOREII]

Cool 😎*hugs*

[WhiteShoulder]

Most of our modern image of Lucifer/Satan/the Adversary is a mistranslation of Celtic myths of the Horned King conflated with the Greek god Pan

[Wowgirl30q]

Nice

[COMMODOREII]

You like celtic lore? ☺

[WhiteShoulder]

I love it :-)

[COMMODOREII]

Cool 😎 i am celtic and viking descent so i love it all. I even wear a claddagh ring and wear the trinity knot around my neck. 😎

[AbleLearner]

Well, congratulations on believing Evil exists, but you don't exactly need a Divine Revelation to conclude that Evil, even Personal Evil, actually exists.

I do believe an Anthropomorphic Satan actually exists in reality, but I have spent very little time in my Apologetics career formalizing any sort of proof of the Devil's existence. I am more interested in the existence of God and Objective Truth and Objective Morality, rather than proving the existence of a Greatest Evil Being. While I think, as stated, that it is probably the case that an actual Satan exists, I don't consider it a worthwhile endeavor to sit around actually trying to prove that.

However, since I previously argued that the Universe itself was Objectively Moral and Objectively Truthful, one must ask the question, "Where does evil come from?"

The Ultimate answer to that question may in fact be something like, "The Devil is real and actually inspires/tempts to do Evil."

However, I would never deflect the blame of evil away from Humans' own Free Moral Agency. The fact that the Devil probably exists does not in any way excuse Murderers, for example... even if they were in fact "tempted by the Devil" to commit the crime.

[AbleLearner]

I've been thinking about this since I wrote this, and I now doubt an actual Satan could be real.

If an actually superior intelligent creation of God was evil enough to want to overthrow God's very existence, then if he were in fact that intelligent to begin with, one would think he would conclude that it would be pointless to actually try to carry out whatever plan he might have concocted. Moreover, even if such a thing were the case, then an actually eternally Righteous and eternally loving God would be required by his own standard of goodness to immediately and permanently imprison satan in the worst Hell imaginable, away from any other sentient being, as it wouldn't be moral to actually allow such an intelligent and evil being to perpetually tempt the rest of creation until the end of time itself.

So I've changed my mind. The Biblical Satan probably couldn't be real at all. Even if he were real, the real God would have imprisoned him immediately and forever away from everybody else.

[AbleLearner]

However, I do believe in "Angels" and "Demons", but I do not believe Demons are anywhere nearly as powerful as the biblical claim.

A demon cannot override your free will, unless you willfully give up your free will knowingly to the demon.

the other day, I had a series of evil dreams, which I know did not come from my own conscience, so I can only explain them as being from an evil spirit. However, the fact that I can discern that it was an evil spirit, and not my own mind, means the evil spirit is nowhere near as powerful as the biblical satan.

[nerms123]

I don’t believe in the devil but I do believe in a collective unconscious or something like that. I think what you and your friend dreamed was probably more of a symbolic spirit journey type thing but who knows?

[MannySimms]

No. It's what religious leaders say you can blame for your personal fuck ups. So, no worries, right?

[Wowgirl30q]

If you believe in good you must also believe in evil

[Sevenpointfive]

did you watch harry potter and the goblet of fire or read it the night before?

[COMMODOREII]

In 1996?

[Sevenpointfive]

bram stoker's dracula then?

[COMMODOREII]

Nope. I was too busy getting ready for the trip that whole week. And the week before i was working on some exams.

[Sevenpointfive]

it's eerily related. i think evil is real. can't spell devil without it. but it sounds like the whole purpose of the trip for you guys was maneuvering the maze to find god and once you were accepted as a confirmed (insert religion) then you had the power over the devil.

[COMMODOREII]

On the first night before we even started the retreat?

[Sevenpointfive]

yes. i had crazy dreams all of the time after hearing a sermon. almost every sermon/mass told a story related to my life whether i knew it or not. it sounds like you listened and subconsciously created a dream out of something that was said to you

[COMMODOREII]

Ok lol

[inchesfrommadness]

I was thinking about that while I was reading this

[Sevenpointfive]

@inchesfrommadness right!

[skyboy64]

I believe it does happen sometime , we are living in a world where there is a lot of pain and suffering right now We are needed to be praying to God for help to fight this devil out lof our world.

[October808]

That looks like Baphomet from Clive Barker's 'Cabal' novel.

[COMMODOREII]

Wow i never read the book.

[call_me_scar]

Can something be real? Sure, but is the likelihood of that something being real good, no it isn't especially not for that creature

[Phoenix98]

O the devil, demons, hell, etc they are all very real.

[Edanurus]

Dreams are very rarely literal and be honest if he is real do you think he'd spend time messing with a couple of kids for shits and giggles?

[Pete671]

The devil is real, but rarely seen, you can see it's works everywhere,

[Liam_Hayden]

Yes. The Devil/Satan is a logical possibility and therefore can be real.

[kk430]

I love this story! So creepy.

[COMMODOREII]

Thanks lol

[Agape93]

Of course. But not in the manner one may suspect.

[LogicBomber]

No and neither can God.

[Dean269]

Devil is present in humans

[badhawg965]

without a doubt, evil is real, so is GOD!

[Billygee6969]

Really?

[NickiB]

Wow that's scary.

[genericname85]

just as real as god.