Quote:
Originally Posted by votivesoul
If what Saul of Tarsus did pre-conversion can be attributed to the devil, then the "devil made me do it" excuse starts to carry weight.
But if we can imagine that even murder is a work of the flesh, suddenly, how horribly humans can be WITHOUT a devil, terrifies. That is too much for some.
However, he that sinneth is of the devil, as 1 John 3 reads, and so, since Saul was definitely in sin, I suppose an argument could be made...though not enough to convince anyone that Saul was possessed; rather, that Saul, in the flesh, was subject to the wiles of the devil, just like anyone else who isn't regenerated from above. |
I've been thinking about this verse in
I John 3. I am not certain it is saying, "subject to the wiles of the devil", but rather, if you do these things you are "imitating" or "resembling" the devil.
Like you said above, it startles us to suddenly find that our flesh is horrible WITHOUT the devil.
I believe that Saul/Paul was acting as he thought he should - defending the Law of Moses against heresy, and I don't believe that had anything to do with the devil.
I'd like to discuss this more.