Quote:
Originally Posted by Praxeas
I've never heard anyone claim Satan has equal power to God....
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Well, no, no one makes the claim outright, but the implication is there nonetheless.
God creates good.
Satan creates evil.
God makes alive.
Satan kills.
God heals.
Satan makes sick.
God fills.
Satan possesses.
God is truth.
Satan is false.
...and so on. Their power, it seems in some minds, is equal, but on opposing ends of the spectrum. God does signs and wonders. Satan does lying wonders. And there is the point. LYING wonders. Deception. His tool is deception and, if he can make us believe we are possessed, for example, then for all intents and purposes, we are possessed. I do believe in actual possession but this is a rare, very rare occurrence in the spiritual realm IMO. What we usually call "posession" is mental and/or emotional problems, chemical addiction and/or imbalance, or, most often, the simple power of suggestion.
I was in a service once where the evangelist preached on demon possession. A woman in the service had some emotional problems. The evangelist "convinced" the woman she was possessed. He went so far as to tell of instances where he cast demons out of people. During the process he related, the demons talked, screamed, they had to hold the person down while he cast the demons out. The person foamed at the mouth, gagged and did all the usual stuff. The time came. The woman came forward and, guess what? Every sympton of possession he described was repeated because the woman was "taught" thats what demon possessed people do. The power of suggestion is a very effective tool of deception.
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