I grew up in the ------ church. I was baptized at the age of eight. I went to Sunday School just about every Sunday. With all of this church background in middle school I still moved away from God. I did not believe in God. I wanted as far away from God as possible. I tried to drop out of the church but my mom would not let me.
Then one night in the eighth grade while I was sleeping I saw a figure standing across the room by my door looking at me. The figure was tall, had a black beard. He had a plaid shirt, jeans, and suspenders. He had red eyes that seemed penetrate through my body right into my soul. He said nothing just stood there looking at me. Then I awoke from fright and I still saw him by my door, then I pinched myself and it was real. Then I remembered a childish game called Bloody Mary, in the game you got rid of Satan by turning on the lights. I have a night light above my bed that I switched on, then right away I said a prayer. I felt as if someone was watching over me and that I was safe. I then turned off the light looked by my door and saw nothing. For away I just stared at the door. Then I decided I should get some sleep so I told myself not to worry about it and get some sleep. I did not know what or whom I saw but I had a feeling it was the Devil.
About this time I changed congregations that actually had people my own age that went on a regular basis. I began to enjoy going to church again. Then about one to two months after my first vision I had another one that was basically just like the first. This was the last of my experiences like these two. I am very glad that was my last experience of that kind.
Then in my junior year I read The Devil in Tom Walker and Satan was dressed as a lumberjack in the story. That imagery of the Devil is like what I saw. In the summer of my junior year I went on Canoe Camp. Two adults and I were sitting around the campfire talking. One of them told a story about being at a retreat for priesthood members at the camp grounds and seeing the exact same thing I saw. He was talking to an older guy and the older guy said that he had a similar experience and that Satan comes when he almost has you and then he loses you. Then after he finished telling his story I told them mine for the first time. I believe that was probably the first time I told anyone my story.
In the ninth grade I went on Youth Venture for Christ. I went on it every year of high school. Over the four years I had the most amazing experiences. I saw people very sick and who were administered to, and then they were healed quickly. I became the opposite person then I was in middle school. I am thankful for my experiences. Without them I have no idea where I would be today. I do not like thinking about where I might be if things where different. From my experiences on Youth Venture for Christ I got very close with God and became very religious. Through my experiences in middle school I do not get really scared. After those experiences nothing has come close to scaring me like those did.
The Devil has many names; The Adversary, Father of Lies, The Evil One, and Prince of Darkness. His proper names are; Lucifer, Satan, and Mephistopheles. The general names for Satan are El Diabolo, the Devil, and Diabolos.
ôAccording to Christian tradition, Satan is a pure spirit created by God who rebelled of his own free will and now preys on a fallen humanity. He is a liar and seducer of immense intelligence who makes evil look good.ö (Woodward pg. 67)
ôSatan hates humankind and seeks our ruin because he hates God, his and our Creator. He seeks only to thwart GodÆs plans, wreck his work, rob him of glory, and in that sense master God.ö (Packer pg. 24)
These two quotes are similar about who the Devil is and what he does and plans to keep on doing for as long as he can. These are also like II Nephi 12: 23-32. They all basically say the same things. It seems like this is general school of thought on the Devil.
ôThe concept of the Devil as we know him originated with the efforts of the first-century followers of Jesus to define themselves by demonizing their enemies-especially Jews, pagans, and heretics.ö (Pagels pg. A6)
I do not believe Ms. Pagels quote. I see how it can be interpreted in that way. That has happened many times over the course of history. The other people usually are the wrong ones. People hardly ever take blame for their own mistakes. The world was very egocentric even more than it is now, which is probably a reason for her statement. I only put the quote in for diversity.
ôAccording to a recent Newsweek Poll two out of three adult Americans do indeed believe that the Devil exists. For a fourth of them, however, he is merely a symbol of manÆs inhumanity to man. Among Christians, only the born-again reveal a robust sense of the DevilÆs presence. Sixty percent of born-again believers report that they have been tempted by the Devil and half as many say they have met someone whom they thought was in SatanÆs control.ö (Woodward pg. 64)
ôIn contrast, only 26 percent of Roman Catholics say they have been tempted by Satan and 31 percent of nonevangelical Protestants insist that there is no such thing as the Devil... College graduates are twice as likely as Americans with no higher education to deny the DevilÆs existence.ö (Woodward pg. 64)
ôA recent Gallup poll in Canada, for example, revealed that from 1985 to 1995 belief in God slipped from 87 percent to 70 percent-but during the same time period belief in the Devil rose from 33 percent to 54 percent.ö (Graham pg. 65)
Nowadays people look for a logical explanation for things that happen. There is always a specific reason why things happen for some people. If people can not find a reason they make one up or blame it on other people. People are not comfortable with saying the Devil did it, or God did it depending on what happen. I believe there is logical explanations for lots of things, but some things it is all up to God or the Devil.
Evil was and will be always around. Without evil there will be no good. Without any good there would be nothing to compare our lives with. If there was only good there would be nothing to improve, we would be hunters and gathers still. They will be just experiences neither good nor bad. It is like the saying ôSugar is not sweet unless you have tasted salt.ö Since there is always evil there is a belief against a good, all powerful God.
ôThe real Satan is no pitchforked, arrow tongued, redhead Devil, the church has always been better informed than the world about what Satan is and how he manifests himself and invades our lives,ö Rev. Howard Creecy Jr. (Woodward pg. 66)
Satan is considered to be omnipresent but not omniscient or omnipotent. God created Satan, he has to stay within the boundaries that God set for the Devil. God could probably get rid of Satan but God knows there has to some kind of evil in the world. He is constantly trying to get more people under his domain. He calls God to get rid of people who are sinful. Satan is always around the corner trying to tempt you so he could win you over to his side.
Satan plays on the pride, ego, greed, and addictions of people. When people began to move around, and became industrialized the things of Satan became a qualities needed in American society. These ôvirtuesö are pride, cunning, and self-assertion. He puts down everything that God stands for. Love, wisdom, friendship, and helping other people.
ôMark sets the human story of Jesus, his followers, and his enemies in the context of a supernatural conflict between God and Satan, thereby implying that JesusÆ enemies are on the DevilÆs side.ö (Pagel pg. A7)
In Dante AlighieriÆs Divine Comedy there are three sections; Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. The first section is called Hell. He meets a guy named Virgil in a forest who promises to show him the punishments of Hell, and Purgatory.
He follows Virigl a ways and finally comes to the gates of Hell. They come to the river Acheron where they are taken opposite side of the shore by Charon, the ferryman.
There are nine main levels of Hell. The first level is Limbo. They find souls that have lived good lives and do not need to suffer for sins. These people would be in Paradise if they were baptized.
At the entrance of the second level they see Minos the Infernal Judge. His job is to beware people entering the other regions of Hell. In the second level they find souls of carnal sinners who are punished by being tossed around in the dark air by very furious winds.
In the third level the gluttonous are punished. ôTheir torment is, to lie in the mire, under a continual and heavy storm of hail, snow, and discolored water; Cerberus (dog of Satan) meanwhile barking over them with his threefold throat, and rending them piecemeal.ö (Alighieri pg. 21)
In the fourth level of Hell they see Plutus. Here the prodigal and the avaricious are punished by rolling great weights against each other.
In the fifth level of Hell the wrathful and gloomy are tormented in the Stygian lake.
The sixth level is the city Dis where the heretics are punished. They are in tombs burning with intense fire.
In the seventh level is enclosed by a rocky precipice. This level is guarded by the Minotaur. There is three parts of level seven. The first part is where the violent against their neighbor are punished. They are put to violent death over and over by others in this part. In the second part people who took their own life, light, and violently consumed their goods. In the level three types of crimes are punished. They are against God, nature, and art. They are punished by having ôflakes of fire, which are eternally showering down upon them.ö (Alighieri pg. 55)
In the eighth level there is ten parts of this level. In the first part has sinners who seduced a woman from her duty, for their own pleasure or not. The second part is of flatterers who remain in filth. In the third part is the ones who are guilty of simony. There heads are downward, and their feet are burned. In the fourth part they are forced to have their face on the back of their heads and walk backwards. In the fifth part are the barterers or public peculators. They are plunged into boiling pitch and are guarded by Demons.
In the sixth part the hypocrites are to pace continually around and around. In the seventh the robbers are punished by venomous snakes. The eighth has the evil counselors, and the ninth has the sowers of scandal and schismatics. The tenth part has alchemists and forgers.
There is four parts of the ninth and final level. In the fourth and last part of Hell are those who have betrayed their benefactors and Satan himself. This level is covered with ice. ôThe emperor, who sways The realm of sorrow, at mid breast from the ice...As he is hideous now, and yet did dare to scowl upon his Maker, well from him may all our misery flow...His three faces: one in front of hue vermillion, the other two with this midway each shoulder joined...Under each shot two mighty wings, as enormous as became a bird so vast...He flapped in the air that from him issued still three winds...At six eyes he wept: the tears down three chins distilled with bloody foam. At every mouth his teeth a sinner champed.ö (Alighieri pg. 139)
