Grex Synthesis Conference

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Grex Synthesis Item 168: Jesus is the only way to heaven
Entered by lar on Wed Oct 18 20:40:37 UTC 2006:

Don't let the devil take you to hell

12 responses total.

#1 of 12 by kami on Wed Oct 25 04:40:23 2006:

Seems like a timely topic.

There are many images of the "devil" in various cultures and folk lores. 
sometimes he's a buffoon, easily outsmarted. Sometimes he's grotesque, a
bogeyman to frighten children. Sometimes he's slick, smooth and dangerously
attractive. How we see the figure of evil, or of danger, or of dissent, tells
more about a people than about that figure.

So- what stories does anyone know or remember, that tell us something about
how the devil is understood?

there's a lovely folksong that Steeleye Span did, about a little boy who meets
the devil on the road, exchanges riddles with him, ends with an insult, and
just holds his ground-- whatever the devil asks or offers, the boy just holds
his ground, is himself- a bit insolent and confident, sort of like Tom Sawyer,
and the devil ends up flying away.

there's a tale, Scottish I think, about a wife who is so intransigent that
the devil ends up begging *her* to let *him* go.

Have fun, as we approach Samhain- the Day of the Dead and the time when
spirits benign and grotesque may approach us.

#2 of 12 by cmcgee on Mon Oct 30 23:51:48 2006:

Hey there kami, nice to see you.

#3 of 12 by kami on Tue Oct 31 04:33:23 2006:

Likewise. Samhain blessings. Anything good going on? Any good stories?
I'll be in Ann Arbor over Thanksgiving. Who'll be around that I can maybe get
to see?

#4 of 12 by tod on Tue Oct 31 14:26:40 2006:

Happy Pooky Night, dont let the bed bugs bite.

I'm taking my kids out to scare away some witches and goblins.

#5 of 12 by kami on Wed Nov 1 03:39:58 2006:

Sounds like fun.
Mine helped me to scare the local goblins- our neighborhood gets about 2000
kids, and we set up the "barrow of the mountain king" - they have to come in
to our tableau in order to get their treat. Some of the little ones were
actually a bit scared. Actually, if I recall, one group of girls who were
really scared looked like eighth graders. <eg>

#6 of 12 by lar on Wed Dec 27 18:15:30 2006:

re#1
Lucifer was the anointed cherub that guarded the glory of God. The most
beautiful of all the angels. When God revealed that he was going to make
a being superior to him he rebelled and decided to attempt to destroy
this new creation..MANKIND. 

  Since his public humilation before the holy angels he has been renamed
to the devil or satan.

#7 of 12 by kami on Wed Dec 27 18:26:04 2006:

Huh? What a really simplistic, odd retelling of the story. What's your point?

#8 of 12 by tod on Wed Dec 27 19:21:34 2006:

Didn't you ask in #1 for a story on how the devil is understood?

#9 of 12 by kami on Fri Dec 29 04:05:56 2006:

Oh! I'm so sorry, I guess I lost the thread in the time between posts. Got
it now. 
How does that relate to the Jewish story of the favored angel of god whose
job it was to tempt and challenge gods favorite humans to give them a chance
to prove that they're worthy (like Job, I think)? That angel was not in
rebellion, that I'm aware of, at any time, but sure had a rough job.

Happy Winter HOliday of your choice- me I choose all of them!

#10 of 12 by cmcgee on Fri Dec 29 04:37:37 2006:

Happy birthday, too.

#11 of 12 by kami on Fri Dec 29 22:28:22 2006:

Thanks! I feel old. Well, not much older.  How're you doing?

#12 of 12 by lar on Thu Jul 3 05:57:35 2008:

"That angel was not in
rebellion, that I'm aware of, at any time, but sure had a rough job." 
I don't where you got this info from but it's opposed to the common 
understanding of what the devil is

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