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socially unacceptable?

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
Why is it socially acceptable to talk about God and angels but not Satan and demons?
 

Erebus

Well-Known Member
Some of that will depend on which group you're talking to. Some Christians are absolutely obsessed with Satan, demons and Hell. Generally speaking though, you're correct that talking about frightening or upsetting things is often a social faux pas.

People have a complex relationship with things that evoke fear, misery or disgust as they simultaneously don't want to think about it whilst also actively seeking it out. The news is always bad, serial killers get documentaries and you're far more likely to see a film about demons than angels. I suspect that a lot of people are actually a little ashamed of their morbid curiosity and that might contribute to their uneasiness towards having conversations about it. By bringing up Satan and demons in conversation, you're inviting them to not only think about something frightening but also something potentially exciting.
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
Southern Baptist
Those guys are way too conservative for me!

I'd like to meet some progressive liberals who are interested in Satan and demons

I have friends who are happy to talk about such things but they're all evangelicals!
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
Why is it socially acceptable to talk about God and angels but not Satan and demons?

Oh I don't know, it often seems that religious folk will tell me I'm bound for satans playground.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Why is it socially acceptable to talk about God and angels but not Satan and demons?
In our culture, deliberately making people lose face is generally frowned upon unless it's already established that you're in an adversarial relationship with them (and if you are in an adversarial relationship, you're unlikely to be chit-chatting with them in social settings).

Satan and demons are, for the most part, features of religions that believe in a monotheistic, omnimax god. No god that's all-good would knowingly create - or start a process that would lead to - Satan and demons, so bringing them up in polite conversation effectively amounts to pointing out a major hole and flaw in the belief systems that could very well be believed in by a big chunk of the people present in whatever social setting you're in.

Pointing out this hole and flaw can be seen as embarrassing for those believers, causing them to lose face.

... which, again, is frowned upon.
 

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
Why is it socially acceptable to talk about God and angels but not Satan and demons?
People don't like it when generally accepted knowledge is contested. We rely on generally accepted knowledge. Also in society when you open a discussion about something controversial it requires the person who answers to reveal something about themselves. Even if they say "I don't want to talk about it" that reveals something about themselves.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
People that are superstitious (and that would be the people you're wanting to talk to, I assume) tend to feel that to speak of and discuss such spiritual entities is to invite them into your presence. And for obvious reasons they are not going to want to do that regarding devils and demons.
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
In our culture, deliberately making people lose face is generally frowned upon unless it's already established that you're in an adversarial relationship with them (and if you are in an adversarial relationship, you're unlikely to be chit-chatting with them in social settings).

Satan and demons are, for the most part, features of religions that believe in a monotheistic, omnimax god. No god that's all-good would knowingly create - or start a process that would lead to - Satan and demons, so bringing them up in polite conversation effectively amounts to pointing out a major hole and flaw in the belief systems that could very well be believed in by a big chunk of the people present in whatever social setting you're in.

Pointing out this hole and flaw can be seen as embarrassing for those believers, causing them to lose face.

... which, again, is frowned upon.
Yes, is God either not all mighty or not all good/loving?

That's a very interesting thing to ponder

I'm inclined to see him as not being more loving than a human can be and as being constrained by certain things

I don't think he exercises all his powers and I don't think he is inclined to

Also, I believe he consults beings who are lower than him but higher than us, that he is like the president of a republic rather than a king, although this is not at all biblical :D
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Yes, is God either not all mighty or not all good/loving?

That's a very interesting thing to ponder

I'm inclined to see him as not being more loving than a human can be and as being constrained by certain things

I don't think he exercises all his powers and I don't think he is inclined to

Also, I believe he consults beings who are lower than him but higher than us, that he is like the president of a republic rather than a king, although this is not at all biblical :D
When we're talking about what's socially acceptable and unacceptable, it's usually about our impacts on other people, so it's the other person's beliefs and point of view that are what matter.
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
When we're talking about what's socially acceptable and unacceptable, it's usually about our impacts on other people, so it's the other person's beliefs and point of view that are what matter.
Absolutely

I am cultivating two separate circles of Christian friends: the local Methodists and the local evangelicals

I am with the Methodists on social and ethical things but with the evangelicals on the whole spiritual warfare thing
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
People that are superstitious (and that would be the people you're wanting to talk to, I assume) tend to feel that to speak of and discuss such spiritual entities is to invite them into your presence. And for obvious reasons they are not going to want to do that regarding devils and demons.
Yes, that is my understanding too

I have decided to not talk about my experiences with the demonic with any of the members of my church so as not to scare them or make them feel uncomfortable, a friend of mine who has helped me with my demon problems thinks that is for the best too
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
Oh I don't know, it often seems that religious folk will tell me I'm bound for satans playground.
This is what I believe:

I don’t believe that Atheists will suffer for their Atheism. I don’t believe God or anyone else will do any of them any harm. That is not the God I believe in. Instead I believe they will go to a place where there is an absence of God’s presence, and that whatever that place is will be as good or as bad as its inhabitants make it, without God being any factor.

And I don’t believe this place will be populated by evil people, I believe that evil people are annihilated. And by “evil” I mean very evil, not just flawed or sinful - which would be everyone! - so the place Atheists go is not a kind of Hell, it is more like Atheist Heaven....

What about good people who don't accept Christ as their saviour without being outright atheists? - I don't know, but I'm confident that it would be nothing awful as I believe God is just. I have no idea what to believe here. But I believe that good things happen to good people. And I have every confidence in the system.

Basically, I don’t believe in Hell, therefore I don’t believe Atheists will go there. And I don't believe they would deserve to even if there was one.
 
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