Atheist, Mark D, stated: Christians believe that Satan is real, but what’s interesting is that Satanists don’t. On the Satanic Church website they state their view. Do you believe in Satan: “No, nor do we believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural. The Satanic Temple believes that religion can, and should, be divorced from superstition. As such, we do not promote a belief in a personal Satan.” Are Satanists right when they say that Christians are superstitious when they promote a belief in a personal Satan?

Response to the Atheist

The most effective strategy in Satan’s repertoire is his skill in convincing mankind that he does not exist. The opinions and beliefs or unbelief of Atheists and Satanists concerning Satan is truly of no concern in reality for they are Satan’s servants, unaware. What is relevant is what Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have said about Satan. Before we review the relevant Scriptures, remember this; in this life constrained by Time, mankind has but two-options concerning their Eternal destiny,

1. Trust in Jesus Christ as Lord for the mediation of sin and find life in God’s Kingdom

– or –

2. Deny Jesus Christ as Lord and serve Satan by default and ultimately die in sin and die the “second death” in Hell in futility.

Please do not follow the lead of Satan’s servants as exemplified by Mark and other atheists who defend Satan as they store-up wrath against themselves for the Day of Wrath at the Judgment of the Condemned manifesting subsequent to the Millennia Reign of Jesus Christ.

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Scriptures relevant to Satan…

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Luke 10:18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Ephesians 4:27 And give no opportunity to the devil.

Matthew 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Isaiah 14:12-15 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

1 John 5:19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Revelation 12:9-12 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Revelation 20:10 And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Job 1:6-12 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. …

Job 1:7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

Hebrews 2:14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

1 Chronicles 21:1 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.

John 13:27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

John 14:30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,

Ephesians 2:2 In which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Revelation 20:2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

Ephesians 6:11-16 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. …

Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

Luke 13:16 “And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

Ezekiel 28:12-19 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. …

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.

2 Corinthians 2:11 So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

1 John 3:10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

John 16:11 Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Zechariah 3:1-2 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

2 Timothy 2:26 And they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

1 Corinthians 7:5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

Revelation 9:11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Revelation 3:9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you.

Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

Revelation 12:4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,

1 Thessalonians 2:18 Because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.

Genesis 3:1-24 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” …

Jude 1:9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Luke 11:18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Acts 13:10 And said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?

Luke 4:1-13 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, …

1 Timothy 3:6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

Revelation 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

John 13:2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,

Ezekiel 28:1-26 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god— you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth— …

Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Revelation 20:7-10 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Matthew 13:38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple …

Revelation 20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison

Revelation 12:3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.

Revelation 2:9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

1 Timothy 5:15 For some have already strayed after Satan.

1 Timothy 1:20 Among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

1 Timothy 3:7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

1 Thessalonians 3:5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

Revelation 20:1-3 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Zechariah 3:2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

Job 1:6-7 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Mark 4:15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

Zechariah 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Jude 1:6-9 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Matthew 12:29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

Matthew 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

Revelation 20:3 And threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Atheist, Chris Eslick, asks about Hell: “Why do You think it is just for god to torture people forever simply because believers have shi–y arguments?”

Christian response to Chris Eslick,

The only beings the Scriptures note as being tortured forever in Hell are Satan, the Beast, the False Prophet (Revelation 20:10). According to Scripture, Hell for mankind is a “second death”…a cessation of all existence seeing that mankind’s unrepentant sin will not be permitted to enter the Kingdom of God; the second death is relevant to those men and women who have rejected Jesus Christ as Lord for the mediation of their sin as they existed within the Realm of Time subject to the Age of Grace as well as all unbelievers from The Genesis forward (Revelation 21:27).

If you continue in your atheism and die in same, you will suffer torment in the region of Sheol-Hades/Torments in your disembodied spirit while you await the Judgment of the Condemned that will manifest subsequent to the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ (Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:11-15). It does appear in Scripture that the unrepentant atheist/unbelievers, subsequent to judgment, will be cast into Hell/The Lake of Fire and suffer for a period of time commensurate with the sin committed while in the body in Time.

In other words, Hitler will suffer to a much greater degree before he ultimately dies than the atheist who lives a life of mediocrity in unbelief and dies in unrepentant sin. So then, Hell is not a place of eternal torment for mankind but a place of determined suffering then the “second death.”

In response to your vulgar comment concerning Christians…

Christians are not responsible for your unbelief, you are responsible for your unbelief and you will pay for your rebellion at the instant you exhale your last breath in Time. Do not project or obfuscate your culpability for seeking death in sin and Hell via your rejection of Jesus Christ and His suffering and death to provide you a pardon from death in Hell. Stop the projection and hypocrisy and face the Truth; As an Atheist, you enjoy your aberrant lust, your sexual immorality, your narcissistic antisocial conduct more than God and His Truth; therefore, you will reap what you sow because God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7-8).

Atheism: A Wasted Life of futility and meaninglessness…an existence of the Walking Dead…

Atheism is a life lived in futility, hopelessness, meaninglessness. Consider the following…

Causation for creation,

As the result of a cosmic coup d’état  having manifest in the Spiritual World before the creation of Time, our Creator supernaturally fashioned elements from the Spiritual World in such a manner as to make them visible to the creatures created in His spiritual image yet constrained by the elements of Time i.e. Mankind.

“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” Hebrews 11:3 (NASB)

The creation of visible matter and constrained by Time e.g. the Universe – Earth – Mankind were necessitated due to the destructive nature of SIN that had been introduced into the Heavenly Kingdom by a rebellious cherub angel (Ezekiel 28:12-15). It was necessary that this sin be removed and dealt with apart from the perfection and sinlessness of the Kingdom of God; therefore, the cosmic struggle between “SIN and RIGHTEOUSNESS” was placed within the constraints of Time and is currently being dealt-with by God the Father in our midst (Revelation 21:27).

The testimony of God’s validity,

1) Our Creator has placed before our eyes irrefutable evidence of His power and dominion and providence over Time and matter by placing the Sun, Moon, Stars, Earth, in our presence and He has displayed His supernatural abilities in the most minuet of details by creating the unfathomable and unexplained complex human genome. The Holy Spirit has clearly told us that anyone who denies these supernatural forms of empirical evidence validating our Creator’s reality in Time will be “without excuse” (Romans 1:18-32)

2) Then our Creator, out of love and compassion for human kind, left the splendor of His Kingdom in the Spiritual World some 2019-years ago and entered Time to rescue us from certain destruction and death in sin. He did this not only to defeat the works of evil and the Evil One but because He loves us and His perfect Holiness-Justice-Righteousness will not permit our destructive sin to enter His Kingdom (Revelation 21:27). Our loving and compassionate Creator did not ask us to die for Him but He suffered horrifically and died for us at a specific time in history where the most barbaric form of death had been instituted i.e. Crucifixion; thereby, assuring the shedding of His innocent blood for the remission of the sins of the World (Hebrews 9:22).

“The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8b (NASB)

The display of love and sacrifice exhibited by our Creator and His battle against the works of the Evil One within the Realm of Time is being observed by the Heavenly hosts, the angles, who faithfully serve God the Father and remained with Him subsequent to the rebellion in the Kingdom. At the culmination of the Millennial Reign of Messiah-Yeshua, these faithful angels will agree emphatically with God the Father that Lucifer-Satan does indeed mandate the penalty of Hell forever (Revelation 20:10). In fact, Hell was NOT created for mankind but for Lucifer-Satan; unfortunately, mankind will enter Hell subsequent to the Judgment for having rejected the only pardon from death in sin and Hell i.e. faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Mediator for sin (Revelation 20:11-15).

3) Then our Creator carefully chose specific holy men of old to meticulously pen His Covenants with mankind on parchment. Spanning some 1400-years and 40-writers, the Holy Spirit of God took-on the responsibility of moving these men’s heart and mind to articulate God’s Covenant of Grace to everyone who would believe in the Son, Jesus Christ-Yeshua, as God, Creator, Messiah, Lord, Judge.

God the Father ensured that this Covenant of Grace was bound and published and distributed among the masses so that His Plan and purposes for Time, Eternity, mankind, could be known in every generation having been born under the Covenant of Law and the Covenant of Grace. God the Father did this so that mankind could commune with, love and serve Him in the Spiritual World forever; in fact, the ONLY purpose for our life constrained by Time is to prepare for Eternity.

Every man, woman, child, born into this temporary existence in Time has been specifically chosen to play an intricate role in a cosmic struggle that is manifesting daily before our eyes. This cosmic struggle does have tangible evidence that is visible to mankind as seen in the struggle manifesting between Islam-Allah (Satan) v. Israel-Yeshua (Creator). God the Father has placed the Jewish people and the Nation of Israel as an observable entity in Time (Leviticus 20:26) displaying His work in Time and in Eternity as He brings all things into subjection to His will in the coming Tribulation period followed by the Millennial Reign of Messiah-Yeshua that will be initiated in Jerusalem, Israel.

The Futility of Atheism i.e. the Walking Dead,

It is tragic, unfortunate, horrific, that many men and women existing in the deception and death that is Atheism e.g. Naturalism, Secularism, Nihilism, Moral Relativism, are literally throwing their life in Time and in Eternity away as they will die in meaninglessness and futility because they have chosen to live a life warring against God’s love and God’s Plan as they actively choose to serve God’s prolific enemy, Satan, on a daily bases, even if unaware. Atheism is the epitome of foolishness and is completely void wisdom, discernment, knowledge. A wasted life in self-degradation obsessed with aberrant sensuality and debauchery and narcissism i.e. the Walking Dead!

Atheist, Mark D, stated: “Studies have shown there is a complex connection between religion and mental issues. A 2014 study found that people who believe in a vengeful or punitive god are more likely to suffer from mental issues such as social anxiety, paranoia, obsessional thinking, and compulsions. According to Dr. Harold Koenig, professor of psychiatry from Duke University’s Medical Center in North Carolina, one-third of psychoses involve religious delusions. Thoughts?”

Christian response to Mark D…

First of all,

Personally, I have no problem equating Christianity with religion within a secular definition, but Christianity, theologically speaking, is not actually a religion but a relationship with God the Father by grace through faith in the Son, Jesus Christ as Lord. Religions, in the strictest form of the word theologically, dictate “works” or “behavior” to earn one’s salvation while Christianity is emphatic that works cannot achieve righteousness (a right standing with God) but only by grace (unmerited favor) through faith (believing/trusting) in Jesus Christ can mankind find righteousness with God the Father (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Related Article: Is Christianity a religion or a relationship? https://www.gotquestions.org/Christianity-religion-relationship.html

There are a number of “religions” out there that are categorized as Christianity but they are NOT doctrinally aligned with the teaching of Scripture. Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, are but a few examples of religious cults that are falsely flown under the banner of Christianity.

Second,

I will agree with Mark that anyone who observes the behavior and doctrines followed by the religions of the World e.g. Catholicism, Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses and even some Christian denominations e.g. Pentecostalism, Charismatic Church of God…there are behaviors and doctrines that do lead one to believe these religions and denominations are borderline mental illness.

For example,

1) Catholicism has never been Christian. Catholicism was founded by Constantine in 312-313AD via the Edict of Milan by merging Babylonian Paganism/Roman Paganism with elements of Christian and non-Christian (Apocrypha) doctrine in order to make the pagan cult more palatable to the masses.

The Mass; The Sacraments; Transubstantiation (belief they are eating the literal flesh and drinking the literal blood of Christ); Purgatory; The Rosary; Statues in Worship; The Perpetual Virginity of Mary as the Goddess of Heaven; The Idolatry of Mary Worship; calling Catholic Leadership as “Father”; Confessing sin to a Priest; Infant Baptism or paedobaptism; The Magisterium; Indulgences; these are NOT Scriptural and undermine the purity and simplicity of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord – alone. Catholicism is a “works salvation” which is the antithesis of the Covenant of Grace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A Catholic parishioner never truly knows if they are saved or headed to death in Hell.

2) Islam is a cult of death espousing abuse and murder of women, homosexuals; espousing pedophilia through forced marriage of under-aged girls; coerced obedience to Allah-Islam under the threat of death; Islam worships the god Allah, the Arabic Moon God who is actually Satan manifest in Time to receive worship and authority.

3) Pentecostalism/Charismata/Church of God, practice the pagan doctrine of speaking in an unknown tongue. Speaking in Tongues (intelligible languages one has not studied) is doctrinal and found in the “Acts of the Apostles” (Acts 2; Acts 19) and at the Church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 14). The spiritual gift of Tongues was given to the very early Church for the proliferation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the known World where a sundry of languages and dialects were encountered.

When a person received the Gift of Tongues, they were able to understand and/or speak an intelligible language/dialect that they had not previously known or studied. Unfortunately, a pagan cultic practice of speaking in an “unknown tongue” or mystery tongue (unintelligible gibberish) arose in the Church at Corinth and it is this pagan practice that is found in Pentecostal, Church of God, Charismatic Churches, around the World. Neither the Gift of Tongues nor speaking in an unknown tongue is relevant today.

The unknown tongue practiced by Charismatic Churches today finds its roots in the Temple of Delphi near the City of Corinth. It was in this pagan Temple that a pagan Priestess set atop a throne and inhaled intoxicating fumes from a burning substance below her throne. Anyone seeking oracles of enlightenment and wisdom would enter the pagan Temple and await the words of the Priestess which were generally unintelligible gibberish thus leaving the knowledge-seeker more confused than when they entered the Temple. This pagan practice of prophecy in an unintelligible tongue, gibberish, carried over into the Church at Corinth and left the Apostle Paul quite perplexed as to how to deal with this false doctrine of speaking in a mystery tongue.

Paul was also forced to deal with women in the Corinthian Church who were most likely following the example of the Priestess in the pagan Temple at Delphi; Paul commanded that women remain silent during Church services (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). Because so few know the history of the pagan Temple of Delphi and the practices of the Priestess having influenced the Church, Paul’s edict concerning women remaining silent in Church has led to much divisiveness inside and outside the Christian Church.

Apparently, the Apostle Paul had received the Gift of Tongues at his conversion (1 Corinthians 14:18) but he was left somewhat befuddled by the pagan ritual of speaking in an “unknown tongue;” therefore, Paul pleaded with the parishioners at Corinth to speak intelligibly in their Church services and if anyone was to prophecy in a Tongue (intelligible language or dialect) an interpreter must be present to deliver the message to those who did not understand that particular language/dialect; if no interpreter was available, the one seeking to speak/prophesy in a Tongue was to remain silent. Paul also warned the congregation at Corinth…

“Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. 23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?” 1 Corinthians 14:22-23 (NKJV)

The Charismatic Churches go as far as mandating that speaking in an unknown tongue is a sign of the indwelling Holy Spirit and therefore essential as substantiating salvation. This un-Biblical doctrine places these Churches on a cultic level and places a burden on their parishioners, the lost, the seeking, the hurting, that Jesus Christ never intended for them to bear. Forcing or coercing anyone to speak in an unknown tongue, unintelligible gibberish, in order to prove their salvation is unconscionable and pure paganism and heresy! I personally left the ministry of a Church that taught this nonsense.

I mention this in agreement with Mark that there are those practices and doctrines in “religion” that could easily be construed as a “mental illness.” This is why the Holy Spirit commands the faithful to study and rightly divide the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15).

Thirdly and in conclusion,

The Atheist should take care equating a religious person or a religion with mental illness. For all intents and purposes, Atheism and Evolution are religions in their own right. Even by legal definitions, Atheism is a religion and qualifies as a religion in definitive terminology; therefore, by suggesting adherents to a religion partake in a form of mental illness, the Atheist defines their ideology of nihilism, naturalism, moral relativism, secularism, as mental illness and points the finger of insanity at themselves.

1) Court decision: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23920967?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

2) Is Atheism is a religion? https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/secular-philosophies/is-atheism-a-religion.aspx?

3) Secular Humanism is a Religion: https://christiananswers.net/q-sum/sum-r002.html

4) Evolution is a religion: https://www.icr.org/article/455/

5) Evolution as a religion: https://creation.com/evolution-as-religion

So Mark, though you fervently loathe the idea of God and Christianity, be careful of your accusations concerning religion and faith (your 2nd today), you may find that it is the Atheist, Secularist, Moral Relativist, Nihilist, Evolutionist, Naturalist, that are truly the one’s battling with a mental illness called psychosis – schizophrenia as they deny and war against that which they intuitively know is Truth and reality.

Concerning the last days of the Age of Grace, it is written relevant to those who war against God i.e. the Atheist…

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NKJV)

Jesus said…

“He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.” Luke 17:1-2 (NASB)

Atheist or Humanist, Benj Wachira, angrily stated: “The sickness with Christianity is that it’s all based on faith. What a weak God he is that his son cannot be proven beyond doubt. That even if you are a pure humanist not taking advantage of other people nor creating pain in their life you go to hell but a man who spends his life recklessly and killed and stole and created suffering but nearing his death said ‘Jesus is my lord’ finds the gates of heaven wide open. This is madness! It is a mental illness to hold dearly such notions.”

Response to Benj Wachira…

From The Beginning, God has demanded one standard for righteousness (a right standing) with Him i.e. “Faith.” From Enoch to Abraham to Moses to the Prophets to everyone born under the Covenant of Law and the Covenant of Grace…FAITH/Belief in God has been KEY to righteousness.

Because of mankind’s sin-nature inherited from our father, Adam, it is NOT possible that man can “work” and “earn” his own righteousness for we are under the curse of sin and death, but God the Father did not leave us in that hopeless condition but provided a way of escape from death in sin and Hell through Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:22).

Anyone who humbles them self and repents of their sin and believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is God who died to pay their sin-debt and that He was resurrected for their justification, that person so believing and confessing will be saved for Eternity, given a new life by the indwelling Holy Spirit, receive forgiveness of sin and enter into a relationship with God the Father through the Son, Jesus Christ, a relationship – a Covenant that is sealed by the Holy Spirit (Romans 10:8-10; Ephesians 1:13).

God’s standard of righteousness is PERFECTION; therefore, no one is guiltless before God because all have sinned (Romans 3:23). The humanist you speak of is a sinner irrespective of their philanthropy or good deeds and he/she is therefore prohibited from entering the Kingdom of God unless said humanist repents of their sin and trusts in Jesus as Lord, just as God the Father has commanded (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; John 14:6).

Death-bed confessions are rare and the fate of one who has lived a life in rebellion to God’s will and authority then finally comes to faith in Jesus before the point of death of the body; the authenticity of that faith is only truly known by God Himself who knows our heart, our thoughts, our motives…we will not deceive God the Father who is Omniscient (Psalm 139:2-4).

Atheist, Mark D, stated: “Faith,” declares Richard Dawkins in “The Selfish Gene” (1976), “seems to me to qualify as a kind of mental illness.” “It is difficult to imagine a set of beliefs more suggestive of mental illness,” agrees Sam Harris in his 2004 bestseller “The End of Faith,” “than those that lie at the heart of many of our religious traditions.”

Why isn’t Christianity a kind of mental illness, since much of what the faithful believe is not in touch with reality?

Christian response to the Atheist…

First of all, “faith” (or the lack thereof) is irrelevant concerning the facade of Atheism. Our Creator has placed irrefutable, extant, empirical evidence for His reality before our eyes via what He has made in Nature (Romans 1:18-32). Though the Atheist, by rejecting our Creator’s reality and His authority, may be seeking to justify sexual perversion, antisocial conduct, rebellion to authority, the typical Atheist is NOT stupid or blind nor do most lack at least a modicum of discernment.

Faith is NOT required to acknowledge the necessity of design in Nature and therefore a Designer. The Atheist, consumed by the deceit of Naturalism, lies to them self and to the World when they deny what they intuitively know exists. Though the Atheist may not know the Designer’s Name, they intuitively know He exists because the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Earth, the complex human genome, mandate our Creator’s reality; therefore, every Atheist will be “without excuse” when they stand in the Judgment before Jesus Christ in Eternity (Romans 1:20).

Christian faith and acknowledging our Creator…

Christian “faith” is not blind faith but reasonable and logical. Christian faith has nothing to do with acknowledging the reality of our Creator because faith is not required to substantiate empiricism. The Christian approaches creation with their eyes wide open, not seeking a prejudicial perspective nor do they seek to justify a particular worldview or ideological predisposition or justify/rationalize a particular aberrant behavior. Christians simply seek Truth.

The Christian seeks Truth, reason, logic, causation, practicability, purpose in reality. When the Christian observes a clear night sky, observes the supernatural Moon, Stars, the Sun, the Earth, the incredible harmony that exists and teeters on a precarious tolerance between life-giving elements balanced between heat from the Sun mandated at very specific distances; photosynthesis providing life giving oxygen; the Moon commanding the seas to stop their roar at a given point; the incredible complexity of the human genome; knowing that these supernatural phenomena mandate design, purpose, causation; therefore, a Designer…the Christian logically seeks this Designer and His Name due to the empirical nature of Creation.

As articulated by Ravi Zacharias, “Christianity is the only coherent worldview with corresponding truth that defines origin-meaning-morality-destiny and directly answers with logical consistency, empirical adequacy, experiential relevance.” When one seeks knowledge of our Creator, if they study the Vedas, the Quran, the Egyptian gods, the Holy Bible, commonsense and reason mandate that Elohim-Yeshua is God, Creator, Messiah, Judge and there is no other God like Yeshua. The simplistic process of elimination mandates that only Jesus-Yeshua is the God of this Universe and Life.

Faith and its place in Christianity…

Faith, for the Christian, becomes relevant in believing that Jesus Christ is God who manifest in the flesh some 2019-years ago and walked among us for 33.5-years explaining, defining, demonstrating, God the Father to everyone-anyone that would receive His Good News of the Gospel. Faith for the Christian is believing in your heart, confessing with your mouth, that Jesus is God who died to pay for the sins of mankind and that He was resurrected from the dead for our justification leading to eternal life (Romans 10:9-10).

God the Father has set-forth ONE-Standard by which He will forgive sin thereby providing mankind access to the Eternal Kingdom subsequent to death of the body constrained by Time; that One-Standard is grace (unmerited favor) by faith (trusting-believing) in Jesus Christ as Lord for the mediation of sin (Romans 10:8-10; John 14:6).

In closing, allow me to plead with everyone and anyone who listens to the demonically-based rhetoric of foolish men like Dawkins and Harris. If you permit these emissaries of Satan to point you to the Portal to Hell through their insane rhetoric, not only do you make yourself “the fool” of Time and Eternity, you will suffer a fate similar to these prolific enemies of God in Hell and not see life in God’s Kingdom (Psalm 14:1).

Atheist, Mark D, wrote: “Of all the systems of religion that ever were invented, there is no more derogatory to the Almighty, more unedifying to man, more repugnant to reason, and more contradictory to itself than this thing called Christianity. Too absurd for belief, too impossible to convince, and too inconsistent for practice, it renders the heart torpid or produces only atheists or fanatics. As an engine of power, it serves the purpose of despotism, and as a means of wealth, the avarice of priests, but so far as respects the good of man in general it leads to nothing here or hereafter.”–― Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason

Do you agree with Thomas Paine?

Christian response to Mark D and Thomas Paine…

“Christianity is the only coherent worldview with corresponding truth that defines origin-meaning-morality-destiny and directly answers with logical consistency, empirical adequacy, experiential relevance.” Ravi Zacharais

If Thomas Paine could testify to the World relevant to where his disembodied spirit is at this time; that is, if Thomas denied Jesus Christ as Lord at death, Thomas would beg you to not follow in his footsteps but repent of your sin and diligently seek Jesus Christ as Lord and Mediator for your sin this very second.

When emissaries of Satan like Mark D and Thomas Paine vomit their demonic rhetoric for others to internalize, this is evidence that Satan is certainly fearful of the signs of the times as he knows his influence and power over the godless, the unbeliever, the atheist, is running-out (Revelation 12:12).

It is essential that you know the purpose and Plan of our Creator in Time and Eternity so that you can make an informed decision concerning your Eternal destiny. As we near the Day of our Lord and the Great Tribulation that will come upon the Nation of Israel and the whole World, I want you to be informed as to why our God has created Time, this Universe, mankind and Hell. Please do not allow lost and deceived men like Thomas Paine and Mark D to point you to the portal to Hell without knowledge.

By inspiration and tutelage of the Holy Spirit, I have articulated God’s Plan for Time and Eternity and “why” you are here on this Planet constrained by Time; therefore, please read with diligence and make an informed decision concerning your Eternal destiny. My articles are NOT monetized and I pay for the services provided…please do not allow such concerns to prevent you from accessing information concerning God’s Plan for your life…PLEASE don’t die in spiritual ignorance!

In the Beginning God – Why? https://rickeyholtsclaw.com/2017/09/27/in-the-beginning-god-why/

Atheist Mark D stated: “We don’t know if the historical Jesus is accurately depicted in the Gospels, so when someone says that they are giving their life to Jesus Christ, what exactly do they mean? Are they devoting their life to a fictional character?”

A Christian response…

I know the historical Jesus personally through the Holy Spirit and I can testify to the truism that the same God who created matter from the Spiritual World, created Time, the Universe, the complex human genome, this very same God is fully capable of providing you with the EXACT words He desires you have so that you can know Him, so that you can understand His love for you and His Plan for Time and Eternity.

The Gospels are Truth and they articulate God’s Covenant of Grace with mankind by grace through faith in Messiah-Yeshua/Jesus and said Covenant is sealed and affirmed by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). It is by reading and studying the written word of God and by trusting in the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ, that a man, woman or child finds understanding concerning origin-meaning-morality-destiny.

Though the Heavens and this Earth will pass away as by fire, the word of God will remain forever and that Holy word, articulated in the Holy Bible, will be used to judge mankind in Eternity (2 Peter 10-13). Without Jesus Christ as Lord and Mediator for sin, mankind will NOT see life in God’s Kingdom but will suffer death in Hell (John 14:6). Why? Because God the Father will NOT permit unrepentant sin to enter His Kingdom subsequent to death of the body in Time (Revelation 21:27).

Atheist, Mark D, stated: “Speaking to FOX News Radio host Todd Starnes earlier this week, right-wing Pastor Robert Jeffress explained that Democrats who claimed to be Christian didn’t actually worship the Christian God. Nope. They worshiped the demon-god Moloch. I looked it up and Moloch is the biblical name of a Canaanite god associated with child sacrifice, through fire or war. What are we to think of Baptist minister Robert Jeffress from Dallas Texas telling a national radio audience that Christian Democrats worship the demon-god Moloch?”

Reply to Mark D…

God Bless Pastor Jeffress and he is most correct and right on target in his comparison between Moloch/Molech and today’s Progressive-Democrat-Socialist Party. It is not possible that a man or woman who truly knows and loves God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, could simultaneously support and vote for a Progressive-Socialist-Democrat or support this Progressive Party of death and demonism. There is a reason why most Atheists are Progressive-Socialists and why Progressive-Socialists are overwhelming godless secularists, advocates of baby mutilation, evolutionists, nihilists, moral relativists, advocates of sexual perversion, demonically inspired atheists.

America’s Progressive-Socialist-Democrat Party is demonic in origin and Satanic in practice and policy. Only the most vile, demonic, immoral, individual can support a Political Party that…

1) Advocates for the mutilation of babies up-to-and-beyond the 9th-month of gestation. A Political Party that fights to affirm/maintain Roe v. Wade (1973), an unconstitutional SCOTUS decision responsible for the murder, mutilation, denial of the 5th/14th Amendment due process protections, of 61-million American babies subsequent to 1973. A Political Party that supports the shedding of innocent blood that has brought God’s wrath and judgment upon America and the American people. Progressive Socialism, the Democrat Party, is a most vile and loathsome form of demonism, Satanism.

2) A Political Party that advocates, supports, participates, in LGBTQ sexual perversion that defiles America in shame and immorality while supporting the demonically-based SCOTUS decision of Obergefell v. Hodges (2015); a SCOTUS decision that spits in the face of our Creator’s Covenant of Marriage between one-man/one-woman becoming one-flesh for life. A Political Party that supports/advocates sexual perversion that is destroying, killing, America’s posterity in confusion, addiction, suicide, sexual-gender confusion.

3) Advocates for open-borders that is destroying America’s sovereignty by infusing America’s municipalities with non-assimilating multiculturalism that will destroy America’s economy, America’s schools, escalating violent crime statistics Nationwide and violent gang activity with incredible amounts of illegal narcotics flowing through/over our borders via cartels along with illegal weapons smuggled into America along with unconscionable sex trafficking of women and children. A Political Party willing to deny American’s their civil rights and the Government’s duty to protect in lieu of political power at all and at any cost.

4) Advocates for the demonic, deadly, ideology of Socialism that is responsible for 100-million deaths in the last 100-years. Socialism that will destroy America’s Capitalistic Economy that is the most successful form of economic wealth/growth/progress for the masses in the history of mankind. Progressive Socialists, Millennial’s and Gen-Z brainwashed children deceived by historical revisionism and Darwin’s lies…these will be America’s demise.

Pastor Jeffress is most correct concerning the vile and demonic Progressive-Socialist-Democrat Party…the Party of Satan. Progressive Socialism will ultimately destroy America and our posterity will suffer horrifically. I explain the idiocy, vileness and Satanic nature of Progressive Socialism in more detail here: https://rickeyholtsclaw.com/2018/01/26/progressivism-satans-party-of-death/