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Possible demon encounter?

Started by Brandon81, September 10, 2016, 07:43:21 PM

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Gawdzilla Sama

We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

SGOS

#31
Quote from: pato15 on September 15, 2016, 08:38:40 PM
Look up the etymology of 'demon.' You'll see that the entire concept of demons is just Christianity once again demonizing (heh) a positive facet of pagan beliefs.

That search produced a quantity of information I was completely unaware of.  Who would have thought that demons were benign or even outright positive entities at one time.  It's no surprise that Christianity incorporated them into its new religion, but then designed them to be evil, since the only positive force Christianity seems to accept is Jesus.  I don't know how many people actually looked up the entomology, but I think it would have been helpful if a link to some source were included in your post.  It just makes it easier to read from a source you base your claim on, and is always appreciated.

About my most helpful hit was this one:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#Etymology  for those who may be interested.

QuoteThe Greek conception of a daimōn notably appears in the works of Plato, where it describes the divine inspiration of Socrates. To distinguish the classical Greek concept from its later Christian interpretation, the former is anglicized as either daemon or daimon rather than demon.[citation needed]

The Greek terms do not have any connotations of evil or malevolence. In fact, εὐδαιμονία eudaimonia, (literally good-spiritedness) means happiness. By the early Roman Empire, cult statues were seen, by pagans and their Christian neighbors alike, as inhabited by the numinous presence of the gods: "Like pagans, Christians still sensed and saw the gods and their power, and as something, they had to assume, lay behind it, by an easy traditional shift of opinion they turned these pagan daimones into malevolent 'demons', the troupe of Satan..... Far into the Byzantine period Christians eyed their cities' old pagan statuary as a seat of the demons' presence. It was no longer beautiful, it was infested."[4] The term had first acquired its negative connotations in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, which drew on the mythology of ancient Semitic religions. This was then inherited by the Koine text of the New Testament. The Western medieval and neo-medieval conception of a demon[5] derives seamlessly from the ambient popular culture of Late Antiquity. The Hellenistic "daemon" eventually came to include many Semitic and Near Eastern gods as evaluated by Christianity.

Baruch

Quote from: pato15 on September 15, 2016, 08:38:40 PM
Look up the etymology of 'demon.' You'll see that the entire concept of demons is just Christianity once again demonizing (heh) a positive facet of pagan beliefs.

Socrates said he had a daemon ... it is what we could call a conscience.  The other Athenians didn't have one, and executed him for introducing a new god (without official permission).  Demon comes from Indo-European ... a deva in Vedic Hinduism ... all of which are gods.  Same origin as Dios (a name for Zeus), Deus and Adios muchachos.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

pato15

Quote from: SGOS on September 16, 2016, 08:17:30 AM
That search produced a quantity of information I was completely unaware of.  Who would have thought that demons were benign or even outright positive entities at one time.  It's no surprise that Christianity incorporated them into its new religion, but then designed them to be evil, since the only positive force Christianity seems to accept is Jesus.  I don't know how many people actually looked up the entomology, but I think it would have been helpful if a link to some source were included in your post.  It just makes it easier to read from a source you base your claim on, and is always appreciated.




To be honest, for the time being I'm only able to post via mobile, and I would have no clue how to post a link this way. In fact, I'll be proud of myself if I managed to quote your post correctly. But your point is well taken.
To be is to do - Socrates
To do is to be - Sartre
Do Be Do Be Do - Sinatra

PickelledEggs

I'm the closest you will ever get to a demon encounter.


SGOS

Quote from: pato15 on September 17, 2016, 01:19:43 AM
To be honest, for the time being I'm only able to post via mobile, and I would have no clue how to post a link this way. In fact, I'll be proud of myself if I managed to quote your post correctly. But your point is well taken.

That's OK.  When I first got here, figuring out how to use the text editor window, just the very basics of it, was a significant learning curve.  While it's still time consuming, it's now second nature.  At times it was challenging, even recently there have been new things I've learned how to do with it.

Brandon81

I'd like to thank everyone who helped me with this problem. I believe what happened was just a coincidence.

I'm going through some hard times right now. I've never been so uncomfortable in my life. My emotions are mostly negative. Fear, anger, and depression are what I mostly feel on a daily basis(mostly fear). So I'm more prone to irrational thoughts. I can't even remember what happiness feels like. Maybe Hydra009 was right. I need to seek help. I'd like to be able to just go one day without feeling any of these emotions. That would be nice.

widdershins

You obviously want help, but it's not going to do you any good to turn to a fantasy solution which would only feed these fears.
This sentence is a lie...

SGOS

#39
Quote from: widdershins on September 27, 2016, 10:27:23 AM
You obviously want help, but it's not going to do you any good to turn to a fantasy solution which would only feed these fears.

Many years ago, my mother was in the hospital dying of cancer.  There was a young woman in her ward who also had cancer.  I believe everyone in her ward was in dire straights.  That young woman would lay there quietly all day until the doctors came to examine her, and then she would get hysterical and start screaming for God, "God, please have mercy.  Please have mercy."  She would continue screaming and begging God for mercy as long as the doctors might find another lump or lesion.  When the doctors left, she would calm down again.  I was 22 at the time, still more or less partial to the idea of a god, but that experience was a turn off.  Fear based on a fantasy; I couldn't help think about how psychologically damaging religion could be.  Thank you, Christianity for making that woman's death even more horrifying than necessary.

Atheon

Simple answer: There's no such thing as demons, so any claims that there are demons is wrong.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." - Seneca

Draconic Aiur

Tho you might see/imagine that demonic nun from watching the Conjuring 2. Remember that it isn't real, it's scary as 1st but it isnt real.

TrueStory

Please don't take anything I say seriously.

Cavebear

Only if you promise to never be stupid on the Board again. 
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

JBCuzISaidSo

Quote from: Atheon on September 27, 2016, 08:21:58 PM
Simple answer: There's no such thing as demons, so any claims that there are demons is wrong.

ANY supernatural, or needing magic to exist, claim. Pretty much is all total shit. Demons, angels, ghosts, life after death.

ALL. SHIT.
It’s a strange myth that atheists have nothing to live for. It’s the opposite. We have nothing to die for. We have everything to live for.
-- Ricky Gervais

Listen, Big Deal, we've got a bigger problem here. Women always figure out the truth. Always.
--Han Solo, The Force Awakens