In Reply to: Re: When did you leave the group? posted by Bryon on January 03, 2003 at 20:31:51:
Yes it is strange that they found your address. I take it they came to your door?
I appreciate your sharing that info. Apparently you take yourself very seriously.
Discernment is a great gift. I believe in it too - it has saved me on many an occasion. It's great that you are so certain of what you believe - faith is a good thing. How you come across though, is having infallibility thanks to your corner to God, and having a fixation on the Satan's power, seeing the Devil's hand in everything outside of your confined understanding.
In the bible, the Person who spoke the most about the Devil was Jesus, but I think that was probably necessary for defining who He was and what His mission was.
In my own mortal human journey however, after once having been like you, I found that there are many ways to look at life, many ways to view the same situation, and they can all be true even though they seemingly negate each other. Take MC Escher's optical illusions - a picture can both be an old lady or a young woman, depending on which you focus on and what your cultural or pre-planted bias is: http://www.umds.ac.uk/physiology/daveb/brainday/optical.htm
I find a lot of power in believing in life and love, and seeing that in people around me. I find that the state I am inside reflects on the outside in the universe, that I attract situations because I am ready for them and looking for them. I find I am able to influence my surroundings greatly, not through seeing the Devil in everything, but by being a light. People ask me about my faith because of that, not because I continually emphasize the work of the Devil. DOn't get me wrong, I don't float on a cloud all day. I can be very realistic and can get into serious discussions about the evils in the world, but it is not something I brutalize myself and others with, and certainly it is not a means to acheive conversions or feed anyone spirtually. Real life is hard enough, and I want to encourage people to look at life with joy and hope. I expend my precious energy on finding solutions, bringing positive change and nurturing life. I find no positive gain in pointing fault all the time, even if it is at that all convenient "Devil." But that's me, perhaps you have a different mission in life.