THE BUILDER AND THE DEVIL

"Beauty is not what he favours    
as it brings most lovely notions."    
    
If this is true,  then it seems that we must call Paul a liar for saying in 2 Cor. 11:4    
  
"...  Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light".  
   
And didn't you assert in "Have You Thought About This?" that "man's" attempts to build lasting and beautiful things, let alone find a fulfilling purpose in the world, or think that life is full of pleasures that would satisfy one's soul are actually pointless and a waste of time?

1- Of course what Saint Paul says is completely different from the meaning l have here.
2- The works l wrote about in that poem have different meaning.
Thank you very much, Baldwin, for your interest in an old poem of mine. It's kind of you.

How is what Paul says Satan does different, let alone "completely" different, from the meaning of what you say about him?  If he does not like beautiful and attractive things, why would he take on the appearance of one, especially if the purpose of doing this is to give people notions about how lovely he and all he has to offer is?  
 
And where in the Biblical witness can I find anything that says that he regularly destroys buildings?  
 
You might want to reconsider the truth of your assertions about his evil nature after reading the following dialogue between Sidney Harris and his daughter:  
 
My little nine-year-old girl said to me, "Daddy, there's something peculiar about the whole story of God and the devil and hell. It just doesn't hold together." "Oh," I said, "and why doesn't it hold together?" "Well," she continued, "God is supposed to love good people, and the devil is supposed to favor bad people. Right? The good people go to God, but the bad people go to hell, where the devil punishes them forever. Isn't that the story?" When I agreed that it was, she continued, "It doesn't make sense. In that case, the devil couldn't be the enemy of God. I mean, if the devil really was on the side of the bad people, he wouldn't punish them in hell, would he? He'd treat them nicely and be kind to them for coming over to his side. He'd give them candy and presents and not burn them up." "You've got a point," I said. "So how do you work it out?" She thought for a moment, and then she asserted, "It seems to me that if the whole story is true, then the devil is secretly on the side of God, and is just pretending to be wicked. He works for God as a kind of secret agent, testing people to find out who's good or bad, but not really fighting against God." "That's remarkable!" I exclaimed. "Do you think there's any proof?" "Well," she concluded, "here's another thing. If God is really all-powerful, no devil would have a chance against him. So if a devil really exists, it must be because he's secretly in cahoots with God!"

Baldwin, l like your vast knowledge and wide reading. I think we will be very good friends. Really, l hope so although we have different opinions.
I believe that conscience and remorse are the devil that tortures people. God is in our hearts, and we live in heaven when we listen to Him. I like the dialogue between Sydney Harris and his daughter. Thank you very much for all your great help.

How does this message of yours answer the question that I asked of you as to what the difference is between what Paul says the devil does and what you say he does?

You say you want us to be friends.  But why would anyone want to be friends with someone who constantly dodges answering the questions posed to him and never does what he should do when he is asked to back up his claims that those questions (and other remarks made about the way he writes) are not worth considering, let alone answering?

"I believe that conscience and remorse are the devil [devils ?] that tortures [touture ?] people."

Leaving aside the fact that remorse is the first step on the way to the resolve to do good,  how is conscience something that wants to destroy buildings, not to mention works to fulfill that want and rejoices when it has done so?

Friends always tend to enjoy their friendship and not to receive and answer questions.
According to you, Paul says, "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." I say, according to you because l don't want to look it up now. I say Satan hates beauty and likes to destroy what is beautiful. As he is the master of destructand, he destroys the builder's work, which is beautiful and he feels happy he has done that. But please, Baldwin, don't ask too many questions.

Apparently, you don't know that the author of  Book of  Revelation makes dust of your unevidenced claim that

"Satan hates beauty and likes to destroy what is beautiful. As he is the master of destructand [sic], he destroys the builder's work, which is beautiful and he feels happy he has done that"

when in Rev.  2:1213 he has Jesus note that God's orders angel of the church of Pergamon to write to the church there  the following words

"These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne."


As has been observed by archeologists who know what ancient Pergamum looked like, the people of Pergamum who has the reputation as the "Temple-keepers of Asia" since they had built three beautiful temples, the first dedicated to the worship of the Roman emperor, another for the goddess Athena, and another housing the Great Altar of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. It was this last one which was the “Throne of Satan” mentioned in the book of Revelation.

Now the Greek word that is translated as ‘throne’  (i.e.,θρόνος)  was used in reference to a personal private residence, and it was a chair for the lord of the house.  As Rick Renner, the author of _A Light in the Darkness_, a study of the seven churches of Asia Minor, states, the fact that the Jesus of Revelation uses this word in Rev. 2:13 speak of the place in Pergamum in which Satan had stationed himself and remained as its master,  means that Satan liked it there and did nothing to bring it to ruin.

So instead of hating what is beautiful, as the Altar of Zeus was,  and moving to destroy it,  as you say was and is Satan's wont, he adopts it as his place of residence in Asia Minor and revels in being there.

Given this,  it's clear that when it comes to making claims about the character of certain figures in the Bible had,  and what they were prone to do, you've once again spoken from ignorance and laid claim to knowledge that you don't possess.

Sorry for saying so,  bit it's something that is indisputable.

"Friends always tend to enjoy their friendship and not to receive and answer questions."    
   
Says who?  One of the signs that people are friends is that they know that they can ask questions of each other and that when they are questioned, they will not hold back from giving truthful and on-point answers to any of the questions they have been asked.  How can they enjoy something that displays a lack of respect?    
     
In any case, I did not ask about what people who are **already** friends do or don't do, let alone what they "always tend to do".  I asked why anyone would want to **become**  friends with someone who shows himself to be irresponsible and dishonorable,  who is known for his unwarranted personal attacks against others, for misrepresenting what others say to him so that he can deride them, for laying claim to knowledge that he does not possess,  for arrogating to himself the right to do things that he will not allow others to do, for labeling legitimate and warranted remarks made about things he has said as not worth considering and as springing from a lack of intelligence, and who brags about how his talents are superior to everyone else's.    
     
"According to you, Paul says, "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." I say, according to you because l don't want to look it up now."    
     
How does your not wanting to look up what anyone can see as indisputably in the text of 2 Cor. make what I said Paul says something that originates with me?    
     
"I say Satan hates beauty and likes to destroy what is beautiful. As he is the master of destructand, he destroys the builder's work, which is beautiful and he feels happy he has done that. "    
     
And I asked if there is anything in the various books of the Bible that says this, let alone calls him or depicts him as the "master of destructand".   So far as I can see,  all of what you say about Satan is "according to you". and not to anyone or anything else.    
     
"But please, Baldwin, don't ask too many questions."    
     
Why not, especially if what you write deserves a number of questions?    
     
But in addition to this last one,  I only asked two.  No doubt you'll say that even two is "too many".

As I expected --- no  answers to my questions.

Joseph, patience and consecutiveness are a must for the spiritual path of a person.
In a rush, nothing can be achieved. Thus, easy gains are not worth it.
Yes, people that have discipline, humble people are the hardest to fall, because they are healthy, in the first place.
Also, they just have the balance to endure. When you build your inner temple, it will obviously crumble if there isn't a solid fundament.
Incoherence in lifestyle, in our actions and attitude towards the world always brings to addictions, to failure, to distress. Random switches of disharmony may really destroy one's life.
This is why "the devil" always offers easy baits. To distract us from the path towards God's perfection.
Just to prove my point, I once heard God tell me in my head "Don't rush it".
I think this tells it all.

Very dear Boyana,
I really appreciate your wisdom and very wide understanding. I feel your points are very useful to me to make my way to faith much easier, and to poetry much more useful to me and to the readers.

I am happy that you find my remarks useful.
I also enjoy interpretations. I feel like this is what an author craves deep inside!

Actually my mind and heart, are full of ideas and feelings, Boyana. They need time to come out.