Thursday, June 14, 2007

Of What Use Is Satan To Us?

Assuming Satan has no ontological existence, of what use is the concept of Satan to us?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The same use anything identified has for us. Once we've identified it, we can deal with it.

george.w said...

Satan has the same use to me as his cultural anagram, Santa; he is expressive shorthand for a certain frame of mind. Neither requires ontological existence to be "real" in that sense (and that's what I told my kids when they little).

Anonymous said...

Satan is a powerful symbol, rivaling that of God. It represents the Nemesis; the Enemy. But it is not necessarily malevolent...

I think that those who embrace the philsophical side of Satanism liberate themselves from an unattainable ideal. The symbol of Satan represents the Freudian Id; accepting this beastial side frees the individual from being a slave to conformity. But, the symbol of God lies on the opposite field, and the individual must balance between or risk the dangers of extremism.