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We have a poster on CARM who insists, and has insisted for over a year, that Satan is a real and powerful god. He bases this nutty belief on Paul's statement that Satan is the "god of this world," but Paul qualifies false gods by calling them "so-called gods." This Mormon poster also states that Satan will rule over an everlasting kingdom. I believe this is a form of Satanism. Some "volunteers" at FAIR have denied that Satan is a real god...what say you, TBMs - is Satan a "real" god, and if so, how did he become a god in premortality? He never had a physical body, according to Mormonism, right? Is Satan a god in the same way that Mormon Jesus is a god? Or is Satan a "god" because he is treated as a "god" by the world, but is simply another false deity such as Baal or Moloch?

"A rose by any other name will smell as sweet."

If I worship a church (with good & bad aspects), then am I worshipping a false god (a.k.a. Satan)?

Mormons will NEVER say they worship the church (a false god/satan), but when it comes down to what they prioritize (worship) most - actions speak louder than words.

Still, some false gods are better than others.

Amore wrote:"A rose by any other name will smell as sweet."

If I worship a church (with good & bad aspects), then am I worshipping a false god (a.k.a. Satan)?

Mormons will NEVER say they worship the church (a false god/satan), but when it comes down to what they prioritize (worship) most - actions speak louder than words.

Still, some false gods are better than others.

Are you saying that Satan is a false god, and has no power? Or are you agreeing that Mormons believe Satan is a "real and powerful god? I might add that when I contacted FAIR, they said that the Mormon was WRONG.

Joseph Smith is the only Mormon god. Everyone else can be thrown under the bus.

"false deity" is redundant.

Servant wrote:

Amore wrote:"A rose by any other name will smell as sweet."

If I worship a church (with good & bad aspects), then am I worshipping a false god (a.k.a. Satan)?

Mormons will NEVER say they worship the church (a false god/satan), but when it comes down to what they prioritize (worship) most - actions speak louder than words.

Still, some false gods are better than others.

Are you saying that Satan is a false god, and has no power? Or are you agreeing that Mormons believe Satan is a "real and powerful god? I might add that when I contacted FAIR, they said that the Mormon was WRONG.

Neither.
I was trying to explain that they worship a church - not in word, but in deed.
Personally, I believe that anything besides worshipping God, is a false god (influenced by "the father of lies").
I believe that similarly how "the kingdom of God is within you" (your experience of God is within you), similarly, your experience of Satan (the opposite if GOoD) is also within you.

You and I could both listen to the same song - and it may resonate differently - you may think it's awesome and feel GOoD & I may be like, "turn that crap off!"

All I know is that Mormons and Mormon leaders have a great deal of respect for Satan, bordering on awe, and they are constantly talking about him. We are taught that Satan is winning over humanity, deceiving many of us, thwarting God's plans, controlling ideologies and governments, etc. Satan is often the star of testimony meetings and I notice that there are people who seem to bear a more emotional testimony of the reality and power of Satan than they do about Jesus.

Sometimes it almost seems like we have a Zoroastrian good god/bad god thing going on. No, Mormons don't worship Satan as a legitimate god, but I can see where the claims of respecting him as a sort of god come from. Maybe he is the lesser god of Mormonism.

Hagoth wrote:All I know is that Mormons and Mormon leaders have a great deal of respect for Satan, bordering on awe, and they are constantly talking about him. We are taught that Satan is winning over humanity, deceiving many of us, thwarting God's plans, controlling ideologies and governments, etc. Satan is often the star of testimony meetings and I notice that there are people who seem to bear a more emotional testimony of the reality and power of Satan than they do about Jesus.

Sometimes it almost seems like we have a Zoroastrian good god/bad god thing going on. No, Mormons don't worship Satan as a legitimate god, but I can see where the claims of respecting him as a sort of god come from. Maybe he is the lesser god of Mormonism.

Good points. Whenever anybody talk as if Satan is some real guy out there determined to "make" them sin - I cringe. To me, the essence of modern Christianity is Satan's plan - evil. Satan represents the bad in people. God represents the good. Some (esp. eastern thinkers) would say God is both - good is revealed through bad etc. But anyway, Jesus has been made into a human sacrifice (honoring KILLING each sacrament - symbolically drinking his blood/eating his body), idol (having other gods before God) and scapegoat (instead of taking response-ability for what someone's screwed up, they just "trust" in Jesus to deal with it - and thus they contribute to more evil). Evil (Peck said) is essentially persistent shifting responsibility - making another pay for one's own problems.

Probably best to think of it as a Yin/Yang thing. Up cannot exist without down, left cannot exist without right.

From a symbolic point of view, Satan is the personification of evil. From a Mormon point of view, Satan is a defrocked god and is the prodigal brother of Jesus. Mormons both fear and loath Satan unless he could get BYU football into the Big 12 Conference and produce a winning season, although at the new Mormon Plaza Business Building they like to sing:

Old Mammon is the God for me
Lamoni, Florida is the place to be
Land spreading out so far and wide
Keep Salt Lake, just give me that swampy site

moksha wrote:Probably best to think of it as a Yin/Yang thing. Up cannot exist without down, left cannot exist without right.

From a symbolic point of view, Satan is the personification of evil. From a Mormon point of view, Satan is a defrocked god and is the prodigal brother of Jesus. Mormons both fear and loath Satan unless he could get BYU football into the Big 12 Conference and produce a winning season, although at the new Mormon Plaza Business Building they like to sing:

Old Mammon is the God for me
Lamoni, Florida is the place to be
Land spreading out so far and wide
Keep Salt Lake, just give me that swampy site

How can the Eternal God have a created angel (albeit a very powerful one) for a brother?