As I read the op about halloween a thought about witches occurred to me. It was not so long ago a group of people who probably considered themselves Christians let fear and rage lead them to commit unspeakable acts against innocent people. The Salem witch trials were not brought about because witchcraft was taking over but instead a few people lead by fear and hate convinced more people that a "scapegoat" was needed and that all their troubles could be blamed on local witches.
As laughable as this idea might be today, the same tricks satan used to burn those poor innocent people can still be seen even here even today. People will say someone is unsaved, satanic, evil etc whenever they disagree but do not have either the biblical Word or the facts to back up their allegations.
This is a common tactic used by not just Christians but politicians and humans in general. If you can not attack the message, attack the messenger. No need for intelligent rebuttal when calling someone a heretic is so much easier. I suppose this could be attributed to the fact that this is an anonymous online forum but if we are honest with ourselves we can see it all around us.
The problem comes when those who use the tactic are not big enough or humble enough to admit they might not be 100% sure in all they say. Then, instead of being honest and confessing this to the brothers and sisters they start to lie and gossip (i heard so and so was flying a broom, i heard so and so believes in this or that). Soon, enough weak minded people are going along so as not to be attacked themselves that we get a movement against whatever the current scapegoat happens to be.
Satan does not just come out and say "im satan, follow me instead" rather he uses lies that contain a lot of truth and pride to let people act in such a way that is prevents others from seeking Jesus. That is how satan wins and that is how he uses so many people without having to actually do much of anything....
As laughable as this idea might be today, the same tricks satan used to burn those poor innocent people can still be seen even here even today. People will say someone is unsaved, satanic, evil etc whenever they disagree but do not have either the biblical Word or the facts to back up their allegations.
This is a common tactic used by not just Christians but politicians and humans in general. If you can not attack the message, attack the messenger. No need for intelligent rebuttal when calling someone a heretic is so much easier. I suppose this could be attributed to the fact that this is an anonymous online forum but if we are honest with ourselves we can see it all around us.
The problem comes when those who use the tactic are not big enough or humble enough to admit they might not be 100% sure in all they say. Then, instead of being honest and confessing this to the brothers and sisters they start to lie and gossip (i heard so and so was flying a broom, i heard so and so believes in this or that). Soon, enough weak minded people are going along so as not to be attacked themselves that we get a movement against whatever the current scapegoat happens to be.
Satan does not just come out and say "im satan, follow me instead" rather he uses lies that contain a lot of truth and pride to let people act in such a way that is prevents others from seeking Jesus. That is how satan wins and that is how he uses so many people without having to actually do much of anything....
