How important is God's name?

@MadCornishBiker Said

That is the problem. As you say, to be a true Christian means following the teachings of Christ, and thought there may appear to be many variations, there can only be one that is right, and obviously I believe mine is certainly the closest to that "rule" as possible at this time, and much nearer than the majority, but that is something we all have to make sure of for ourselves. It is the responsibility of anyone who wishes to follow Christ to, as Paul again said, at 1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Always be rejoicing. 17 Pray incessantly. 18 In connection with everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in union with Christ Jesus respecting YOU. 19 Do not put out the fire of the spirit. 20 Do not treat prophesyings with contempt. 21 Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine. 22 Abstain from every form of wickedness"


As to who Paul meant by "the god of this system of things" you are right that he doesn't name Satan directly, but think about what e is saying. Who else wants to blind "the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through". Who else doesn't want people to find the truth. In the final analysis, only Satan wants that.

Plus of course it fits in with what Jesus said, though again not directly naming Satan when he said, at John 12:31 "Now there is a judging of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out". Only Satan would be the one Jesus said would be cast out.

Of course that also fits in with one of Satan's temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. Matthew 4:8-19 "Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.". Notice that at no point did Jesus challenge Satan's ability to give him "all the kingdoms of the earth", nor his right to do so. Jesus knew only too well who ruled the world, but he was able to resist the temptation because he knew that if he remained faithful to his Father they would be his anyway, in God's good time.

That is pretty conclusive contextual evidence as far as I am concerned.

@futilevoice Said

That was nice but I think I have a different understanding of all these stories. The human mind works in strange ways. There are at least three components of the human mind which often conflict with one another from my understanding. The ego is the most difficult to overcome.
In the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil, it is a story of Jesus working out these conflicts within himself. Should he take glory for himself or give it all to God. In this case a part of him has become the adversary or Satan if you will.
This is where most of the disagreements occur with you. Your thinking is too shallow and lacks a deeper understanding of self. Which is why
you don't get it most of the time.
The bible is a story of us. Not of God or the devil but us.

@MadCornishBiker Said

The only problem with your understanding is that it was n't the understanding of the author's, and unless it follows what the author intended then it is useless, as with any book really. One has to get into the mind of the author to get the true meaning. As I learned long ago, our opinions matter not a jot. we cannot change what is real with them.

@futilevoice Said

I think the whole point of examing any religious book is for self improvement. We each glean our own meaning or understanding regardless of the author's intention. Since you do not know much about any of the authors I would think you would not know their true intentions. If you are referring to God as the entity that actually wrote it, I would say that you still don't know the author very well. Very few people do.