Also which denominations do?

100% believes he exists?

84%

I would like to know this. In my experience only the hardcore Christians ever mention Satan.

Brazil has a higher percentage of people believing in God and the Devil than the U.S.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Brazil

I didn't believe in a literal Satan when I was Christian.

I think it takes most Christians a long time to form a literal view of Satan. I know it took me a really long time.

But I think that's how God intends it. You have to come to know God and Jesus before you're ready to handle the devil.

The devil doesn't speak much in the bible. Instead he speaks in historical events.

From: http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studie...lecture20.html

Of course there's the creation story with the serpent and A&E which pretty much sounds like, "The devil made me do it."

One thing that is really annoying is using "my opinion is right because God (imo) says so".

You still use it even when we're discussing something within theology, that doesn't threaten it whatsoever.

Can you remind us again the rationalization of why God doesn't annihilate or at least restrain the devil?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qggxTtnKTMo

Their mother made it so they could never hurt each other. Hence they just participate in passive aggressive warfare. Don't you know anything?!?

Most US Christians don't believe Satan, Holy Spirit really exist


- "Nearly six out of ten Christians surveyed either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement that Satan "is not a living being but is a symbol of evil""

- "In contrast, about 35 per cent of American Christians believe Satan is real."

- "Interestingly, the majority of Christians believe a person can be under the influence of spiritual forces, such as demons or evil spirits, even though many of these same people believe Satan is merely a symbol of evil. Two out of three Christians agreed that such forces are real (39 per cent agreed strongly, 25 per cent agreed somewhat)."

Off topic but I found this interesting:

"More than one-fifth (22 percent) strongly agreed that Jesus Christ sinned when He lived on earth, with an additional 17 percent agreeing somewhat."

I'm not strong on this part of the doctrine but God is a potter and everyone, believers included, go through a refining fire.

Well which is it then?

What was the sin?

Piper on refining fire: http://www.worshipmap.com/sermons/piper-mal3,1.html

It's neither. This is what happens when people base their beliefs on what they *want* to believe, instead of actual evidence. It's probably similar to why you believe god is all merciful, but can allow eternal torture. Or why god may answer your prayers to find a better job, but ignores the tens of thousands who are starving and have no food. Those are contradictions too. Faith without evidence brings about a wild joy ride of making it up as you go.

You can't just say it is neither, unless of course, you have proof to why it is neither.

I agree with this. There are many claims Christians make that are not backed up by Scripture. Jesus sinning is one of them. 22% believed Jesus sinned, but what was the sin? They just believe Jesus sinned because they think He did. Well i believe Lestat is wearing a pink shirt today. Maybe 20% of posters will agree with my belief and it might mean something...

Got one answer so far. About 40%. So are the other 60% going against the doctrine of their denomination?

Gunth!!! How can you look right past it? Reread his answer and take it to heart. You WILL learn something important.

All the survey indicates is that 22% strongly agree that Jesus sinned and 17% somewhat agree. I doubt there was additional space provided to "list the sin or sins you believe Jesus Christ committed, if any". There's no indication that all of the 39% would agree on what the sin/sins were. Some respondents might believe Jesus coveted his neighbor's oxen, while others believe he looked at a woman lustfully. In fact one might believe that Jesus probably sinned at some point, without having any specific sin in mind.

The point is you can ask confused Christians yes or no questions like that based on absolutely nothing, and you will get mixed, unreliable results.

It does seem odd that they believe demons and evil spirits actually exist, but Satan is merely symbolic. I'd expect the two to go together. But I still don't see a contradiction here. Apparently they believe in demons and evil spirits, but they don't believe these demons and evil spirits have Satan as their master. It's like believing in Christmas elves but not Santa Claus - seems weird, but not directly contradictory. The elves would just have to find another distributor for their toys.

Most definitely.

-It appears that Satan is considered alive and well only by large numbers of the public in the U.S. and Northern Ireland. However, these numbers are dropping, at least in the U.S. From 1991 to 2007, belief in Satan as a living entity dropped from 35% to 24%.

-In the thousands of hours of our monitoring of conservative Protestant radio and television programs since 1995, we have never heard an evangelical teleminister suggest even the possibility that Satan is not a living personality with magical powers. A large and growing percentage of Christians appear to have abandoned the teachings of their faith groups.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_sat4.htm