If there is 'no power but  God's,' why are some Christians so fearful of the 'Devil?'?
471097
Fear is the absence of love. The Devil is just a symbol that man uses to project the "demons of the ego." It is the ego of man that does not want to let go and let God. \n\nSo if someone is still fearful of the Devil, regardless of claiming to be "born again of Light", obviously he/she still does not feel enough Love within. It's easy to say one thing and not really feel it. \n\nPlus Christianity places too much emphasis on the fear of the Devil which is ridiculous, BUT sometimes people need that fear in order to "behave" like model citizens like a child would be afraid of a parent's punishment. So it works both ways. For some it is unnecessary, but for some it is necessary.\n\nI have no fear in my life. Anytime you believe in something, you give it life. Therefore I believe in no such illusion, then it does not exist in my reality.\n\nI heard this in a dream recently:\n\n"I asked Fear, 'What do you fear? Have you faced your fears?' "
191155
it is a deception of Satans. These people honstly believe that they are not out to  do anything bad on others so it can't  be bad. If only the world would just stop and realize, satan is going to use what looks and sounds good to trap them. If the source of power does not come from God then it is bad, and that is all there is too it.
642292
The blind faith that people have in a god is brought about by many causes:\n\n1.)  Their parents and family taught them to believe in God and participate in religious functions.  If they tell their family that God does not exist, they face rejection and persecution.\n\n2.)  God is a security blanket for some people.  Isn't it so nice to have someone that is always thinking of you and loving you and saving you (allegedly) from evil?  But don't forget that when your spouse dies in a car accident that it was part of God's plan.\n\n3.)  The fear of hell is a powerful psychological weapon used by the church to force people into believing in God.  Religious people fear that if they reject the concept of God that they will have an afterlife of eternal misery.  Parents pass this fear onto their children to convince them to "behave appropriately."  It is a vicious cycle that continues from generation to generation.\n\n4.)  Many people lack the intellectual capability to conduct an objective investigation of life and the universe.  For these people it is just easier to believe what soceity tells them and they are unable or unwilling to consider any possible alternative.  They do not want to step outside of their mental "comfort zone."\n\n5.)  And for the lucky religious leaders and people in power, the belief in God has endless benefits.  Pastors get people to donate money to their church, Bishops get prestige and admiration for being so holy, and even President Bush can get support (at least temporarily) for a questionnable war because he claims that God talks to him.
987491
Well I have recently found my faith and I do now worship a God through Christianity although I am hesitant about denominations and which to choose to attend church so now I just research.  I understand where people who are nonbelievers are coming from because I was for my whole life.  I have also heard that God is a security blanket, and if so, what's wrong with that?  Why can't we have security in our lives and the feeling that there is some higher power looking out for us when we pray and accept them into our lives, then yes its comforting and what's wrong with wanting security or believing in something that makes us feel better about the world and ourselves.  I'm not about converting people or being a missionary so I respect whatever anyone believes... but I personally like to think there is a higher power.
894430
You just answered your own question, most people come to faith out of fear, whether they know it or not, so of course they would be afraid of being wrong.
353579
People are afraid of things they dont understand. People who dont understand god, spend all their time trying to rationalize with logic why he doesnt exist, which will be a never resolving issue because god is too mysterious to rationalize.
978716
Do you really believe that God has any thing to fear about man.  Come on brother, think about it.  Remember when he was in front of Pilot and Herod.  They thought he should fear them too.\n  The only ones who have anything to fear with the coming of the Lord are the ones who wrap the poison of sin in the Bread of life, and try to feed it to His children.  And the ones that are so prideful that they cannot truly repent.
936490
I don't really know why people say to "fear" God. There's nothing to be afraid of really. But I think what they mean is to be respectful of your maker. Show respect and humbleness towards the one who created you. To fear is to admire and praise and to show reverance. Hope that helps!
163487
I wouldn't say that I believe for certain that there's no god and no devil (I'm agnostic), but I most certainly have my doubts about the devil.  I certainly don't believe that there's some guy running around with horns, a tail and a pitchfork making people do bad things; nor do I believe there's some malevolent spirit who gets into people's heads and makes them do bad things.  People do bad things because they're vain and selfish, not because of some evil spirit.  Or at least that's my opinion.
1000106
Believing in demons is what gives them power.\n\nDemons don't exist except in the minds of very frightened people.
990242
That guy who asked that question you're talking about was confused.  If anyone really does think that, it may be because we avoid, or should avoid, many sins that the world thinks are perfectly OK.  Maybe they mistake our healthy "fear" (submission and reverence) of God, for a general unhealthy fear of life.
230795
I think a lot of the time it does, yeah.  \n\nHOWEVER (yeah see, ya knew that was coming along somewhere) I don't think all Christians base their faith on fear.  Some base it on belief, and by that I mean that they feel the presence of God in their lives, and that is why they believe, or they get comfort from the words of Jesus Christ, and that is why they believe, or they enjoy having a community place within the church, and that is why they believe.
991828
I dunno, I think it's because it is man's nature to bring himself as far away from God as possible, therefor giving christians the short end of the stick.
487069
For the same reason you appear to be so concerned with "what if there is no god at all?" To each his own. OF course, it would be nice if each were to keep his own to himself..but it ain't gonna happen.
1037610
If you look deeply into what the christian religion is, you'll find its a means of controlling, through fear of damnation, the general public.  the best way of controlling  people is convince them that they have a common enemy,  the devil.  Its motivates people to do things they wouldn't normaly do like kill other humans or give all their money to a church.  Anyone who doesn't believe in the church degrades the churches power over people and therefore must be hated.  This includes pagans.  That's a very very condensed version and I hope it still made sense.
590193
Oh please, if I hear that "Christianity is not based on fear" crap again I'll puke.  What would you call the concept of eternal damnation?\n\nIt's fairly straightforward... fear's the easiest way to control people.  Understanding empowers the individual.  We wouldn't want that now, would we?
471890
surely it is fear that they themselves are not on the right path and will go to hell;by condeming others for wrongdoing they reinforce the idea that they are right\nthe christian message is basically a message of love and an obsession with rules is condemned by the church as legalism