How can someone distinguish whether an influence or the cause of something is from evil or from God?
Its commonly considered that the devil can be very deceiving and manipulative, so it seems likely he would often attempt to pretend to be a positive influence, or perhaps even pretend to be a Godly influence. This seems like it could make it difficult to tell whether an influence is from the devil or from God.
It could be hypothesized that a way to determine God’s influence is to consider what seems good and helpful in general, or what seems to follow the Bible. But if the devil is as deceitful and manipulative as could be, then he would likely create an illusion of good as a method of deceit for someone that wants to do good. He could do the same with the Bible by manipulating someone into thinking something is implied by the Bible. This might explain many bad deeds in history which people have done, claiming it is in the name of Christianity.
Perhaps the main difference for capability of influence between the 2, would be that God is superior and capable of overpowering. This in itself doesn't make the source of an influence distinguishable for a person, but combined with a genuine request from God, it could. In a post from a few yrs ago; Willing Gods Will, I considered how and why God would influence our thoughts and decisions if it is our will for him to do so. So if someone requests God’s will, God would have the superior power to influence that person. The way God would then influence that person would differ depending on the person and perhaps their typical way of thinking, as further considered in a post from a few yrs ago; Method of Guidance.
So since humans are flawed and their perception and interpretations are included in that flawness, assessing by themselves, whether something is good and from God could be taken advantage of by the devil. But if someone is able to interpret an influence after asking for God’s guidance, this seems like an effective way to distinguish any influence of being from the Devil or Divine.
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