I've Figured Out WHAT/WHO The REAL Devil Is.

[AmericanDream]

Abe aka Tessio sleeps with the fishes.

search under his other name Tessio.

[yodajazz]

How can paper be the devil?

It's the inherent "intrinsic value" of money, which she is referring to. And I agree with this post but would like to add greed to the list

The actual saying is; “The love of money is the root of all evil”. Money is not bad. What is bad, is wanting money so much, that a person does not care who they hurt, in order to get it. In short, it is greed.

Being wealthy is not evil. Some people get wealthy by giving people a valuable service. An example would be a entertainer who makes a product such as a movie that millions of people enjoy. Some wealthy people fund charities, or contribute to the good of many others. But the recent financial meltdown was the by-product of greed. They created complex financial instruments for the sole purpose of making more money, and even resorted promoting risky loans, then hiding them among other sounder ones.

Banks used to encourage people to be thrifty with their money, and that in turn help society to function with the excess capitol. But they they found out they could make more money with fees, and started to look for easier ways to penalize people. Bank fees to not produce any tangible goods, they just transfer money to banks. This leaves person in worse shape and able to contibute less to others. Now everyone is hurting but a few.

By-passing your community to send jobs overseas is fueled by greed, in that they put profits over assisting their communities, even though it helps people overseas. Now people can’t afford to buy home homes, cars, and so many other things.

So the greed in each of us is the devil. The one that says get yours and don’t care what happens to anyone else. And anything can be used for good or evil purposes, including money. This was the Bible story about the “Garden of Eden”. The ‘devil’ gave Adam and Eve the ‘fruit’, to see how to use things for evil purposes. They were already good. They ate from the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”. This was not an apple, it was exactly what it said.

So Adam’s descendents, saw how to take a good thing; that is, lending people money to buy homes, and use it for evil purposes; Greed. The devil made them do it. The devil inside.

[vincidog]

I was going to disagree and say "unbridled power", however I defer to Yoda's distillation.....Greed is it; as GREED is effectively behind all evil

[raybbaby]

Oh, I thought for sure it was Bill Crystal or Dick Cheney.

[Nicole Dupre]

Greed is built in to the human nervous system. It's a survival mechanism, to some extent, not unlike fear. Fear can cripple you. But fear can also motivate you.

[rockabilly]

And what frightens you Nicole? For me it's the fear of always being alone.

[vincidog]

Nicole....Agreed, however the distinction becomes "unbridled greed". Thus, How much does one need and when/before does acquisition become gamesmanship and a motive unto itself?

[kukm4]

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist."

[Nicole Dupre]

Nicole....Agreed, however the distinction becomes "unbridled greed". Thus, How much does one need and when/before does acquisition become gamesmanship and a motive unto itself?

Right. Unbridled fear is no better. All emotions are integral, but not in the wrong doses. Fear is only healthy in the sense of "if I put my hand in the fire, etc". But if you're always worried that your house is in flames, it might as well be.

Greed is healthy, in the sense that abundance is a positive thing. Ambition is not necessarily a bad thing either. But life always puts you in situations where your moral compass is being tested.

Imo, the 'devil' is the base side of human nature. It's an antisocial personality disorder. Hell is what your damaged fellow humans might put you through if you gave them half the chance. If a wolf goes for your jugular, it's nothing personal. But when your "fellow man" does it, that's being evil.

[UirCelLanAd]

Nancy Pelosi