Can belief in evil actually encourage depravity and ill will?

I'm talking about beliefs in evil forces, Hell, evil that manifests physically, demons, Satan - that sort of thing. Not just the belief that bad things happen.





This question came to mind after reading the quote below.





';Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.';


Friedrich NietzscheCan belief in evil actually encourage depravity and ill will?
Absolutely. The fact that evil forces, Satan and monsters don't exist is beside the point. Whatever you invest yourself in, in some sense invests itself inside of you as well.





A very ridiculous analogy would be the mafia. If you have no interest in it, and have no reason to ever cross paths with the organization, you wont. If you are drawn to the lifestyle, wanna hangout with mobsters, you may end up up whacked out in a wetland next to Giants Stadium.Can belief in evil actually encourage depravity and ill will?
Yes, I think we take on certain features of whatever we focus our attention on for extended periods of time.





Like the way teenagers pick up mannerisms from their parents even though they don't want to be anything like them, and the way those mannerisms develop into personality traits turning the teenagers into clones of their parents. The more time they spend complaining about the restrictions they've been put under, and the conflict that causes, the more those restrictions become a part of their lives. Once they become habitual, they are hard to break.





The other way of dealing with parents is to understand the reasons why they do what they do, which are usually their weaknesses, and to evolve past those weaknesses on behalf of them. Therefore becoming more than what they were, and something new and unique.





I assume the same sort of system works with mythical beings that you have constant conflict with, like Satan.
I THINK NIETZSCHE PRETTY MUCH SUMS IT UP !!





IF YOU DEAL WITH EVIL, THEN EVIL WILL SURROUND YOU...ONCE A PERSON OPENS THAT DOOR, IT IS OPEN AND CLOSING IT IS USUALLY IMPOSSIBLE. THERE ARE THINGS ON THE OTHER SIDE, JUST WAITING FOR AN INVITATION TO INVADE THIS SIDE OF THE VEIL...WHY ANY ONE WOULD WANT TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH UNCONTROLLABLE DEMONIC FORCES IS A TOTAL MYSTERY TO ME. LIFE AS YOU KNOW IT WILL BE OVER, AND A NIGHTMARE OF UNBELIEVABLE PROPORTIONS WILL UNFOLD. PEOPLE SHOULD LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE...NEVER, EVER SUMMON UP SOMETHING EVIL....WHAT COME THROUGH WILL BE DARK AND HORRIFIC ...IT WILL BEGIN TO CONTROL YOUR WORLD IT WILL BE THE END OF LIFE AS YOU KNOW IT !!





GONE WILL BE THE DAYS OF SUNLIGHT AND FLOWERS, NO GENTLE SUMMER RAIN, NO BUTTERFLIES, OR SOFT BREEZES...NO PEACE OR HAPPINESS, NO RESTFUL NIGHTS SLEEP...INSTEAD THERE WILL BE STORMS AND UNREST, NIGHTMARES OF THE DAMNED, A GRADUAL FORCE WILL TAKE OVER YOUR MIND, AND THOUGHTS...EVERY THING WILL GO DARK FOR YOU AND YOU WILL BE DOOMED...





SO LEAVE THE EVIL AND DARKNESS WHERE IT BELONGS, LURKING IN THE NETHERWORLD, TRAPPED IN THE SHADOWS....IF YOU RELEASE IT INTO THIS WORLD THE CONSEQUENCES WILL EFFECT YOU FOR ETERNITY.....
No, you become aware if not already and you avoid at all costs, succumbing to evil ways and following Mr Evil.





You will find the road.
My guess would be that Satanism would be dedicated to depravity and ill-will.