If Satan/the Devil is responsible for all the evil in the world, as some believe, doesn't that throw the idea of free will out the window? Technically, if a person does something immoral, can't he/she just say "the devil made me do it", and remove any personal responsibility from him/herself?
2006-08-03 17:16:39 · 17 answers · asked by faorie_arcana 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
(standard disclaimer--bored philosophy student. flame me if you wish.)
2006-08-03 17:21:51 · update #1
Don't get so wrapped up in these myths and fables. People have very good imaginations and some tend to be quite superstitious.
Sylvia Browne does not believe there is a devil or demons, if that makes you feel any better. Doesn't she know everything anyway?
There you go ... figure it out and DON'T believe everything you read or hear!
2006-08-03 17:20:16 · answer #1 · answered by LaRue 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I guess so, but I don't believe the devil is responsible for all the evil in the world. Every Christian I know also believes the same thing as I do and I go to a Christian college. I think the amount of people who actually believe that the devil is the cause of all the evil is actually a very small number. First of all (and I'm saying all this from a Christian standpoint so someone from a different POV might think differently) unlike God, the devil is not omnipresent. He cannot be everywhere at once, therefore he cannot tempt every person in the world. If the devil was omnipresent, God still did give us the right to make choices therefore the devil can never actually make us do anything. He can tempt us but not force us to do it. But like I said, I don't think he does actually tempt us because I don't think he's around a whole bunch. It's human nature to want to lie to cover up our mistakes, to hit someone when they hit us, to slander someone when they slander us...human nature accounts for the sin or "evil" in the world. All Satan can really take credit for is giving Adam and Eve the idea...other than that, it's all us.
2006-08-04 00:26:47 · answer #2 · answered by iamsupermanurnot 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Satan isn't responsible for anything, he didn't create it to begin with. God created the world and everything in it. We were given free will as a crutch to explain evil. The Church made-up the devil to scare people into believing.
If you believe in God, that is.
2006-08-04 00:27:51 · answer #3 · answered by lilith4507 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on whether one argues that Satan exists *and* can control others. If so, then yes. Same arguement might be made for an omnipotent and intervening God. If you make your deities too uber, then responsibility logically goes out the window.
2006-08-04 00:24:15 · answer #4 · answered by Babs 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Satan is not responsible for all evil in the world. He can't make us do anything. We still have the free will to choose. Men are tempted by their own lusts. Those who blame the devil are just fooling themselves.
2006-08-04 00:22:01 · answer #5 · answered by po3try 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe that the concept of the Devil represents an affirmation of free will. When you examine YHVH and find a god who changes a covenant from a simple code of 10 basic ethical commandments to 613 laws dealing with every aspect of life, who ravages your civilization using local thugs (read King Nebuchadnezzar) when you go against his will with all the logic of an abusive spouse (you made me give you that black eye), and then discards you in favor of better, more powerful people while casting you as the killers of his anointed - anyone who rebels against that is a symbol of free will, of rebellion against tyranny, and liberty for the mind and soul.
Honestly, people just love to abdicate responsibility for their actions. "The Devil Made me do it" is just the flip side of "God wills it". Either one is a poor excuse.
2006-08-04 01:38:54 · answer #6 · answered by The Man Comes Around 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If i told you to go and kill John Doe, would you not be liable for that action.
Similarly you are responsible for what you do and the devil too is responsible (to God) for what he tempts you to do.
The devil has no control over you. Had he had control over you that would be entrapment. And god would then have to dismiss all charges.
2006-08-04 00:30:39 · answer #7 · answered by Jamal 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The devil didn't "make me do it". I chose to sin. I had a choice, just as you did, and for a long time I convinced myself that the sin I was partaking in was better than anything God had to offer, or at least that I could carry on the life of a so-called-Christian at the same time I was living in sin. You have the same choice, the gift of God, or the "pleasure" that lasts only a while. Trust me, God's Gift is SO much better! God bless you!
2006-08-04 00:22:05 · answer #8 · answered by eefen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, it does actually. Satan is nothing more than a symbol. He isn't a deity in direct opposition to the Christian god. That version of Satan is nothing more than a myth.
2006-08-04 00:27:30 · answer #9 · answered by Daemon 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No because we are all bent toward backsliding, or doing wrong. It is our sinful nature. I do what I want to do. My worst enemy is not the devil, but my own sinful flesh. That is why I need to dwell in the Spirit (read my Bible and pray, go to church, etc) so I can resist temptation. When I do wrong, we have no one to blame but myself.
2006-08-04 00:23:26 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The devil can't make you do anything, he simply tempts you and puts bad thoughts in your head it's your choice if you choose to listen. When(most) people do bad things there is a voice in your head telling you to do it and one that tells you that it's wrong, some people call this their conscience, but I believe that god is the good voice and Satan is the bad one.
2006-08-04 00:22:01 · answer #11 · answered by Lin_Z 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋