Please. if satan was created by a perfect being, there wouldn't have been a seed or possibility of a seed of pride in him.
And besides, being that God is omniscient, He'd have known that satan was flawed before creating him. So are we saying here that god just wanted an arch enemy to kick around for eternity? And if that's the case, being that satan is rebellious wouldn't he have been a good little angel just out of spite?
2006-09-24 18:40:49 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
The angels were not supposed to have free will.
2006-09-25 01:53:45 · update #1
there were only 5 sentences in original question, Rob, so i can't respond, not knowing which you actually meant. but i Was being gentle. the Question posed here was one i purposely left holes in, so that anyone who wanted an out for the sake of their faith would have one.
2006-09-25 01:57:57 · update #2
This is a great theological question, and your logic is hard to fault.
You are assuming though that God behaves in a logical way. Since our very existence is a logical impossibility, it's possible that it all makes perfect sense to a superior being who exists outside of space and time.
But let's assume, as the Judaeo-Christians do, that we are made in God's image and likeness, and that He thinks much like we do. On that assumption your question makes perfect sense.
In my view Satan was invented to explain why there was suffering in the world. No one could explain why a compassionate and loving God would let people suffer, or deliberately harm one another. So they needed a bad guy.
I think in the Old Testament Satan was not so much an evil competitor, as an agent of God sent out to test people's faith. This is exactly what the book of Job is all about. Satan has a wager with God that he can get Job to turn against God. He kills Job's wife, family, makes him destitute, inflicts pain, you name it. After endless chapters of agonizing, Job finally embraces God once more. Surprise, surprise.
When we get to the New Testament, Satan evolves more into the embodiment of all evil. In Revelations we find the concept of the Anti-Christ, a beast who thinks he actually has a chance of beating God in a battle. Either he is extremely dumb, or he knows something the Christians don't.
My personal view is that the universe is not a replica of Heaven. And if Heaven is bliss and perfection, then our universe must be, to some extent, painful and flawed. So why would God want to create such a universe? Maybe He's just speculating on all the possibilities, and his imagination is our reality. Or maybe an eternity of bliss is too much, even for God, and he needs to experience, vicariously at least, something that is not bliss.
2006-09-24 19:41:27 · answer #1 · answered by Zardoz 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Wow, Consider that you were created from this perfection according to the faith that speaks of Satan. He did not create Satan to kick around. Why just one being when he has all of mankind to play with. Besides read the Book of Job and you will see that Satan and God are partners or at least good acquaintances in tormenting us.
2006-09-24 18:54:45 · answer #2 · answered by ? 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Where did you get the notion that God being perfect has to create perfect beings or anything else. If you were God would you create something equal to yourself. No, i dont think you would, i dont think any of us would.
Yes, you would be correct in saying that God, being omniscient, would have known he was going to rebel. I cannot explain or even fathom why God would allow it, but i realize that their are lots of issues God did not see fit to explain to me.
I am not sure how u think that satan would be a "little angel" to spite God. I am sure satan was smart enouph(barely) to realize that wouldnt have hurt God in the least. Besides, satan wasnt trying to be rebellious. He wanted to be God. He wanted his power and his throne. He wasnt just trying to get Gods attention by rebelling.
2006-09-24 18:56:24 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Oh good grief charlie brown not another bunch that has their ideas turned around. except for a couple of them.
SATAN was created by GOD to be the tempter of humans souls to try and turn them away from the laws of GOD. and to do Battle with Jesus for the keys to the gates of HELL so that on judgment day the Gates could be opened and all that are within can escape to face the Judgment and be forgiven and rejoin the body of the CREATOR.
SATAN was never a FALLEN ANGEL. that was ST. LUCIFER and COMPANY who are also awaiting the day of Judgment in their own special HELL.
2006-09-24 19:19:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Satan was once an angel. Angels are not perfect but are enlightened beings who understand the call to holiness better than we do. God gives angels free will. Without free will, obedience and service to Him would be meaningless. In this case, Satan, who was once the angel Lucifer (bearer of light) ,CHOSE to turn away from God in jealousy. God did not want an "arch enemy". Its not a comic book!
2006-09-24 18:49:13 · answer #5 · answered by mazzie 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Okay, Douglas. Please don't try to mix logic with faith. Take another look at your question. In your 5th sentence, you attempt to place limits on what God is capable of. Then you do that again in sentence #7. Then you question the validity of God's motives.
What are you really questioning, here? Your belief? Someone else's belief? Hey, I think I just got it! You can question your own beliefs in the comfort and safety of your own mind, but to get other people to question THEIR beliefs, you have to reach out and sign in and mix things that should never be mixed, like faith and logic.
The faith people are already having a kind of a hard time, Doug. Be gentle with them.
2006-09-24 18:52:59 · answer #6 · answered by anyone 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
One minor point, you're implying that everything God created is perfect. Look around at the people you see each day, or look inside of yourself. Are you perfect? Are they perfect? I'm certainly not perfect. Yet God knew that ahead of time and still bothered to create us. I think that's pretty awesome.
2006-09-24 18:58:43 · answer #7 · answered by jebgirl7 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is true that God created perfection. But it is also true that God created beings that are capable of thinking for themselves, in other words, he created us (and satan) with the ability to choose for ourselves whether to be loyal to him or not. Obviously, satan chose to be disloyal (he was one of God's brightest angels in heaven before he "fell"). Of course God knew what was going to happen as he knows the future, but as he is a god of love, he gives everyone a choice. Would you have God create "robots", people who would automatically serve him? This whole timeline that we are in is a lesson in love by our creator. If God wanted to, he could destroy satan just like that.
2006-09-24 18:56:33 · answer #8 · answered by mitty 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There must be balance.
God knew that there needed to be an 'nemisis'. He knew that without it there whould be no "CHOICE"; but without choice you would have what would basically boil down to a higherarchey. WICH is the same as no choice at all. You cant say, you can choose to believe in me or to NOT believe in me and then turn around and NOT give the people something else to believe in. Its not right and God knew it.
God gave us the power to choose him for a reason.
And without choice what is the point of this little "expierment" that he's got going on here anyway then?
2006-09-24 18:47:51 · answer #9 · answered by lilstormbug 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
God created all things with free will. Satan chose to exercise his in an unproductive manner and screwed up in the process. Case closed.
2006-09-24 18:49:02 · answer #10 · answered by Lonnie P 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋