If Satan controls you, isn't he more powerful than the Abrahamic god?

Question

While I believe in neither, if you believe Satan controls people, doesn't that make him more powerful than his associated deity?

A god that won't control people for any reason would, by definition, be weaker than any being that did control people...and if he didn't do anything about that other being controling people, doesn't he agree with that by inaction?

There seem to be many Christians who believe in a Satan that is way stronger than any god and has all sorts of abilities that he doesn't have in the Bible, so I'm trying to reason this out.

When someone claims that disagreement with them makes the one(s) disagreeing "controlled by Satan," aren't they flattering Satan?

How is flattering Satan different from worshipping him?

Answer 1

The concept of Satan has changed a lot over the centuries.

The origin of the word "satan" is a Hebrew word meaning "The Accuser", and in the Old Testament we see Satan acting more or less Yahweh's prosecuting attorney. The book of Job provides the clearest example - here Satan provokes God into testing Job's faith, but it's God who does all the child-killing and boil-afflicting. What is clear from this book is that God and Satan are *not* opponents - Satan is almost like a consigliere, an entity subsidiary to God, whose job is to observe and challenge God's creation and viewpoint.

Demonic possession, as far as I'm aware, doesn't show up in the Bible until the New Testament (even in the OT, when someone is impelled to do evil by supernatural forces, it's God doing the controlling - see "God hardened pharaoh's heart" in Exodus, for example.) Interestingly, when Satan does make an appearance in the Gospels (the episode where he tempts Christ), he's very much reprising his role from Job - testing and challenging God's favored. It's not until later in the NT, in the epistles and especially in Revelation, that the Manichean concept of Satan as a near-equal enemy of God comes into play.

So, for my money, the idea that Satan is God's enemy is a misinterpretation of Judaism, introduced by Greeks and other pagans who were themselves influenced by Zoroastrianism and other "duotheistic" philosophies. There's nothing particularly conflicting about a Satan who is God's servant, but Man's opponent, at least within Judaic philosophy.

Answer 2

God gave man free will but it is entirely within the scope of that free will to surrender it. I think this actually is a testament to the power of God. Satan is weak. He feels the need to dominate, corrupt and control. Anyone who has children knows it far more difficult to sit back and let them make their mistakes then to stand sentinel and guide their every action.

The fact that many people see Satan as more powerful than God says more about the people than it does about either Satan or God. Why would these folks have this opinion? Who told them this? Would it not be in Satan's best interest for people to believe this? The same technique has been used countless time throughout history. Many God-kings have ascended to power by convincing the people that they were more powerful than they really were. If you really want to 'reason this out', you're going to have to go a lot deeper than this.


With Love
Shane

Answer 3

First, a god who does not control his people even though he could, is far stronger than one who controls because he can. To have power and not use it, is more powerful than using power just because you can. Also, The theory goes, God allows Satan to have the power that he has in order to test people. There would be no challenge if the was nothing to test us with. I think that the fear of Satan and evil is taught more than the love and greatness of God. I think to that all that claim to be Christain are not, so you can not base an entire people on what even the majority are doing. It seems that alot of people in USA think all of the middle east is bad, when in fact, there is a large group that may be to us, but not the society as a whole.

Answer 4

God gave us free will to choose. You can choose Satan or God. You assume that Satan controls people. The devil is a spirit and cannot control people. Neither does God. You make your own choices and live by them. For example, If you choose to take drugs, that's your choice, however, you are going to attract very negative people and being around these people is going to attract more evil and could eventually get you killed. It is said that the devil only tempts you into this but does not force you or control you. You and you alone are responsible for your life.

Answer 5

I am not a Christian but was. Christians are taught that satan has a degree of power because God allows him so. This is foolish. I know Christians who believe that all things 'bad' in the world are of satan (hurricanes, tsunami, tornados, earthquakes) and God only sends butterflies or something.

God is all powerful and the only one with power.

It is sort of 'flattering satan'.

Answer 6

Satan tries to tempt people. He does not have power to make rain or cause chaos in the universe by disturbing its balances. The lord of the world (Allah) has power over all things and he has sent us in this world for a short period of time to see who does good and who evil. He test some of us through others and is observing everything and unto him we shall return. The lord of the worlds rules over what ever is hidden and menifest and there is none stronger than him. Tell me if there is not after life than whats the point of this life then. At death good and evil is equal.

Answer 7

Well, the problem is that the Bible itself sanctions giving proper respect to authority and power, without necessarily ceding ultimate control to the same. In the book of Jude, Michael the archangel was arguing with Satan over the body of Moses, and would not employ his own authority, but invoked the authority of God to overcome the wicked one. Thus, we are to avoid presumption in dealing with supernatural evil. Does that equate to worship? Only if respecting human authority also equals worship. It is hardly flattery to respect such authorities within the proper limits set for them by God. See, Satan is nothing more than a created being and he too must honor the limits set by God. Consider Job, God's servant. Satan was allowed to harm him, but only up to a point, only insofar as God's purposes were served. You see, God controls Satan, even when Satan is causing havoc in other people’s lives. That "havoc" is actually a tool of God to bring about a greater good, despite the evil intentions of the wicked. Consider the demon-possessed man who encountered Jesus. For years this man wandered among the tombs in a rage of insanity, controlled by multiple demons. But when he met Jesus, the demons were forced to leave the man in so dramatic a fashion that great worship was given to the name of Jesus. Or consider Judas, who was controlled by Satan in the betrayal of Jesus. Yet God had Himself prophesied the betrayal, and set the wheels in motion to make it's occurrence certain, because a greater good would result, in that the death of Jesus would set sinners free from the power of Satan and even the power of death itself. The Scripture says that if Satan had known what God was up to in the death of Christ, he wouldn’t have tried to make it happen. Do you see how complex this question of control is? We won’t even know all the twists and turns of the plot till we get to the end of the book. Then perhaps your question can be answered more fully. Do you really want to wait that long before finding out if He is real?

Edit:

Arguably, there is some demon possession in the Old Testament. For example, King Saul was sent an evil, tormenting spirit, 1 Samuel 16:14; 19:9, which brought about severe depression, and acts of unreasonable violence toward David. This irrationality would be his undoing, and David would sit on the throne, just as God had always planned. Other examples may be cited, such as the deceiving spirits that led Ahab's prophets to predict success in the campaign in which he would die. In any event, it is still a serious misreading of the New Testament to suggest that Christians regarded Satan as anything more powerful than he was in Judaism. Quite to the contrary, when the Apostles reported to Jesus their power over evil spirits in their evangelistic mission, Jesus said he saw Satan falling from heaven like lightening, representing a tremendous loss of power. Therefore, yes, there was a transition in the role of Satan which Jesus himself brought about by His own authority, and it might well be expected for there to be more direct confrontation with spiritual evil, now that Jesus had conferred that authority on His followers, as is true even to this day. I have personally witnessed it.

Answer 8

I've read these answers. Apparently, they don't get it. They still think God is more powerful...and loving, too. Even though he all-knowingly creates an evil trickster so some of His 'beloved creation' can be punished.
A bunch of sadists must have written the Buy-bull.

Answer 9

Satan has only the power God grants him...or the power you give to him over yourself. Period.

It comes down to choices. You choose the power in your life. Life giving power comes from the living God. OR you can give into your flesh or lust...and give power to satan. It is your choice.

Hope that helps!

Answer 10

Satan controls he who is controlable, weak, desperate for attention, blah blah blah