Serious question.
I've never really gotten a straight answer. I know he was a fallen Arch Angel, right? Thought he deserved the power that God had, or something. So God kinda sent him to rule the underworld, per say. Well, instead of doing that, thus scaring and torturing millions of people, why didn't he just destroy him?
2007-12-21 19:35:46 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Ok, sending him to Hell does not get rid of him, when, apparently, he can do his dirty work anyway. I just don't understand why it has to be such a struggle, a big test, to see if you can resist the temptation of Satan.
God could supposedly abolish this whole dilemma, if He is as powerful as some believe, right??
2007-12-21 19:42:32 · update #1
Because he serves an important service of trying his best to sway people away from God. Makes sense, huh? For me neither.
2007-12-21 19:39:01 · answer #1 · answered by Lord of the Flies 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
God not only chooses now to do nothing about satan, but god had to have known what the results of creating satan would be and chose to run his plan anyway. God has no problems admitting he's the one who creates evil anyway:
Isaiah 45:7, KJV reads: I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Your question is just a re-wording of the classic problem of evil brought by Epicurus long ago that no theologian has ever been able to answer:
“The gods can either take away evil from the world and will not, or, being willing to do so cannot; or they neither can nor will, or lastly, they are able and willing.If they have the will to remove evil and cannot, then they are not omnipotent. If they can but will not, then they are not benevolent. If they are neither able nor willing, they are neither omnipotent nor benevolent.. Lastly, if they are both able and willing to annihilate evil, why does it exist? ” -Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE)
2007-12-21 19:50:54 · answer #2 · answered by AiW 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Free will. God has chosen that in order for good and free will to exist, there must be a challange.
All too often it so easy to challange God, make fun of God and idolise Satan.
God also cast down Lucifer into the underworld because destruction is not a punishment.
2007-12-21 19:43:32 · answer #3 · answered by bright_neon 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
God could easily get rid of Satan, just like He could easily MAKE us do the right thing all the time..
But there are a couple issues here..
First, it is in this earth life that we prove ourselves worthy and obedient to God. And the only way we can do that is if we have adversity and trials. Satan serves a purpose in a sense, by causing the problems and pain that he causes.. because it gives us adversity and trials to overcome and become stronger.
This is how we prove our worth.
Look at Job in the bible, and look at everything he suffered, and yet he still turned to God, and never lost faith.
That is how we need to be. Satan will cause his antics, but in the end.. how we deal with those problems, is how we can prove our worth to God.
At the end of this world. Before the Millineum, Satan then will be locked up. But for now.. even he is serving a purpose.
And remember how I said, God could make us do everything right too.. it's an issue of Free Agency.. He wants us to make choices on our own.
In the end.. if you have someone who is kind to you and serves all your needs because they HAVE too.. then their more a slave than anything else.
If that person does that stuff because they want too.. then that's giving of yourself. That is God's way.
2007-12-21 19:59:49 · answer #4 · answered by Chris 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He could. That's the definition of omnipotent -- the power to do anything.
But then religious believers couldn't use hell as a scare tactic.
Believers might argue that humans have "free will" as an excuse for why they think Satan continues to exist.
But is it free will when non-believers face eternal torture for not believing in a loving god? That sounds a bit like the city mobster who will give you the freedom to repay a loan, or the freedom to be buried in the Nevada desert.
It is not more free if humans do not have any divine incentive (or punishment) to act in a certain way?
I rarely find any aspect of Christianity that is rational, just rationalizing.
2007-12-21 19:44:10 · answer #5 · answered by Dalarus 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That would defeat the purpose of having a god at all. Wtihout having a conflict, i.e: good v/s evil fighting over ones immortal soul. There would be no form of punishment god could dish out anymore, no satan, no hell. That would also make the sacrifice of Jesus, a moot killing. Since he died for your sins, to save you from eternal damnation.
That would also make the Bible a moot book, since there is no satan, we would no longer have to live our lives by the bible. The ten commandments would be tossed out as well. No satan, no one to tempt us into sin.
It would also do away with every religion, why would one need to go to church to learn how to be saved, when there is no longer a satan to be saved from?
Had god destroyed satan in the beginning, Eve would not have been tempted, the garden of eden would still exist, and we would all be wandering around naked!! (Picture that in your mind!!!! LOL).
Religion needed satan to survive, in order for the bible to work, and for god to exist, neither could survive without the other. Without religion, we wold be dependant on pure science to explain things, and there would be no mysteries in life, there would be no religions to have philosophical discussions with and about, and this section in Yahoo, would not exist.
2007-12-21 19:53:32 · answer #6 · answered by elder_moon81 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you are asking Muslims by seeing this fallen arch angel if you are then I'll tell you after he was thrown off his place he took a promise from Allah to not to kill him till Dooms day so he can see if man obeys you or not cuz he was the one who told God to not to create man god took the promise and told him that people who are mine and good will not go with you Satan just wants to take as many people with him to the hell and he is succeeding by the look of it and God is powerful no doubt.
2007-12-21 20:15:22 · answer #7 · answered by nicky 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If he is to destroy satan, he will destroy all beings. From the very beginning, God knows what would and could happen. From the beginning to the end, it is a perfect plan. Just and fair.
2007-12-21 19:42:06 · answer #8 · answered by - 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
He will just get rid of Satan. Satan is preforming a service for God in giving us a choice of whom we want to follow so to get rid of Satan before every one has had a chance to choose whom they want to follow would take away their freedom Thus forcing us to follow God.
2007-12-21 19:45:50 · answer #9 · answered by saintrose 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Great question!
The answer is that NEITHER God nor Satan exist. Christians invented Satan so they wouldn't have to take responsibility for their own thoughts and actions. Also, during times such as the Inquisition, the Crusades, witch burnings, etc., Christians needed to make non-Christians 'the enemy', and gained support for killing them by claiming they were possessed.
2007-12-21 19:41:55 · answer #10 · answered by gelfling 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
God is all knowing. He knew Satan would fall. God created him knowing everything that would come along with it. He has no reason to get rid of Satan.
2007-12-21 19:50:07 · answer #11 · answered by Emily 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋