For people who believe in some type of Higher Power: Does evil exist?

Question

If you believe in a personal God, a deity of some kind, or a Higher Power or Being in the Universe: Do you also believe in Satan, demons, or any kind of evil?

Answer 1

Yes.

Evil is the opposite or absence of good.

Moral evil results from humankind's free choice to sin.

Sin is a deliberate thought, word, deed, or omission contrary to the eternal law of God.

The seven Deadly Sins are:
- Lust (inappropriate desire)
- Gluttony (over-indulgence)
- Greed (avarice)
- Sloth (laziness)
- Wrath (anger)
- Envy (jealousy)
- Pride (vanity)

The opposing seven Holy Virtues are:
+ Chastity (purity)
+ Moderation (self-restraint)
+ Generosity (vigilance)
+ Zeal (enthusiasm)
+ Meekness (composure)
+ Charity (giving)
+ Humility (humbleness)

+ Satan +

"But deliver us from evil."

The last petition to our Father is also included in Jesus' prayer: "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one." (Jn 17:15)

In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God.

The devil is the one who "throws himself across" God's plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ.

The Bible teaches that Satan is a fallen angel. Scripture sees in this being a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil". (Cf. Jn 8:44; Rev 12:9)

Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing."

Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. (2 Pet 2:4) This "fall" consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign.

The devil "has sinned from the beginning"; he is "a liar and the father of lies." (1 Jn 3:8; Jn 8:44)

It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels' sin unforgivable. "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death."

Scripture witnesses to the disastrous influence of the one Jesus calls "a murderer from the beginning," who would even try to divert Jesus from the mission received from his Father. (Jn 8:44; cf. Mt 4:1-11)

"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." (1 Jn 3:8)

The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite.

He is only a creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a creature.

He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign.

For more information, see Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 391-395: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt1art1p7.htm#391

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

I find it useful to consider good and evil as opposite sides of a single thing, such as a coin. This way, a single force acts upon all of us the same way and only our propensities determine outcomes. In other words, you can react differently than another person, depending on how you have developed a relationship to the world at large. I observe the basic goodness of all people, given enough time. The evil inherent in them is frequently supressed for the betterment of all.

Answer 3

Absolutely. Satan and his demon followers are very real and very dangerous. Many think it's an archaic, ridiculous idea. But, if you accept the idea of God and his angels, you must accept the fact that some of those angels rebelled. Was Jesus speaking to himself during the "temptations"?

How influential is Satan? 1 John 5:19 tells us that the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.

Answer 4

Jesus talked with the devil.

Matthew 4:1-3 " Then Jesus was led by the spirit up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he felt hungry. 3 Also, the Tempter came and said to him: “If you are a son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But in reply he said: “It is written, ‘Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth.’”

5 Then the Devil took him along into the holy city, and he stationed him upon the battlement of the temple 6 and said to him: “If you are a son of God, hurl yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give his angels a charge concerning you, and they will carry you on their hands, that you may at no time strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him: “Again it is written, ‘You must not put Jehovah your God to the test.’”

8 Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’” 11 Then the Devil left him, and, look! angels came and began to minister to him.

Answer 5

I believe in Jesus, heaven, and angels as well as Satan, demons, and hell

Answer 6

It is appropriate and realistic to accept the idea of Satan and his fellow rebels.
Alot of terrible things that happen are due to their influence./
It is also appropriate to believe their days are numbered.

Answer 7

In ancient Jewish tradition Satan is simply an angel doing the work that God assigned to Satan to do.

The word Satan means challenger. With the idea of Satan challenging us, or tempting if you will. This description sees Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. This idea of Satan works closely with God as an integral part of Gods plan for us. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it becomes clear to us that there can be only one meaningful or logical choice.

Contrast this to Christianity, which sees Satan as God's opponent. In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be considered polytheistic or setting up the devil to be an equally powerful polarity to god or a demigod.

Oddly, proof for The Christian satan/devil mythology is supposedly found in the ancient Jewish texts that were borrowed to create the bible. One can’t help but wonder how Christians came up with such a fantastically different interpretation of Gods assistant Satan in their theology.

Other hints about Satan’s role in human relations can be seen if you look at the name Lucifer. It’s meaning in the original tongue translates as Light bearer or light bringer. Essentially the bringer of enlightenment. The temptations of the Satan idea bring all of us eventually into Gods light. Hardly the Evil entity of Christian mythology.

Love and blessings
don

Answer 8

Evil: Its called angels. Jehovah or the devil is a nice plural name for them.

Answer 9

as there is no evil, why should I?