No one is spared of evil. We either reel under the effects of evil or feel the impact of evil upon our relatives, friends and society at large. Some question God’s goodness on account of evil and a few others dispute God’s presence.
Evil is real. Evil is not an illusion. Any sane human being would affirm this position. Terrorism or human trafficking is an act of evil, and the pain felt by those hurt by this evil is indeed real.
If evil is real, then it should have a source, and that source has to be real. (If Satan is not real, then was Christ hallucinating while HE was tempted by Satan and while HE drove away the demons?)
The Bible terms Satan as the source of all evil (John 8: 44). Christians believe in God as a maximally great being; HE is supreme over all that has been, is and ever will be. If God is supreme, then HE should have created Satan. Isn’t it?
Before we explore the Bible to learn about Satan, we should discard the following concepts:
- That Satan and his demonic entourage are merely a mythological conception drawn from the culture of the day. This is German theologian Rudolf Bultmann’s program of demythologization of Satan.
- That Satan and evil do not stem from a personal source but are woven in the fabric of our social reality as a part of the very structure of reality. This is Christian existentialist theologian Paul Tilich’s depersonalization of Satan.
- That demons are simply nothingness in their dynamic, not created by God but a threat to God’s creation. This is reformed theologian Karl Barth’s conception. This conception of evil denies the concreteness of evil, hence we disagree.
So to begin with, we agree with the Bible that evil is real, Satan is real, and God is also real. Did God then create Satan? The answer is an unequivocal yes.
But the bigger question is, “Did God create Satan as a source of evil?” The answer to this question is an unequivocal no, for God, as a good being, cannot be the creator of evil.
This then is Bible’s teaching about Satan:
Isaiah 14: 12-17 and Ezekiel 28: 12-19 are often termed as conjectures of the Satanic fall. This may or may not be so, for these passages could refer to human kings of Babylon and Tyre. Hence it would be profitable for us to explore the Bible from outside these references to learn more about Satan.
- God created everything, which includes angels and demons (Colossians 1: 15-16).
- Everything God created was originally good (Genesis 1: 31; 1 Timothy 4: 4)
- Some angels sinned and are doomed for eternal destruction (1 John 3: 8; 2 Peter 2: 4; Jude 6). If some angels sinned, then they were created with a potential to sin i.e. they had the freewill to sin.
- Satan is an angel who is subordinate to God (Job 1: 6-7).
- Satan is a demon (Luke 10: 17-20) – casting out of demons implies the defeat of Satan.
- Satan is the prince of demons (Matthew 12: 22-32; Mark 3: 22-30; Luke 11: 14-23).
- Those who are demon possessed are under the influence of the devil (Acts 10: 38; cf. Luke 13: 16).
- Satan is the evil one (Matthew 13: 19; 1 John 2: 13, 3: 12, 5: 18).
These passages undoubtedly teach us that God created Satan and his demons originally as good beings. But Satan and some of his fellow angels sinned against God and are in the business of enabling mankind’s rebellion and disobedience against God.
Significantly, God did not create an evil Satan. God created a good angel, who used his freewill to reject God and become evil.
If God had not created angels, then Satan would not exist. So why did God create angels? The Bible reveals the purpose behind God’s creation of angels. Angels were created to…
- …reveal and communicate God’s message to humans (Acts 7: 53; Hebrews 2: 2).
- …minister to believers (Acts 5: 19; Hebrews 1: 14).
- …execute judgment on the enemies of God (2 Kings 19: 35).
- …praise and glorify God (Psalm 103: 20, 148: 2).
- …be involved in Christ’s second coming (Matthew 25: 31)
A variant of the bigger question is, ‘why did God create Satan knowing that he will cause evil in this world?’
First, did God know that Satan would cause evil? Yes, God would have known all about Satan. God is all-knowing (Job 37:16; Psalm 139:2–4, 147:5; Proverbs 5:21; Isaiah 46:9-10; 1 John 3:19–20), so God would have definitely known that Satan would cause evil and disaster in this world.
Second, could not have God created a world without Satan? Wouldn’t a world without Satan and evil be a better world than ours? In other words, is our world the best of all possible worlds?
One of the great thinkers of 17th and 18th century is Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He proposed that our world is the best of all possible worlds. Leibniz’s proposition was that since God knew all of the infinite possibilities, this world should be the best of all possible worlds, for God has actualized this world over the other possible worlds.
Christian analytic philosopher, Alvin Plantinga differed from Leibniz by positing that there cannot be a best world, for one more palm tree or one more morally righteous person can make any world better. So Plantinga concluded that there is no such thing as the best world. [Even if God does not create anything, HE alone will exist as the greatest good (Summum bonum)]. Therefore, God is merely obligated to create a good world and not a best world.
This world is a good world, since God has offered freedom to his creation. God has offered freedom to man to love HIM freely. The same freedom was offered to the angels as well. Some angels a.k.a. Satan and his demonic entourage abused this freedom and rebelled against God.
A world without freedom is not a good world. Therefore, as C.S Lewis wrote in ‘Problem of Pain,’ God has created a good world in such a way that the goodness of this world could be perverted into evil upon mankind’s rebellion or when creation is distorted.
In other words, free beings i.e. man could use their freedom to perform evil deeds by rejecting God, which in effect would destroy the goodness of God’s creation. Similarly man can tamper with nature to bring about evil e.g. destruction of coral reefs would bring about hunger, poverty and political instability.
As long as God offers freedom to his creation, the free moral agents (e.g. man) would possess the ability to do good or evil. So the question is not about Satan’s existence whereas the question should be about the presence of freedom.
A world without freedom would be a world full of puppets or automata albeit in the form of human beings, which in essence is not a good world at all. Creating human beings with freedom is wiser than creating humans in an antiseptic environment from whom the logical possibility of desiring anything contrary to God’s will is excluded. Therefore, a world without freewill and Satan would any day be a terrible world to live in than a world with freewill and Satan.
Could God have created a world with freewill and without Satan? A world with freewill will entail evil and a world with evil will posit a source, namely Satan. Even if angelic beings were not created, and as long as freewill exists, evil would exist.
Evil would exist because God in HIS nature is good. So anyone opposing or rejecting a good God would do evil. So a world with freewill and without Satan would still contain evil.
Satan and his cohorts are busy causing evil in this world. Although we reel under the effects of evil both directly and indirectly, God has offered us eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ and God has promised to care for and protect those who believe and seek HIM. May we believe in Christ, gain life eternal, and protection against evil. Amen.
What a truly relevant post that I can respond to with ALL authority!
Allow me to introduce myself. I am High-Priestess Emily Frost and I am a PRACTICING THEISTIC SATANIST. I currently serve as High Priestess at The Unholy Church of the Anti-Christ in Greenville, South Carolina.
FirstI, i have come here bearing Light that is Truth. I do not come to deceive you. I do not come to curse you, I bring no Ritual Magic against you. I do not come to unleash Legions of Demons unto you. I come to you as requested by my Master and King to deliver unto you TRUTH.! I encourage all of you that profess to be skilled Masters of Apologetics to remain silent and LISTEN, for I have stood before all of your TEACHERS of apologetics in your Christian Universities and I have silenced them all. These Christian’s’ words carry no weight. They argue over meaningless things that have no value.
Now two important things that must be established.
1. As Christians you must understand how the members of my church, and other Satanic organizations perceive The God of Abraham. I could provide many words that would be indicative of the attributes, but I need use only ONE single word that is representative of the God of Abraham and Jesus Christ:
TYRANNY
When we see your Lord Jesus Christ we see Adolf Hitler. There is absolutely no difference between them . They are both Tyrants that would condone the extermination of an entire race of people. Recall when Abraham came before the Sumerian people and was cast out, The Sumerians were not interested in anything Abraham had to say. For they had already established a kingdom that rivaled that of God Himself. The Sumerians required no assistance from God. Their civilization was in possession of such great, scientific knowledge, that Abraham himself lacked, enough intelligence- so the Sumerians were unable to communicate on Abraham’s low level of intelligence, They considered him to be primitive, and they cast him out. As a result of the Sumerians unwillingness to honor Abraham and welcome him,- This tyrannical, totalitarian God deemed that as an insult, worthy and deserving of GENOCIDE. In this instance we see The God of Abraham behaving in a way that is consistent with the behavior of Adolf Hitler. The TRUTH of that is made obvious to us through recorded information, and scriptures..God, the very same God that is Jesus Christ, did in fact inflict this punishment of GENOCIDE to this civilization- that had created a beautiful,thing. The Sumerian civilization was so advanced and powerful,They had such wisdom. They didn’t question or wonder,- they KNEW that the sun was the center of the solar system.and the earth is in orbit around it.That was an understood thing-and this was ages and ages B.C. Here is something true-your acceptance of this or your rejection makes no difference. These Sumerian Astrologists knew how to plot a course for space travel. Useless knowledge to them but still, they knew how to do that stuff i say it is possible the Sumerian’s condition,was actually GREATER than American’s current condition. It’s not IMPOSSIBLE..
It is the will of my Father Satan that I should offer enlightenment of your spiritual condition; It is a TRUTH that if you live in the United States of America presently, then you are under the authority of Satan. Accepting or rejecting that statement is of no consequence. It will not change the fact that you exist in that state. Understand that this a good thing. You do reside within Satan’s New Covenant.
Listen now:
Here are just a few ridiculous qualities valued by The God of Abraham:
“Obedience
“Self-Glorification
“Power
*Control
” Punishing sin with eternal damnation.
Here are just a few ridiculous qualities valued by Satan::
“:Truth.
:*Liberty
*Defending freedom.
“Compassion
:”The belief that all men are created equal.
* We respond to tyranny with such Hostility that it would come to fear us and depart..
Is it starting to form in your mind yet? Here’s a little hint:
ONE OF THESE GODS IS THE GOD OF JESUS CHRIST.
ONE OF THESE GODS IS THE GOD OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE..
Guess what?,In the United States you are allowed to choose.
Pick one. Right now.,
Here’s another little hint:
When our Great Nation’s founders went about writing the United States Constitution- I ask you: What was the first they did? What did they collectively decide was of such importance that it must be addressed FIRST?
And the 1st Amendment was written. Here’s another important question worth addressing- What was the most important IMPACT that the 1st Amendment had? I’ll just tell you. In direct result of creating the 1st Amendment :
ABSOLUTELY ALL AUTHORITY WAS STRIPPED FROM KING GEORGE, STRIPPED FROM THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, STRIPPED FROM THE POPE IN ROME. History tells us that Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of Independence was in reality an extremely Satanic individual. He despised everything about the church and very much agreed that God is a TYRANT. He criticized every single word that was spoken from Jesus Christ’s mouth. There is recorded evidence that Jefferson made the statement: ” There is absolutely no divinity whatsoever within Jesus Christ” Thomas Jefferson actually went to the church calling God “fiction” and made a case again the legitimacy and credibility of every word that the Apostle Paul wrote, I have read what Jefferson said about Paul, and Jefferson presented very convincing evidence that supported his claims. Jefferson also questioned John’s intelligence level. He said that John had “poor grammar skills”.. The point, which I have attempted to make is that Jefferson looked at the church and saw an ENEMY.. YES, HE SAW TYRANNY. Now try to argue against my claim that Thomas Jefferson WAS the first LaVeyan Satanist, though obviously unaware of it. He personified all the qualities that Anton LaVey defined as Satanic.
Now are you able to identify Satan’s New Covenant?
The Unholy Church of the Anti-Christ has only two Sacred Relics:
1. The United States Constitution
2. The American Declaration of Independence
THESE DOCUMENTS ARE SATAN’S NEW COVENANT WITH MANKIND
The writers of our Nation’s Constitutional Amendments and all 36 signers of the Declaration stressed that these 2 documents be held ABOVE all Bibles of all faiths (yes-that does include the Bible of the Christians.) Thomas Jefferson also stated should JESUS CHRIST Himself come to the United States and tries to impose Mosaic Law, Levitical Law, 10 Commandments or personal beliefs into our government or lawmakers, then He is a TRAITOR to American Democracy- and should be killed.
So, in conclusion when we study the God of the Holy Bible for a few days, then we study the God of the Declaration of Independence for a few days. Obviously, if we are intelligent we see two very different Gods. Obviously, The God of Abraham made into the flesh as Jesus Christ remains .to be the God of the Holy Bible…But who is this other God that is saying, “All men are created equal?”. Who is this God that is asking for no type of conditions, restrictions, or praise in return. Who is this God who says he will fight to protect our liberty, personally?
Who in the Name of Hell do you think it is?
So I have done about half of my task. I have made aware of the Reality of Satan’s New Covenant.
II have enlightened all U’S’ citizens to the truth that you exist under the authority of Satan. Unfortunately I have become tired of typing. I was also supposed to explain the Unholy Trinity and touch on the titles we give to Satan. My Father, Satan wishes to enlighten Christians to the reality of Satan’s authority, and truth of the condition in which they currently find themselves.
HAIL SATAN!
PROJECT SPIRITUAL AWAKENING:
Church of the Morning Star – Church Director Arthur Woo III
The Unholy Church of the Anti-Christ – High Priestess Emily Frost
Church of Leviathan – Dr, Jack Kelly, PhD.
Church of Satan – High Priest Peter Gilmore
Temple of the Eternal Dragon – High Priestess Meg Prentiss
The Traditional Church of Satan – Rev. Robert Fraize
“And the Guru saw that Satan had Divinity and Authority, and he proceeded to bow before Satan. Then Satan proclaimed to the Guru,”YOU NEED NOT BOW BEFORE ME, FOR AUTHORITY REQUIRES NO AFFIRMATION”.”- from The Morning Star Parables.
You are only prepared for a temporary purpose. Nothing more. The US of A no longer belongs to your father satan who is a loser. Someone has already snatched it out of satan’s hands. It belongs to the Most High. It is just a matter of time before JUDGEMENT DAY comes!! Wait and Watch what happens!
Good article.
I would add one thing. I don’t see Satan as the CREATOR of evil. Scripture indicates he is really just an opportunist, using our own sinful desires against us. The following scripture tells me that he beats us with the club that we hand to him.
James 1:13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
I don’t think that we even need Satan to exist for sin to exist. We are pretty good at finding ways to sin on our own. What Satan does is remind us of what we are tempted with. Isn’t that what he did in the garden with Adam and Eve? He appealed to what they desired.
Anyone could hand me a picture of a naked girl and I would be tempted to look, and if someone handed me a needle with heroin I would NOT be tempted. Since Satan and his demons are observant, they apparently are pretty experienced in dangling temptation in our faces. But angels and demons are not God. I don’t see them having any creative power whatsoever, and I think that includes creating evil.
one more thought. If I am reading Job correctly, Satan needs PERMISSION to actually DO anything. He can tempt us, but he can’t touch us or things around us, unless God permits it.
Also, we seem to act as if Satan is omnipresent, and tempts all of us. How would that be possible unless he is God? I don’t know how many angels rebelled. Scripture seems to indicate that each of us has an angel (at least children do, matthew 18:10). How many demons are there? No indication.
Joe, Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree with them totally. In fact, I have made it clear that Satan is not the source of sin in http://christianapologeticsalliance.com/2016/11/03/would-a-world-without-satan-lack-evil/
Thanks again brother.
thanks Raj
Great article, Rajkumar! Do you have any articles where you interact with anticipated Calvinist responses?
Thank you TJMac…No I have not interacted with Calvinism in this context…Thanks again
How about this idea? We are told in Genesis 2 that God told Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit. But then He left him vulnerable to Satan’s lying deception. What if God had interrupted Satan’s conversation with Eve and Adam and said, “Hold on you two — what did I tell you? Do you really want to listen to and obey that serpent, or do you want to listen to and obey ME, the one who created you? If you do the former, I told you that you will die. You may not know what that means, but it can’t be good. So, before you eat anything, think about the consequences.”
I suggest that we would have had a different result. The same is true today. If we listen to and obey what God tells us—what He says, i.e., His Word—we stay out of trouble. We have the Holy Spirit to be the one to interrupt and say, “Hold on you two…” and remind us of God’s Word.
Just a thought.
Interesting thought indeed…but in that case (if God were to remind of HIMSELF and HIS commands always to Adam & Eve) then HE would have to be constantly talking to Adam and Eve…and in a few days of God’s constant chatter into the ears of humans, God’s voice would be disregarded by men…rebellion predicated on freewill was true then and now in the time and age of the Holy Spirit
That defeats the entire purpose of Gods plan.