Why has god allowed Satan to stick around?

Other than some weakly argued contentions that Satan serves some purpose in "building our maturity" (never did understand that one), or confirms goodness by serving as its opposite, I fail to see why god keeps him around. Sure, he figures into some of the OT stories, most often as God’s enemy and man’s adversary, which lends a bit of conflict and excitement to these tales, but do literary devices really justify his presence?
Some people have even said he was necessary so as to demonstrate Jesus' qualifications as the “Son of God." As if god had no other less vile options available to him. Or that god keeps Satan around to test us---wouldn't some kind of PSAT test or the like be less pernicious?

On the other hand, it's also been said that he's one his way out, and perhaps we shouldn't worry about the guy.

Unfortunately, this banishment has been long in coming--about 2,000 years if we use Matthew as the starting mark. I say this because many Christians, mostly of the fundamentalist stripe, contend he's still alive and tempting everyone from young'uns to doddering old folk. Assuming this is true, that he's still with us, then what is god waiting for? The "eternal fire" has been prepared and awaits his arrival.

So, what are your thoughts about god keeping his old adversary around?

One might also consider why god didn't snuff out Satan as soon as he showed his colors; a fallen angel who rebelled against God.

"Hey! you no-good-nick." *ZAP* "Good riddance! And let that be a warning to the rest of you angels."

Because of the issue raised.

Satan did not call into question God's power but questioned God's right to rule. Satan implied that God was a bad ruler and independence is better. Getting rid of the rebels would not have answered the issue in the minds of the angels or of any future intelligent life. Jehovah has given Satan time to prove his point...which he has failed at to epic proportions. Now when Satan is done away with, no intelligent life will question the worthiness of God's right and way of ruling.
One of the reasons why God has held back from stopping horrible things from happening is not a lack of love, but his imposing a self-restraint so as to not prove Satan's point for him.

Kolibri said:

Jehovah has given Satan time to prove his point...which he has failed at to epic proportions. Now when Satan is done away with, no intelligent life will question the worthiness of God's right and way of ruling.
One of the reasons why God has held back from stopping horrible things from happening is not a lack of love, but his imposing a self-restraint so as to not prove Satan's point for him.

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Up to what point is God going to allow injustice, suffering and the destruction of our planet so that Satan can prove his point? What else needs to happen?
It seems very clear that humans are incapable of ruling themselves as a society. When humans are killing the same planet we depend on to stay alive, what point is left to prove?

What is left to prove? not much. not much at all.

Revelation 11:18 let us know that God's appointed time to remedy the situation would happen when man would be in the process of ruining the earth. It did not say he would "bring to ruin those who have ruined the earth," but "ruining."

2 Peter 3:9 Encourages us by making it plain that "Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance."

Habakkuk 2:3 also informed us that it might seem to delay but a date had already been set and God would not be late.
"For the vision is yet for its appointed time, And it is rushing toward its end, and it will not lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it! For it will without fail come true. It will not be late!"

One thing we need to remember was in order to be saved thru the Flood of Noah's day, people had to act with faith. They had to put themselves in the ark before the door was closed. Rather than just step in and destroy the wicked without warning, Matthew 24:14 said "good news of the Kingdom [would] be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

This gives us time to act on Zephaniah 2:3 before it is too late. To "Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones (or "humble ones") of the earth, Who observe his righteous decrees. (Lit. "his judgement") Seek righteousness, seek meekness. It may be that you will be concealed on the day of Jehovah's anger."
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Along another topic, with the hope of a resurrection, no injustice done now need be permanent.

"The classical story of the Fall of the Angels can be summarized as follows:
The first beings God created were angels. Of all the angels created, none was higher than
Lucifer. God created Lucifer in such perfection that he was all but God. Not content with his own being, however, Lucifer sought through envy what was not his. Indeed, Lucifer sought..
....to be God, to negate the existence of God and rule the heaven himself. Thus, the demonic spirit proves to be a negative spirit of possession. Other angels in league with Lucifer participated in the same ruinous desire, “covetousness”: that is, they were willing to forsake the gifts of their being in order to take what was not their own. God’s
supposed response to this cosmic treachery was to banish Lucifer and his legion from Heaven,whereupon these fallen angels swore perpetual disobedience to God.
Lucifer was renamed Satan—the slanderer, the accuser, the Father of Lies. Though fallen from grace, these angels were not depotentiated, but retained all the preternatural—beyond earth—powers given them at creation. These powers essentially consist of immortal existence; mystical knowledge of the universe; and the power to bypass the physical laws of nature, giving them the ability to bring about psychic phenomena and produce synthetic creations. Yet despite their awesome powers, the demonic was restricted from overwhelming man. Instead, the covenant was that God would protect man, if man in turn respected the powers of God."
Entities - Min Hemsida

Because Judaism was influenced by Zoroastrianism, and because Christianity took the Zoroastrian dualism that was already in Judaism and cranked it up several notches.

However, despite this strong dualistic influence, the influence of monotheism is even greater, which makes "dualism" a taboo word to use when describing the Christian religion.

I was taught in charismatic Sunday school a view of Satan. Then I learned a different view and then a different one and so forth, all from the Bible. The same goes for the stories in Genesis. One thing I found was very helpful was to ask why in Genesis 4:7 the LORD says to Cain "sin is crouching at your door" which is what lead me to think about personification. How can sin crouch? Only living things crouch. So to me the crouching of sin is one of the major departure points from a literal view of the Genesis story. It may not sound like much, but in a literal view of Genesis every word has a meaning. You can't just toss in the LORD saying "Sin is crouching at your door" and it have no implications. The story is telling you here "I am not a literal account." Really the same could be said about a tree that gives knowledge. Trees don't know things. "If a tree could think it would have found a way you couldn't chop it down."

Kolibri said:

One of the reasons why God has held back from stopping horrible things from happening is not a lack of love, but his imposing a self-restraint so as to not prove Satan's point for him.

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Sorry, can you run that by me again?

yes. later today.

Skwim said:

So, what are your thoughts about god keeping his old adversary around?

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Perhaps The Satan is not an entity in and of itself?

What if The Satan is nothing more than the parts of each person that causes doubt, etc.?

Satan is just used to provide a reason for evil. All mythologies do this but Christian mythology is flawed in its approach. Judaic mythology has a more sensible understanding of satan and reduces him to a title and not a person.
It is as Anton LaVey said, "Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years."

What if the conflict between God and Satan as written in religious literature is an expression of God's split personality disorder.

So far, Satan has been depicted as God's enemy, or a different source of evil, because God could not have created evil, so it has to come from a different source.

I would posit, from Jewish sources, that Satan isn't actually an enemy of God at all, but a beloved servant who was created as a prosecuting angel, and as a tempter, but fully with God's blessing.

I would further posit that God created evil along with good, as God created everything.

It doesn't run with Christian beliefs, but there you go.

Harmonious said:

I would posit, from Jewish sources, that Satan isn't actually an enemy of God at all, but a beloved servant who was created as a prosecuting angel, and as a tempter, but fully with God's blessing.

I would further posit that God created evil along with good, as God created everything.

It doesn't run with Christian beliefs, but there you go.

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Correct. These are Jewish beliefs.

Spiny Norman said:

Sorry, can you run that by me again?

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I really can't put it better than paragraphs 12 - 17 of this link, and am feeling a little daunted in condensing it into 2 or 3 sentences.

Why Does God Allow Suffering? — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

The Sum of Awe said:

What if the conflict between God and Satan as written in religious literature is an expression of God's split personality disorder.

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You are such a kidder.

Kolibri said:

Because of the issue raised.

Satan did not call into question God's power but questioned God's right to rule.

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Chapter and verse please.

Satan implied that God was a bad ruler and independence is better. Getting rid of the rebels would not have answered the issue in the minds of the angels or of any future intelligent life.

Click to expand...

Chapter and verse please.

Jehovah has given Satan time to prove his point...which he has failed at to epic proportions.

Click to expand...

Yet Satan is still running around the streets. What gives?

One of the reasons why God has held back from stopping horrible things from happening is not a lack of love, but his imposing a self-restraint so as to not prove Satan's point for him.

Click to expand...

But you just said Satan failed to prove his point. Shouldn't that close the matter? Yet you now imply that in order not prove Satan's point for him god has been willing to let him run rampant on earth. A rather stupid and uncaring move don't you think? Oh yes, Chapter and verse please on this one as well.

Mestemia said:

Perhaps The Satan is not an entity in and of itself?

What if The Satan is nothing more than the parts of each person that causes doubt, etc.?

Click to expand...

Hey, want to change the story? Fine. But in the meantime lets deal with the one most Christians are accustomed to.

Skwim said:

Other than some weakly argued contentions that Satan serves some purpose in "building our maturity" (never did understand that one), or confirms goodness by serving as its opposite, I fail to see why god keeps him around. Sure, he figures into some of the OT stories, most often as God’s enemy and man’s adversary, which lends a bit of conflict and excitement to these tales, but do literary devices really justify his presence?
Some people have even said he was necessary so as to demonstrate Jesus' qualifications as the “Son of God." As if god had no other less vile options available to him.

Or that god keeps Satan around to test us---wouldn't some kind of PSAT test or the like be less pernicious?

On the other hand, it's also been said that he's one his way out, and perhaps we shouldn't worry about the guy.

Matthew 25:41 (NET)
25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!
​

Unfortunately, this banishment has been long in coming--about 2,000 years if we use Matthew as the starting mark. I say this because many Christians, mostly of the fundamentalist stripe, contend he's still alive and tempting everyone from young'uns to doddering old folk. Assuming this is true, that he's still with us, then what is god waiting for? The "eternal fire" has been prepared and awaits his arrival.

So, what are your thoughts about god keeping his old adversary around?

One might also consider why god didn't snuff out Satan as soon as he showed his colors; a fallen angel who rebelled against God.

"Hey! you no-good-nick." *ZAP* "Good riddance! And let that be a warning to the rest of you angels."

Click to expand...

the time perspective of God is very different to our perspective of time. 1 day with God is likened to 1,000 earth years. And im sure this applies equally to the angels and demons.

So from their perspective, Satan has been on his rampage of destruction for 6 days. And the bible implies that he will be destroyed before the end of the 7th day because by the end of that day, all of Gods purpose will have been accomplished.

And if you consider Revelation 12:12 "the devil has come down knowing he has a 'short period of time' we can be sure that he wont be around for much longer.