Does Satan have power? How much power does Satan have?

[Desert Snake]

Does Satan have power?

How much power does Satan have?


What kind of belief do you have, or not, regarding Satan.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Satan has no power to substantiate any claim to be a deity of worship. According to Abrahamic theology Satan is given authority over situations to test human morality and human decision making. The story of Job is quite clear on this.

 

[Mindmaster]

Does Satan have power?

How much power does Satan have?


What kind of belief do you have, or not, regarding Satan.

Satan lets you make up your own mind... That's his power. The power to resist, love, think as you will, etc...

Are those things powerful? I think you have your answer.

 

[Desert Snake]

Satan has no power to substantiate any claim to be a deity of worship. According to Abrahamic theology Satan is given authority over situations to test human morality and human decision making. The story of Job is quite clear on this.

We note however, that Job is not necessarily the standard scenario.

If Deity granted Satan power, it could infer that Satan, does not usually have that power, or is granted power situationally, or, Satan has power over unbelievers, or other things.

I don't believe the Job narrrative answers this question, alone.

 

[Desert Snake]

Satan lets you make up your own mind... That's his power. The power to resist, love, think as you will, etc...

Are those things powerful? I think you have your answer.

Do you believe that Satan is literally, real, though, or is a concept?

 

[Epic Beard Man]

We note however, that Job is not necessarily the standard scenario.

If Deity granted Satan power, it could infer that Satan, does not usually have that power, or is granted power situationally, or, Satan has power over unbelievers, or other things.

I don't believe the Job narrrative answers this question, alone.

The story of Job explains the question you've ask which is does Satan have power? No deity in this universe can be equal to God in power and authority and as such, if any evil deity exhibits power it is not something we can say they have of their own but it is an authority to perform an act in a situation which was authorized by God. The test of Job was to remove his wealth and his health because Satan believed by removing the good things from a person, that person will curse their maker..

I've known so many atheists who lose an ear, or a parent, or someone or something they have loved. Because they felt God did not protect them and that God's benevolence was not there. Satan challenged God with Job. "Remove his protective hedge and he (the creation) will curse his maker."

Satan has no power but what God has authorized..

 

[Epic Beard Man]

Satan lets you make up your own mind... That's his power. The power to resist, love, think as you will, etc...

Are those things powerful? I think you have your answer.

Does Satan let you make up your mind or do you alone make up your own mind? If you take the Abrahamic concept of Satan which I think the OP is based, Satan is not a benevolent deity. Satan has no power over me whatsoever, only God the Creator. Satan cannot give me the power to love, all of that is within me already. God has endowed all the creatures of this universe their ability whatever that is.

 

[Mindmaster]

Do you believe that Satan is literally, real, though, or is a concept?

These types of questions need to be answered by ones own experience. Everything is a concept or idea until then. It's sort of a game of seek and find, but regardless of what I know it matters more what you know.

I disregard the Abrahamic context of Satan because my experience alludes to there being something else to it, but you have to find that on your own.

 

[Mindmaster]

Does Satan let you make up your mind or do you alone make up your own mind? If you take the Abrahamic concept of Satan which I think the OP is based, Satan is not a benevolent deity. Satan has no power over me whatsoever, only God the Creator. Satan cannot give me the power to love, all of that is within me already. God has endowed all the creatures of this universe their ability whatever that is.

I guess it is a matter of perspective, but God's love is like... love me or else

Satan is more like.. Hmm, if we're cool it's good if not hey no problem.

Anyway, I never trust a book over one's own quest. That's my supreme recommendation. Find out if the goblins in the closet are as scary as they seem or something else. Everything else leaves one liable to be fooled.

 

[Epic Beard Man]

I guess it is a matter of perspective, but God's love is like... love me or else

Satan is more like.. Hmm, if we're cool it's good if not hey no problem.

Anyway, I never trust a book over one's own quest. That's my supreme recommendation. Find out if the goblins in the closet are as scary as they seem or something else. Everything else leaves one liable to be fooled.

I think it is a matter of perspective as you say.....For me I don't see God the way you do. Perhaps you take the Satanists perspective on Satan.

For me God is like: "Well, you don't like me that's cool, you still the homie and when you die I'm still coming to your funeral and you can forever kick it at my cool pad."

Satan is like: "Dude you're a total nag and people online think you talk about racism too much. Dude you like to drink and sometimes you drink too much why do you deserve anything?"

If you read all the doctrines God is like a bi-polar homeboy, but if you live life outside the doctrine God is like that peaceful breeze that smells of jasmine during a Sunday barbecue.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

The account of Moses and Aaron, before Pharaoh, throwing down the staff and turning into a snake, in Exodus 7....then Jannes and Jambres, Pharaoh’s magic-practicing priests, throwing down their staffs, they also turn into snakes,... informs us that there are invisible forces working against Jehovah. Satan leads them; they are rebellious angels. Quite a few, apparently...God’s Word refers to them as “a third of the stars.(Revelation 12:4)” And stars in Scripture can refer to angels. — Job 38:7

In fact, the Bible calls Satan, “the god of this world.”

 

[crossfire]

I'm going to approach this from a Jungian perspective in regards to power vs love:

Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other.

~Carl Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious, Page 97​

So, taking Jung's premise, if God is Love, than Satan is Power. If Satan is Love, then God is Power. This would fit in with Satan being God's Jungian Shadow.

 

[Altfish]

Just like God, Satan is a man made entity. So he/she has no power.

 

[syo]

Does Satan have power?

How much power does Satan have?


What kind of belief do you have, or not, regarding Satan.

satan is an angel/servant of god. his task is to bring temptation. he has no power.

 

[EtuMalku]

Being an archetype, Satan has as much power as you enable Him to have.

 

[crossfire]

I'm going to approach this from a Jungian perspective in regards to power vs love:

Where love rules, there is no will to power; and where power predominates, there love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other.

~Carl Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious, Page 97​

So, taking Jung's premise, if God is Love, than Satan is Power. If Satan is Love, then God is Power. This would fit in with Satan being God's Jungian Shadow.

This would also fit in with Satan tempting Jesus with "All the Kingdoms of the World in their glory" (power) and Jesus rejecting it. Again, power is the Shadow of Love.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

Exodus 7, when magic-practicing priests Jannes and Jambres throw down their staffs, and they become snakes....working against Moses’ staff, but they lose....it’s obvious the power displayed against God, was from the Devil. (It’s also interesting that his influence, in this account, is revealed in the highest echelons of human power...Pharaoh, himself)

He’s behind all genuine magic...that is why God condemns the occult and paranormal — Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

The extent of Satan’s influence? 1 John 5:19. He’s called “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) Also read Revelation 12:9b.

 

[ajay0]

Imo, Satan is the quality control inspector of God, and he tests people with stress tests to determine their true character in adversity or prosperity, and whether they are fit enough to be certified or ready for the next level, or not.
It helps expose a lot of phonies and weak links.

I suppose Satan has enough power to do these kind of quality tests.

 

[Vinayaka]

Since I don't believe Satan exists, there can be no power there.

 

[Quintessence]

Other - a combination of "it depends" and "I don't know" and "I don't care"

On "it depends" - all things that exist have power by virtue of existing. Keep in mind 'exist' is hardly confined to having a physical or corporeal form. Intangible things like ideas are amongst the most powerful and influential phenomena throughout human history. And Satan is, without a doubt, an incredibly powerful concept to many cultures. I don't know how one would quantify that on a scale, though.

On "I don't know" - I don't study Satan. I haven't looked at the influence of this idea/entity throughout history, so I don't have a good sense of how it has played a role in people's personal lives or various cultures. These sorts of things also resist quantitative analysis that could answer the "how much power" question. I have no idea how one would approach answering that question. It's not as if we can stick a voltmeter onto it and get a number.

On "I don't care" - I'm not Christian, nor any sort of Abrahamic whose mythology includes the entity known as Satan. Being an American, I'm stuck in that cultural morass, so I'm exposed to it whether I want to be or not, but beyond that forced cultural exposure? I don't concern myself with the power of a deity/entity/idea that isn't an active part of my own practices.
​

Also, what the blazes is up with the "Satan is a pagan god, not real" poll option, exactly? It's Pagan gods (proper case "p") and conflating that with "not real" is more than a little disrespectful to Pagan religions.