In Christianity, is Satan evil? Or does Satan merely do evil without himself actually being evil?
Please Note: If Satan is evil, rather than merely an entity that does evil, then God -- who has created Satan -- has created evil (and hence it cannot be said of God that everything he does is good).
On the other hand, if Satan is merely an entity that does evil, then God -- who presumably has the power to prevent Satan from doing evil -- condones evil when he does not prevent Satan from doing it (and hence, it cannot be said that God never condones evil).
HOWEVER, it at least seems possible to escape the 'dilemma' if one is prepared to argue for a Platonic notion of evil such that evil is not a thing-in-itself, but rather a lack of -- or absence of -- good.
YET, whatever we might or might not conclude, we MUST concede that Satan admires @SalixIncendium's fashion sense. Of that, we may be certain.
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And now, for some music....
Please Note: If Satan is evil, rather than merely an entity that does evil, then God -- who has created Satan -- has created evil (and hence it cannot be said of God that everything he does is good).
On the other hand, if Satan is merely an entity that does evil, then God -- who presumably has the power to prevent Satan from doing evil -- condones evil when he does not prevent Satan from doing it (and hence, it cannot be said that God never condones evil).
HOWEVER, it at least seems possible to escape the 'dilemma' if one is prepared to argue for a Platonic notion of evil such that evil is not a thing-in-itself, but rather a lack of -- or absence of -- good.
YET, whatever we might or might not conclude, we MUST concede that Satan admires @SalixIncendium's fashion sense. Of that, we may be certain.
______________________________
And now, for some music....