Satan

Were he as fair once, as he now is foul,
And lifted up his brow against his Maker,
Well may proceed from him all tribulation.

Dante’s Inferno

An angel named Lucifer once protected the throne of God Almighty, so the story goes. He was the highest and most powerful of all angels, bestowed with wisdom, beauty, and free will. Lucifer became prideful and wished to become as powerful and revered as God. God rebuked his pride, and laid him low, saying “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!” in Isaiah 14. Since then, Satan has opposed the plan of God and corrupted the hearts of men.

Why does a benevolent and omnipotent God allow the existence of evil in the world? Why would God create Lucifer and give him free will, knowing full well that he would choose to disobey? Why would God allow humans to choose the path of self-destruction?

A perfect God could have chosen to create humans to be perfectly good. He could have created a universe in which no evil exists. There could be no hunger, no suffering, and no death. The only condition of such a paradise would be that there would be no choice. Choice necessarily entails the possibility of choosing down instead of up, darkness instead of light, or evil instead of good. Duality is the nature of free will.

There is only one way to reconcile such imperfection with a perfect God. It is that, in the measure of God, free will is greater than the sum of all evil.

Podcast – Satan – The Adam Goldfein Show – Hour 1

Podcast – Satan – The Adam Goldfein Show – Hour 2

Additional Resources

Washington Examiner, 57% Believe in the Devil, 72% for Blacks, 61% for Women: http://washingtonexaminer.com/57-believe-in-the-devil-72-for-blacks-61-for-women/article/2536055

Share Faith, Satan: http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/christian-ministries/angels/lucifer-the-fallen-angel.html

Bible Verses about Lucifer: http://www.openbible.info/topics/lucifer

New Advent, Exorcism: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05709a.htm

Ichthys, Satanic Rebellion: http://ichthys.com/SR1copy.htm

Sacred Texts, The Archangel: http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/tbr/tbr051.htm

Live Science, Exorcism: http://www.livescience.com/27727-exorcism-facts-and-fiction.html

How Stuff Works, How Exorcism Works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/afterlife/exorcism.htm

Catholic Online, Rite of Exorcism: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=683