(January 22, 2013 at 4:46 pm)fr0d0 Wrote:(January 22, 2013 at 11:26 am)Celi Wrote: That's what Satan is for in Christianity: a scapegoat for the imperfection of the world.
I would disagree. Satan represents the opposing force to good (God). I personally want bleeding edge reality. Anything less would not be abundant life. Rough and smooth.
Yeah but he's not the opposing force to good - Jesus supposedly defeated the Devil when he was supposedly crucified. Besides, saying that would imply that the devil was about as powerful as God himself. Or maybe he is... I mean, he seems pretty good at messing up God's apparently perfect plan for the world. Also, isn't good supposed to get rid of evil when it's defeated? The fact that, according to your theology, God has still failed to do so seems to suggest that: either he can't - he's just not strong enough to overpower the devil; or God's not entirely good, and is showing his cruel streak by allowing the devil to continue to harass humanity. And just in case you were going to, don't give me that crap about "oh but if God took away evil, it would impose on our free will". God's obviously never cared about our free will as he not only has a plan for us, but is also ready to punish us eternally if we don't make choices that he approves of.
