Evil and Morality:
How does evil show itself
in our word? Is their a personal
devil? What is his power and what
is the limitation of his power.
Readings: YGOD, Chapter 16, 27
Course Source
Material:
1. D'Souza, Danielle. Ygod.
Ventura,
California: Published Regal From Gospel Light 2012
2. Kumar, Steve. Jonathan Sarfati. Christianity For Skeptics. Atlanta, Georgia: Published Creation Book Publishers 2012
3. Strobe, Lee. The Case for Faith. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Published Zondervan 1998
“There
is a story about a schoolboy who was asked what he thought God was like. He replied that, as far as he could
make out, God was 'the sort of person who is always snooping around to see if
anyone is enjoying himself and then trying to stop it.”[1]
- C.S. Lewis
As cute as
the above statement is from a young child it is unfortunately true for most
people walking around and even many of those who call themselves
Christians. We blame God for all
wrongs, all misfortunes that come to us in life. I have been guilty of this
myself. If we are to be honest
then we as followers of Jesus cannot place the blame for the horrible things of
life at God's doorstep. For God is
not the originator of evil. All
evil and heinous actions originate with one source – The Devi/Satan. Evil
manifests itself throughout our lives.
Just turn on the news or read your paper: wars, crimes, mass murders,
famines, political corruption, abortion and the general disregard for life in
general. This is just a short list
and we can add to it and fill hundreds of pages of the presence of evil in our
world.
So let us
ask the question what is the origin of evil and where does it come from? Let us begin in Genesis with the
goodness of God's Creation
- Genesis
1:31- 31 “God
saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”[2]
(NRSV)
- Genesis 1: 27 “So
God created humankind in his image in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.” (NRSV)[3]
This
also means that even in the angelic world that God had created there were no
evil angels. God is not capable of
evil. This raises the question
that before Lucifer's fall, angels must have possessed free will. If they did not, how could they rebel
against God. Angels are shown in
scripture to exercise moral judgment.
The
great rebellion in Heaven:
- Isaiah 14:12 – 15
- 2 Peter 2: 4
- Jude 6
Satan as Head
of the Demons:
Satan
is the head of all Demons and all Demonic activity. This is illustrated in Scripture in several places.
- Job 1:6
- Job 1:7 – 2:7
- 1 Chronicles 21:1
- Zechariah 3:1
Satan's
Names:
Satan
can be identified in the Bible under many different names. He is most famously know as Satan.
“The
name “Satan” is a Hebrew word (sat an) that means “adversary” The new testament also uses the name
“Satan” simply taking it over from the Old Testament. So Jesus, in his temptation in the wilderness, speaks to
Satan directly saying, “Begone, Satan!” (Matt 4:10, or “I saw Satan fall like lightning
from heaven” (Luke 10:18).”
-
Wayne Gruden[4]
The
Bible also uses other names for Satan.
He is called the devil only in the new testament
- The Devil: Mathew 4:1, 13:39, 25:41;
Revelation12:9, 20:2
- The Serpent: Genesis 3:1, 14:2;
2 Corinthians11:3; Revelations 12:9, 20:2
- Be-Beelzebub: Mathew 10: 25,
12: 24, 27; Luke 11:15
- The Ruler of this world: John 12: 31, 14:30, 16:11
- The Prince of the Power and the
Air: Ephesians 2: 2
- The Evil One: Mathew 13:19, 1
John 2:13
“When
Jesus says to Peter , “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for you
are not on the side of God, but of men” (Mathew16:23), he recognizes that
Peter's attempt to keep him form
suffering and dying on the cross is really an attempt to keep him from
obedience to the Father's plan.
Jesus realizes that opposition ultimately not from Peter, but from Satan
himself.”
-Wayne
Gruden[5]
Satan
Was the Originator of Sin:
Satan
sinned before any human being ever did.
This is evidenced by the serpent in the garden who tempted Eve (Genesis
3:1-6, 2 Corinthians 11:3). The
new testament tells us that Satan was a “murder from the beginning” and is “a
liar and the father of lies (1
John 3:8). Satan was a sinner long
before the creation of the world.
His main characteristic is to originate sin and to tempt others to sin.
Satan and his minions oppose and to try and destroy every work of God.
God's Control of Satan
and Demons. The limitation of
Satan's power:
Satan's
power is limited. He is already
defeated and he cannot accomplish anything unless God allows him to. He is under God's authority. Evidence can be found in Job 1:12 and
2:6. Some demons are kept in eternal
chains as illustrated in Jude 6.
Satan and Demons can be resisted by Christians by the power and
authority Jesus gives them exemplified in James 4:7
Our Place in the
Fight:
Remember
who we are and where we are. We
are owned and paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
This world
is not our home and we are waiting patiently for Christ's return or our journey
to heaven.
"One of the things that surprised me
when I first read the New Testament seriously was that it talked so much about
a Dark Power in the universe—a mighty evil spirit who was held to be the Power
behind death and disease, and sin. The difference is that Christianity thinks
this Dark Power was created by God, and was good when he was created, and went
wrong. Christianity agrees with Dualism that this universe is at war. But it
does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil
war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by
the rebel.
Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going. He does it by playing on our conceit and laziness and intellectual snobbery. I know someone will ask me, 'Do you really mean, at this time of day, to re-introduce our old friend the devil—hoofs and horns and all?' Well, what the time of day has to do with it I do not know. And I am not particular about the hoofs and horns. But in other respects my answer is 'Yes, I do.' I do not claim to know anything about his personal appearance. If anybody really wants to know him better I would say to that person, 'Don't worry. If you really want to, you will. Whether you'll like it when you do is another question.”
Enemy-occupied territory—that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going. He does it by playing on our conceit and laziness and intellectual snobbery. I know someone will ask me, 'Do you really mean, at this time of day, to re-introduce our old friend the devil—hoofs and horns and all?' Well, what the time of day has to do with it I do not know. And I am not particular about the hoofs and horns. But in other respects my answer is 'Yes, I do.' I do not claim to know anything about his personal appearance. If anybody really wants to know him better I would say to that person, 'Don't worry. If you really want to, you will. Whether you'll like it when you do is another question.”
- C. S. Lewis[6]
One cannot
avoid this fight. One cannot
remain neutral. It is all around
us and we as followers of Jesus have a choice to make. God's way or Satan's way. There can be no compromise.
Whether you realize it or not, you are part
of this war. You may say, "I don't want to be part of this. I'm a neutral
party." But it doesn't work like that. In this case, the old adage,
"If you're not for us, you're against us" is true. You can be for God or you can be for
Satan. It's your choice, or lack thereof. Even if you choose passivity and
neutrality, you are choosing your side, whether your realize it or not.
- Sarah Anne Hayes[7]
[2] God,
The Holy Bible (New Revised Standard Version). Cambridge, England: Published Cambridge University
Press 1997
[3] God,
The Holy Bible (New Revised Standard Version). Cambridge, England: Published Cambridge University
Press 1997
- [4] Gruden, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Published Zondervan 1994
- [5] Gruden, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Published Zondervan 1994
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