Does Satan Make Sense?

Belief in a powerful, evil, supernatural being is important to many religions, but perhaps more important in Christianity than in any other. At the same time, it is questionable whether the figure of Satan makes any sense within the Christian system. Satan was supposedly created by an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God to be good, yet Satan turned evil and has used his powers to fight God's plans. Does this make any sense?

It might make for a dramatic story, but Paul Doland argues that fitting Satan into Christianity is like trying to force a square peg into a round hole:

If God knew his creation would turn evil, and created Satan anyway, doesn’t that mean God wanted Satan to turn evil or that He was at least ambivalent about it? Some have said that Satan’s turning evil was known, and taken into account in God’s long-term plan. But why would an all-good God need an evil Satan in His long-term plans? ...What if God didn’t know that Satan would turn evil? Wouldn’t that mean that God is not omniscient? ...But shouldn’t a perfect God at least have considered the possibility and made some sort of contingency plan?

Naturally, the traditional figure of Satan can be preserved by sacrificing a few traditional features attributed to God and the universe within Christianity; not many people are willing to do that, however. It thus seems that traditional Christianity’s place for Satan is quite implausible.

 

Read More:

• Atheism 101
• What is Atheism?
• Satan
• Do Atheists Worship Satan?