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[Odd Man Out]

If God gave the earth to Satan and allows Satan to deceive, lie, kill, and even harm children, why should I worship such a God?

How am I somehow on the hook to get around and overcome Satan when all I did was be born here. According to Christian beliefs, I was born broken and in need of salvation. The same worldview states that Satan is very adept in stealing my soul, and my children’s’ souls. And God gave him the keys.

Why hand this dude a planet full of people?

If I placed a poisonous viper in a kindergarten, I’d be arrested, and rightly so. I couldn’t argue in court that I placed the viper there to test the character of the kids. If I, or my children, happen to get tricked by the greatest trickster to ever exist, how in the world am I to blame?

[jimwalton]

God didn't give the Earth to Satan. Satan is an intruder.

> and allows Satan to deceive, lie, kill, and even harm children

Do you remember in Lord of the Rings that Sam wanted to kill Gollum but Frodo wouldn't let him. Frodo insisted that despite Gollum's evil, he had a role to play and was needed. Frodo was right.

God allows Satan to act because Satan has a role to play.

> why should I worship such a God?

Because He is running the world by a wisdom that far exceeds yours or mine.

> The same worldview states that Satan is very adept in stealing my soul, and my children’s’ souls

There are elements in our culture (business, education, media) that are also adept at stealing your soul and those of your children. I'm curious if you are as angry at them as you are at God; just wondering.

> If I, or my children, happen to get tricked by the greatest trickster to ever exist, how in the world am I to blame?

Because you are able to resist. You are not powerless against Satan. Put on a helmet, grab a shield, and resist.

[Locust]

Why does God allow satan to be an intruder for thousands of years ? It seems the answer is just because that’s what god wants and we don’t know the reason?

[jimwalton]

> It seems the answer is just because that’s what god wants and we don’t know the reason ?

No, that's not the answer.

> Why does God allow satan to be an intruder for thousands of years ?

As I mentioned in my post, it's because Satan has a role to play.

In many previous posts, I've discussed with people the problem of evil. Some argue that any kind of "pain" or negative experience is evil, and a "real" God would not allow it. But that doesn't hold. Pain can have a positive role to play in life despite its horror. Negative experiences can also be building experiences. Take a coach who pushes his team to excel. The only way to do that is through excruciating training. Every parent knows that sometimes the only way to get a splinter out of a child’s finger is to cause him or her pain in the process. Every doctor or oncologist knows that surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and even amputation at times are the path to healing. We know from our observation of parents and physicians that a moral being can not only allow pain but sometimes even cause it as the path to ultimate good. Sometimes horrible experiences help to bind communities together and build person strength in ways that nothing else could have done. We also know that some evil and suffering actually accomplishes some good, because there are times when suffering brings out the best in people. In the face of suffering and evil we may see love, caring, compassion, nobility and courage. Admirable people like Bishop Desmond Tutu or Alexander Solzenitzen are examples.

Therefore in this present world we need evil. Odd as it is to ponder, without the possibility of evil and lacking the benefits of a dynamic world, life in our present context would not and could not exist. Evil is necessary in our lives right now. Personal and communal forces, both good and evil, make things happen that would otherwise never happen: conquering nations, moving people and cultures around the globe, creating trade and interaction between people groups. Assyria and Babylon judged Israel. Ancient Egypt gave us math. Greece moved culture and a common language around the world, and they gave us philosophy. Rome gave us law and transportation. The Apollo 1 spacecraft never left the launch pad, but instead ended in a fiery disaster. The information gained from that horror, however, paved the way for a totally redesigned Apollo spacecraft, eleven successful Apollo Space flights and six lunar landings. The evil and the good actually thrive together. The very same cultural and academic dynamics that were at work in those civilizations to bring us the brilliant values of mathematics, law, criminal justice, and philosophy were the very same dynamics that also brought some of the most horrific abominations of history (chattel slavery and crucifixion). We cannot divorce either the benefits or detriments of a society from its cultural context. It is often the horrible parts of society that spur people on toward advancement and/or improvement. While God didn’t create evil, He sometimes or often uses it as a necessary part of the plan to make life work. Habakkuk 1.6 lets us know that God tolerates wickedness to accomplish His purposes, and His purposes are good. He actually uses wickedness to limit wickedness. Evil seems to work for our good as much as to our detriment, not because evil is good, but rather because God redeems it. Good somehow seems to rise through it, around it, and in response to it. God is always working to redeem evil, but whether that works depends on how people respond to the evil and God’s redemptive efforts. Certainly people are inevitably caught in the horror of it, but it’s impossible for the world to be dynamic and still work in such a way that good people always get blessed, bad people always get punished, and that nothing bad ever, ever, happens to good people.

At times evil is perpetrated by the wicked for their sinful ends, but there is still a preponderance of good in the universe. Despite that the Holocaust was an unspeakable evil, for instance, countries banded together with moral courage to conquer those who were guilty to extinguish the abomination. Evil and good, therefore, are a good state of affairs. Together they give us the cycles of life—a symbiotic circle, the ebb and flow of life, the rises and falls of everyday moods and experiences as well as of cultures, empires, and eras. We need evil. We see it in the balance of nature: Animals eat each other—it’s not a punishment from God or a weakness of His. We need light and dark, awake and sleep, cold and hot. Corrective measures maintain equilibrium: earthquakes and volcanoes relieve pressure. Rain and snow cleanse the air.

My point is that Satan has a role to play in God's economy.

[Locust]

How do you know everyone is capable of resisting ?

[jimwalton]

Because Satan is not omnipotent. His power is limited, and therefore is not absolute, and therefore is resistible. I will grant, however, that in the Bible the power to resist Satan is possible for believers because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Unbelievers are much more susceptible to Satan's intrusion. God gives a way of escape and of power: Give your life to God and let Him indwell you.

[Locust]

As someone willing, how do I give my life to God?

[jimwalton]

Jesus talked about this a lot. The summary of what He taught is as follows: Repent of your sins and align yourself with Jesus. Come to Jesus, believe in Jesus and follow him—put his words into practice, love him, allegiance. Follow him, identify with him, and learn from him.

[Locust]

I’m sorry but as an agnostic / atheist I truly don’t know what that means but am willing to learn. It just sounds like buzz words to me but I don’t know / understand the actual actions. How can I believe in something I don’t believe in but do want to feel the presence of if it’s real. If I said out loud I believe wouldn’t it be disingenuous/ lying ?

[jimwalton]

When you asked, "How do I give my life to God?", I presumed that implied a belief that God existed. So the first question is, "Do you believe there is a supreme supernatural divine being?"