louis said:
Let me go over what I've heard about "Satan"....
It's supposed to have started with God - then God
made some "angels" - and then some "people" .
Then he told his angels to respect the people.
But one angel refused - his name was Lucifer ( Bringer
of Light ). He became schizoid, split off another
personalty named Satan ( Prince of Darkness )
and went to establish another place where HE was boss.
Since then, he likes to make trouble just for spite.
I can't imagine any other purpose - if he should
succeed in destoying God, the one who made him
and sustains him, he would destroy himself as well.
Why not look at it another way?
Let's talk about politics instead of theories of light and darkness.
Let's suppose we are living in medieval times. Kingdoms are driven by feudalism.
God is the King.
The angels are the nobility.
Human beings are the peasants and serfs.
The thing about feudalism is that it's about loyalty to a feudal lord. If you are a peasant or serf, you give your life to a serve the feudal lords above you. Human beings, therefore, pledge their loyalty to angels. The angels, the feudal lords are supposed to serve their king -- God. But that is entirely their choice. These feudal lords (angels) can withhold taxes (devotion of believers) from their king (God). There is a hierarchy. Some angels are more powerful than others. There are dukes, earls, marquises and barons. That's the pecking order in a feudal government. The government in heaven is a bit like that -- there is a pecking order. Some angels lead other angels. Some angels are subordinates. Some angels dominate. You can just imagine the power struggles that must take place up there -- one angel vying for power over others.
The king himself (God) can be considered to be a feudal lord Himself. It's just that He's in charge of everyone else. The feudal lords are the divine beings (God and angels). The peasants and serfs are the mortal beings (humans). In that sense, Satan isn't really that powerful. He's simply smart. He has an army. An army of believers and devotees. There are probably other angels more powerful than him that are also opposing God. All he needs is a coalition. A coalition of the willing. Just think of heaven as an arena of warlords vying for control. God being one of them.
Governments are run by rules and protocols. They are rules of engagement. When a government is overthrown, it's called a
coup de'tat (coo de tar). When an army is defeated, it's a
coup de'grace (coo de grass).
What Satan needs is three things to seize power and overthrow God.
1) Defeat God's army (coup de grace)
2) Seize control at the capital -- walk into God's throne room (coup de tat)
3) Establish the legitimacy of his government
But if God is so powerful, wouldn't He be able to stop such a seizure of power? The answer is that God can't morally do that -- it's wrong -- it's an abuse of power. God doesn't have the right to do that once Satan achieves objectives 1-3 and establishes the legitimacy of his government.
God would lose His honour and dignity as ruler of the universe. Satan doesn't physically have to overpower God, he just needs to destroy His credibility.
Why doesn't God arrest Satan? Answer: Governments cannot arrest agents without a moral justification. Governments need evidence and need to justify it in court. They need search and arrest warrants. God needs that too. He can't search Satan's home or that of his accomplices without proof. God making a wrong move could spell disaster -- it would be a pretext for Satan to gather support from other angels launching a
coup de'tat, marching into God's throne room and deposing God.
God knowing everything doesn't mean He's justified in doing what He wants. He has to justify it to the angels He created. Governments have to be accountable. So God has His own intelligence team to gather information, snoop around and spy on possible dissenters.
Why does Satan cause trouble?
It's to do with politics. Satan is a politician. He needs supporters. He wants to take over the government in heaven. He doesn't do it just for fun. Satan is a warlord. You know what warlords do. They take over governments. They set up their own political systems and governments. The more people like them and support them, the more powerful they become. Satan is not just a professional troublemaker. He's like an army general. You know what happens in a lot of Asian countries? Yes, there's been a lot of military coups. One general is deposed and replaced by another.
Which leads to another point: what happens if Satan wins? The answer is simple: some other angel (divine warlord) will want to take over. The cycle repeats -- one general for another. That's how the Roman Empire fell. A general wanted to be emperor and challenged the emperor so he could take his place.
God and His angels in heaven are in some ways like warring warlords and in other ways like bickering bureaucrats and politicians.
There is politics up there . . .
The whole point of this theory in Christianity, I guess, is that God will always be God. God will not lose His place to an angel. He will prevail in the end. He will play His cards right and not let someone else establish the legitimacy of his government.
