i_guy what you wrote is thought provoking, but you must admit that its filled with more questions than answers, so im srry menace but were still far from amen lol its not like i know the answers (i dont)... i have some input tho (not going to address why God didn't destroy satan)...
theres a story in the new testament where the devil asked Jesus to be permitted in the swine herd, and He allowed it, so i guess satan does only act under God's permission, so perhaps his gift of free will was taken away from him when he fell from heaven? then again i dont see the point of people being possessed by demons, but i do see a point in allowing people to be subjected to temptation and suffering (keep in mind God set a limit of how much Satan can torture Job ie not letting him to die) also i wouldnt call it "unnecessary evils"...anyways 1. it is *through* these trials that we are blessed even more (read what happened to Job) and 2. it is for the *glory of God*, everything we accomplish/experience should not be for our pride, but for the glory of God...i believed you referred to this as "God's pride"...i guess theyre kinda the same, but the term pride can be misleading...we should remember that God is GOD and that He is *worthy* of honor and praise, us humans are not, so if we want to prove a point to our enemy, it would be selfish and for our benefit, which we do not deserve, but God does deserve it because He is worthy of it....hopefully that makes sense
also how would WE know if we were good or bad //made good choices or bad choices if we were never given the opportunity to do wrong (ie be tempted)...so i guess a point is proven not only to satan but to Job as well
k imma take a shower
