Did God Create Satan?

[ultimate777]

Or should I say, the being that later became Satan? Did God know what he would do when He created him?

Did God have a choice on whether or not to create him?

[PaulSacramento]

All that exists was created and is sustained by God.

[melanie]

Ohh look probably. It's debatable but an Omniscient, omnipotent God would have had to know. As He also knew the downfall of Man.
But in the spiritual realm where time does not exist....the beginning, middle of all history and the end occupy the same space and no accidents occur.
There's no ohh ooopss... Bugger didn't see that happening
But yet the beauty of it actually allows for for it! Contingency.... Free will.
The ultimate paradox
God created everything and foresees everything. To have that kind of foresight seems to be controlling but it's actually the opposite.
There is a beauty and many a lesson in allowing your creation to fall even when you know it will hurt.
Sometimes scar.
The biggest lessons are learnt in failure
It strips away pride and allows for refinement.
Anyone who is a parent has experienced it on a daily basis with their young. You don't teach by preaching.... The real lessons are always taught in failure.
Lessons learnt
Humanity is no different. Handing morality on a silver plater has no basis if there is not the lesson of the down side.
The creation of love and beauty by paradox only exists by its opposite.

[Philip]

Mel: There is a beauty and many a lesson in allowing your creation to fall even when you know it will hurt.
Sometimes scar. The biggest lessons are learnt in failure. It strips away pride and allows for refinement. Anyone who is a parent has experienced it on a daily basis with their young. You don't teach by preaching.... The real lessons are always taught in failure.

So, true, Mel!

BTW, have missed seeing you around here - hope all is well down there!

[melanie]

Thanks Philip
Missed you guys too! Glad to be back

[Philip]

I believe that God knows that His orchestrating and providing key attributes, abilities and circumstances, in conjunction with their free will, produces two kinds of people, as well as two kinds of other created beings (like angels, Satan): Those who will reach BACK to Him and those who will continuously and permanently reject, avoid, or rebel against Him. And with beings like Satan and demons, they make the difficulties and bad things in our lives, far worse and destructive - and thus creating a clear choice and desperate need to be saved from their terrible circumstances and difficulties - initially, not necessarily realizing our need for salvation, but to escape their great difficulties - which subsequently leads to their crying out to God in their misery, pain or fear. As they discover Him, His mercy, His ability to change their lives for the better, He will walk those willing down the path to Salvation. So, God uses Satan and the demonic as TOOLS - just as He used Judas to betray Jesus - that they greatly magnify our choice and the hopelessness of our circumstances without having the Lord in our life. Of course, God Himself will allow our own choices and circumstances, independent of the demonic, to lead us to reach BACK to Him.

God has infinite tools He can deploy to bring those so willing to salvation, amongst which are Satan and the demonic's freely made choices and actions are but two major ones. But Satan has many tools as well: Religion, envy, pride, jealousy, hatred, racism, temptation, greed, lust, seduction, fear, insecurity, etc. But the difference is, Satan's power is minuscule and limited, in comparison to God's power - and he uses his tools to destroy and cause evil. And the tools and power he has are not only limited in degree and availability, but they are only ON LOAN for a limited period of time. He is also not ALL-knowing as God is. So, Satan Inc. is but a tool of God's. And yet, Satan freely chooses his evil ways - God does not cause evil or temptation, only Satan does. But God, amazingly, uses Satan and evil to bring about good outcomes - both for here and in Christians' glorious eternity. God loves unfathomably. Satan hates relentlessly.

[Nessa]

I would say that God created an angel with the ability to choose to be satan

[Kurieuo]

God created Satan, a free creature who then willfully came into his own possessing enmity against God. God was direct in creating what Satan is, but God was indirect in creating who Satan became. Satan had no power to create what he is, but direct power over creating who he became. It is important to understand the differences here to avoid committing equivication fallacies.