beads,
You said: “Of course God is responsible for imperfection in all its forms. . . . Is God not the Creator? Is there anything in all of creation that exists that was not made by God? Does this not include Satan, the father of evil? So if God created Satan, then is He not the creator of the father of evil? . . . since sin would not have existed without a creative act by God, then it is correct to say He is ultimately responsible for it.”
I say: How can those statements mean anything else but that you believe God KNOWINGLY, AND THAT MEANS DELIBERATELY, AUTHORED EVIL by creating Satan? Then you turn around and say “don’t use the old "God is not the author of evil" verse on me.” Apparently you know of a scripture that says, "God is not the author of evil" that you don’t want me to discuss or “use.” To me it certainly sounds like you are saying, “Do not quote or discuss or mention or use or whatever that scripture.” If you are not saying “Don’t quote Scripture to me, I don’t want to hear it,” then what are you saying? Do you know? Based on what you have said I certainly do not!
As I have already pointed out, you are missing the point. Your mistaken concept of or beliefs about what God actually DOES DO is forcing you into the above example of double talk. Either God IS NOT the “author of evil” or he IS; which is it? If “God is responsible for imperfection in all its forms” and “is ultimately responsible for it” then he is the “author of evil.” If the scripture is true and God is not the author of evil then he could not have knowingly, deliberately caused or created imperfection and sin and is not responsible for it. It cannot be both even though you certainly seem to be claiming so! So which is true, the scripture or your claim?
You are very much mistaken when you claim that God “created” Satan! Jesus helps us to understand the actual situation at John 8:44 where he explains that Satan was once in the truth, but forsook it. By abandoning the truth and causing the death of his younger siblings that once faithful spirit person began (Greek arche = the active cause, per Vine and others) or caused himself to become a slanderous (Devil) resister (Satan) of God and mankind.
So, from a righteous, perfect start, this spirit person exercised his free will and deviated into sin and degradation. The process bringing this about is described by James when he writes: “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.” (James 1:14, 15) In the course that Satan took, there seems to be, in some respects, a parallel with that of the king of Tyre as described in Ezekiel 28:11-19. Also compare Isaiah 14:12-14.
Unless you have the ability to read hearts and minds you should be careful about attributing motives, such as claiming my misunderstanding is a “preconceived notion.” If I have a mistaken “notion” about what you are saying it is based on your confusing and contradictory statements and not on some preconception and all you need do is point out where you did not say what it seems to me you said. I have no problem pointing out the flaws in your arguments, claims, and statements and the fact that you have completely missed the point. I am sorry that my doing so apparently makes you feel personally attacked.
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