...Angelology and Satanology One night while reading a book, a close friend of mine named Anna called me with specific questions pertaining to a television documentary that she was watching called “God vs. Satan.” She was concerned with the commonly wrong way that dualism and the idea that God and Satan are two eternal and equal forces struggling for all eternity. Her argument was that if this way of thinking were not true, then it must be that God created evil since it is well known that Satan is evil and God created Satan. I immediately explained to her that God did not create evil and that He cannot coexist with evil at any level and here is why: I began by explaining that what she is referring to is called religious dualism. Religious dualism is known as the belief that there are two opposite powers of good and evil that is operating in the universe. [1] The documentary specifically talked about the biblical revelation that the two sides of religious dualism are God versus Satan. Religious dualism is unbiblical since nowhere in Scripture can we find teachings that the universe consists of opposites, nor does it teach that Satan and God are equal and opposing forces. God, as we find in Scripture, is infinitely more powerful than Satan and will deliver punishment to Satan by eventually casting him into hell. This in itself proves the common misconception of dualism false and could not be done if they were equal and opposing forces. I then posed the question that if God...
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...Trisha Li THEO 201_C01 Short Essay #4 Short Essay on Angelology and Satanology The truth is that Satan and God are not in any means equal. According to the Towns textbook, unlike Satan, God is omniscience, omnipotent, and omnipresent. In Elwell’s book, the definition of dualism is “two mutually hostile forces or beings in the world, the one being the source of all good, the other source of all evil” (Elwell, 2001). Good is evil is polar opposite ends of the spectrum. It is incredibly clear to acknowledge the good in God and the evil in Satan. Basically, “the universe becomes the battleground for these two opposing forces” (Elwell, 2001). It is described as a war and something of a battleground that takes place…it is the fight between good and evil, and God is said to always be on our side. Satan constantly tries in all his might to gain that power position that God intended to have and belonged to God. Revelation 20:10 demonstrates that in the end, judgment will happen for Satan, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” The book of Revelations talks of what is to come and this is the future that has been written: Satan will lose. God and Satan are not equals. The biblical teaching of the origin of Satan clashes with the idea of dualism. Ezekiel 28 talks about Satan being created as an archangel; which was the most high. Ezekiel 28:15...
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...Short Essay 4 Angelology and Satanology Kati Bowlin Theo 201-D27 Religious dualism is the belief that teaches that the world consists of two basic forces; good and evil. God is viewed as the representation of good, Satan is the representation of evil. This belief is widespread and the majority of people would probably say that this is just the way things are. The eternal battle between God and Satan is constantly portrayed in movies and television as two equal forces battling over the souls of man. Satan is viewed as a fallen angel carrying a big hatchet against God. On the flipside, God is seen as the control freak who just sends His angels to do whatever He needs done. While this view can make a good movie, it’s contrary to what the Bible teaches. Unlike what pop culture would have us believe, God and Satan are not equal in their power and the battle between good and evil was won a long time ago. The Bible teaches that Satan is a created being. He was originally created as one of God’s angels, possessing all of the attributes of an angel, the power of personality and the freedom of choice. He let his pride get in the way of reason and he convinced himself that he was worthy of God’s throne and glory. He also failed to believe that if he committed a sin that God would punish him. He rebelled and God punished him by casting him out of heaven along with the angels who rebelled with him. In Isaiah 14:12-17, we are given some insight into the fall of Satan and his subsequent...
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...David Jones THEO_201_B09_201230 Short Essay #4 Short Essay on Angelology and Satanology Anna, thank you for your call regarding the documentary you watched on common dualism. By your description this is also known as religious or ethical dualism. Kuhn in defining ethical or religious dualism says “ Ethical or ethico-religious dualism asserts that there are two mutually hostile forces or beings in the world, the one being the source of all good, the other the source of all evil.”1 Kuhn further describes the universe as the battle ground for these equally opposing forces and identifies them as light and darkness. In this definition we see God being light and Satan being darkness as equal forces in eternal hostile battle. This form of dualism is in contradiction as to what Scripture teaches. Scripture starts with God creating not only the earth but the heavens as well. (Gen.1:1) In the book of Genesis we see God as the creator of all. In the ending of Scripture God claims victory over Satan and Satan is cast into the lake fire to suffer eternal torment.(Rev. 20:10). In Isaiah 14:12-14, the prophet addresses Satan as the one fallen from heaven and cast down to earth for his prideful sins against God. In Ezekiel 28: 12-17 God addresses Satan as the King of Tyre, through the prophet Ezekiel. He addresses him as having been an anointed guardian cherub. God says “for so I ordained you.” (vs 14). “You were the model of perfection,”(vs ________________________________...
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...Angelology and Satanology Ethical Dualism means that there are two mutual hostile forces of beings in the world, one being the source of all that is good, the other the source of all evil. There were two challenges of Satan that is recorded in Genesis 3 and Matthew 4. There was the temptation of Adam and Eve and also Jesus the son of God. Out of these two challenges the rewards of success would be great for Satan. The results of Eve’s sin were great and gave a big victory for Satan. Satan approached Jesus through the same three avenues of temptation as he approached Eve. (Matt. 4: 3; 5, 6; 8, 9). Satan was unsuccessful this time. God is the only eternal self-existent being that we read about which is represented in the Bible. Satan is not self-existent so he had to have a point of origin. God created Satan as a leading Angel who later wanted to become more powerful than God himself. Satan wanted to be worshipped. When reading the Chapter Ezekiel from the Bible it reveals more about a "king" who is obviously Lucifer. God did not create evil however he does reward and punishes according to our obedience. God created his angels and appointed arch angels who were highest of all angels. Since the arch angel had such high power they believed they could overpower God and went against God. The high power angel thought he could persuade Gods people into his world. Punishment came upon the angel and he was considered a fallen angel (Satan). God is the Father of all spirits including...
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...Short essay on Angelology and Satanology Well Anna, the problem with God and Satan being two eternal and equal forces is that it’s un-biblical. This theory implies that there are two substances that are irreducible in our universe. In other words when we are talking about ethics dualism we are talking about good (God) and evil (Satan). Many Christians lack a true knowledge of who God really is and therefore they equate God and Satan or demon as two opposing forces in an unquenchable struggle. Scripture teaches that God and Satan are not mutual forces. When the Bible begins in Genesis it assumes God the creator has already being there and He alone, being the only self existent one. Scripture teaches us that God is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. None of these are attributes about Satan. You need to understand that Dualism in its core is a misuse of the unity of God. It is important to understand that when sin was found in Lucifer, he became known as Satan, the adversary. Isaiah 14:13-17 and Ezekiel 28 reveal that Lucifer became prideful in his beauty and sinned against God by rebelling against Him. Lucifer was determined to overthrow God, but God’s judgment fell upon Lucifer, casting him out of heaven and one third of the angels in heaven decided to follow Lucifer in his upraise against God. There is a common argument opposing the stated interpretations of Isaiah 14:13-17 and Ezekiel 28. The argument made takes the prophetic (future) aspect of the verses out and only...
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...L R. K. J THEO 201_B10_201230 Short Essay #4 Short Essay on Angelology and Satanology Dualism is a theory in interpretation that explains a given situation or domain in terms of two opposing factors or principles. It is a doctrine that the world (reality) consists of two basic, opposed, and irreducible principles that account for all that exists. It has played an important role in the history of thought and of religion. Religious dualism is the belief that there are two opposite powers in the universe: good and evil. Some say that this is manifested in the biblical revelation of God versus Satan. Ethical or ethico-religious dualism asserts that there are two mutually hostile forces or beings in the world, the one being the source of all good, the other the source of all evil. [1] The universe becomes the battlegrounds for these opposing beings, identified respectively with light and darkness. The dualistic idea is not biblical at all. Scripture does not teach that there are two equal opposing forces that have eternally existed and it does not teach that the universe consists of opposites, nor does it affirm that Satan and God are equal and opposing forces. God alone has existed eternally. God, according to Scripture, is infinitely greater than Satan and will eventually cast Satan into hell. This could not be done if they were equal and opposing forces. The belief is not biblical. Christian theology generally accepts a modified moral dualism, recognizing God as supremely...
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...religion. Without it, we may as well be at home it the bed this morning, or perhaps on the golf coarse, fishing, maybe lying out at the beach. The Bible is the foundation for Christianity. Without the Bible, how would we know about God? The Bible is the standard, the criterion for everything we as believers do. It is simply put, how God speaks to mankind. 2. Theology Proper: The study of God. Without it, we would have no way to view God. To understand His nature. We would not know who God is. We would not understand the personality of God. The wisdom of God, the love of God, and so on. 3. Christology: The doctrine of Jesus Christ. Need I say more about this? 4. Pneumatology: The study of the Holy Spirit. 5. Angelology: The study of angels. 6. Satanology: Yelp, the study of Satan. There are more, but you get the idea of how much theology is in Scripture. The last study of systematic theology is Eschatology, which means the study of last things. The study of eschatology is the study of last things, however, like the underlying theme of all theology is Jesus Christ. The first verse of the book of Revelation sets the tone. “1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants…” Eschatology is not a study of just prophecy, although it includes that. Biblical eschatology deals with end things in two specific areas. First, it involves the future of the physical world and all that includes the second...
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