What does Satan want?

[Athrawan]

But how could the alleged most powerful being in the universe (that created it) first off allow Satan to steal and influence his creations in the first place and secondly be allowed to... Do whatever he's supposed to do, tormenting people for eternity while God just watches on?

Doesn't any of that seem a little strange to you?

It's called free will.

 

[MrSe7en]

Ihave talked about thisquestion with many people and Iseem to get the same couple of answers.Normally in these three varieties. Satan wants your soul, to be god, or to destroy God.But my question is deeper than that. To what end? If he wants your soul, why,what does he do with these captured souls? If he wants to be God, how would his prospective kingdom differ from God's? If he wants to destroy God what would he do after that?

Those answers are due to a fundamental lack of understanding of who and what Satan is, because there are too many 'cultural christians' who haven't even read the Bible. Satan is not an all powerful rival of God, nor is he the reason bad things happen to good people. Satan was an angel who fell to his prideful self-image of perfection that lead him to believe he deserved the worship and adoration reserved for God. He rebelled, so God cast him, and all who followed him out of Heaven as a consequence. He is simply an eternal being in exile, and I suspect that he is extremely bored. I believe what he wants most is to return to Heaven, but that will never happen, so he ****s with God's creation and His followers because he's pissed off and trolling God is funny to him.

 

[CLAX1911]

Those answers are due to a fundamental lack of understanding of who and what Satan is, because there are too many 'cultural christians' who haven't even read the Bible. Satan is not an all powerful rival of God, nor is he the reason bad things happen to good people. Satan was an angel who fell to his prideful self-image of perfection that lead him to believe he deserved the worship and adoration reserved for God. He rebelled, so God cast him, and all who followed him out of Heaven as a consequence. He is simply an eternal being in exile, and I suspect that he is extremely bored. I believe what he wants most is to return to Heaven, but that will never happen, so he ****s with God's creation and His followers because he's pissed off and trolling God is funny to him.

Excellent, I wondered if I was the only one that thought that.

 

[MrSe7en]

Excellent, I wondered if I was the only one that thought that.

That's the conclusion I reached from the few times he is mentioned in the Bible. I'm sure there are many people who see it the same, or in a similar, way.

 

[RAMOSS]

Those answers are due to a fundamental lack of understanding of who and what Satan is, because there are too many 'cultural christians' who haven't even read the Bible. Satan is not an all powerful rival of God, nor is he the reason bad things happen to good people. Satan was an angel who fell to his prideful self-image of perfection that lead him to believe he deserved the worship and adoration reserved for God. He rebelled, so God cast him, and all who followed him out of Heaven as a consequence. He is simply an eternal being in exile, and I suspect that he is extremely bored. I believe what he wants most is to return to Heaven, but that will never happen, so he ****s with God's creation and His followers because he's pissed off and trolling God is funny to him.

It seems to me that more Christians take more about Satan from Dante's inferno, or paradise lost than the bible. It gets ironic when the people who do so are the ones that are Sola Scriptura

 

[MrSe7en]

It seems to me that more Christians take more about Satan from Dante's inferno, or paradise lost than the bible. It gets ironic when the people who do so are the ones that are Sola Scriptura

Yeah, I don't get it. Most of it is from old beliefs and traditions. The Satan of 'cultural christianity' is more like an amalgam of Hades,Hel, and Loki from grecian and norse religions, while the Satan of the Bible is nothing like that at all.

 

[Removable Mind]

Excellent, I wondered if I was the only one that thought that.

Dunno, Clax...

IMO, too many people, including clergy, have been exposed to stories that were created by John Milton - and believe them to be true without knowing their orgin. In his book, "Paradise Lost" (or 'poem' as it's academically considered to be), he describes, in pretty remarkable detail, accounts of the war in heaven, the garden of Eden, Satan's temptations, etc. as though they're actually biblical.

Sermons have been preached based on Milton's portrayals.

These stories have been floating around since the 1600's and they've become entwined with religions and ingrained in the human psyche pretty much like Greek mythology was for centuries.to

I used the term "human psyche" for a reason. There's two concepts regarding the term. The religious concept refers to the psyche as the 'soul.' The other concept, which is secular, refers to the psyche as the 'mind'. So really I think that those who grew up being exposed to, and have practice some religious beliefs, even if in a minor way, are more prone to be attracted to the concept that it is the basic nature of humans to play out their earthly roles expecting everything to revolve around "good and evil" that's being orchestrated by "God and Satan" (in a strange, surreal theatrical sort of way). To me, it's all sort of like a Greek "Morality Play".

People believe what they're taught to believe, for the most part. And then there's people like me - who couldn't make sense of what their family subscribed to. Consequently, they don't choose to practice their family's spiritual/religious beliefs and traditions.

 

[Riveroaks]

Yeah, I don't get it. Most of it is from old beliefs and traditions. The Satan of 'cultural christianity' is more like an amalgam of Hades,Hel, and Loki from grecian and norse religions, while the Satan of the Bible is nothing like that at all.

Jesus refers to Diablos in the Greek New Testament as if He believes the Devil is real.

That's good enough for me.

 

[Riveroaks]

Those answers are due to a fundamental lack of understanding of who and what Satan is, because there are too many 'cultural christians' who haven't even read the Bible. Satan is not an all powerful rival of God, nor is he the reason bad things happen to good people. Satan was an angel who fell to his prideful self-image of perfection that lead him to believe he deserved the worship and adoration reserved for God. He rebelled, so God cast him, and all who followed him out of Heaven as a consequence. He is simply an eternal being in exile, and I suspect that he is extremely bored. I believe what he wants most is to return to Heaven, but that will never happen, so he ****s with God's creation and His followers because he's pissed off and trolling God is funny to him.

That's pretty much the Catholic version in a nutshell.

Nobody really knows what Satan wants.

But I would guess that the Mormons are the closest in that they say Satan wants to sift everyone like wheat -- basically greed -- as in capitalism.

 

[MrSe7en]

That's pretty much the Catholic version in a nutshell.

Nobody really knows what Satan wants.

But I would guess that the Mormons are the closest in that they say Satan wants to sift everyone like wheat -- basically greed -- as in capitalism.

Well I'm a Catholic, but I reached that conclusion well before RCIA. The truth of the matter is that what Satan really wants is ultimately unimportant, because he's a nobody. Satan isn't really worth worrying about, because he isn't the root of all evil. Evil comes from the darkness and savagery in man's heart, and the "good intentions" of the ignorant and foolish.

Jesus refers to Diablos in the Greek New Testament as if He believes the Devil is real.

That's good enough for me.

I would think Jesus believed Satan was real, since he tempted Him three times in the desert.

 

[Manny]

If I met God and Satan I would say to them, "Can't we all just get along?"

 

[d0gbreath]

I know that YHWH exists. Avicenna explained it to me. I have also looked for proof of the existence of Salvatoré. So far I haven't found any.

As usual, I will keep looking.

 

[Riveroaks]

I know that YHWH exists. Avicenna explained it to me. I have also looked for proof of the existence of Salvatoré. So far I haven't found any.

As usual, I will keep looking.

You only truly "know" what your eyes have seen, and your hands have touched, and your ears have heard. All together these 3 give us "knowing" whereas any one of them alone might not be sufficient evidence to avoid being deceived.

So if you truly "know" YHVH exists then like Moses your both saw Him and heard Him speaking to you. I hope that is what you meant.

It is certainly possible. After all, YHVH choose Moses to become His friend. There is no reason He cannot similarly choose another as well.

 

[Riveroaks]

If I met God and Satan I would say to them, "Can't we all just get along?"

If Isaiah is a good source, then it would seem AELOHIM cast HASATAN out of His presence, and therefore you would not ever see them together.

HASATAN his here on this Earth, whereas AELOHIM dwells somewhere in the space above it. Or so we are told.

The battle between them is ancient and settled. The sentence and decree was banishment. There is no higher Judge (that we know of) to commute the sentence.

So that is the answer to your query.

Q.E.D.

 

[MisterLogical]

If I met God and Satan I would say to them, "Can't we all just get along?"

No, they can not get along. The Devil wanted Heaven and God would not give it to him and banished him to hell.

Now this story is very funny if you know Greek/Roman Mythology. Which says that he oldest brother Hades was suppose to get the sky realm. However Hades and Poseidon were both eaten by cronus. Zeus the youngest brother managed to escape and took over the sky realm. Zeus later came back and saved his two brothers from his father. Hades was he oldest and so deserved to take the cloud kingdom for himself, but Zues had been ruling it all this time since his other two brothers were in Cronos stomach. So they drew straws to see who got the sea, who got the cloud kingdom and who would rule over the land of the dead. Unlucky Hades got the land of the dead(Which none of them wanted to rule over), Poseidon got the Ocean, and Zeus got the cloud Kingdom and ruled over all the Gods. This angered Hades and he had a lot of resentment to Zeus for that since he really wanted the Cloud kingdom for himself.

Now if you know the story about how Lucifer has come to be there is in fact similarities. It seems they mostly focus on Hades(Similar to the devil) and Zeus(the God of all Gods). Zeus won the kingdom in a game of straws, and wont give it up to anyone. Hades want it as his birth right but agreed to the way of splitting up the major three areas to rule over. Hades ruling over the land of death was never worshiped and always feared and he hated it. He did not think it was fair that Zeus got all the glory. He wanted people to Worship him too. he is a god after all but that is why none of the other gods wanted to rule over the land of death. He also later kidnapped a girl and forced her to be his wife, but I forget what her name was. I think it was Persephone.

(I love Greek/Roman Mythology)

 

[VanceMack]

A really good $4 burger.

 

[VanceMack]

Those answers are due to a fundamental lack of understanding of who and what Satan is, because there are too many 'cultural christians' who haven't even read the Bible. Satan is not an all powerful rival of God, nor is he the reason bad things happen to good people. Satan was an angel who fell to his prideful self-image of perfection that lead him to believe he deserved the worship and adoration reserved for God. He rebelled, so God cast him, and all who followed him out of Heaven as a consequence. He is simply an eternal being in exile, and I suspect that he is extremely bored. I believe what he wants most is to return to Heaven, but that will never happen, so he ****s with God's creation and His followers because he's pissed off and trolling God is funny to him.

This. I dont know if it is just because he is bored. I think it is more because he is pissed, angry, and filled with hatred. If we accept biblical mythology, Lucipher had a plan and one he thought was a good plan. He was also prideful. His plan was rejected and rather than just manning up and saying..."OK...good call...how can I help?" He went off the deep end. All the while knowing his station in life. He knows the script...and knows who has the power. At the end of the day he knows he is fighting a losing battle but that doesnt mean he is any less dedicated...maybe even more so.

Ive long believed Satan gets a bad rap. We make our own choices and are quick to blame our bad choices on Satan. No...we m ade our bad choices because we are weak, fallible, lack humility, are prideful, and in a lot of ways...childish and immature. We want what we want and like a child will excuse and justify our actions to get what we want even when the consequences of what we want are negative for us. Then we blame Satan, blame God, deny there is a God, or simply rush to kill off God so that there is no right or wrong.

Dont get me wrong. i think Satan is still here, poking and prodding and appealing to our most base human instincts. Then, when we have stumbled, he tells us we cant be forgiven, that we are unworthy, that we should carry shame, and that there is no pathway back. I personally dont believe in Hell as a literal place with demons and monsters. i think Hell is a far more frightening place...it exists in our minds.

What does Satan want? A little satisfaction. Some allies. To cause others as much pain as he feels. To take as many down with him as he can. He knows he is going down. Misery definitely loves company.

 

[Visbek]

Ihave talked about thisquestion with many people and Iseem to get the same couple of answers.Normally in these three varieties. Satan wants your soul, to be god, or to destroy God.But my question is deeper than that. To what end? If he wants your soul, why,what does he do with these captured souls? If he wants to be God, how would his prospective kingdom differ from God's? If he wants to destroy God what would he do after that?

At the risk of stating the obvious....

Satan is a myth.

Even if we adopt a fundamentalist perspective and take the Bible in extremely literal terms: There's very little in the Old or New Testament about him, certainly not enough to suggest he is a major player in the celestial scheme of things. His role was mostly that of an obstructor, not an enemy -- cf Job, in which he talks to YHWH on quite congenial terms, and drops out of the action fairly quickly. His role of tempting Jesus in the desert fits this pattern quite well. The closest one might get to making such a claim is from Revelations, which frankly seems like a bunch of mystical eschatological mumbo-jumbo, designed to cope with the fact that the Kingdom of God did not wind up appearing shortly after the death of Christ.

From a theological perspective, positing the existence of Satan is basically the same as claiming that Loki or Poseidon or Set are real, and influence the real world.

Or, let's assume a sophisticated theology in which the Christian God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and benevolent. Such an entity could neuter Satan without any effort whatsoever; surely He has the power, otherwise he cannot be described as omnipotent. Thus, Satan must exist with the consent of God, and positing the existence of Satan only intensifies the problem of theodicy.

The bottom line is that unless you're looking at the question from a historiological perspective, reflecting on the "motivations of Satan" says very little about Christian theology, and a great deal about the speculator.