Thursday after Pentecost 16
September 24, 2009
The Lord be with you
At Lamb of God Lutheran (LCMS) we continue our series titled “Puzzlers and Questions about the Bible” in our Sunday morning adult Bible study. The question submitted that we will consider this coming Sunday is:
If God is not the author of evil or false doctrine, how does Satan create?
Whoever submitted this question is not the first person to ask this question, nor will they be the last. If you want to know the answer, come to class.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
Sorry I had to miss Bible Study Sunday so I couldn't find the answer to the intriguing question regarding Satan's ability to create. Had I been in Spartanburg rather than San Diego, I would have attended.Perhaps you could make a brief reply.
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Oh, I see you haven't held class yet for this puzzler. You may want to wait to post a reply...so as not to spoil the surprise for those who will be able to join you Sunday.
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ReplyDeleteSeptember 27, 2009
The Lord be with you
Hi Claire,
There is an old debating maxim: The person who frames the question wins the debate. This “Puzzler” is a great example. It is assumed by the question that Satan creates. He does not. He destroys, perverts, distorts, but he does not create. A simple analogy might be a potter makes a pot. A child breaks the pot. We might say, “Look at the mess you’ve made.” In realty the child has “made” nothing. They have destroyed something the potter made. The Bible never associates the word create with the devil. Lying, murder, etc., yes, but these are all destructive acts. I will give but one concrete example. The teaching of reincarnation is a perversion of the truth that we are beings of body and soul. As death separates these, we cannot be “human” as we were designed. Reincarnation enables body and soul to be reunited. Biblically, when Christ returns he will raise us body and soul, to live forever. So reincarnation distorts both the teaching of eternal life and the teaching that people are body and soul. I hope this helps. We looked up a number of passages from the Bible to underscore this point and examined other distortions of Satan in light of what truth was being distorted.
Blessings in Christ
Great pottery analogy!
ReplyDeleteThanks John.
Just been wondering about this but Satan cannot create. Only human beings made in the image of God have this ability which Satan depends on to steal kill and destroy. When the bible tells Christians not to curse, it is for a good reason. A curse works because a Christian can create that negative situation in another life. Satan causes human beings (agents of creation of good or evil) to create evil on his behalf while he gloats away in evil victory. We must rejoice always and worship always to keep in an atmosphere of Kingdom presence. Trust Jehoshaphat who sang his way to victory and his enemies were discomfited as thet fought themselves to death. Dear child of God do not give Satan a foothold by your walking in fear sadness frustration but praise for sure victory in your life. The apostles sang their prison doors open. Do thebsame to your situation. Blessings
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