The baseline belief of most theologians (and almost all Christians) is eternal torment. Thus, any rumination on the topic of evil is
skewed from the start. Rather than, "Let's see what the Bible has to say about evil," the thinking becomes, "We must distance God as far as we can from evil." The cattle prod herding so-called scholars in this direction is the necessity of relieving God of any responsibility for the eternal torture of His enemies. "We can't make God responsible for this nightmare," goes the thinking, "so let's transfer the responsibility for salvation from divine shoulders to human hands. If anyone goes to hell,
it will then be his or her own stupid fault." The hundreds of verses disproving human free will? "Never mind them," say the theologians. "We'll sweep them under a rug the size of a football stadium and call it 'a mystery.'"
Satan posed a problem, however. Not directly, but rather those pesky Scripture verses showing God creating him purposely as an adversary. The seminary graduates once again found themselves up against the assumed truth of eternal torment. Since Satan was, in their skewed brains, the president of hell and the being responsible for leading people there, he could not be seen as a vessel of dishonor purposely marred in the hands of the Potter.
What to do? How to fix it?
The theologians found two Scripture passages detailing the fall from glory of two men, namely, the Prince of Tyrus (Ezekiel chapter 28) and the king of
Babylon (Isaiah, chapter 14). Couldn't these passages be manipulated to teach the fall of Satan? Couldn't it be said that "Prince of Tyrus" and "King of Babylon" were secret titles of Satan? There were enough twistable bits in the contexts to render the switch not only possible but palatable—at least to malleable minds.
So that's what the God-wreckers did. And thus the "fall of Satan" became Christian lore—a fable advertised as fact—reducing the Deity to a spectator in His own universe Who (pity Him), shakes His head (and probably twists the ends of His beard) as His creatures run afoul of Him before His very eyes. (The creatures become the potter and God becomes
the clay). This version of God (it's a caricature of the true) is helpless to stop it, for no one—not even the true God—can interfere with free wills that are, by definition, immune to influence.
Want some relief from this nightmare? Welcome to this edition of MZTV.
