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Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In Today’s video, we’re going to dive into a question that has been debated by theologians since the inception - or close to it - of Christianity, which is why does God allow Satan to exist instead of just expunging him from creation. This dove-tails into the implicit overarching question of why God suffers the existence of evil to mar his grand design, for as an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent being, he could simply extirpate evil, yanking it out root and stem with nothing more than a thought. We’re going to begin with a quick overview of Satan: who he was as angel, why he was cast out of heaven, and what he became after his precipitous expulsion, banished from the divine plane and plummeting like a lump of celestial rock burning through the atmosphere. After that, we’ll spend the rest of the video going over four theological theories that explain why Satan - and more broadly, evil - are allowed to endure, including: free will, soul-making theodicy, the limitations of human understanding, and the greater good. Free will argues that God allows Satan to exist to preserve human moral agency, enabling meaningful choices between good and evil. Soul-making theodicy posits that Satan and evil serve as necessary challenges for humans to grow morally and spiritually. The limitations of human understanding suggest that humans cannot fully grasp God's reasons for allowing evil and Satan to exist, and the greater good theory asserts that God permits evil and Satan to achieve a higher purpose, such as developing virtues or fulfilling God's plan. Alright, Let’s get into it. Before his fall, Satan held a high-ranking position among the angels in heaven; often it is inferred that he was formerly the highest ranking. Although the Bible does not provide explicit details about his pre-fall status, passages in Isaiah and Ezekiel are often interpreted as referring to Satan's fall due to pride. Watch the video for the rest!
