Toto

vipertaja - welcome to the boards. Many of our discussions take place on a higher level that this one. If you search the forum, you can find a lot of previous discussion on the mythological (and un-Biblical) revolt of Satan, which was imaginatively romanticized by John Milton in Paradise Lost.

Satan in NT and HB

Satan and Hell

mata leao

In seminary your question is called the "process question"...ie. why does God need to work or choose to work through "process" rather than just start with the finished product- i.e. a final world in perfect righteousness, with all evil judged and either eliminated or in the process of being eliminated through holocaust (which is hebrew for purification by fire) or containment.

vipertaja

Ah...yes. I'm sure this has been discussed to death already...but it's a bit hard to think of much new to discuss about a thing that isn't expanded anymore...
only reformatted. I know I'm on a pretty much grassroot level here though.
I am no expert scholar. Thanks for the welcome.

Ah...even has a name for it? Figures. Yeah...that's the matter as a whole,
and to be honest I can't think of a single solution that works for me in theistic
framework. But that's just me.

mata leao

ya know viper.....there is a saying in seminary that most of the questions are asked and answered over and over again by every generation......why reinvent the wheeel....the "process" questions are well documented.....wittengenstein's net is good (google) so is the doctoral dissertation library (s) increasing avail by google(tho google is not the best source because two thirds of the data isnt on it) but its a start and its easy, also HUgh Ross is rather good on process and so is William Lane Craig...
but until then..may I ask why it is that you reject ALL the theist affirming theodicies in favor of all the theist disaffirming theodicies? especially given that most theodicies are just coulda, woulda, shoulda theories? but remember , those all cut both ways..... there are just as many unaswered questions which cut the other way.....
fwiw I had a medical school professor who said this:" In every profession we are just one discovery away from having our entire world view radically changed" , in archaeology we are all just one turn of the shovel away from having every religious idea we have radically changed........think about it.....that shepard boy who found the dead sea scrolls.....there are many caves left and many sheaprd boys still out there......

vipertaja

Ah...why I reject theism, in short?

The biggest reason is that I can't see any evidence for it and by that can't see
a reason for it. Especially considering that many religions have such wild epics
such as the war in heaven, but in fact happening on earth, yet have neither
evidence nor does such hapen today. This doesn't disprove theism really, but to
me doesn't give any reason for belief. I also can see what many theistic leaders
have done...which is basically what men who want power do.