Does any goodness exist in the devil?

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From a religious view, does any goodness or anything good come or exist in the devil?
 
ANV said:
From a religious view, does any goodness or anything good come or exist in the devil?
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well, I’m going to go with, not anymore. the devil loves nothing more than to turn us away from God

however, God still allows his presence as part of his will, there must be some ultimate good or else he wouldn’t do that. so maybe that counts
 
ANV said:
From a religious view, does any goodness or anything good come or exist in the devil?
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There is no Moral goodness in the devil. There is, however, ontological goodness in him. “Ontological goodness” is a fancy phrase philosophers use to say that existing is a good thing. The devil exists, and that is good. But he is not Morally good. He is morally evil.
 
I answer that, As the good is in relation to things, so is the true in relation to knowledge. Now in things it is impossible to find one that is wholly devoid of good. Wherefore it is also impossible for any knowledge to be wholly false, without some mixture of truth. Hence Bede says [Comment. in Luc. xvii, 12; Cf. Augustine, QQ. Evang. ii, 40 that “no teaching is so false that it never mingles truth with falsehood.” Hence the teaching of the demons, with which they instruct their prophets, contains some truths whereby it is rendered acceptable. For the intellect is led astray to falsehood by the semblance of truth, even as the will is seduced to evil by the semblance of goodness. Wherefore Chrysostom says [Opus Imperf. in Matth., Hom. xix, falsely ascribed to St. John Chrysostom]: “The devil is allowed sometimes to speak true things, in order that his unwonted truthfulness may gain credit for his lie.”
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newadvent.org/summa/3172.htm#article6

This was from Article 6. Basically, pure evil does not exist because evil is non-being, according to St. Thomas Aquinas.
 
There is an old joke that he has one good quality: persistence.

If we were as persistent in pursuing virtue as Satan was in seeking our damnation, we would all be saints by now. 🙂
 
Only in that it’s God’s will that he exists. So as stated previously, goodness only in an ontological sense.
 
People on here frequently say satan and his antics are ‘used’ by God in order to bring more people closer to God, so in that sense, satan IS contributing to some degree, in that he has a purpose in Gods master plan.

Plus Im sure satan is aware that God uses him in this manner, so if satan had absolutely no good in him at all, he would not assist in any way shape or form, even if it meant, not interfering in our lives, if he truly wanted to hurt God, all he has to do is stop doing what he has been doing.

Of course, Im of the belief Satan/ demons are doing what they were created for and I believe there is MUCH more to the story of ‘the fall’, so Im probably in the minority here.
 
angell1 said:
well, I’m going to go with, not anymore. the devil loves nothing more than to turn us away from God

however, God still allows his presence as part of his will, there must be some ultimate good or else he wouldn’t do that. so maybe that counts
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Why does the devil want to turn people away from God?
 
mikekle said:
People on here frequently say satan and his antics are ‘used’ by God in order to bring more people closer to God, so in that sense, satan IS contributing to some degree, in that he has a purpose in Gods master plan.

Plus Im sure satan is aware that God uses him in this manner, so if satan had absolutely no good in him at all, he would not assist in any way shape or form, even if it meant, not interfering in our lives, if he truly wanted to hurt God, all he has to do is stop doing what he has been doing.

Of course, Im of the belief Satan/ demons are doing what they were created for and I believe there is MUCH more to the story of ‘the fall’, so Im probably in the minority here.
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To assume Satan ‘knows’ God’s plan is to diminish his sin and to raise satan to a higher level or equal to God.

Pride is the worst for a reason and gets in the way of reasonableness.

Satan’s sin is continual, his efforts to mess up others lives is genuine.

I think more likely Satan truly believes what caused him to break from God and that would be his ‘value’ is greater than other creation.

It’s more likely he’s got selfish tunnel vision and has no idea he’s fighting a losing battle. His pride would get in the way of considering otherwise.
 
Nelka said:
No he is all bad.
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I agree. The devil cost our species paradise, without his attack we would all be happily married with children without the fear or thought of death. Nobody is more cruel than that.
 
dmar198 said:
Why did Charles Manson want to kill people?

He hated some types of people. The devil hates all types of people.
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stream.org/we-are-fighting-demons-more-than-democrats/
A Common Enemy
Let’s remember that we have a common enemy, the devil, also known as Satan. He hates blacks and whites alike. He wants to destroy men and women alike. He despises gays and straights alike. As Jesus taught, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn. 8:44).
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CatholicSpirit said:
I agree. The devil cost our species paradise, without his attack we would all be happily married with children without the fear or thought of death. Nobody is more cruel than that.
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But it is God who permits satan, he cannot do anything if God does not allow it.

Doesnt the church even say it is a complete mystery why God permits the diabolical?
 
To say we know how or why God does, what He does, would probably fall quite short of reality.

But we can use what has been revealed to determine, considering the limits of our abilities, a reasonable answer to why God permits evil.

We start with how evil exists - sin.

We move to why God creates - love

We consider what we can know about love - that it doesn’t force a reply or reflection of love. Which means it only ‘is’ when there is a freedom for the beloved.

Existence given from the Creator, due to love - allows for the diabolical (love can’t force).

Why the diabolical doesn’t get wiped away? We can consider a key trait of God.

Perfect-ness : Nothing would be re-done or corrected by God. (enter ‘God doesn’t make junk’)

Thus what is done (created) is considered ‘is’, what each creation does with their ‘is’, is their choice in light of the scope of freedom they have from the love of God.
 
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