Why did God outsource responsibility for punishment to his enemy?

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Hell was created by the devil according to the church. Did God think that okay the devil was his sworn enemy but with this hell idea he could put it to some good use? Why would anything the devil created be good or useful?

The devil is in charge of hell according to church teaching. Why would God wish to distance himself from the punishment side of things and why of all people would he outsource responsibility for hell to his enemy?
 
Hell was created by the devil according to the church.
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The devil created his own hell by choosing to exist for himself. Anyone who succumbs to the lust for absolute power creates his own hell.
Did God think that okay the devil was his sworn enemy but with this hell idea he could put it to some good use?
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Nonsense!
Why would anything the devil created be good or useful?
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The example of the devil can serve as a lesson and a warning to those who worship themselves at the expense of others. Even evil can be transformed by love into an opportunity for heroism - as in the case of Father Kolbe who sacrificed himself in Auschwitz for another man.
The devil is in charge of hell according to church teaching. Why would God wish to distance himself from the punishment side of things and why of all people would he outsource responsibility for hell to his enemy?
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The Greek concept of Nemesis and the Indian doctrine of Karma make it clear that our vices incur their own punishment. In the long run we all inevitably obtain what we deserve.
 
You haven’t really addressed my questions.

I understand it is catholic teaching that hell was created by the devil. Why would God think anything created by the devil could turn out to be useful?

God undeniably finds hell useful because God makes use of hell. But it was created by the devil. God has outsourced punishment of humans to his enemy.
 
Yorkshireman said:
I understand it is catholic teaching that hell was created by the devil.
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The devil was simply the first to reject God and exist in hell - which is not a place but a **state **of “splendid” isolation.
Why would God think anything created by the devil could turn out to be useful?
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Even evil can be transformed by love - as I have already pointed out.
God undeniably finds hell useful because God makes use of hell.
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Why not? What would you do? Pretend it doesn’t exist?
But it was created by the devil. God has outsourced punishment of humans to his enemy.
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Nonsense! We** punish ourselves** when we choose to love ourselves at the expense of others. We make ourselves unlovable and detestable…
 
Sin is a self inflicted wound.

We have free will, a conscience, the new Covenant, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Christ as our prime example, the example of good Catholics and good Christians, the 10 Commandments, the two great Commandments, the Beautitudes, the 7 Sacraments, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s Church, Apostolic Tradition, papal authority, and Sacred Scripture.

Evidence of a personal God.
 
God, because of his infinite wisdom and his great love, created first the angels and then human beings and gave them all free will. The right and ability for each individual being to decide for themselves to follow God, or to reject Him. Lead by Lucifer, one third of the angels decided to reject their creator. As human beings we all have the same decision to make.

If we reject God, than by default we side with the devil. Since hell is the domain of Satan, when one decides to reject the love of God and therefore rejects the chance to obtain heaven, there is but one other destination.

Free will is a gift. Without free will we would all be reduced to pieces on a giant game board, each of us being manipulated by God for his entertainment. Without free will the fallen angels would not have been able to reject God, and if they had tried He would have simply destroyed them. He allows each of his children the ability to decide.

May God Bless You Always. Have a Blessed Advent and a Holy Christmas.

NOT JUST STRONG…CATHOLIC STRONG!!!
 
Yorkshireman said:
Hell was created by the devil according to the church. Did God think that okay the devil was his sworn enemy but with this hell idea he could put it to some good use? Why would anything the devil created be good or useful?

The devil is in charge of hell according to church teaching. Why would God wish to distance himself from the punishment side of things and why of all people would he outsource responsibility for hell to his enemy?
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Hi! God still uses all of His creation even the fallen angels. The purpose of God permitting the evil angels to still be around makes for good discussion. First of all let me state that the devil is under control by God and really has no freedom at all except for which God allows or permits. The devil and the the rest of the fallen angels have permission from God to tempt us. That is basically how much God is allowing under normal circumstances. In extraordinary circumstances God will give the devil more leaverage as in the case of Job in the OT, as in the case of His Son and in the cases of countless saints of the Church. God is giving the devil permission to do more. The devil is not in control. God is. However for the devil to harm another person he must get that person through the thoughts of that person as he does with many of us or he will send other kinds of troubles as he did by getting people to destroy Jesus. All of this is under the eyes of God. God allows this activity and even permits and wills it. We are all responsible for the decisions we make. All the devil can do normally is to tempt us and it is in everyones power to resist it. God will never permit a temptation stronger than you can handle. It kind of shows you how much weak we are. Without God’s Grace we can be easily picked like apples from a tree. With His Grace we can withstand any force. God is in fact using the devil to accomplish His plan to make us like Him. It is interesting to note that most of the saints will not have been saints except for the annoyance and troublesome presence of the evil one. It is my own opinion that if God did not will the evil spirits to tempt us, we will be all couch potatoes. Having a guy around to plunder you makes you go to the one who has the power to bound him. The devil can plunder your goods but God has the power to plunder and bound the devil. Jesus said that in the Gospels. The devil does not create anything. He can only suggest. It is us who deal with those suggestions and depending on how we deal with them determines our growth in sanctity or decline. It is still us who will determine it and not the devil. We can all become Saints or we can all become like Hitler or Stalin. The devil does not force anyone nor will God give him permission to do so. But God will also not force anyone by interferring with his will to choose. The choices are there but it is you who must in the end decide. A very good reason why God permits evil and suffering is to derive at a greater good. Look at the Cross. We did the unthinkable. We killed the Son of God. Yet from that great evil act came the greatest good, the redemption of mankind. Look for instance at Russia. Taken over by great evil men who wanted to destroy her and the church within God eventually raised her to great heights where today she has become again Holy Russia. Pope John Paul II has described what happenned to Russia a necessary evil to help prevent even a greater evil. What happened to Russia even though it looked like evil had taken over was to bring about a greater good. Today Russia has over 150 million Orthodox Christians and nearly over 2 million Catholic Christians. Today she is the nation that is glorifying God the most. Remember that God needs to help us grow and He is doing that even by allowing the devil to do his part and with great success.
 
God didn’t outsource the punishment of Christians to the enemy is a simple enough answer, but I suppose I can offer an explanation. Hell is the promise to those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and saviour and given up the ghost in this life with sin tainting their eternal soul. God’s promise is that sin would not enter Heaven nor be in his presence, so the judgement of man is to be removed far from Heaven, which just so happens to be the same place that Lucifer chose when he removed himself from God’s presence. I also want to address the issue of God “allowing” the devil to attack believers. That’s simply ludicrous, if it were true and God and Satan worked together, we’d be out of luck (imagine this question “did you come on your own today Satan, or did God send you?”). That kind of thinking is reading scriptures with disregard to the context of the bible in its entirety. It’s God’s goodness, not the devil’s evil, that grows Christians and if you think God can’t show his true goodness and inspire happiness in his followers without evil, you’re not going to be very happy in Heaven without the devil to help you appreciate God’s goodness. I also understand the thread has been dead a month, but revival doesn’t have a time limit.

Edit: God grows us despite the devil, not because of the devil.
 
Before I can comment, I need to clarify your grammar.
Did you mean “… responsibility for punishment…”
OR “… responsibility of punishment…”
Words can change my comment.
Todd
 
agapewarrior said:
God didn’t outsource the punishment of Christians to the enemy is a simple enough answer, but I suppose I can offer an explanation. Hell is the promise to those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and saviour and given up the ghost in this life with sin tainting their eternal soul. God’s promise is that sin would not enter Heaven nor be in his presence, so the judgement of man is to be removed far from Heaven, which just so happens to be the same place that Lucifer chose when he removed himself from God’s presence. I also want to address the issue of God “allowing” the devil to attack believers. That’s simply ludicrous, if it were true and God and Satan worked together, we’d be out of luck (imagine this question “did you come on your own today Satan, or did God send you?”). That kind of thinking is reading scriptures with disregard to the context of the bible in its entirety. It’s God’s goodness, not the devil’s evil, that grows Christians and if you think God can’t show his true goodness and inspire happiness in his followers without evil, you’re not going to be very happy in Heaven without the devil to help you appreciate God’s goodness. I also understand the thread has been dead a month, but revival doesn’t have a time limit.

Edit: God grows us despite the devil, not because of the devil.
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Whoops. The punishment of humans, not Christians! It’s way too early in the morning for me. Also just wanted to add to answer the original question up top a little more clearly. It’s not God’s will that any be punished, but rather part of His divine nature that sin cannot enter Heaven. The seperation may be defined as justice and that’s pretty accurate. However, God doesn’t want any to perish. It’s simply a case of spiritual law.
 
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