Yes, the Bible pictures Satan as being able to do things.
However, the devil has no genuinely creative power: He is not an "evil god"
on the same ontological level as God and cannot really create. (This is the
point of the assertion in the Nicene Creed that God is the maker "of all
things visible and invisible.) This means, among other things, that a
complete Satanic makeover of the world to make it appear consistently to have
a history that it didn't really have is ruled out, for that would mean that
the devil was actually the creator of the world that we inhabit and observe.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
"The Science-Theology Interface"
Jay Willingham wrote:
> Some time ago Glenn said that God would not put anything here for us to =
> find that would confuse or deceive us. I retorted that Lucifer is the =
> father of all lies and could deceive us.
>
> To that point see:
>
> Deuteronomy 13
>
> 1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and =
> announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or =
> wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow =
> other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you =
> must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your =
> God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart =
> and with all your soul.=20
>
> Jay
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jul 23 2002 - 12:00:50 EDT