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If God Loves Us, Why Doesn’t He Just Destroy the Devil?

Question:

Have any apologists seen the Bill Maher movie "Religulous"? In it, he asks why God wouldn’t have already destroyed the devil to protect his children. While I understand how ridiculous this question is, I’m having trouble eloquently phrasing an answer.

Answer:

Without having seen the film, it is obvious from what you write that Maher is confining God to the limitations of the human situation. He judges God as if God were only a bigger version of him. Without faith, he can’t think outside of the human box. What for some appears to be sophistication, for those who believe appears a rather sad naiveté and anger that is expressed in sarcastic humor and sometimes bitterness.

That God loves us in an infinite way is impossible for us to fully grasp even with faith. It is only when one considers God’s willingness to join us in our human situation and allow himself to be tortured and put to death on our behalf that we get a handle on how much beyond our feeble minds his infinite love extends. Certainly, not everyone is privy to this. To have faith, one must have a humble awareness of one’s inadequacy and need for it.

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