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Catholics/Role of Satan
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Question
Dear sir,
This is an offbeat question. So I'm getting it off my chest now. If Satan is supposed to be the gatekeeper of hell, why is it that he would allow the wicked to suffer there at all? After all, Satan would be no doubt empathetic and sympathetic to all those condemned to hell! Birds of a feather. Then is Satan playing the role of warden to some degree from an agreement or partnership with God? Also, I believe there is nothing outside of God's control. God can eliminate Satan or even this universe with a thought, so is God allowing Satan to play his role as part of the cosmic play?
In my opinion nobody really knows what hell is like. And getting into arguments or debates about it is unproductive because people can get tripped up on certain words and statements that have been interpreted as the unalterable truth.
Having said that, I do believe in hellish realms. The point, I think, is to avoid them by trying to discern and do God's will. But much of the talk about linguistic constructions, again, IMHO, is a distraction from actually doing the good.
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Answers by Expert:
Michael Clark, Ph.D.
Expertise
I'm a progressive Catholic--not a liberal, conservative nor a single-minded critic of Catholicism. I simply believe that adults in the 21C should use the mind God gave them and not just repeat ancient and medieval modes of thinking.
I can probably help with questions that intelligently and respectfully question those aspects of Catholicism that are not infallible. But if you're looking for someone to vigorously defend or perhaps refute Catholicism as a whole, that's not me. So please ask another expert.
Experience
I run an educational website earthpages.org and know what the web has to offer. I might suggest hyperlinks and/or book titles as I have a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and a considerable personal library.
Publications
Print Media:
My table from "Religions and Cults" at earthpages.org is reproduced with permission in L. Lindsey, S. Beach and B. Ravelli, Core Concepts in Sociology, 2nd ed., p. 157
World Wide Web:
My online article "Letter to God" coauthored with Buddhist monk, E. Raymond Rock, appears on several different spirituality-based websites, including http://tinyurl.com/db7a5o
I've interviewed, as a Christian, a self-proclaimed mystic: http://tinyurl.com/cawykr
My articles appeared at the former New View magazine nuvunow.ca and are published at earthpages.org.
Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in Religious Studies
M.A. in Comparative Religion
B.A. Hon. in Psychology/Sociology
For more info, please see my CV and letters of recommendation and my blog at michaelwclark.com.
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