God is all forgiving, so should Satan repent he would be forgiven and be welcomed back into Heaven, maybe even re-instated as the Archangel of Light. That’s not saying, however, that another, equally evil demon would not just as easily take his/her/its place. On the flip side Satan is “All Evil”, which means he is consumed with the Deadly Sins, one of which being Pride. As such, theoretically, the Devil can never freely repent.
I have never thought about this, but I would think that if he ever was forgiven, another demon would kinda inhabit his throne.
However, I think that challenging God directly is something that’s a little less forgivable than say, skronking a sheep (especially if that sheep is married).
Welcome to the Straight Dope, Archangel! Please try out all the other forums too :).
OK, aside from the point that I don’t worship God – I just have to say you aren’t being very forgiving.
At least we can agree that a God who is of the “pure love” type you could envision might as well not exist.
It comes down to the point that I was trying to make with you – whether or not you believe Justice and Love are mutually exclusive. You haven’t given me a clue either way. I’m more than content to believe in a God who is Just. But, if you think that Justice is evil, why do you support the justice of man, which is even worse? Unless, of course, you maintain that you are evil yourself, in which case it seems imprudent for you to go around and jugde any being more just than you are of being evil and petty.
If you can find any evidence that God did any of these things, then please bring it forth. I think every reasonable person knows that the Flood is a myth, most people understand Job as fiction, and Lot’s story (i’ve never read it myself) is some ancient tribal fable. How can you possibly believe all these things are true and not believe that God exists? But if you beleive they are false, how can you hold these stories against God? Can’t you see your hypocrisy here?
God is God of the living, not of the dead.
Is there any other member of the SDMB that doesn’t understand what the word “if” means?
IF the “god” of the Bible existed and
IF he did the things atributed to him in the Bible
THEN I would consider him to totally petty and evil but
SINCE I don’t believe that such a being exists
BECAUSE there is no evidence for either his presense
OR the acts attributed to him
THIS is merely an arguement about the belief system of
SOME people.
Understand now?
As I said, God is God of the living, not of the dead. That goes for thinly sliced dead trees as well. There’s no more a “god” of the Bible than there is a god of the New York Yellow Pages.
What would you accept as evidence, anyway? (A rhetorical, if you prefer – I don’t want to hijack this thread).
I, and many others, have answered that question too many times to count. Look it up using the search function.
Try {i]god*
proof of god’s existance
Christianity
or any of the threads started by hit-and-runners from various Fundie religious groups and/or message boards.
Back to the OPsigh
IMHO, Satan can’t repent because, like most of the major players in the Bible, he is written as if he were a character in a comic book. He’s the “bad guy” that “Supergod” defeats time and time again. Superman could use his super-intelligence, super-speed and x-ray vision to put Lex Luthor away forever(if not get him the death penalty). Batman could use his vast resourses to put the Joker away in a special cell in the Batcave until he is cured or dead.
And Supergod could take away the super-natural influences of Satan, render him ineffective, and tell Mankind,“I hope you do the right thing and follow a set of principles that further civilization. I promise not to interfere. I gave you free will and a mind, and I now give you the freedom to use them, for will or woe. Good luck!”
Czarcasm
I don’t know how to respond to that except to say that I am not trying to win anyone over to my way of thinking. I am not trying to interpret the Bible to support any certain “position” or “conclusion” of my own. What do I have to gain by making Satan look any certain way? What I have posted on this thread is an honest attempt by me, to relate what I have read in the Bible and been taught over the years by various teachings and teachers.
I sense that anything that is said about the Bible is going to be met with alot of bitter cynicism and “czarcasm” by you. However, (heh, you knew that was coming didn’t you?) not to hijack, but since you “went there” first, I have always found the God of the Bible to be kind and gracious in His dealings with me.
I would posit, as I’ve posited in a few of those more recent threads, that the easiest proof that God exists is to see if he keeps the promises he makes. As I have myself put him to the test and seen that he does keep his promises, I can report back that he, apparently, does exist.
As for SuperGod – if God could at anytime take away the free will he had previously given, it wouldn’t really be free will in the first place. If we lived in some bizarro world where he could, you’d be complaining that SuperGod was evil because he was an indian-giver, and I’d have to agree with you.
Er… Except that God does promise to aid the faithful, isn’t that the plot of the New Testament? 
Maybe after you finish the parts about Lot and Job you should skip ahead a few chapters! 