Refutation of the Sects (1959) - Page 7

III. Satan and evil 46-49.................................................... 25 29
    1. Satan did not know the specific nature of what is evil: he knew only that disobeying God was bad for man; and, out of enmity and jealousy, he gave man the desire to disobey, so that evil would follow for man; indeed, he learned, through the punishment that followed the disobedience, that his suggestions had produced death 47......................... 25 29
    2. Satan was punished justly: first, for his enmity toward man; furthermore, God had created him as neither an executioner nor a tempter, but as an intelligent being, knowing what is good and what is evil; Satan, in his origin, is neither evil by himself, nor uncreated and an adversary of God: it is knowingly (and freely) that he rose up against God’s command 48......... 26 31
    3. Man is punished justly because he is free to do or not to do evil 49.................................... 27 31
IV. Satan and God 50-56
    Question from the opponents 50.................................... 27 32 The "opponents" likely refer to dualistic philosophers, such as the Manichaeans, who believed that evil was a physical substance or an eternal power equal to God.
    Response 51-56
    1. God did not create Satan evil, but it is by his own will that he became evil 51. . . . . . . . . . . 27 32
    2. God knew that Satan would become evil; yet He created him anyway, and did not exterminate him after his crime, in order to manifest His beneficence original: "bienfaisance." This refers to God's active kindness and desire for the well-being of His creation. and to leave hope of pardon for men after their sins 52. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 32
    3. Other reasons for which God did not exterminate Satan 53-56
        Question from the opponents 53................................ 29 33
        Response: it is not out of powerlessness that God did not exterminate Satan, but 54-56
        A. To avoid giving cause for accusations of impatience against Him 54.................................... 29 33
        B. To make His beneficence known to men 55.................................................... 29 33
        C. To provide men with a revenge and a glorious victory 56........................................ 29 33
B. No creature is evil by nature 57-113
    Objection from the opponents 57.................................... 30 34
    Response 58-113
    a. IN GENERAL 58-71
        $α$. FIRST RESPONSE: BY NATURAL REASON 58-69 Natural reason refers to the use of logical deduction and the study of nature to reach conclusions, independent of divine revelation.