Grad school at the moment is a no.  I've been considering looking to some things (I expect to hear my wife chime in at any moment with "WHAT!?!?!?!?!" :)  Perhaps I should tell her)

What makes you say that Satan is powerless to influence the weather?  I'm not saying that to disagree with you by the way.  Just looking for your reasoning on that.  Maybe I should phrase it the way I recently heard it (and maybe we pull out your armoire again).  Can Satan only affect the spiritual world and if so how is he ruler of this world?  (Or maybe that last bit is up for debate?)

As I mentioned before, I love Job.  To borrow a secular quote, "Just when you thought you had the answers, I change the questions". :)

But this is the thought I had as I battled around "Ruler of this earth".  What the heck does it mean?  Because if Satan can't touch believers without God's permission.  If Satan can't cause earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis or global warming without God's permission... What can Satan do as ruler of this earth?

Brian,

I had heard about that story, although hadn't had a chance to follow it.  He should talk to all of the insurance agents who call these things acts of God.  I think they would have a better case then he.

Jesus told us in the "Great Commission" that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. For that reason we are to go make disciples. If Jesus hasn't been given all the authority and Satan is still the ruler of this world, what basis do we have to go make disciples? I guess the real question is...is Jesus king over all or not?

I'm going to have a "Bill" moment.  Does now mean now?  If you read the next verse, you see that He was using verse 12:32 to tell people how He was going to die.  So there seems to be a certain bit of foreshadowing already going on.  And what does cast out mean here?  Cast out of what?  His ruling position?  If so why would Jesus say the world would hate us?  Wouldn't He be ruler of this world and therefore we'd be viewed favorably?

I've got more pondering to do once again. :)

You knwo "Now" really should mean now. :)  I have enough trouble figuring out where God fits in the span of time (or not in the span of time) without "now" meaning something other than now.   And that's not including where Satan and the rest of the angels and demons fit in.

My feeling is that Satan, though a very powerful spiritual being, is less powerful than many give him credit for. For instance he cannot read minds, though many think he can. Many think Satan is omniscient (really, I've heard them), although this is not true (he "roams the earth" rather than "fills it" as God does). He has a vast army of like-minded spirits, no doubt very well organized.

As for the weather and natural disasters? I don't think so. Consider who controls the natural world: Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD's. (Exodus 9:29)

See also
Jer 10:13
Psalms 135:6-7
Psalms 77:16-19
Jeremiah 51:16
Job 26

My belief is that Satan's power is basically limited to his power of influence over "the world". He is a strong adversary, not because he has great powers, but because he is an extremely convincing deceiver and accuser, as well as a powerful enticer. No manipulation of nature though. At least, that's the way I see it.

To think Satan has free reign negates God's omnipotence.

I think I'll more to comment on, but this strikes me in the following way.  If it is true, that would also seem to negate man's free will as anything outside of God's control would negate his omnipotence.  Is that what you are saying?

The other thought is maybe you were meaning omniscience.

Mike,

Your last paragraph is confusing.  The first sentence talks about his power, and then the second talks about not power so much but abilities.  Deceiver, accuser, possesor... is that about it?  (Not to belittle those, just asking)

All,

When I first wrote this up, I was of the opinion like many of you that God was the one controlling the weather, but coming out of the class I had the firm impression that there were many that believed Satan was the one causing the chaos.  So I posted this trying to figure out what the arguments were.  You can see how that went. :)

If I get a chance I think I may have to corner a couple of people who gave me that impression and find out their arguments. 

Well I wasn't even specifically asking for your views on "free will" other than to clarify whether you are understanding "free will" to mean something different for the purposes of the question you propose than "free reign". 

I understand that reign implies different power (and perhaps more power), however ultimately they come down to someone/something being able to do whatever they want* using the power they have.  And therefore the argument becomes if someone/something can do something "free" with the power they have, God's omnipotence is destroyed, right?  (And no I'm not asking you to answer this question, just whether you agree that this is what the question becomes.)

Otherwise further clarification on what you see the difference between "free reign" and "free will"  as would be appreciated.