If Satan is the prince of darkness, then who is the king?

I've often heard Satan referred to as The Prince of Darkness. Well, a prince doesn't necessarily have to be the son of a king or emperor. According to the dictionary, prince can just be a title given to the being with the highest rank or position. But I've personally always just assumed that a prince usually has an even higher ranked father.

Which brings me to my question: if Satan is a prince, then does he have a father? If so, what do you think Satan's dad is like?

To begin with, Satan has been around for a long time. He's pretty ancient. Therefore, his father must be unbelievably ancient. So old, that I'd assume he's probably retired. Which would support why Satan is the one we hear so much about, you know? Because if The King of Darkness were still in business, he'd most likely upstage his son. And since we hear nothing of any kings of darkness, I can only assume that Satan's father is retired. So maybe he's living with all the other retired people in Florida? Maybe. But he's not like the other retired people out there. Sure, I think it's fairly evil the way senior citizens all wear fashionable jogging suits and such, even though the slightest amount of exercise could bust their hips. Plus, they all look so similar as if they're in some scary cult. But I digress.

If Satan's father is a retired guy in Florida, I'll guess he's a rather atypical retiree. I'd think it more the King of Darkness' style to be beer bellied and sitting in the swamp (or a trailer park) wearing a wife beater than watching Cocoon over and over again in a normal retirement home with the other senior citizens. So no, he's not part of that strange jogging suit cult. He's the ultimate grumpy old man.

Anyhow, I really wish there was some literature on Satan's dad. I bet it'd be a funny read.

I'm not wishing to be controversial here, but surely the King of Darkness is God? I mean, let's look at the facts here:

I have been assured that, at least according to many Christian doctrines, Satan was originally an archangel - created by God Himself - who then fell to become the Devil;

God, being omniscient, created Lucifer with the knowledge that he would turn evil, whereas Lucifer had no choice in the matter since he was predestined to become evil;

God, being the only truly omnipotent 'being', could cause Lucifer to not only cease to exist, but to never have existed - and with no effort. Therefore, it is by God's decree that the Devil - and, by association, evil - continues existence.

Of course, I'm assuming this idea has occured to others, and Christian Philosophers and so on will have worked out why this is wrong - after all, that's what they're there for. So I submit this merely as a hypothesis, and will update with any corrections I get /msg'd with.

Oolong says: Hard to argue with that I'd say. I suppose the get-out clause, such as it is, is that He is also King of Light. *shrug* - this points me towards a disclaimer style statement - God would only be the King of Darkness in his capacity as King of Everything, including all things pretty and fluffy and nice.

Elvis.

Or more to the point, God.

To christians, It has always been an important belief that no being, whether corporeal or metaphysical, can be on equal ground with God. Therfore, the term "Prince," in this instance, is not meant to imply a king or queen of darkness, but is instead used as an expression secondary to "King," which is God's title. In other words, you wouldn't call Satan the "King of Darkness" because not only does it have less of a ring to it (Religion is, of course, all about the aesthetics), but you would also be implying that Satans power is on par with that of God. This would obviously be heresy, and grounds for a Burning at the Stake.

Another argument, however, is that the Prince of Darkness' father is Darkness itself. This is an idea explored in the film classic Legend directed by Ridley Scott, starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, and Tim Curry as the Prince of Darkness. All of which, naturally, are the subject for another writeup.

Disclaimer: All of the author's conclusions are based on supposition and conjecture, and he is not to be trusted. Elvis may or may not be God.

The question is ill-posed. Clearly Hell is a principality, like Monaco or Liechtenstein, and as such its sovereign is entitled "Prince." Whether or not Hell is a renegade province of the Kingdom of Heaven is a question for the theologians.