Satan

Gustave Doré's depiction of Satan from John Milton's Paradise Lost

Satan is a term having origin in the Abrahamic faiths which is traditionally applied to an angel who fell out of favour with God. In Judaism and Christianity Satan is the accuser, a member of the divine council who challenged the religious faith of humans, especially in the books of Job and Zechariah. In Islam, this figure also dishonoured God at the beginning of creation, in this case refusing to bow before Allah's creation. In Islam and various streams of Christianity, the term Satan relate this term to a demon (as in the Christian conception of the Devil), a source of temptation, or a personification of evil.

Etymology and Alternative Titles

The nominative satan in Hebrew שָׂטָן, referring to an "adversary" or "accuser", as well as the Arabic إبليس (shaitan), derive from a Northwest Semitic root śṭn, meaning "to be hostile", or "to accuse".. In the New Testament, Satan is a name that refers to a decidedly more malevolent entity who appears in several passages and possesses demonic god-like qualities. It is found in passages alongside Diabolos a Greek term for an "accuser" or "obstructor." diabolos (Διάβολος) to refer to the same person or thing as Satan.. Diabolos carries a much more negative connotation than the Hebrew satan, which possesses no demonic qualities in the Torah writings and is believed to be by many a great and glorious Angel who was created on the sixth day of creation.

The name Lucifer is sometimes used in Christian theology to refer to Satan, based on a reference to the "Day Star" in Isaiah 14:12-14 which "laid the nations low." However, other Christian thinkers suggest that in context of the time it was written it referred to none other than the King of Babylon himself, who had figuratively fallen from heaven. ^{[citation needed]} Satan is also referred to on occassion as Beelzebub, meaning "Lord of Flies". This is moniker was actually the name of a Philistine god, but is also used in the New Testament as a synonym for Satan. A corrupted version, "Belzeboub," is used in Dante's Divine Comedy.

A number of other figures in Judeo-Christian mythology have been related to Satan, and therefore have become monikers for Satan. "The dragon" and "the old serpent" in the Book of Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 have been identified with the evil entity , as have "the prince of this world" in verse 12:31 and 14:30 in the Book of John, "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" in the Book of Ephesians 2:2, and "the god of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4.. Satan and the Angel of death and destruction, "Abaddon," are sometimes claimed to be identical. This is observed in John Bunyan's, Pilgrim's Progress. Satan is also equated with "Ahriman," the Persian "Prince of Evil". The angel "Leviathan" is described as "that crooked serpent," which is also used to describe Satan in Revelation 12:9.

Judaism

In the Hebrew Bible

Satan is to be better understood as an "accuser" or "adversary" in the Hebrew bible, and is not necessarily the personification of evil he would come to be in later Abrahamic religions. The term satan itself is applied both to supernatural entities and human beings within the Hebrew Bible, and the figure Satan himself is actually mentioned quite infrequently. The Hebrew "Satan" is used to refer to those who act as adversaries, either as 1) an enemy in times of both war and peace, 2) as an antagonist who puts obstacles in an individual's way, as in Numbers 22:22, where the angel of God is described as opposing Balaam as an adversary, and 3) as an accuser before the judgment-seat

The character Satan himself is more of a skeptical trickster than an embodiment of evil. Where Satan does appear in the Hebrew Bible it is as a member of God's divine council. He is that member of the council who watches over human activity, but with the evil purpose of searching out human beings' sins and then registering accusations against them. In this way, he serves as something of a prosecuting attorney for God, presenting his case against humankind in the heavenly court. This is most evident in the Book of Job, wherein Satan questions the veracity of humankind's loyalty to God, putting forth the argument that any given human is only loyal because God gives her or him prosperity. God agrees to put Satan's theory to the test, and various misfortunes are visited upon Job as a test of his faith. It is Satan who actually delivers these ills one-by-one. Despite this activity, the prologue of the Book of Job makes clear that Satan has no power of independent volition of his own, and requires the permission of God to carry out his actions.

In other verses, Satan appears to take his own initiative. In 1 Chronicles 21:1, Satan incites David to commit the sin of taking a census of Israel. In this passage, it appears that Satan is actually the entity which enables David to destroy Israel, who acts out accord with the wishes of God. Five hundred years earlier, this same story portrayed Yahweh as the one who incited David to take the census (2 Samuel 24:1). The change in the narrative may be due to the fact that the later story was written after the Hebrews had been in exile in Babylon, where they were no doubt exposed to Zoroastrian influence. Zoroastrianism, of course, had developed the concept of a volitional evil deity Angra Mainyu who existed in counterpoint to Spenta Mainyu, the personification of good. The attribution of an independent will to Satan is likely a Zoroastrian influence, as Angra Mainyu's predilection to evil exists contra the will of Spenta Mainyu and ultimately, the one supreme and exclusively benevolent Ahura Mazda. Although Satan's role as the adversary is established in the Hebrew bible, he had not yet taken on the demonic character of the personification of evil which he would inherit in later Jewish literature, as well as in Christianity and Islam.

Non-Canonical Jewish Literature

Just as in the Hebrew Bible, early rabbinic statements in the Mishnah and Talmud show that Satan played little or no role in Jewish theology. In the course of time, however, Judaism had absorbed many of the now-prevalent concepts of Satan, most likely from the nearby Persians. As a rule, the later a rabbinic or other non-canonical work is dated, the more frequent is the mention therein of Satan and his hosts. In apocryphal apocalyptic works such as the Jubilees, the Testament of Reuben, and The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, Satan is considered to be the leader of the fallen angels. As Judaism progressed, history began to be conceived of in two ages: the present age, which is marked by Satan's rule, and a more glorious future age which will usher in the rule of divinity. This will only occur after an apocalyptic conflict where Satan and the effects of sin for which he is responsible will be overcome. This conception of Satan as the apocalyptic adversary was no doubt influenced by Zoroastrian eschatology, as well as that religion's ethical dualism. It should be noted that Judaism, as with Christianity, stops short of identifying Satan as a wholly evil being, so as not to compromise its fundamental belief in monotheism.

In some works rabbis put forth the idea that Satan is the incarnation of all evil, devoting the entirety of his works to the destruction of humankind. The Babylonian Talmud, for instance, states that the Evil Inclination (Yetzer ha-Ra), the Angel of Death and Satan are all identical. Satan is said to seize upon so little as a single word which may be prejudicial to man, , and in times of danger, he consistently brings a barrage of accusations . By the end of the apocalyptic period (approximately 100 C.E.), Jewish demonology and folklore had variously connected Satan with darkness, the underworld, sexual impropriety, and animals such as the goat, the frog or toad, the dragon, and the serpent. Some literature, both rabbinical and apocalyptic, asserted that Satan first wielded his power in the Garden of Eden as this serpent, which wryly coerced Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.

Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer characterized Satan as an active agent in the fall of man, and put forward that he was also the father of Cain,. Other rabbis have continued this line of thought suggesting that Satan provided the impetus for other negative events in Jewish history. These include the offering of Isaac for sacrifice,, the release of the animal destined by Esau for his father,, the death of Moses,, David's improprietous sexual relationship with Bathsheba,, and the death of the Persian Queen Vashti, wife of Ahasuerus (probably Xerxes the First). . In addition, the decree to destroy all the Jews obtained by Haman, the scheming grand vizier of Ahasuerus, was said to have been written on parchment brought by Satan.. The normative Jewish concept, however, was and remains that Satan cannot be viewed as an independent agent, and therefore could not have perpetrated the aforementioned events. In the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Levi asserts that "everything Satan does is for the sake of heaven." Satan's powers are by no means uncontestable; when the shofar is sounded by Jews on New-Year's Day he is said to be "confounded".. Further, on the Day of Atonement his power vanishes altogether, since the numerical value of the letters of his name in the context of gematria and Hebrew numerals) is only 359, thus exempting this one day from his influence.

Christianity

Mainstream Views

In the mainstream Christian conception, Satan (or The Devil, see also) is the amalgamation of Jewish and Greek conceptions. In Christianity's understanding of the holy Hebrew scriptures, the one named Satan is shown to be an angel who rebelled against God. Before his insurrection, Satan was the highest of all angels, and the "brightest in the sky", referring to his connection (made in Isiah 14:12-14) with what was called the "Morning Star" in Roman astrology, the planet Venus. However, he sought to rule heaven himself, and his pride kept him from bowing to God as all other angels did. He was promptly cast out of heaven by god along with one third of the angels, who became demons under his charge. The majority of Christians also believe it was Satan (or Lucifer) who spoke through the serpent and seduced Eve into disobeying God's command, although the book of Genesis itself makes no such connection. This connection was first made in the Christian tradition by Paul in Romans 16:20, though it was largely dispelled by early church fathers who maintained the traditional Hebrew understanding that Satan fell after Adam. However, in the 3rd Century CE Origen argued that Satan fell before Adam had even been created, and therefore could have appeared in the Garden.

As mentioned above, Satan is commonly referred to in the New Testament text along with the Greek term Diabolos, from which the word devil derives. This term refers not only to an "accuser", continuing the connotation of the Hebrew word, but also an "obstructor." Accordingly, Satan is described throughout the New Testament as hating all humankind, intent upon impeding it's spiritual progression by providing temptation to sin. By this time (1st-2nd century CE) Satan had inherited the characteristics of many ancient destructive nature spirits and ghosts, thus, he is presented in the New Testament as the unequivocal personification of evil. Satan power extends over the entire physical world as well as a legion of evil demons. Since Satan lacks the omniscience and omnipotence of the one true God, he relies upon these demons in order to possess human beings and then torment them. Various New Testament stories provide accounts of excorcisms Jesus performed upon possessed individuals, such as Mark 16:9. The New Testament makes the suggestion that Satan does indeed possess his own will, as it has been argued that Satan entered Judas so that the Son of Man could be delivered over to Roman officials for his execution (as in Luke 22:3). However, all throughout the New Testament, the inevitable fall of Satan's rule is prescribed again and again, as in 2 Peter 2:4, and culminates in Revelation 20:2, 7-10 where Satan is defeated by Christ, thrown forever into the "lake of fire".

The Devil as seen in Codex Gigas.

The devil has most often been portrayed in Christianity as a horned creature, red in colour, often having the hindquarters or body of hooved animals, particularly the goat. These depictions are notable in their resemblance to the Canaanite gods Baal and Moloch, the Greek deity Pan, as well as prevalent conceptions of the major male god in Pagan and Neopagan traditions, such as the Horned God. Although not mentioned in the Bible, the Devil has been accredited with the role of bestowing magical powers upon sorcerers and witches. This idea has prevailed since the Middle Ages, when complex demonologies were developed within Christian circles. Satan is sometimes described as residing in Hell, the fiery locale where the wicked are punished after death, however, passages in the New Testament such as 1 Peter 5:8 suggest that he actually roams the earth, seeking to sully the lives of living humans by keeping them distant from God.

Other Perspectives

Other variations of Christianity have more nuanced views on the status of Satan. Certain Gnostic sects, for example, actually interpreted Satan as a positive figure since he had enabled knowledge to be brought forth, and thusly he was venerated in worship for this deed. Some Gnostics also claimed that the creator God worshipped by Jews and mainstream Christians had to be Satan, as the highest God could not bring forth a world of such imperfect nature. Adherents of Mormonism believe Jesus Christ and the Devil are actually siblings; Christ is a son of God in the flesh while Satan is His bodiless spirit son. Jehovah's Witnesses accept the mainstream Christian belief that Satan was responsible for the tempation in the Garden, though they believe Satan was at first a real person who was transformed into "Satan the Devil" upon trying to win Adam and Eve's favour for himself.

Satan in Islam

Shaitan (شيطان) is the equivalent of Satan in Islam. Shaitan (from the root šṭn شطن) is an adjective (meaning "astray" or "distant") that can be applied to both human being ("al-ins", الإنس) and Jinn, a being made of smokeless fire, alike. The proper name al-Shaitan "the tempter" is used to refer to satan specifically when he is the tempter. Iblis (pronounced /'ib.liːs/) is the personal name of the Shaitan who refused to prostrate before before Adam in the Qur'anic account of Genesis. The name Iblis is likely a contraction taken from the Greek "Diabolos".

The Qur'an explains that before the creation of Man, God created the Angels out of light. These angels possessed no free will of their own. Also, god created the Jinn, giving them with semi-free will. Later God created Adam, and ordered that all the angels bow to him. All the angels did, except for a Jinn called Iblis, who was elevated to be one of the leaders of the Angels. As with Lucifer in the Christian tradition, Iblis was proud and considered himself superior to Adam who was made of modified clay, while he himself was made of smokeless fire. For this transgression, God damned Iblis to Hell for eternity, but gave him respite till the Doomsday at his request. At this point Iblis swore that he would in the meantime dedicate his efforts to lead all men astray. God replied that there would always be followers of God, and that the paradise of heaven was available for them, and those who followed Iblis would go to Hell.. Some adherents of Sufism, the Islamic mystical tradition, actually interpret Iblis' action against God in a positive light, considering his refusal to prostrate before anything but God as the ultimate display of monotheistic faith.

After their creation, Adam and Hawwa' (حواء, Eve) dwelt in Paradise (الجنة, AlJannah), where God forbade them to go near the cursed tree. As in the Judeo-Christian tradition, al-Shaitan tricked Adam and Hawwa' into eating from the tree, at which point God expelled all of them from Paradise and placed them upon the Earth. Here Iblis continued on in his role as the temptor of mortals who tries to influence as many descendants of Adam and Hawwa' as he possibly can into sin, thereby collecting them as companions in Hell. Islamic tradition states that Iblis tempts human beings by being present in the actual flesh and blood of all of Adam's children, that is, within the nafs, or the lower principles of the flesh. Unlike the Christian and Jewish notions of Satan where he dwells in the underworld realm and related to the jurisdiction of evildoings, the Islamic tradition conceives of Satan as a part of all humans, no matter who they are. This may account for the prevalent associations between Satan and sexuality in the Western world. In order to tempt mortals, Iblis can assume any shape, including no shape at all. In one such instance, he took the form of a hatif, one who can be heard but not seen, in order to beguile 'Ali so he would not wash the body of the Prophet Mohammed.

Bahá'í interpretation of Satan

The Bahá'í Faith has attempted to synthesize various texts and precepts of many religions, as well as the figures within them. Bahai teaches that the figure of Satan prevalent in many religions is actually a metaphor for the "insistent self", that is, the self-serving inclination present within each human being. The insistent self is often referred to in the Bahá'í Writings as "the Evil One". Bahá'u'lláh, the founding prophet of the Bahá'í Faith, once wrote "[w]atch over yourselves, for the Evil One is lying in wait, ready to entrap you. Gird yourselves against his wicked devices, and, led by the light of the name of the All-Seeing God, make your escape from the darkness that surroundeth you." Despite the fact that Satan is addressed in this way, he is not seen as being an independent evil power, but instead as the lower nature present within every human being. Evil, then, is not an entity of itself within the Bahá'í Faith; rather it is the absence of goodness. Consequently, there can be no actual evil entities, Satan included.

Satanism

People claiming to be Satanists—or outsiders claiming to describe Satanism—ascribe a wide variety of beliefs to this movement. These range from the literal worship of a malevolent spiritual being (also known as Theistic Satanism); to a kind of subversive ritual performance stressing the mockery of Christian symbols (most notably the Black Mass); to the alleged rediscovery of an ancient but misunderstood religion Setianism, which conflates Satan with the Egyptian god Set); to an excuse for hedonistic recreation, and the celebration of selfishness and pleasure.

Perhaps the most prominent spokesman for Satanism in recent years has been Anton Szandor LaVey, who founded the Church of Satan, the first and only mainstream Satanic organization, in 1966. LaVey wrote The Satanic Bible (1969) and other works which remain highly influential, though controversial, among avowed Satanists. LaVey rejects the Black Mass, criminal behaviour, cruelty to animals, and any literal belief in (or worship of) Satan. Instead he supports a view which identifies human beings as animals and rejects many social structures that inhibit our instincts. Other individuals linked to Satan have been Michael Aquino, founder of the Temple of Set, John D. Allee, founder of First Church of Satan, and Karla LaVey, daughter of Anton Szandor LaVey who carried on the legacy of her father by founding the First Satanic Church. Equally celebrated within Satanic circles, though not technically a Satanist, would be ritual magician Aleister Crowley, who referred to himself as "The Great Beast 666." Crowley's maxim, "Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law!" captures a common Satanic attitude, and is thought to be exemplified within the myth of Satan's rebellion.

Much "Satanic" lore does not originate from actual Satanists, but from Christians. Best-known would be the medieval folklore and theology surrounding demons and witches, which culminated in the witchhunts, where Christians persecuted any behaviour which even mildly resembled their conception of paganism. Many "witches" were killed on the basis of tenuous accusations. A more recent example of this witchhunt mentality was the so-called "Satanic Panic" of the 1980's, which was incited by the memoir Michelle Remembers, co-written by Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Pazder and his patient (and later spouse) Michelle Smith. In this book the authors depict Satanism as a vast conspiracy of elites who have orchestrated an elaborate underground movement focused upon child-molestation and human sacrifice. Such allegations are largely unsubstantiated. Most rhetoric produced by the ritual abuse scare of the 80's is highly polemical, and regularly suggested that Satan actually appears in proximity to the said crimes in order to receive worship. Actual Satanic crimes do occur from time to time and may involve vandalism, cruelty to animals, or grave desecration. While some high-profile cases of murder or even serial murder have been found to have Satanic themes, such as those which were perpetrated by the Manson Family, these appear primarily to be the works of disturbed individuals rather than those of organized religious groups dedicated to Satan.

Satan in literature and popular culture

The Satan which appears in fiction and popular culture is mostly influenced by the Christian conceptions of the devil and other evil forces. Classic works of literature involving the character Satan include: John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667), William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790–1793), Johann Wolfgang Goethe's Faust (Part 1, 1808; Part 2, 1832), and William Golding's Lord of the Flies (1954). In more recent years, Salman Rushdie's bestselling novel The Satanic Verses (1988) was widely banned in middle Eastern countries due to the demonic attributes bestowed upon certain characters, and even earned its author a death sentence.

Satan has also been a reccurent figure in popular culture. He has been alluded to in numerous films, particularly those in the horror genre, including Rosemary's Baby (1967), The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976). Satan has also appeared in more mainstream films including O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and The Passion of the Christ (2004), as well as popular television shows such as South Park. Another prominent source of "Satanic" imagery in popular culture is within the musical genre of heavy metal, which has given Satanism the "Hail Satan!" hand-sign. This hand sign is made when one holds down the middle and ring fingers with the thumb while keeping the index and pinkie raised to resemble horns. Only a few rock stars such as Marilyn Manson appear to actually be bona fide Satanists, while many others seemingly adopt a Satanic persona for the sake of romanticism. Thus, teenage boys appear to comprise a substantial proportion of avowed Satanists. The depiction of Satan which appears in all of these aforementioned avenues of popular culture is typically that which exists in the Christian traditions, though in some films and television programs he has also been presented as a charming and/or handsome man, and sometimes even as an attractive woman.

See also

• Lilith
• Beelzebub
• Akuma
• Baal
• Devil
• Satan in popular culture

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Anderson, Robert A. Church of God? or the Temples of Satan. Frankston, TX: TGS Publishers, 2006. ISBN 0-9786249-6-3
• "Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas." Bahai Reference Library. <http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/TB/tb-8.html> [Accessed February 19 2007].
• Bamberger, Bernard J. Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 2006. ISBN 0-8276-0797-0
• Forsyth, Neil. The Old Enemy: Satan & the Combat Myth. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-691-01474-4
• Forsyth, Neil. The Satanic Epic. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-691-11339-4
• Gentry, Kenneth L. The Beast of Revelation. Powder Springs, GA: American Vision. 2002. ISBN 0-915815-41-9
• Graves, Kersey. Biography of Satan: Exposing the Origins of the Devil. San Diego, CA: Book Tree. 1995. ISBN 1-885395-11-6
• Pagels, Elaine. The Origin of Satan. New York: Random House, 1995. ISBN 0679401407
• Rudwin, Maximilian. The Devil in Legend and Literature. Peru, IL: Open Court, 1970. ISBN 0-87548-248-1
• Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1977. ISBN 0-8014-9413-3
• Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8014-8056-6
• Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. ISBN 1-4039-6933-7
• "Satan." Jewish Encyclopaedia. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=270&letter=S> [Accessed February 18 2007].
• Sharma, Arvind. "Satan." Encyclopedia of Religion. Edited by Mercia Eliade. New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1987. pp. 81-84.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia
• Jewish Encyclopedia

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