Difference between revisions of "Satan"

Revision as of 22:58, June 30, 2020

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-[[Image:GustaveDoreParadiseLostSatanProfile.jpg|right|thumb|Gustave Doré's depiction of Satan from John Milton's Paradise Lost.]]
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-'''Satan''' or the '''[[Devil]]''' is the embodiment of [[evil]].  Satan plays a major role in [[Christian]] theology and literature, and in other religions under different names.  He is the tempter and spiritual enemy of mankind. He is the adversary of [[God]], although subordinate to Him and able to act only by his sufferance, and is represented frequently as the leader or [[prince]] of all apostate angels and as ruler of [[hell]].
-[[The Christian Post]] reported in 2020 that in the "post-Christian, largely irreligious age", there was a blooming perception that the devil was "more a force than an actual being".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.christianpost.com/voices/yes-i-believe-in-the-devil.html|title=Yes, I believe in the devil|date=March 11, 2020|accessdate=March 12, 2020|publisher=The Christian Post}}</ref> "Satan is the force that loves to find the guilt and weakness in people, to humiliate them with it, to convince them that, because they are not good, God cannot love them."<ref>{{cit web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/258360/iritei-stuff-satan-prosecutor-mike-potemra|title=The Rite Stuff: Satan as Prosecutor|author=Mike Potemra|accessdate=March 12, 2020}}</ref>  [[Leftist]] [[Saul Alinsky]] dedicated to Lucifer his book ''Rules for Radicals'', which inspired some [[liberal]] activists. A few people link left-[[handedness]] with Satan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/pre-k-teacher-allegedly-forced-4-y-o-boy-to-write-with-right-hand-because-the-devil-is-left-handed.html|title=Pre-K Teacher Allegedly Forced 4-Y-O Boy to Write With Right Hand Because the Devil Is Left Handed|date=September 23, 2015|accessdate=March 17, 2020|author=Leonardo Blair|publisher=[[The Christian Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2015/09/22/childs-left-handed-writing-allegedly-deemed-evil-by-teacher/|title=Child’s Left-Handed Writing Allegedly Deemed ‘Evil’ by Teacher|date=September 22, 2015|accessdate=March 17, 2020|author=Trent Baker|publisher=[[Breitbart News]]}}</ref>
-==Old Testament==
-Satan was once a member of the divine council of God referenced in the [[Old Testament]]. He is referenced 11 times in [[Job]] and 4 other times in the Old Testament.  The [[New Testament]] mentions Satan 34 times in all, starting with the first book [[Matthew]] and ending with the last [[Revelation]].  In the Christian tradition, he rebelled against God and is now the enemy of God and man alike.  He is the father of lies, and no good is found in him.  He leads a host of fallen angels, (or [[demon]]s), who know their days are numbered before they will be cast in the lake of fire, so they seek to take as many humans as possible with them.
-== New Testament==
-In the [[New Testament]], Satan tries to tempt [[Jesus]] in the desert, and fails.  Jesus warns extensively to beware of Satan, as does [[Paul]].
-In Christian theology, Satan's goal is to lead people away from the love of God, by tempting or tricking them. The only sources of supernatural power in the world are from either God (good) or Satan (evil).  In the book of [[Genesis]], Satan takes the form of a snake and tempts Eve with fruit from a tree.  This causes sin to come into the world.  Kelly (2006) demonstrates how assumptions—such as the identification of the Eden serpent with Satan, probably first made by Justin Martyr in the second century—have hardened into fact.
-Satan, in the Book of Job, listens to God speak highly of Job and accuses Job to God before the host of angels that Job praises God only because he is blessed and would curse God if he was forced to suffer.  God allows Satan to do what he will except to spare his life, and Satan causes Job to suffer immensely.  (Job remained true to God through his hardships; Satan accused him further and punished him further, but could not get Job to break).
-==Possession==
-[[Jesus]] makes references to demonic possession on multiple occasions that He then casts out.  Some believe that Satan is able to possess and control living humans on Earth even today. Even more, some others believe that Satan actually has done this in the past as well. Specifically, Satan is said to have entered Judas during [[The Last Supper]] (John 13:27). The Catholic church believes that priests (and sometimes only bishops) are able to [[Exorcism|exorcise]] this possession through Jesus.
-==Terms==
-The word ''Satan'' derives from the Hebrew "ha-satan", meaning the "accuser", "tempter", "persecutor", "calumniator", or "adversary". He "was a liar and a murderer from the beginning." (John 8:44)  Synonyms include '''Lucifer, The Devil, Mephistopholes, Mephisto,  Beelzebub, the Evil One, the Tempter,''' and '''The Prince of Darkness.'''  The term "demon" generally refers to one of the fallen angels who join into Satan's attempt to overthrow God.
-The adjectives include "devilish," "demonic", and "diabolic". Those who worship Satan are called [[satanism|Satanists]], Satan-worshippers, devil-worshippers, or demonists.
-=== Lucifer ===
-'''Lucifer''' is a name literally meaning "Son of the Morning" (or "Light-Bearer"), and is mentioned in the Bible only in the [[book of Isaiah]] (Isaiah 14:12). Though in Christian tradition Lucifer is equated with Satan, the immediate context of the passage is Isaiah's prophecy against the king of Babylon, [[Nebuchadnezzar]], and the name "Lucifer" was not present at all in the original manuscripts (in the Latin Vulgate, the phrase "Son of the Morning" was transliterated as a proper name).
-Whomever Lucifer may be, the Isaiah makes strong prophecy against him, condemning him for 5 pronouncements:
-* I will ascend into [[heaven]]
-* I will exalt my throne above the stars of God
-* I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north
-* I will ascend above the heights of the clouds
-* I will be like the most High
-Those who take this passage to be a reference to Satan believe that it gives more history of what caused his downfall, that he was created by God as one of His most powerful angels (possibly a [[Seraphim|Seraph]]), but that he fell from grace after he in his pride rebelled against his Creator. Some, however, believe that there is no grounding to interpret the passage as a history of Satan, citing that the passage uses highly figurative and poetic language that was meant as a prophecy against Babylon and nothing more.
-[[Image:Paradise Lost 12.jpg|right|thumb|''The fall of Lucifer'' by Gustave Doré.]]
-===Beelzebub===
-Literally "lord of the flies," this is believed to be a deliberately insulting perversion of the name "Beelzebul."<ref name="oxfordbiblicalstudies.com">http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e242</ref>
-===Beelzebul===
-Literally "Lord of Heaven" or "Lord of the House," this name is believed to have originated from the name Baal-Zebul, and may refer to the god of Ekron (see 2 King. 1:2-3).<ref name="oxfordbiblicalstudies.com"/>
-== Jewish Views ==
-In the Jewish tradition, Satan is an angel who faithfully serves God as a prosecuting attorney &#8212; one who accuses men of wickedness and impiety.  At the direction of God, Satan may be permitted to test these accusations, such as in Job.  In this view, Satan's goal is not to lead men away from their faithfulness to God, but merely to reveal the true depths of their devotion, although in [[I Chronicles]] 21:1 Satan provoked [[David]] to take a [[census]] of the people of Israel against the will of God and 70,000 men are slain because of it.  [[II Samuel]] 24:1 supports the view of Satan as God's prosecuting attorney by reporting that it was the Lord Who moved David to take the census; the two passages can easily [[Scripture interprets Scripture|be reconciled]] if Satan acted as God's agent.
-==Jehovah's Witnesses==
-[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] believe that Satan was at one time an [[angel]] who lived among the many millions of Angels that existed before the [[world]] was created. They believe that at some point he developed the desire to be worshiped by [[humans]] and other angels and so set himself in opposition to worship of [[Jehovah]], his [[God]] and Father. This they believe occurred in the Garden of Eden, and not prior to the Earths creation. [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] teach that Satan used a serpent as his mouthpiece, the same way a ventriloquist uses a dummy, to bring the first [[human]] couple under his control.
-Jehovah's Witnesses teach that God has allowed Satan to rule mankind for several reasons such as:
-*Satan has challenged God's Right to rule his creations, not his power....
-*Satan accuses God of bribing Humans for their loyalty with protection and blessings....
-*Satan has accused Humans of being loyal to God out of selfish reasons....
-*Satan claims that he can rule mankind better than God....
-Jehovah's Witnesses teach also that [[God]] decided that time, rather than a display of force, is needed to settle these issues. This, they believe, has giving Satan thousands of years to prove that Mankind is better off without God, that He (Satan) can rule Mankind successfully, and that the Humans that Do serve God do so only out of selfish reasons.
-Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Satan does not live in any kind of [[Hell]] or world of the dead, but on the [[Earth]] as it's current ruler, along with as many as a third of the Angels of [[Heaven]]. They teach that Satan had lived in Heaven up until 1914, when Jesus and his Angels cast him out of Heaven, bringing woe to the Earth. this is their reasoning on Why the world has experienced two World wars, increasing lawlessness, an increase in disease and pollution, and the overall conditions on earth today.
-Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Satan delegates authority to each Demon as he sees fit, and over what he sees fit, sometimes including whole Nations and kingdoms. They believe that Satan and his demons are in every way the enemy of God, rather than working alongside him. They teach that Satan will continue to rule the world until [[Armageddon]], when Jesus Christ and his heavenly Angels come to earth and bind him, eventually killing him, freeing the world of all opposition towards True worship.
-==Defenses==
-The three classic defenses against Satan are:
-* mockery, which Satan cannot withstand due to his [[pride]].<ref>According to [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jude+1%3A8-10&version=RSVCE Jude 8-10] only arrogant and [[blasphemy|blasphemous]] individuals ruled by instinct and passion like animals dare to mock Satan. See [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/jude/1-9.htm biblical commentaries on Jude 9]. [[Martin Luther]] who famously rejected the inspiration of Jude along with Hebrews, James and Revelation, and railed against the Popes and the Catholic Church, heartily recommended mockery against the Devil. “The best way to drive out the devil ... is to jeer and flout him ...” – Luther. From Martin Luther’s ''Tischreden'' (Table Talk). The oldest source for this quote is Joannes Aurifaber’s edition, first published in 1566 (facsimile reprint 1968), Chapter 25, “Vom Teufel und seinen Werken” (“Of the Devil and his Works”, Fol. 278-307), cited by Arend Smilde in [http://lewisiana.nl/screwtapequotes/ Quotations and Allusions in C. S. Lewis, ''The Screwtape Letters'', compiled by Arend Smilde (Utrecht, The Netherlands)]. However, according to many biblical commentators, the import of Jude 9 is "as if the apostle had said, If the angel did not rail even against the devil, how much less ought we against men in authority, even supposing them in some things to behave amiss? To do it, therefore, when they behave well, must be a wickedness yet much more aggravated." [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/jude/1.htm  — Doddridge, Benson Commentary, Jude 1:9].</ref> He knows he is a literal loser, but cannot stand when people point that fact out.
-* sunlight or exposure, from which Satan presumably hides (Satan is not seem to be limited by light, but the traditional light/good vs. dark/evil implies this)
-* the [[Holy Spirit]], meaning "The Advocate" (i.e., defense lawyer), or the ''Armor of God''.<ref>Ephesians 6:1-17</ref>
-* Giving glory to God, and quoting His word (activities which Satan despises)
-Note that Satan lacks self-restraint, which often leads him to failure.  In addition, Satan delights in [[deceit]], even to the point of causing his downfall.
-==Dante, Milton, Goethe and others==
-Some national literary depictions of Satan have become highly regarded classics, but by a strange coincidence of causes are presented by their authors, to a man, in their native language rather than a Classical language.
-*The first part of Medieval Italian [[Dante Alighieri]]'s three-part poem, ''[[The Divine Comedy]]'' (1320), known to all in the set phrase "[[Dante's Inferno|Dante's ''Inferno'']]" (pronounced Dan-tay).
-*[[John Milton]]'s English poem, ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (1667).
-*[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]'s German play ''[[Faust (Goethe)|Faust]]'' (1831).
-These three are considered among the greatest poems of their respective literatures.
-*[[Christopher Marlowe]]'s English play, ''The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus'' (1604).
-*''Lucifer'' (1654), play by Dutch author Joost van den Vondel.
-In Western art and popular culture the devil is used to represent evil influences or motivations.
-==Similarity to Prometheus==
-Some writers have pointed out that a few popular depictions of Satan are similar to that of [[Prometheus]].<ref>Werblowsky, Raphael Jehudah Zwi. Lucifer and Prometheus: A Study of Milton's Satan. Routledge, reprinted 1999 and 2001; originally published 1952.
-</ref> others like [[John Milton]] in his book [[Paradise Lost]] re-imagined him as a complex [[anti-hero]]
-== Atheism and satanism ==
-''See also:'' [[Atheism and satanic deception]]
-Pew Research reports:
-{{Cquote|When asked who comes to mind when they think about [[atheism]], though, Americans are much less likely to name a well-known figure. While 6% say Satan, 4% say [[Richard Dawkins]] and 4% say [[Madalyn Murray O'Hair|Madalyn Murray O’Hair]], one-in-ten respondents just name themselves or another personal acquaintance such as a relative, friend or roommate. And roughly half (51%) say “no one” or “don’t know” or do not answer the question.<ref>[https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/17/when-americans-think-about-a-specific-religion-here-are-some-of-the-first-people-who-come-to-mind/ When Americans think about a specific religion, here are some of the first people who come to mind], Pew Research</ref>}}
-==See also==
-* [[Devil]]
-* [[Revelation, Book of (historical exegesis)]]
-* [[Salem Witch Trials]]
-==Further reading==
-* Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: I. In the Old Testament," ''The Biblical World,'' Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan., 1913), pp.&nbsp;29–33 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3142352 in JSTOR]
-* Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: II. Satan in Extra-Biblical Apocalyptical Literature," ''The Biblical World,'' Vol. 41, No. 2 (Feb., 1913), pp.&nbsp;98–102 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3142425 in JSTOR]
-* Caldwell, William. "The Doctrine of Satan: III. In the New Testament," ''The Biblical World,'' Vol. 41, No. 3 (Mar., 1913), pp.&nbsp;167–172 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3142755 in JSTOR]
-* Empson, William. ''Milton's God'' (1966)
-* Jacobs, Joseph, and Ludwig Blau. "Satan," ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906) [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=270&letter=S&search=Satan#ixzz0UQlw0zPS online] pp 68–71
-* Kelly, Henry Ansgar. ''Satan: A Biography.'' (2006). 360 pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gPIpQg0lRbMC&pg=PA12&dq=intitle:satan+inauthor:kelly&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=3#v=onepage&q=&f=false excerpt and text search] ISBN 0-521-60402-8, a study of the Bible and Western literature
-* Kent, William. "Devil." ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1908)  Vol. 4. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04764a.htm online older article]
-* Osborne, B. A. E. "Peter: Stumbling-Block and Satan," ''Novum Testamentum,'' Vol. 15, Fasc. 3 (Jul., 1973), pp.&nbsp;187–190 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1560340 in JSTOR] on "Get thee behind me, Satan!"
-* Rebhorn Wayne A. "The Humanist Tradition and Milton's Satan: The Conservative as Revolutionary," ''Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900,'' Vol. 13, No. 1, The English Renaissance (Winter, 1973), pp.&nbsp;81–93 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/449871 in JSTOR]
-* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity''   (1987) [https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Perceptions-Antiquity-Christianity-Paperbacks/dp/0801494095/ref=pd_sim_b_1 excerpt and text search]
-* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Satan: The Early Christian Tradition'' (1987) [https://www.amazon.com/Satan-Christian-Jeffrey-Burton-Russell/dp/0801494133/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c  excerpt and text search]
-* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages'' (1986)   [https://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-Devil-Middle-Cornell-Paperbacks/dp/080149429X/ref=pd_sim_b_1 excerpt and text search]
-* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World'' (1990) [https://www.amazon.com/Mephistopheles-Modern-Jeffrey-Burton-Russell/dp/0801497183/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c excerpt and text search]
-* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''The Prince of Darkness: Radical Evil and the Power of Good in History'' (1992) [https://www.amazon.com/Prince-Darkness-Radical-Power-History/dp/0801480566/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255995689&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
-* Schaff, D. S. "Devil" in ''New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge'' (1911), [[Mainline]] Protestant;  vol 3 pp 414–417 [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc03.d.iii.html online]
-* Scott, Miriam Van. ''The Encyclopedia of Hell'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Hell-Miriam-Van-Scott/dp/0312244428/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b excerpt and text search] comparative religions; also popular culture
-* Wray, T. J. and Gregory Mobley. ''The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots'' (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Satan-Tracing-Devils-Biblical/dp/1403969337/ref=pd_sim_b_1 excerpt and text search]
-== References ==
-{{reflist}}
-== External links ==
-*[http://www.1timothy4-13.com/files/teach/accuser.html The accuser of the brethren - commentary on Revelation 12:7-12] - Dr. J.B. Buffington
-*[https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/item/30460-antifa-witches-a-glimpse-into-the-source-of-the-demonic-rage-surging-about-us “Antifa Witches”: A Glimpse Into the Source of the Demonic Rage Surging About Us], by William F. Jasper of ''[[The New American]]''
-[[Category:Abrahamic Religions]]
-{{DivineComedy}}

Difference between revisions of "Satan"

Revision as of 22:58, June 30, 2020

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