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'''Satan''' or the '''[[Devil]]''' is the embodiment of [[evil, who ]]. Satan plays a major role in [[Christian]] theology and literature, besides 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>[http{{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>

[[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.

[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] believe that Satan was at one time an [[Angelangel]] who lived among the many millions of Angels that existed before the [[world]] was created. They believe that at some point He he developed the desire to be worshiped by [[Humanshumans]] and other Angels angels and so set himself in Opposition 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 mouth piecemouthpiece, the same way a ventriloquist uses a dummy, to bring the first [[Humanhuman]] couple under his control.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Satan delegates authority to each Demon as he see's sees fit, and over what he see's 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.

* 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)

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 languageslanguage.

*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).

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>}} 

* Russell, Jeffrey Burton. ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'' (1987) [httphttps://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) [httphttps://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) [httphttps://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) [httphttps://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) [httphttps://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]

* Scott, Miriam Van. ''The Encyclopedia of Hell'' (1999) [httphttps://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) [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Birth-Satan-Tracing-Devils-Biblical/dp/1403969337/ref=pd_sim_b_1 excerpt and text search]

== Notes References ==<references/>{{reflist}}