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a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
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To: alt.magick,alt.satanism
From: taliesin@mail.utexas.edu (George Leake)
Subject: Re: Crowley and Satan redux (was Accept Satan!)
Date: 4 Jan 1996 21:18:37 GMT
btw--I thought it might be helpful to post this rather neutral online
encyclopedia entry on the subject--the bibliography includes a book on
this subject I meant to bring up last posting--Elaine Pagel's The Origin
of Satan;
this entry does raise food for further thought--whether Set really was
much of a model for Satan--and if he was originally, doesn't some of the
foreign nature of that figure as the Devil just point out how skewed our
modern Western p.o.v. is vis a vis the representation of The Devil in the
early Christian world, i.e. 2000 years ago at the easternmost reaches of
the Mediterannean
Satan
{say'-tuhn}
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Satan, from the Hebrew word
for "adversary," is the principal figure of the demonic world
that is hostile to God and his will. In the Old Testament (for
example, the Book of Job), Satan is presented as a distinct
personality of darkness and accusation--the heavenly
prosecutor. A fuller expression of his role is presented in the
New Testament, where he is called "the tempter," "the
slanderer," "the enemy," "the liar," and "the angel of the
bottomless pit." Collectively, these titles present Satan as
the one who has the power of death, rules with lies and
deception, accuses humankind before God, and opposes the
purpose of God in the world (while remaining obedient to God).
The Bible nowhere explains Satan's origin, but in both
testaments he is presented as a part of the created order
rather than as an eternal entity. Although no explanation is
given in the Bible for God's allowing Satan to exist, it does
indicate that his time is short (only for this age of time and
history) and his end is certain--ultimately he will be banished
by the Messiah.
This concept of a temporal dualism in which Satan has influence
is brought to expression most clearly in apocalyptic
literature, such as the Book of Revelation. Two ages are
reflected in apocalyptic cosmology: "this age" and "the age to
come." Satan appears to be prevailing in this age, but in the
age to come God will clearly display his sovereignty. In later
Christian tradition Satan was described as a fallen angel.
The concept of a leader of the powers of darkness found
expression in cultures outside the Hebrew tradition. The
Babylonians, Chaldeans, and Persians believed in a dualism
between the forces of darkness and light. Ahriman, in
ZOROASTRIANISM, and SET, in Egyptian mythology, manifest
characteristics similar to Satan's.
Douglas Ezell
Bibliography: Forsyth, Neil, The Old Enemy (1989); Ling, T. O.,
The Significance of Satan (1961; repr. 1985); Pagels, Elaine,
The Origin of Satan (1995); Russell, Jeffrey Burton, The Devil
in the Middle Ages (1984), Mephistopheles: The Devil in the
Modern World (1986; repr. 1990), and Satan (1987).
--
George Leake 512-471-9117 taliesin@mail.utexas.edu
"The United States is in no sense founded upon the Christian doctrine."-George Washington
"For we are instinctively all too greedy for praise, and there is no sound or song that comes sweeter to our ears; praise, like Sirens' voices, is the kind of music that causes shipwreck to the man who does not stop his ears to its deceptive harmony."-B.Castiglione, "The Courtier"
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