Information AboutSatan |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SATAN | |
| abrahamic mythology | |
| individual angels | |
| demons in christianity | |
| fallen angels | |
| satanism | |
| characters in paradise lost | |
| satan | |
| hubris | |
| baháí interpretation | |
| hell | |
|
's depiction of Satan from John Milton 's '' Paradise Lost '']] Satan - from the Hebrew word for "adversary" - is a term that originates from the Abrahamic Faiths , being traditionally applied to an Angel . While Hebrew Ha-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 — Abrahamic religious belief systems other than Judaism relate this term to a Demon , a rebellious fallen angel, Devil , minor god and Idolatry , or as an allegory for Evil . 'Satan' is ''Satan'' in Standard Hebrew , ' in Tiberian Hebrew , ' in Aramaic , Σατανάς ''Satanás'' in Koine Greek , ''Satanás'' in Persian , '''' in Arabic , '''' in Ge'ez , and '''' in Turkish . ETYMOLOGY .]] The word 'Satan', and the asks him whence he has come, Satan answers: "From wandering (') the earth and walking on it" (מִשּׁוּט בָּאָרֶץ, וּמֵהִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּה). The root ' signifies wandering on foot or sailing. 'Satan' would thus be "the Wanderer." IN JUDAISM In the Hebrew Apocrypha A large part of this "secret" literature was I. 16:17). In the Book Of Wisdom , the devil is represented as the being who brought death into the world."But by the envy of the devil, death came into the world" - Book of Wisdom II. 24 The 2nd Book of Enoch, also called the ; however, in that book, the leader of the Grigori is called Semjâzâ . In the apocryphal literature, Satan rules over a host of angels.'''', 16) Mastema , who induced God to test Abraham through the sacrifice of Isaac, is identical with Satan in both name and nature. Book Of Jubilees , xvii. 18 For the Chasidic Jew s of the eighteenth century, Ha-satan was ''Baal Davar''.The Dictionary of Angels" by Gustav Davidson, © 1967 As the "accuser" Where Satan does appear in the Bible as a member of God's court, he plays the role of the Accuser, much like a prosecuting attorney for God. According to the article on 'Satan' in the Jewish Encyclopedia , Satan's role as the accuser is found "in the prologue to the Book of Job, where Satan appears, together with other celestial beings or 'sons of God,' before the Deity, replying to the inquiry of God as to whence he had come, with the words: 'From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.' (Job 1:7) Both question and answer, as well as the dialogue which follows, characterize Satan as that member of the divine council who watches over human activity, but with the evil purpose of searching out men's sins and appearing as their accuser. He is, therefore, the celestial prosecutor, lawyer who sees only iniquity; for he persists in his evil opinion of Job even after the man of Uz has passed successfully through his first trial by surrendering to the will of God, whereupon Satan demands another test through physical suffering. (ib. ii. 3-5.)" "Yet it is also evident from the prologue that Satan has no power of independent action, but requires the permission of God, which he may not transgress. He cannot be regarded, therefore, as an opponent of the Deity; and the doctrine of monotheism is disturbed by his existence no more than by the presence of other beings before the face of God. This view is also retained in Zech. 3:1-2, where Satan is described as the adversary of the high priest Joshua , and of the people of God whose representative the hierarch is; and he there opposes the 'angel of the Lord' who bids him be silent in the name of God." "In both of these passages Satan is a mere accuser who acts only according to the permission of the Deity; but in I Chron. 21:1 he appears as one who is able to provoke , were influenced by Zoroastrianism , even though in the case of the prophet Jewish Monism strongly opposed Iran ian Dualism . (Stave, ''Einfluss des Parsismus auf das Judenthum,'' pp. 253 et seq.) An immediate influence of the Babylonian concept of the 'accuser, persecutor, and oppressor' (Schrader, ''K. A. T.'' 3d ed., p. 463) is impossible, since traces of such an influence, if it had existed, would have appeared in the earlier portions of the Bible." Jewish Encyclopaedia With regard to the 1 Chronicles 21:1 passage, it is known that, at times, Yahweh gives Satan the authority to carry out wicked deeds, as in the book of Job. It has similarly been argued that in Christianity's New Testament, Satan entered Judas so that the Son of Man could be delivered over to the officials. (Luke 22:3) IN CHRISTIANITY See Also: Devil in Christianity In Christianity, terms that are synonymous with 'Satan' include:
In mainstream Christianity's understanding of the holy Hebrew scriptures, the Torah , Satan is a synonym for the Devil . For most Christian sects, he is believed to be an Angel who rebelled against God — and also the one who spoke through the Serpent and seduced Eve into disobeying God's command. His ultimate goal is to lead people away from the love of God — to lead them to fallacies which God opposes. Satan is also identified as the accuser of Job , the tempter in the Gospels , the secret power of lawlessness in , and the dragon in the Book Of Revelation . Before his alleged insurrection, Satan was the Highest Of All Angels and the " Brightest In The Sky ." His pride is considered a reason why he would not bow to God as all other angels did, but sought to rule heaven himself. The popularly held beliefs that Satan was once a prideful angel who eventually rebels against God, however, are barely portrayed in the Bible and are mostly based on traditions (see Lucifer ). Moreover, in mainstream Christianity he is called "the ruler of the demons" (Matt. 12:24), "the ruler of the world" and even "the god of this world." (2Cor. 4:4). The Book of Revelation describes how Satan will be cast out of Heaven, down to the earth, having "great anger" and waging war against "those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus". Ultimately, Satan is thrown into the "lake of fire" (), not as ruler, but as one among many, being tormented day and night for all eternity. In other, non-mainstream, Christian beliefs (e.g. the beliefs of the Christadelphians ) the word "satan" in the Bible is not regarded as referring to a supernatural, personal being but to any 'adversary' and figuratively refers to human sin and temptation.3 IN ISLAM See Also: Shaitan Iblis ''Shaitan'' (شيطان) is the equivalent of Satan in Islam . While Shaitan (شيطان, from the root ) is an Adjective (meaning "astray" or "distant") that can be applied to both Man ("al-ins", الإنس) and Genie , Iblis (pronounced //) is the personal name of the Shaitan who is mentioned in the Qur'an ic account of Genesis , and whose origin is unclear but is more likely to be made of fire. However, the name Iblis is likely a contraction taken from the Greek "Diabolos". Whenever the Qur'an refers to the creature who refused to prostrate before Adam at the time of the latter's creation, it refers to him as Iblis . The Islamic view of Iblis has both commonalities and differences with Christian and Jewish views. Satan, Adam, and Eve As per the Qur'an, before the creation of Man, Allah created the Angels out of light – which had no free will – and the Genie , made of smokeless fire, with semi-free will. Later Allah created Adam, and ordered all the angels to bow to him. All the angels did, except a Genie called Iblis, who was elevated to be one of the leaders of the Angels. Iblis was proud and considered himself superior. Iblis argued that he was superior to Adam, who was made of modified clay, while he himself was made of smokeless fire. For this Allah damned him to Hell for eternity, but gave him respite till the Doomsday at his request. Then and there Iblis swore that he would use his time to lead all men astray to burn in hell. Allah replied that there would always be followers of Allah, and that the paradise of heaven was available for them, and those who followed Iblis would go with him to Hell where they are to be given an "ample-recompense" or "payment". Qur'an 17:63 Allah gives Iblis and followers payment/recompense After their creation, Adam and s as he possibly could into Sin , so as to be his companions in his final destiny into Hell to be recompensed. Adam remained weeping for 40 days, until he repented. ''For a more full account of the creation of Adam, the refusal of Iblis to prostrate before him, and a description of the devil in Islam see '' Iblis ''. OTHER INSTANCES OF SATAN Although some other faiths may have an evil figure or entity ''likened'' to Satan (see Devil ), few have a figure actually named 'Satan'. In the Bahá'í faith In the Bahá'í Faith , 'Satan' is not an independent evil power as he is in the Abrahamic faiths, but signifies the "base nature" of humans. 'Abdu'l-Baha , Bahá'u'lláh's successor, wrote: "This lower nature in man is symbolized as Satan -- the evil ego within us, not an evil personality outside." {Link without Title} In Satanism See Also: Satanism LaVeyan Satanism 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 . A more recent example is the so-called Satanic Ritual Abuse scare of the 1980s; beginning with the memoir Michelle Remembers – which depicts Satanism as a vast conspiracy of elites with a predilection for Child Abuse and Human Sacrifice . This genre regularly describes Satan as actually appearing in person in order to receive worship. Claims of Satanic child-molesting or murder rings are largely unsubstantiated. 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 spiritual being ( Theistic Satanism ); to a kind of subversive ritual performance stressing the mockery of Christian symbols (most notably the Black Mass ); to the claimed rediscovery of an ancient but misunderstood religion (e.g. Setianism , which conflates Satan with the Egyptian god Set ); to an excuse for hedonistic recreation, and the celebration of selfishness and pleasure. The most prominent and widely known Satanist in recent years was Anton Szandor LaVey , who founded the Church Of Satan 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, cruelty to animals, or a literal belief in (or worship of) Satan, instead considering Satan as the human instinct within ourselves, which is what LaVeyan Satanism celebrates. Instead he supports a view of human beings as animals and rejects many social structures that he believes inhibit human instincts. In occultism In occult circles, the less well known Azazel (''`aza'zel'', often translated as "Scapegoat") of Leviticus 16:10 is equated with Satan. In popular culture For a discussion of Satan in fiction and pop culture, see SEE ALSO NOTES REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|