The Origin of Satan How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

by PAGELS, ELAINE

• ISBN13: 9780679731184
• ISBN10: 0679731180
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-04-30
• Publisher: Vintage

Summary

From the religious historian whose The Gnostic Gospels won both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition. With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan's story into an audacious exploration of Christianity's shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.

Author Biography

Elaine Pagels is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University and the author of Reading Judas, The Gnostic Gospels—winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Book Award—and the New York Times bestseller Beyond Belief. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Gospel of Mark and the Jewish War	p. 3
The Social History of Satan: From the Hebrew Bible to the Gospels	p. 35
Matthew's Campaign Against the Pharisees: Deploying the Devil	p. 63
Luke and John Claim Israel's Legacy: The Split Widens	p. 89
Satan's Earthly Kingdom: Christians Against Pagans	p. 112
The Enemy Within: Demonizing the Heretics	p. 149
Conclusion	p. 179
Notes	p. 185
Index	p. 205
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