Satan: A Biography

by Henry Ansgar Kelly

• ISBN13: 9780521843393
• ISBN10: 0521843391
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-21
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Christians traditionally think of Satan as Lucifer, God's enemy, who rebelled against Him out of pride and then caused Adam and Eve to sin. But, as Ansgar Kelly shows, this portrayal is not biblical but a scenario invented by the early Fathers of the Church which became the 'New Biography of Satan'. The 'Original Biography' must be reconstructed from the New Testament where Satan is the same sort of celestial functionary we see in the Book of Job - appointed to govern the world, specifically to monitor and test human beings. But he is brutal and deceitful in his methods, and Jesus predicts that his rule will soon come to an end. Kelly traces the further developments of the 'New Biography': humankind's inherited guilt, captivity by Satan, and punishment in Hell at his hands. This profile of Satan remains dominant, but Kelly urges a return to the 'Original Biography of Satan'.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	ix
List of abbreviations	xi
Introduction	1	(12)
Part I Hebrew backgrounds
1 The Old Testament	13	(19)
1.1 The first supernatural satan in the Hebrew Bible: the Angel of Yahweh and a talking ass	13	(8)
1.2 A Son of Elohim as a satan: the spy and tester of the Book of Job	21	(2)
1.3 A celestial satan as accuser: the trial of Joshua the High Priest in the Book of Zechariah	23	(5)
1.4 Revisions and translations: Satan and satans, DEVIL and devils	28	(4)
2 Apocryphal works and the Dead Sea Scrolls	32	(21)
2.1 Sins of Humans, sins of Angels: Genesis 1-11 and the Book of Enoch	32	(3)
2.2 Mastema/Satan and the Giant-Ghosts as punishers: The Book of Jubilees	35	(6)
2.3 Dueling dualisms at the Dead Sea: Belial, the Principle of Darkness, Lady Folly – but no Satan!	41	(12)
Part II The New Testament: Satan comes into his own
3 St. Paul, the first Christian writer	53	(27)
3.1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians: Satan as tester and punisher – and rehabilitator	53	(6)
3.2 2 Corinthians, Romans: Pseudo-Angel-of-Light, due for a crushing	59	(5)
3.3 Other sinister figures: Beliar, the God of this World, the Elements, the Powers	64	(5)
3.4 St. Paul and the Wisdom of Solomon: on Adam, Eve, the Serpent, and the arrival of Death	69	(11)
4 The four Gospels	80	(34)
4.1 Satan in Mark, the earliest Gospel: testing and obstructing Jesus	80	(4)
4.2 Satan and Jesus in dialogue: Matthew's three-act drama of temptation	84	(9)
4.3 Luke's two books (Third Gospel and Acts): Satan in charge, and his predicted fall "like lightning"	93	(14)
4.4 Satan according to John: homicidal liar, and Archon of this Cosmos	107	(7)
5 Later Epistles	114	(27)
5.1 Pseudo-Paul 1: 1-2 Timothy, 2 Thessalonians: Satan and/or DEVIL	114	(6)
5.2 Pseudo-Paul 2: Colossians and Ephesians: the Heavenly Powers and DEVIL	120	(5)
5.3 The Epistle to the Hebrews and the Epistle of Jude: DEVIL as the Angel of Death – who deserves respect	125	(6)
5.4 Excursus: the non-Diabolical fall of the Angels in Jude and 2 Peter	131	(3)
5.5 Ecumenical Epistles: 1 Peter and James: DEVIL as lion, DEVIL as coward	134	(7)
6 The Apocalypse of John the Divine	141	(27)
6.1 Satan and the Angels of the Seven Churches	141	(6)
6.2 Dragon-Satan-DEVIL and his predicted ouster from Heaven	147	(12)
6.3 Another John, another world-view: DEVIL and anti-Christs in the Epistles of John the Presbyter	159	(5)
6.4 Excursus: Jesus as the good Lucifer in Revelation and 2 Peter	164	(4)
7 Putting the New Testament together: a composite portrait of Satan in canonical order	168	(7)
7.1 Gospels and Acts	168	(1)
7.2 The Pauline Epistles	169	(2)
7.3 The other Epistles and Revelation	171	(4)
Part III Satan and Adam
8 Satan's original sin: felling Adam	175	(16)
8.1 The early post-Biblical explanation: Satan fell because of Adam, Adam fell because of Satan	175	(7)
8.2 Satan's jealousy in the Life of Adam and Eve	182	(2)
8.3 The history of Iblis in the Koran	184	(7)
Part IV The rise of the fallen Lucifer
9 Lucifer and the New Biography of Satan	191	(24)
9.1 Satan as the rebel Lucifer, well before Adam: the hijacking of Isaiah 14 by Origen of Alexandria	191	(8)
9.2 The slanderous New Biography of Satan: re-reading the Bible with Lucifer as God's enemy	199	(9)
9.3 Satan and his Angels as Pagan Gods: renouncing the Devil and his pomps	208	(7)
10 Satan and the Human Race	215	(27)
10.1 Mankind enslaved by Satan – and redeemed (purchased back!) by Christ	215	(3)
10.2 Satan and the Saints: straight man, fall guy, persistent meddler, bungling loser	218	(11)
10.3 Satan's last assignment: Superintendent of Hell and punisher – right now! – of damned souls	229	(13)
11 Theorizing Satan	242	(23)
11.1 Satan as a Pure Spirit: the synthesis of Thomas Aquinas	242	(7)
11.2 Satan and the Magical Malefactors: Sorcery Diabolized	249	(16)
12 Satan in literature and art	265	(34)
12.1 Literary and dramatic presentations of Satan: Dante, Milton, et ceteri	265	(12)
12.2 Satan in the visual arts: scary and suave	277	(22)
Part V Satan in the modern world
13 Temptation and possession	299	(9)
13.1 Satan as ever-present invisible Tempter: "The Devil made me do it!"	299	(4)
13.2 Pathetic marvels: the phenomena of Diabolical possession	303	(5)
14 Doubts and affirmations	308	(15)
14.1 Satan contextualized and demythified: the Reformed Reformer Friedrich Schleiermacher takes a hard look at the Bible	308	(7)
14.2 The many lives of Satan today	315	(8)
Summary and conclusion	323	(6)
Index of passages	329	(7)
General index	336