{"id":1189,"date":"2013-08-27T12:37:39","date_gmt":"2013-08-27T17:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/?page_id=1189"},"modified":"2026-03-15T23:01:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T03:01:55","slug":"discussion-notes-for-a-cultural-history-of-satan-huma-3795","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/harlands-courses\/course-outline-for-a-cultural-history-of-satan-huma-3795-winter-2011\/discussion-notes-for-a-cultural-history-of-satan-huma-3795\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussion notes for A Cultural History of Satan (HUMA 3795)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Introduction to the Study of Personified Evil<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Why study personified evil in ancient Judean culture and in Christianity?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Satan\u2019s significance for social and religious life:\n<ul>\n<li>Ancient world\n<ul>\n<li>Judean culture (e. g. Dead Sea Scroll community)<\/li>\n<li>Early Christianity (e. g. Jesus and exorcism)<\/li>\n<li>Satan in internal struggles and external relations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Medieval and early modern Europe\n<ul>\n<li>Satan\u2019s part in religion, politics, and every day life<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Modern world\n<ul>\n<li>Christianity<\/li>\n<li>Popular culture (TV and movies)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Satan&#8217;s ideological framework: Ancient apocalypticism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. How should we approach this subject within an academic context?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Main characteristics of Religious Studies:\n<ul>\n<li>1. Non-theological, non-normative, non-value judgement orientation<\/li>\n<li>2. Cross-cultural and historical sensitivity<\/li>\n<li>3. Religion as a human phenomenon, a piece of human culture and society<\/li>\n<li>4. Interdisciplinary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. Key concepts and terms<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cTheodicy\u201d (justice of God) and the problem of evil in religious systems<\/li>\n<li>\u201cDualism\u201d and dualistic worldviews (heaven\/hell, Satan\/God, demons\/angels, wicked\/righteous)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cEvil\u201d and personified evil<\/li>\n<li>\u201cSatan\u201d: a. k. a. Devil (diabolos), Belial, Prince of Darkness, Beelzebub (Prince Baal)<\/li>\n<li>Satan\u2019s minions\/assistants: unclean\/evil spirits, demons (daimonia)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cHell\u201d, \u201cHades\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>_____________________________________________________________________________________________<br \/>\n<b>Satan\u2019s Predecessors in the Ancient Near East (from 3000 BCE)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>1. Chaos monsters and the combat myth in the Ancient Near East (see Beal chapters 1-6)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Background: The Ancient Near East and common mythology; Order vs. chaos in the society of the gods<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The Combat Myth: Mesopotamian, Ugaritic \/ Canaanite, and Israelite examples<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Themes that later came to shape Satan&#8217;s character: Dragons\/serpents\/beasts; rebellious threat to order; battle imagery; Satan literally linked up with biblical instances of combat myth; Apocalyptic world view as combat myth writ large<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Ahriman or Angra Mainyu (\u201cDestructive Spirit\u201d) in Zoroastrian religion<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Background: Zoroaster (12th or 6th century BCE?) and the problem of evil; Zoroastrian sources late<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Zoroastrian apocalypticism as combat myth writ large\n<ul>\n<li>Dualism of Ahura Mazda (Lord Wisdom) vs. Angra Mainyu<\/li>\n<li>Discussion of passage from Plutarch and from the Zoroastrian Gathas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Close affinities with Judean apocalypticism (emerging concurrently) and likely influence on the Judean Two Spirits tradition (as in the Dead Sea Scrolls)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Themes that later came to shape Satan&#8217;s character: cosmic dualism of evil vs. good; battle central; ultimate end to the battle and triumph over evil (contrast the combat myth); Light and Darkness theme (Prince of Darkness as a name for Satan later on)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. Other Israelite predecessors<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rebellious foreign kings and the metaphor of cosmic rebel in Israelite prophets\n<ul>\n<li>Background: History in cosmic, mythological terms<\/li>\n<li>Prince of Tyre (\u201cI am God\u201d) and Pharoah (the \u201cgreat dragon\u201d) in Ezekiel 28, 29<\/li>\n<li>Fall of \u201cShining One, Son of Dawn\u201d (later \u201cLucifer\u201d) in Isaiah 14<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Angelic beings and the heavenly court in the Hebrew Bible:\n<ul>\n<li>1) Yahweh\u2019s \u201cmessenger (<i>malak<\/i>)\u201d<\/li>\n<li>2) \u201cthe adversary \/ prosecutor\u201d (\u201cthe satan\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>3) Evil spirit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Themes that later came to shape Satan&#8217;s character: false claims to power (&#8220;I am god&#8221;); rebellion against God; future destruction and punishment; literally linked up with Satan stories later on<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>_____________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><b>Satan\u2019s Origins in Judean Apocalypticism (from about 300 BCE)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>1. Introduction: Judean apocalypticism as Satan\u2019s framework<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Characteristics of the apocalyptic worldview: Revelation, dualism (light\/good vs. darkness\/evil), evil world, God\u2019s predetermined plan, <i>final<\/i> combat, destinies of the righteous and the wicked<\/li>\n<li>Apocalyptic literature: Visionary reports in the name of respected figures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. The fall of rebel angels: Origins of Satan<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Background:\n<ul>\n<li>Reminder: \u201cSons of god\u201d and \u201cangels \/ messengers\u201d of Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible; Angels in the function of \u201cadversaries\u201d (satans) doing God\u2019s will (cf. 1 Kings 22:19-22; Job) vs. an <i>independent<\/i> angelic adversary (following his own will)<\/li>\n<li>The \u201csons of god\u201d and daughters of men in Genesis 6:1-8 and the flood narrative<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Elaborations and interpretations of the story in 1 Enoch, book 1 (c. 200 BCE)\n<ul>\n<li>Solving the problem of sin \/ evil and the origin of human sinfulness<\/li>\n<li>The sin of the fallen angels: Azazel and Semyaz (who\u2019s the leader)<\/li>\n<li>The consequences of the angels\u2019 fall and intercourse with humans<\/li>\n<li>Angelic or human responsibility for sin\/evil (links with the Adam\/Eve stories)<\/li>\n<li>The giant offspring\u2019s spirits = demons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. Further developments in Satan\u2019s story in Judean apocalypticism<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rebel angels, Satan, and Mastema (\u201cEnmity\u201d personified) in <i>Jubilees<\/i> (c. 105-150 BCE)<\/li>\n<li>Adam\u2019s sin and the fall of the angels in <i>2 Baruch<\/i> (question of responsibility for evil)<\/li>\n<li>God&#8217;s functionaries in the final battle against his Adversary\/ Satan\/Beliar\n<ul>\n<li>Patron angels: Michael and the kingdoms\/beasts (though not Satan) in the book of Daniel (c. 169 BCE)<\/li>\n<li>Beliar and the two spirits (angels) in the Dead Sea Scrolls (c. 100 BCE)\n<ul>\n<li>Background: The Dead Sea (Qumran) community as an apocalyptic sect<\/li>\n<li>Beliar (Worthless One) in the worldview of the group<\/li>\n<li>The Two spirits tradition<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Satan and the Elect One (son of man) in the later Enoch books (first century CE): Judgement of kings \/\/ Azazel \/\/ Satan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>_____________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><b>Satan and his Roles among Jesus Adherents<br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p>1. Introduction: Jesus groups as Judean apocalyptic movements<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jesus the Christ\/Messiah as Satan\u2019s ultimate and final combatant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Jesus vs. Satan: Endtime combat with evil powers in the Gospel stories (c. 65-100 CE)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Background: Jesus\u2019 mission and \u201cthe kingdom of God\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Jesus\u2019 combat with the Devil\/Satan in the synoptic gospels (especially Mark)\n<ul>\n<li>The hero\u2019s test in the desert (Mark 1:12\u201313 \/\/ Luke 4)<\/li>\n<li>Jesus\u2019 battles with demons: Exorcisms (e. g. Mark 1:21-28)<\/li>\n<li>The Beelzebub controversy (Mark 3:19-27)<\/li>\n<li>Jesus\u2019 mission and Satan\u2019s ultimate fall (Luke 10:17-20)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Gehenna\/Hades\/Hell in the Gospels (see Mark 9:43-48; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 16:19-31)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. Satan and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">internal<\/span> struggles: Christian leaders and their Christian adversaries<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paul (c. 50s-60s CE)\n<ul>\n<li>Paul\u2019s apocalyptic perspective: Sons of light vs. sons of darkness (1 Thess 4:13-5:11)<\/li>\n<li>Christ\u2019s combat with (and <i>destruction<\/i> of) Death and other cosmic powers (1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 54-55)<\/li>\n<li>Paul\u2019s combat with opponents: The \u201cgod of this world\u201d\/\u201cSatan\u201d, the serpent, and deception: Combating the \u201csuperapostles\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:3-4 and 11:1-15)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Epistles of John (c. 90-100 CE)\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cAntichrists\u201d in the communities of John the elder (1 John 1:5-10; 2:18-25; 3:4-10; 4:16; 2 John 7-11)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>4. Satan and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">external<\/span> relations: The evil Roman empire in John\u2019s Apocalypse (Revelation; c. 90s CE)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Introduction to John&#8217;s Apocalypse (Revelation): Context of the temple destruction and Nero&#8217;s actions; apocalypse = first person visionary account about the coming end; series of visions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>John\u2019s internal combat with Christian opponents: The \u201cdeep things of Satan\u201d (esp. Pergamon and Thyatira)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Convergence of Satan\u2019s stories and use of Satanic rhetoric to critique external powers:\n<ul>\n<li>The fallen star, angel of the bottomless pit = \u201cDestruction\u201d (Rev. 9:1-11)<\/li>\n<li>The dragon (Leviathan\/Satan\/Devil) and cosmic combat (ch. 12)<\/li>\n<li>The dragon\u2019s assistants: Roman emperors and the two beasts (13)<\/li>\n<li>The evil empire as Babylon the whore, riding the first beast (17-18)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Final destiny and judgement of the beast and Satan (19:19-20:15)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>_____________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><b>Developments of Satan\u2019s Story in the First Centuries: Satan (or the World Creator) and the Serpent<\/b><\/p>\n<p>1. Enter the deceptive serpent: Adam, Eve, and Satan\u2019s motivations (lust or jealousy)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThe Book of Adam and Eve\u201d and evil personified (about first century)\n<ul>\n<li>Convergence of the story of a fallen angel (flood era) and the story of fallen humans (creation) \u2013 Entrance of evil on the mythical timeline<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1)<i> Apocalypse of Moses<\/i> (first century CE)\n<ul>\n<li>Eve\u2019s story of deception (no. 1) by \u201cthe enemy\u201d\/serpent (<i>Apocalypse<\/i> 15-30)<\/li>\n<li>The Devil\u2019s motivation: jealousy and covetousness<\/li>\n<li>Who\u2019s to blame: Eve<\/li>\n<li>Adam\u2019s (humanity\u2019s) pain and death (physical evil) and the hope of the oil of mercy (5-14, 37-43)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>2)<i> Life (Vita) of Adam and Eve<\/i> (third or fourth century CE)\n<ul>\n<li>Repentance and the Devil\u2019s deception (no. 2) of Eve (<i>Vita<\/i> 1-11)<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWhy do you assault us\u201d?: Satan\u2019s account of his expulsion and motivation (chs. 12-17)<\/li>\n<li>Seth and the beast-serpent (36-39, 44)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Inverting the serpent\u2019s role: The (evil) world-creator god in philosophical forms of Jesus adherence<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Background:\n<ul>\n<li><i>Gnosis<\/i> = \u201cknowledge\u201d of the way things are (brings salvation)<\/li>\n<li>Thoroughgoing dualism\n<ul>\n<li>1) Good spiritual realm\/Fullness, Father-god, Aeons, Sophia<\/li>\n<li>2) Evil material realm, rulers (archons), world-creator (demiurge), abortive creation entrapping spiritual sparks<\/li>\n<li>3) Return to the Fullness\/salvation: the descent of the saviour, ascent of the spiritual sparks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The demiurge (world-creator) and the serpent in On the Origin of the World: Gnostic interpretations of Genesis and other traditions\n<ul>\n<li>Interpretation of Genesis\u2019 creation narrative<\/li>\n<li>Shared traditions with the \u201cBook of Adam and Eve\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Interpretation of other stories and traditions<\/li>\n<li>Fallen rulers \/\/ fallen angels<\/li>\n<li>The world-creator\u2019s (or rulers\u2019) envy or jealousy \/\/ Satan\u2019s envy or jealousy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>_____________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><b>Satan in the Church Fathers: Instigator of Idolatry (\u201cPaganism\u201d) and Heresy (150-430 CE and beyond)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>1. External factors: Defending \u201csuperior\u201d Christianity against \u201cinferior\u201d paganism<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Background: Tensions between Christianity and society (popular persecutions, intellectual attacks); Defending Christianity (\u201capologists\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>Justin Martyr (c. 100-165 CE) on the worship of demons (\u201cthey called them gods\u201d) and the invention of Greek myth (all part of Satan\u2019s ploy)<\/li>\n<li>Origen\u2019s (c. 185-254 CE) defense against Celsus\n<ul>\n<li>Celsus\u2019 intellectual critique of Christianity, naive dualism, and the idea of Satan: Taking the combat myth too literally (making God impotent)<\/li>\n<li>Origen\u2019s response to Celsus: The Opponent\u2019s (Satan\u2019s) antiquity (older than Homer and copied by Greek myth)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Internal factors: \u201cError\u201d (heresy) and the \u201cFather of Lies\u201d (arch-heretic)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>All Heresies derive from the Father of Lies (Apostasy personified &#8211; stepping away or rebellion) = Satan<\/li>\n<li>Background: Countering gnostic answers to the problem of evil (demiurge)<\/li>\n<li>Marcion: The good God\u2019s payment (Christ) to the evil world-creator<\/li>\n<li>Irenaeus (c. 140-202 CE)\n<ul>\n<li>Freeing the captives by paying off the devil: Ransom theory<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Origen (c. 185-254 CE)\n<ul>\n<li>Evil by will (choice), not by nature: The angel of light <i>rebels<\/i> out of pride (Ezekiel\u2019s rebel kings and Isaiah\u2019s Lucifer) and loses his wings<\/li>\n<li>Developing the ransom theory: Out-deceiving the deceiver (cf. Gospel of Nicodemus)<\/li>\n<li>The return of all things to God (universalism): Even Satan will be saved in the end<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Augustine (354-430 CE)\n<ul>\n<li>Background: Christianization of the Roman empire (post-Constantine) and the continuation of \u201cpaganism\u201d; Ongoing internal struggles &#8211; Augustine vs. Manichees and Pelagians<\/li>\n<li>Impact of internal struggles on Augustine&#8217;s notions of evil and the devil:\n<ul>\n<li>vs. &#8220;optimistic&#8221; Pelagians: Humans possess sin by birth (original sin concept)<\/li>\n<li>vs. &#8220;pessimistic&#8221; Manichees: Natural evil does not exist; importance of will<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>_____________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Brief History of Satan&#8217;s Home (Hell)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. The underworld (grave) and its development in other contemporary cultures<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mesopotamian underworld: Realm of Nergal (shadowy [non]existence)<\/li>\n<li>Hebrew Sheol, \u201cthe grave\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Greek underworld: Realm of Hades and the shades (neutral or moral death?)\n<ul>\n<li>Vague notions of an afterlife in Greek religion: Evidence of grave-inscriptions<\/li>\n<li>Otherworldly journeys into Hades\u2019 realm\n<ul>\n<li>Homer and the shades: Odysseus journey to consult a dead seer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Divisions of the underworld: Tartaros as a place of torture for rebellious gods<\/li>\n<li>Retribution after death in Plato (4th century BCE) and Virgil (1st century BCE)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Zoroastrian judgement after death (moral death): Destruction vs. the \u201cmaking wonderful\u201d\n<ul>\n<li>Walking in one of the two spirits, resurrection and judgement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Apocalyptic Judean culture and early Christianity: Gehenna\/Hades vs. the kingdom of God<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Apocalyptic framework of the origins of Hell (opposed to the kingdom of God\/Heaven)\n<ul>\n<li>Concept of moral death: Resurrection and judgement<\/li>\n<li>Destruction or eternal punishment for wickedness<\/li>\n<li>Otherworldly journeys in apocalyptic literature (e.g. 1 Enoch)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>1 Enoch (ca. 225 BCE) and the pit for the fallen angels \/ &#8220;wicked&#8221; people<\/li>\n<li>John&#8217;s Apocalypse (ca. 90s CE) and the punishment of Satan\/Leviathan and &#8220;wicked&#8221; people\n<ul>\n<li>The lake of fire as Satan\u2019s ultimate destination (e.g. <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=166705409\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Revelation 20<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Jesus and Hell &#8211; Gospel portrayals (ca. 70-110 CE)\n<ul>\n<li>The valley of the Son of Hinnom (ge-hinnom) = Gehenna in the gospels (<a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=166705742\">http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=166705742<\/a>) (see <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=166706352\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Jeremiah 7:30-34<\/a>; 2 Kings 16:3; 23:10): Place of burning and death<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=166706035\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luke 16:19-31<\/a>: Moral death<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/apocalypsepeter-mrjames.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apocalypse of Peter<\/a> (ca. 130s CE) as the earliest Christian tour of hell: Law of retaliation principle for punishment in hell<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Christ\u2019s journey into the underworld (descent into Hell) to defeat Death (Hades) and Satan\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=166705338\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1 Peter 3:19-20<\/a> (late first century CE)<\/li>\n<li><i>Gospel of Nicodemus<\/i> (fourth century reflecting earlier developments) and the story of Christ\u2019s descent into hell\n<ul>\n<li>Satan\u2019s plan and Hades\u2019 hesitation<\/li>\n<li>Christ\u2019s triumph over Satan and Hades<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. Medieval culmination of Hell: Visualizing the Inferno and Satan<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i>Vision of Tundale<\/i> of the 11th century (Russell, pp. 140-42)\n<ul>\n<li>Vision of two demons and of Satan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Hell&#8217;s torment in Dante&#8217;s <i>Inferno<\/i> (13th century)\n<ul>\n<li>Satan (Dis) iced at the centre of the earth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Giving Satan a face (and horns): Satan and Hell in medieval and early modern art<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><b>Satan in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period: Popular Religion and Polemical Rhetoric<\/b><\/p>\n<p>1. Visualizing Hell and Satan: From Origins to Dante<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dante&#8217;s Satan\n<ul>\n<li>Sandro Botticelli&#8217;s illustrations of Dante&#8217;s Inferno (<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Category:Sandro_Botticelli%27s_illustrations_to_the_Divine_Comedy\">link<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Satan and his demons in Medieval cultural life<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1) Evil in everyday life: Stories about demons and ghosts (discussion of primary sources)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>2) Satan in popular movements (&#8220;heresies&#8221; from 1000 CE)\n<ul>\n<li>Accusations of Satanic alliances in struggles against heresies (Inquisitions etc)<\/li>\n<li>Ancestors of the Cathars: Gnosticism and the Manichees<\/li>\n<li>Satan in the dualistic worldview of the Cathars (Albigensians)\n<ul>\n<li>Moderate Cathars: God and the rebel evil power<\/li>\n<li>Radical Cathars: God and Satan from the beginning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>3) Satan (Old Percy) and witchcraft (discussion of Brigg&#8217;s chapter)\n<ul>\n<li>Witch and witchcraft within the medieval worldview: Were there really witches? (No, but people really believed there were, and that&#8217;s what matters for historical developments)\n<ul>\n<li>The social and psychological functions of witchcraft accusations and confessions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The image of the witch<\/li>\n<li>Pact with the devil \/ Percy \/ Satan or his minions\n<ul>\n<li>Legacies regarding deals with the devil (e.g. Faust, musicians at the crossroads, etc)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Witch&#8217;s sabbat: Inverting the Christian communal gathering<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. Satan and his son (Antichrist) in internal and external struggles<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Visual representations of internal and external demonizing (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/sh\/pnz6c3z8yjmvm4s\/AADLbnNSAd_OWXAnR6bHiL5ma?dl=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link to dropbox folder<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Internal: Demonizing other Christians\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Satanic&#8221; heresies vs. &#8220;Satanic&#8221; Roman church<\/li>\n<li>A brief history of Antichrist and his use in internal struggles<\/li>\n<li>Who&#8217;s the Antichrist: Martin Luther or the Pope?<\/li>\n<li>Menno Simons (Anabaptist) on recognizing the Satanic church of Antichrist (i.e. the papacy and the Lutheran church)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>External: Demonizing outsiders (Jews, Muslims)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><b>From Traditional (Evil) Satan to Modern (Ironic) Mephisto: Milton (1600s) and Goethe (1700s)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>1. Satan in Milton\u2019s <i>Paradise Lost<\/i> (c. 1660)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Milton\u2019s context and life: Revolutionary England; Protestant Puritans; Rationalizing and systematizing old stories<\/li>\n<li>Milton\u2019s epic poem and its key themes: Fall of humanity and justifying God\u2019s actions\n<ul>\n<li>Satan and the other fallen angels: Convergence and culmination of earlier traditions<\/li>\n<li>The initial fall of the angels and Satan\u2019s dialogues with Beezlebub (I)<\/li>\n<li>The (anti)-divine council and Satan\u2019s plan to pursue the \u201cother world\u201d and \u201cMan\u201d (II)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Mephistopheles (Mephisto) in Goethe\u2019s <i>Faust<\/i> (c. late 1700s)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Goethe\u2019s context and life: Enlightenment and modernism; Critique of revealed religion; Decline of Satan and Hell<\/li>\n<li>Goethe\u2019s poetry and its key themes: The pursuit of wisdom and the goal of love<\/li>\n<li>Goethe\u2019s ironic and pathetic Mephisto: New directions for evil personified\n<ul>\n<li>Drawing on older traditions but in a playful and ironic way \u2013 fundamentally changes the overall affect of the personified \u201cevil\u201d figure<\/li>\n<li>Council in heaven (prologue)<\/li>\n<li>Faust\u2019s pursuit of \u201cgodlike\u201d knowledge (\u201cI rode too high\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>Traditional characteristics of Satan\/fallen angel\/rebel kings in Faust<\/li>\n<li>Mephisto (Satan), the poodle (irony)<\/li>\n<li>Faust\u2019s pact (wager) with Mephisto<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><b>Modern Case Study: Satanic Cults and Satanic Conspiracies of the 1970s-1990s<\/b><\/p>\n<p>1. Worshipping Satan: The Church of Satan and its rivals (1970s on)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Church of Satan and the Satanic Bible\n<ul>\n<li>Inverting Christian values: Satan as symbol of real human values<\/li>\n<li>Competing groups and techniques of demonization (correction: christianization) in intergroup rivalries<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Other forms of modern Satanism: e.g. Black Metal and the gnostic Satanists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Satanic conspiracy 1: Satanic Ritual Abuse Scare of the 1980s and 1990s<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Context: New Religious Movements (including the Church of Satan) and the anticult movement within conservative Christianity; Notions of spiritual battle in some conservative Christianity; the Church of Satan and its &#8220;ancient&#8221; worldwide networks<\/li>\n<li>Origins of the accusations: &#8220;Psychiatry&#8221;, sexual abuse, repressed memories, and Christian demonology<\/li>\n<li>Satanic ritual: Human sacrifice, cannibalism, and sexual perversion\n<ul>\n<li>The trio of atrocity in historical perspective (demonizing \/ marginalizing outsiders and insiders: foreign peoples, early Christians, early &#8220;heresies&#8221;, medieval witches, etc. )<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. Satanic conspiracy 2: <i>&#8220;nataS&#8221;<\/i> in music<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Background: Rock n&#8217;roll, sex, and the devil&#8217;s gyrations<\/li>\n<li>Satan in rock lyrics: From &#8220;Sympathy for the devil&#8221; to &#8220;Devil&#8217;s haircut&#8221; (1960s-present)\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Stairway to hell&#8221;?: Supposed backtracking and the deceptive seductions of Satan in the 1970s-80s<\/li>\n<li>Identifying with Satan and evil (in a superficial way): If religion is nerdy, then Satan must be cool (heavy metal culture of the 1980s)<\/li>\n<li>Deliberate backtracking (and a not so deceptive Satan): Play it forward, play it backward same thing<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;To hell with the devil&#8221;: The holy head-bangers&#8217; response<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction to the Study of Personified Evil 1. Why study personified evil in ancient Judean culture and in Christianity? Satan\u2019s significance for social and religious life: Ancient world Judean culture (e. g. Dead Sea Scroll community) Early Christianity (e. g. Jesus and exorcism) Satan in internal struggles and external relations Medieval and early modern Europe [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":1187,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1189","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1189"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22043,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1189\/revisions\/22043"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}