{"id":2727,"date":"2018-04-04T14:16:33","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T18:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/?page_id=2727"},"modified":"2019-06-06T11:19:50","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T15:19:50","slug":"a-cultural-history-of-satan-notes-for-goodspeed-lecture-april-16-2018","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/a-cultural-history-of-satan-notes-for-goodspeed-lecture-april-16-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Lecture: A Cultural History of Satan: Ideological, Rhetorical, and Social Functions of Personified Evil"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(Notes for Goodspeed Lecture, April 16, 2018)<\/p>\n<p>Prelude: &#8220;Sympathy for the Devil&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Rolling-Stones-1964-71-Hot-Rocks-15-Sympathy-For-The-Devil.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">audio<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.ca\/search?q=sympathy+for+the+devil+lyrics&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;client=firefox-b-ab&amp;gfe_rd=cr&amp;dcr=0&amp;ei=E3LPWo_8LcOR8Qec3qOIBQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lyrics<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0 The Judean apocalyptic worldview and Shemihazah&#8217;s origins and ideological function within it: 1 Enoch (ca. 200 BCE)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Satan sightings: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/s1fhz6por2ice3v\/Jesus%20and%20Satan%20in%20clouds%20-%20Weekly%20World%20News%20%28Feb%201994%291.jpg?raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Where did Satan come from?\u00a0 What was his ideological function?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>From angelic prosecutor \/ accuser (e.g. Job and Zechariah) to figure with a will opposed to God&#8217;s<\/li>\n<li>Predecessors of Satan: Mesopotamian and Israelite monsters in combat (e.g. Leviathan); Israelite angelic figures in the divine council; Zoroastrianism (Ahura Mazda vs. Angra Mainyu) in the exilic context<\/li>\n<li>Solving the problem of evil: Satan as evil personified<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Illustration: Dore&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/r0ru821e7j9e1zi\/Dor%C3%A9%20-%20Michael%20Casting%20Out%20Rebel%20Angels%20for%20Milton%27s%20Paradise%20Lost%20%281866%29.jpg?raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Casting Out the Rebel Angels<\/a> for Milton&#8217;s <em>Paradise Lost<\/em> (1866)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Judean apocalypticism and Satan&#8217;s function within the worldview (using 1 Enoch)\n<ul>\n<li>Just one among many strands of Judean culture in the second temple period<\/li>\n<li>Judean apocalyptic worldview as Satan&#8217;s framework: 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>Personified evil&#8217;s many names: Satan, Belial, Mastema, Devil, dragon, Prince of Darkness<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/0-muse.jhu.edu.dewey2.library.denison.edu\/chapter\/899958\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1 Enoch<\/a>&#8216;s fallen angels\u2013Shemihazah and Asael (ca. 200 BCE)\u2013and subsequent elaborations\n<ul>\n<li>Traditions interpreting <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=390283663\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Genesis 6:1-8<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Answer to the question how did humans become so evil? (cosmic rather than human explanations of moral evil)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Living the worldview and fighting Belial: Dead Sea Sect&#8217;s Community Rule (first century BCE)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>How important was Satan in the lives of some Judean groups?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Satan not just an idea in people&#8217;s heads<\/li>\n<li>Belial in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSS-Community-Rule-Martinez-trans.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Community Rule<\/a> (Qumran community) &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/dss.collections.imj.org.il\/community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">photo<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>Living in &#8220;Belial&#8217;s dominion&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Two spirits material and variety in Satanic timelines (Satan at creation, in the garden, before the flood?)\n<ul>\n<li>Two opposing factions with humans taking sides in the battle: sons of light vs. sons of darkness.\u00a0 A manual for war: <em>The W<\/em><em>ar<\/em> <em>Scroll<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>God&#8217;s ultimate plan to destroy Belial or the Prince of darkness and set up a perfect place\n<ul>\n<li>Role for the two messiahs: priestly (&#8220;of Aaron&#8221;) and kingly (&#8220;of Israel&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li>Destinies of humans on the two sides: wicked and the righteous<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Sociopolitical implications: Sons of darkness as (1) other Judeans; and (2) current political powers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Illustration: Rubens&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/j1ph56zwfai7q37\/Rubens%20-%20Michael%20at%20war%20with%20the%20fallen%20angels%20%281600s%29.jpg?raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">War in Heaven<\/a> (1600s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Social and rhetorical functions of the great Dragon: John&#8217;s Apocalypse (first century CE)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>What social functions did Satan serve? <\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=390286606\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John&#8217;s Apocalypse<\/a> and the convergence of Satan&#8217;s story: Chaos monster (Leviathan), fallen angel, serpent [?], war with God&#8217;s angels, imprisonment, final battle (chapters 12-13, 20) \u2013 Satan is multivalent<\/li>\n<li>Satan&#8217;s appearance in real world situations &#8211; Social and rhetorical functions of personified evil:\n<ul>\n<li>(1) Demonizing opponents: &#8220;synagogue of Satan&#8221; (Smyrna: 2:9; cf. Philadelphia: 3:7-10); &#8220;deep things of Satan&#8221; (Thyatira: <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=390294344\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2:18-25<\/a>; cf. Pergamon: 2:12-16)<\/li>\n<li>(2) Demonizing external enemies: Beast (= Roman emperor chs. 12-13) and Babylon (= Roma) the whore (chs. 17-18) in league with the dragon (= Satan)\n<ul>\n<li>Critiquing Roman imperial military power, cults (&#8220;worshipping the beast&#8221;), and economic power using the imagery of Satan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Illustration: William Blake&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/to4zgsge1mrgdbm\/Blake%20-%20Whore%20of%20Babylon%20(1809).jpg?raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Whore of Babylon<\/a> (1809)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>4. Legacies<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Second century: (1) Satan as the arch-heretic in internal struggles (Irenaeus, <em>Against the Heresies<\/em>); (2) Greco-Roman gods as demons (e.g.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Justin-on-Roman-gods-as-demons-Apology-5.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Justin Martyr, <em>First <\/em><em>Apology<\/em> 5<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Middle Ages and reformation era iIlustrations:\n<ul>\n<li>Schoen, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/xzrgq37dktb7lbv\/Reformations%205%20Luther%20as%20the%20Devil%27s%20bagpipes%20%28woodcut%20Schoen%2C%201535%29.jpg?raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luther as the Devil&#8217;s bagpipes<\/a> (1535)<\/li>\n<li>Gerung, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/l0wg4wghz5f7qt7\/Reformations%201%20Pope%20and%20Turkish%20Sultan%20%20as%20Demons%20%281546%2C%20Gerung%20woodcut%29.jpg?raw=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pope and Turkish Sultan as demons<\/a> (1546)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Modern era\n<ul>\n<li>E.g.: Satan rhetoric in reactions to Charlottesville:\n<ul>\n<li>White supremacy as Satanism: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/acts-of-faith\/wp\/2017\/08\/14\/russell-moore-white-supremacy-angers-jesus-but-does-it-anger-his-church\/?utm_term=.63ca1d39705c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a> (Russell Moore in <em>Washington Post<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li>Trump as Satanic for refusing to condemn white supremacy: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.premierchristianity.com\/Blog\/Why-it-s-satanic-for-Trump-to-blame-Charlottesville-on-many-sides\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a> ( Jonty Langley in <em>Premier Christianity<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li>Franklin Graham defends Trump and blames Satan: <a href=\"https:\/\/www1.cbn.com\/cbnnews\/us\/2017\/august\/franklin-graham-defends-president-trump-slams-satan-for-charlottesville-chaos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a> (<em>CBN News<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li>Co-founder of the Satanic Temple objects: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/posteverything\/wp\/2017\/08\/23\/im-a-founder-of-the-satanic-temple-dont-blame-satan-for-white-supremacy\/?utm_term=.1732154f77c6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">link<\/a> (Lucien Greaves in <em>Washington Post<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>5. Further study<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Frances Carey, ed., <i>The Apocalypse and the Shape of Things to Come<\/i> (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999). (on Art)<\/li>\n<li>Norman Cohn, <i>Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come: The Ancient Roots of Apocalyptic Faith<\/i> (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993).<\/li>\n<li>John J. Collins, <i>The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature <\/i>(3rd edition; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016).<\/li>\n<li>Neil Forsyth, <i>The Old Enemy: Satan and the Combat Myth<\/i> (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987).<\/li>\n<li>Loren T. Stuckenbruck, <i>The Myth of Rebellious Angels: Studies in Second Temple Judaism and New Testament Texts<\/i>, WUNT 335 (T\u00fcbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014).<\/li>\n<li>Leonard L. Thompson, <em>The Book of Revelation: Apocalypse and Empire<\/em> (Oxford: OUP, 1990).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Notes for Goodspeed Lecture, April 16, 2018) Prelude: &#8220;Sympathy for the Devil&#8221; (audio &#8211; lyrics) 1.\u00a0 The Judean apocalyptic worldview and Shemihazah&#8217;s origins and ideological function within it: 1 Enoch (ca. 200 BCE) Satan sightings: link Where did Satan come from?\u00a0 What was his ideological function? From angelic prosecutor \/ accuser (e.g. Job and Zechariah) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2727","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2727","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=2727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philipharland.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}