Devil Doll Records

A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of the devil can be summed up as 1) a principle of evil independent from God, 2) an aspect of God, 3) a created being turning evil (a ''fallen angel''), and 4) a symbol of human evil.

Each tradition, culture, and religion with a devil in its mythos offers a different lens on manifestations of evil.Jeffrey Burton Russell, ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'', Cornell University Press 1987 , pp. 41–75 The history of these perspectives intertwines with theology, mythology, psychiatry, art, and literature developing independently within each of the traditions. It occurs historically in many contexts and cultures, and is given many different names—Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Iblis—and attributes: it is portrayed as blue, black, or red; it is portrayed as having horns on its head, and without horns, and so on.Arp, Robert. ''The Devil and Philosophy: The Nature of His Game''. Open Court, 2014. . pp. 30–50Jeffrey Burton Russell, ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'', Cornell University Press. 1987 . p. 66. While depictions of the devil are usually taken seriously, there are times when it is treated less seriously; when, for example, devil figures are used in advertising and on candy wrappers.

Etymology

The Modern English word ''devil'' derives from the Middle English '' devel'', from the Old English '' dēofol'', that in turn represents an early Germanic borrowing of the Latin ''diabolus''. This in turn was borrowed from the Greek ''diábolos'', "slanderer", from ''diabállein'', "to slander" from διά ''diá'', "across, through" and βάλλειν ''bállein'', "to hurl", probably akin to the Sanskrit ''gurate'', "he lifts up".

Definitions

In his book ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'', Jeffrey Burton Russell discusses various meanings and difficulties that are encountered when using the term ''devil''. He does not claim to define the word in a general sense, but he describes the limited use that he intends for the word in his book—limited in order to "minimize this difficulty" and "for the sake of clarity". In this book Russell uses the word ''devil'' as "the personification of evil found in a variety of cultures", as opposed to the word ''Satan'', which he reserves specifically for the figure in the Abrahamic religions.

In the Introduction to his book ''Satan: A Biography'', Henry Ansgar Kelly discusses various considerations and meanings that he has encountered in using terms such as ''devil'' and ''Satan'', etc. While not offering a general definition, he describes that in his book "whenever ''diabolos'' is used as the proper name of Satan", he signals it by using "small caps".

The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has a variety of definitions for the meaning of "devil", supported by a range of citations: "Devil" may refer to Satan, the supreme spirit of evil, or one of Satan's emissaries or demons that populate Hell, or to one of the spirits that possess a demonic person; "devil" may refer to one of the "malignant deities" feared and worshiped by "heathen people", a demon, a malignant being of superhuman powers; figuratively "devil" may be applied to a wicked person, or playfully to a rogue or rascal, or in empathy often accompanied by the word "poor" to a person—"poor devil".

Baháʼí Faith

In the Baháʼí Faith, a malevolent, superhuman entity such as a ''devil'' or ''satan'' is not believed to exist. These terms do, however, appear in the Baháʼí writings, where they are used as metaphors for the lower nature of man. Human beings are seen to have free will, and are thus able to turn towards God and develop spiritual qualities or turn away from God and become immersed in their self-centered desires. Individuals who follow the temptations of the self and do not develop spiritual virtues are often described in the Baháʼí writings with the word ''satanic''. The Baháʼí writings also state that the devil is a metaphor for the "insistent self" or "lower self" which is a self-serving inclination within each individual. Those who follow their lower nature are also described as followers of "the Evil One".

Christianity

In Christianity, evil is incarnate in the devil or Satan, a fallen angel who is the primary opponent of God. Some Christians also considered the Roman and Greek deities as devils.

Christianity describes Satan as a fallen angel who terrorizes the world through evil, is the antithesis of truth, and shall be condemned, together with the fallen angels who follow him, to eternal fire at the Last Judgment.

In mainstream Christianity, the devil is usually referred to as Satan. This is because Christian beliefs in Satan are inspired directly by the dominant view of Second Temple Judaism (recorded in the Enochian books), as expressed/practiced by Jesus, and with some minor variations. Some modern Christians consider the devil to be an angel who, along with one-third of the angelic host (the demons), rebelled against God and has consequently been condemned to the Lake of Fire. He is described as hating all humanity (or more accurately creation), opposing God, spreading lies and wreaking havoc on their souls.

Satan is traditionally identified as the serpent who convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit; thus, Satan has often been depicted as a serpent.

In the Bible, the devil is identified with "the dragon" and "the old serpent" seen in the Book of Revelation, as has "the prince of this world" in the Gospel of John; and "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" in the Epistle to the Ephesians; and "the god of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4. He is also identified as the dragon in the Book of Revelation and the tempter of the Gospels.

The devil is sometimes called Lucifer, particularly when describing him as an angel before his fall, although the use of Lucifer (Latin ''lúcifer'', "bringer of light"), the "son of the dawn", in Isaiah 14:12 is a reference to a Babylonian king.

Beelzebub is originally the name of a Philistine god (more specifically a certain type of Baal, from ''Ba‘al Zebûb'', lit. "Lord of Flies") but is also used in the New Testament as a synonym for the devil. A corrupted version, "Belzeboub", appears in ''The Divine Comedy'' (''Inferno'' XXXIV).

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.

Apocrypha/Deuterocanon

In the Book of Wisdom, the devil is represented as the one who brought death into the world. The Second Book of Enoch contains references to a Watcher called Satanael, describing him as the prince of the ''Grigori'' who was cast out of heaven and an evil spirit who knew the difference between what was "righteous" and "sinful".

In the Book of Jubilees, Satan rules over a host of angels. Mastema, who induced God to test Abraham through the sacrifice of Isaac, is identical with Satan in both name and nature. The Book of Enoch contains references to Sathariel, thought also to be Sataniel and Satan'el. The similar spellings mirror that of his angelic brethren Michael, Raphael, Uriel, and Gabriel, previous to his expulsion from Heaven.

Gnostic religions

Gnostic and Gnostic-influenced religions postulate the idea that the material world is inherently evil. The ''One true God'' is remote, beyond the material universe, therefore this universe must be governed by an inferior imposter deity. This deity was identified with the deity of the Old Testament by some sects, such as the Sethians and the Marcions. Tertullian accuses Marcion of Sinope, that he John Arendzen (1909) in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1913) mentions that Eusebius accused Apelles, the 2nd-century AD Gnostic, of considering the Inspirer of Old Testament prophecies to be not a god, but an evil angel. These writings commonly refer to the Creator of the material world as "a demiurgus" to distinguish him from the ''One true God''. Some texts, such as the Apocryphon of John and On the Origin of the World, not only demonized the Creator God but also called him by the name of the devil in some Jewish writings, ''Samael''.

Catharism

In the 12th century in Europe the Cathars, who were rooted in Gnosticism, dealt with the problem of evil, and developed ideas of dualism and demonology. The Cathars were seen as a serious potential challenge to the Catholic church of the time. The Cathars split into two camps. The first is ''absolute'' dualism, which held that evil was completely separate from the good God, and that God and the devil each had power. The second camp is ''mitigated'' dualism, which considers Lucifer to be a son of God, and a brother to Christ. To explain this they used the parable of the prodigal son, with Christ as the good son, and Lucifer as the son that strayed into evilness. The Catholic Church responded to dualism in AD 1215 in the Fourth Lateran Council, saying that God created everything from nothing, and the devil was good when he was created, but he made himself bad by his own free will. In the ''Gospel of the Secret Supper'', Lucifer, just as in prior Gnostic systems, appears as a demiurge, who created the material world.

Islam

In Islam, the principle of evil is expressed by two terms referring to the same entity:Jeffrey Burton Russell, ''Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages'', Cornell University Press 1986 , p. 57 ''Shaitan'' (meaning ''astray'', ''distant'' or ''devil'') and ''Iblis''. Iblis is the proper name of the devil representing the characteristics of evil.Jerald D. Gort, Henry Jansen, Hendrik M. Vroom ''Probing the Depths of Evil and Good: Multireligious Views and Case Studies'' Rodopi 2007 p. 250 Iblis is mentioned in the Quranic narrative about the creation of humanity. When God created Adam, he ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before him. All did, but Iblis refused and claimed to be superior to Adam out of pride. Therefore, pride but also envy became a sign of "unbelief" in Islam. Thereafter Iblis was condemned to Hell, but God granted him a request to lead humanity astray, knowing the righteous will resist Iblis' attempts to misguide them. In Islam, both good and evil are ultimately created by God. But since God's will is good, the evil in the world must be part of God's plan.Jerald D. Gort, Henry Jansen, Hendrik M. Vroom ''Probing the Depths of Evil and Good: Multireligious Views and Case Studies'' Rodopi 2007 p. 249 Actually, God allowed the devil to seduce humanity. Evil and suffering are regarded as a test or a chance to proof confidence in God. Some philosophers and mystics emphasized Iblis himself as a role model of confidence in God, because God ordered the angels to prostrate themselves, Iblis was forced to choose between God's command and God's will (not to praise someone else than God). He successfully passed the test, yet his disobedience caused his punishment and therefore suffering. However, he stays patient and is rewarded in the end.

Muslims hold that the pre-Islamic jinn, tutelary deities, became subject under Islam to the judgment of God, and that those who did not submit to the law of God are devils.

Although Iblis is often compared to the devil in Christian theology, Islam rejects the idea that Satan is an opponent of God and the implied struggle between God and the devil. Iblis might either be regarded as ''the most monotheistic'' or ''the greatest sinner'', but remains only a creature of God. Iblis did not become an unbeliever due to his disobedience, but because of attributing injustice to God; that is, by asserting that the command to prostrate himself before Adam was inappropriate. There is no sign of angelic revolt in the Quran and no mention of Iblis trying to take God's throne and Iblis's sin could be forgiven at anytime by God. According to the Quran, Iblis's disobedience was due to his disdain for humanity, a narrative already occurring in early New Testament apocrypha.

As in Christianity, Iblis was once a pious creature of God but later cast out of Heaven due to his pride. However, to maintain God's absolute sovereignty, Islam matches the line taken by Irenaeus instead of the later Christian consensus that the devil did not rebel against God but against humanity.Jeffrey Burton Russell, ''The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity'', Cornell University Press, 1987, , p. 56 Further, although Iblis is generally regarded as a real bodily entity,Cenap Çakmak ''Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia volumes' ABC-CLIO 2017 p. 1399 he plays a less significant role as the personification of evil than in Christianity. Iblis is merely a tempter, notable for inciting humans into sin by ''whispering'' into humans minds (waswās), akin to the Jewish idea of the devil as ''yetzer hara''.Fereshteh Ahmadi, Nader Ahmadi ''Iranian Islam: The Concept of the Individual'' Springer 1998 p. 79

On the other hand, ''Shaitan'' refers unilaterally to forces of evil, including the devil Iblis, then he causes mischief. Shaitan is also linked to humans psychological nature, appearing in dreams, causing anger or interrupting the mental preparation for prayer. Furthermore, the term ''Shaitan'' also refers to beings, who follow the evil suggestions of Iblis. Furthermore, the principle of ''Shaitan'' is in many ways a symbol of spiritual impurity, representing humans' own deficits, in contrast to a " true Muslim", who is free from anger, lust and other devilish desires.

In Sufism and mysticism

In contrast to Occidental philosophy, the Sufi idea of seeing "Many as One", and considering the creation in its essence as the Absolute, leads to the idea of the dissolution of any dualism between the ego substance and the "external" substantial objects. The rebellion against God, mentioned in the Quran, takes place on the level of the psyche, that must be trained and disciplined for its union with the spirit that is pure. Since psyche drives the body, ''flesh'' is not the obstacle to humans but rather an unawareness that allows the impulsive forces to cause rebellion against God on the level of the psyche. Yet it is not a dualism between body, psyche and spirit, since the spirit embraces both psyche and corporeal aspects of humanity. Since the world is held to be the mirror in which God's attributes are reflected, participation in worldly affairs is not necessarily seen as opposed to God. The devil activates the selfish desires of the psyche, leading the human astray from the Divine. Thus it is the '' I'' that is regarded as evil, and both Iblis and ''Pharao'' are present as symbols for uttering "I" in ones own behavior. Therefore it is recommended to use the term ''I'' as little as possible. It is only God who has the right to say "I", since it is only God who is self-subsistent. Uttering "I" is therefore a way to compare oneself to God, regarded as '' shirk''.

In Salafism

Salafi strands of Islam commonly emphasize a dualistic worldview between the believers and the unbelievers, with the devil as the enemy of God's path. Even though the devil will be finally defeated by God, he is a serious and dangerous opponent of humans. While in classical hadiths, the demons (''Shayateen'') and the jinn are responsible for impurity and possibly endanger people, in Salafi thought, it is the devil himself, who lurks on the believers, always striving to lead them astray from God. The devil is regarded as an omnipresent entity, permanently inciting humans into sin, but can be ''pushed away'' by remembering the name God. The devil is regarded as an external entity, threatening the everyday life of the believer, even in social aspects of life. Thus for example, it is the devil who is responsible for Western emancipation.

Judaism

Yahweh, the god in pre-exilic Judaism, created both good and evil, as stated in Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." The devil does not exist in Jewish scriptures. However, the influence of Zoroastrianism during the Achaemenid Empire introduced evil as a separate principle into the Jewish belief system, which gradually externalized the opposition until the Hebrew term ''satan'' developed into a specific type of supernatural entity, changing the monistic view of Judaism into a dualistic one. Later, Rabbinic Judaism rejected the Enochian books (written during the Second Temple period under Persian influence), which depicted the devil as an independent force of evil besides God. After the apocalyptic period, references to Satan in the Tanakh

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases