The Devil Is The Embodiment Of Evil

In Christianity, the Devil is represented as the founder of an empire “on fire”, an empire that struggles against and counteracts the kingdom of God. The Devil is described as an entity who is filled with evil power, but not enough power to overcome Christ if they were to duel. Though the Devil is not as powerful as Christ, he’s unfettered, given the designation of being the ultimate source of evil power. Since the inception of Christianity, portrayals of the Devil have been fundamental in instilling fear within the Christian population. The Devil’s abilities and appearance has become feared by approximately 31.5% of the world’s population. As historians have had access to the past that they haven’t had before, it’s been discovered that the iconography of the Devil isn’t necessarily original, but rather, inspired from religions with an age older than Christianity. While there’s an infinite amount of possible sources available to attribute the iconography of the Christian Devil to, the Greek god Pan provides source materials that show imagery and behavior similarities to the Christian Devil. By analyzing texts by ancient authors such as Hesiod and Ovid, as well as paintings and sculptures spanning multiple centuries, I will argue that the Greek god Pan’s iconography and behavior was used as inspiration for the Christian Devil.

The devil works in many ways, he tries to mess with our heads, put fear within ourselves, make us feel hatred towards others, and to make us believe human nature is only evil. In two short stories the devil tries make two protagonist see only evil. Stephen King’s short story “The Man in the Black Suit,” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN,” show the devil at his best trying to get the protagonist to see evil. The devil uses his language, and his appearance to meet his motives. He is successful with some of his tactics, but not with all of them.

Satan’s character embodies the idea of a heroic figure because he questions what he feels to be true, even though his tragic fall is that he becomes easily misguided.

The devil at the dawn of Christianity bore little resemblance to the ruler of hell, the antichrist and agent of evil that he is known as in present day. Satan makes few overt or implied appearances in the Old Testament. For the important role of God’s greatest adversary, early Christians had to flesh out great parts of Satan’s story in order to develop him into his present, fearsome persona. The Christian story of the Devil is heavily influenced by earlier Greek mythology, and early Christian writings about the Devil co-opted local mythology in order to gain new converts and discredit popular pagan beliefs.

There are many verses in the Bible that show how how Satan came to be. Some of them are not straight ford but some give a good description. Most of the verses that describe where Satan comes from are in the book of Revelation.

The devil can appear in any shape or form. He has been personified throughout history in literary works such as in Joyce Carol Oates’ ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown’, and Steven King’s ‘The Man In The Black Suit’. In each he has

The Antichrist, Satan, Lucifer… he has many names, and even more roles in our everyday lives. The devil is a way for us as humans to recognize our own flaws, sins, temptations, and our hidden dark side. He is a scapegoat for the carnal nature of humans, and makes our God appear to be a less wicked creator by contrast. An extremely important figure in everything from literature and movies, the devil is necessary for helping humans differentiate from good and evil, whether or not you believe in him as a real, physical being, or as a metaphor. Humans naturally feel compelled to project our own evil onto a seperate, outside entity, as it was deemed unnatural, and the devil is the perfect candidate.

Complex versions of Satan and how opinions change the way we view this dark entity. Satan or Lucifer is a figure of evil among most people and he is most commonly considered the most awful being in the world. The two epic poems by John Milton and Dante Alighieri are two of the most famous peace’s of literature in history. “Paradise Lost” and Dante’s ‘’inferno” contrast by the images of Satan and contrast by the characterization of Satan, but are similar in Satan’s main motives of wanting to corrupt mankind and return to Heaven from which he was exiled from.

In the book of Wisdom, Satan is represented as the father of all lies, who brought death into this world. Satan was the seducer and paramour of Eve, and was hurled from Heaven, with other angels, because of this sin. Since then he has been called "Satan";

In “Paradise Lost” I think that Milton’s character Satan may be considered one of the most complex characters and is always changing. Of course at first he comes off as a very evil guy, who had a strong thirst for vengeance and liked to wreak havoc. Even though

Pagels describes the development of Satan throughout her book and how Christians used Satan to demonetize others. Pagels begins with the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. The Jewish war poisoned the relationship between Jews, “as the revolt spread to towns and cities, the Jewish population divided” (3). Those who were not following Jesus were then labeled as being Satanic and evil for having different views. Pagels describes Satan in earlier times when he was not looked at as a monstrous being but was one of God’s angels, the angel that had a job of “blocking or obstructing human activity” (39). In many eyes this angel would have been viewed as the evil

According to Woodman, “Evil, as presented by Milton, may be defined as a rebellion against the hierarchy of God’s creation.”, but in my opinion, evil is being immoral and vicious. Satan could be described as evil, but because of his reasons to be evil towards God, I don’t really believe he is evil. He is a spoiled, broken child that wants to get back at the deity that wronged him. His entire existence is to seek revenge on God for throwing him and his apostles out of heaven, and shunning them into Hell. Satan just doesn’t come across as evil in Paradise Lost and Milton describes him as a hero that tried to conquer an evil tyrant. Satan has evil qualities in our stories today, but in Book 1 and 2 of Paradise Lost, he is not considered evil. When a person compares what society thinks of Satan today, and how Milton wrote Satan in Paradise Lost, he is considerably not evil.

Satan’s definitions include the advocate of God, a personification of evil, the fallen angel, a spirit created by God, and also the accuser. People see Satan differently, some know of his existence, others think of him as just a myth, and there are those that just ignore him. John Milton's Paradise Lost tells of Satan's banishment from Heaven and his gain of earth. He and his brigade have plotted war against God and are now doomed to billow in the fiery pits of hell. Satan is a complex character with many different qualities. God is a character who we, as Christians, know about but do not completely understand. We also do not completely understand Satan. Some may think they know Satan but when asked “Is Satan divine?”

Following the standards of classic tragic heroes, Satan is a determined leader with an extreme amount of hubris. He knows that God is the most powerful being and yet he still

The character of Satan in this story can also be related to other tragic heroes throughout history.