by Elaine Pagels
★★★★
Not
a new book, but since I’ve recently received a couple more to read
along this topic, I dug this one out and scanned through it as a
reminder.
It’s typical Pagels, opinionated and controversial, but thought-provoking. I love Pagels’ work!
You’ll
read a little about the evolution of ideas regarding Satan, but this is
really not the book’s focus. Her premise is that Satan evolved over
time for a reason, and that reason was to demonize one’s
enemies—primarily the enemies of the Christians. No, not ancient Israel;
Pagels spends almost the entire book within the context of the New
Testament—an appropriate focus, since in the Old Testament Satan is more
of an Adversary under God’s employ. By the time of the New Testament,
though, Satan has morphed into the Prince of Darkness, the leader of all
that is evil in a cosmic battle against good…a battle that found the
Christians caught in the middle. Satan is the natural evolution of an
us-versus-them atmosphere in the arena of religion.
Like
Pagels, I find the war of 70 CE, when the Temple was destroyed and
Jerusalem leveled, more than just a little important to understanding
the development of Christianity. (In fact, I tend to go a bit overboard
on this theme in my books). But Satan isn’t allied only with the Romans;
he also takes the side of the Pharisees (read: Rabbinic Judaism),
Herod, and pagans everywhere. Finally, in later Christian writings,
Satan manages to seduce even Christians, and the war turns against
heretics.
Fun book, and a different take from what the title may make you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment