Book Reviewed: The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans and Heretics by Elaine Pagels

The spiritual battles with Satan (five stars) The study of the Satan in the biblical literature is fascinating. Author Elaine Pagels offers an interesting discussion largely from the point of New Testament. The crucial issue is the irreconcilable paradox: if God is benevolent and omnipotent, then why does He permit evil? Or do we live in a world made of two forces, God, and the Devil? Satan is also called Lucifer. In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, often identified as the serpent in the Garden of Eden. In Christianism, he is considered as a fallen angel who rebelled against God but retained power over human beings. In the Synoptic Gospels, Satan tempts Jesus in the desert. He is identified as the cause of illness and temptation (Mark 1:12–13, Matthew 4:1–11, and Luke 4:1–13). Satan plays a role in some of the parables of Jesus, namely the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Weeds, Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, and the Parable of the Strong Man. According to the Parable of the Sower, Satan influences those who fail to understand the gospel. The gospel of Mark mentions angels only in the opening verse (1:13) and in the final verses of the original manuscript (Mark 16:5-7). He characterizes Jesus' ministry as involving continual struggle between God's spirit and the demons who belong to Satan's "kingdom" (Mark 3:23-27). For nearly two thousand years Christians believed that Jews killed Jesus and the Romans were merely their agents. Examination of synoptic gospels in the historical context reveals that they are theological treatise of a historical biography. The authors of Matthew and Luke based on the gospel of Mark revised in different ways. They each added their own interpretation of the source materials from earlier traditions like, oral tradition, anecdotes, and parables. The gospel of Mark was written more than a generation after Jesus' death, and the other synoptic gospels nearly two generations later. The gospel writers tended to downplay the role of Romans in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Jewish war against Rome. In fact, the Jesus' execution was imposed by the Romans for activities they considered seditious. Each author of synoptic gospels shapes a narrative to respond to circumstances that surrounded them in ancient Israel. Christians as they read the gospels have identified themselves with the apostles. They have also identified their opponents, Romans, Jews, pagans, and heretics with forces of evil. The book is academic but numerous references are provided for readers interested in the history of gospels and the evolving idea of Satan in the New Testament. Highly recommended to those interested in the ancient history of Israel and the early Christian traditions.