The Christian Satan
Ask any American Christian about Satan and they will probably describe an evil being who hates God and Christians, but this has not always been the case. Much of the present day Christian views on Satan began to take shape during the beginning of Christianity. Early Christian writers helped shape the development of Satan, including his influence on humanity, within the boundaries of the Christian tradition. Such ideas created the framework for the writings of the New Testament. Satan transforms from God’s servant in the divine council of heaven to directly acting against God and humanity. The Hebrew Bible’s interpretation of Satan and his apparent fall from heaven helped form the Christian view on Satan, which greatly influenced …show more content…
The passage in Isaiah chapter 14 describes the fall of the king of Babylon, which often gets interpreted as symbolizing the fall of Satan from heaven. Whether Satan fell from heaven to Earth or from heaven to the underworld remains up to interpretation. Isaiah 14:12 states, “How you have fallen from heaven, O Day Star, Son of Dawn”. Later translated into Latin, “O Day Star, Son of Dawn” became another name for Satan—Lucifer (Russel The Prince 35). A passage from Ezekiel also describes the fall of another king, the king of Tyre. This passage may explain why Satan fell from heaven. “Your heart was proud because of your beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12), often gets interpreted to mean Satan fell from heaven because he became too prideful of his appearance (Russel The Prince 43). The possible descriptions of Satan’s descent from heaven helps describe his havoc on Earth in the New Testament, especially with Jesus’ arrival to …show more content…
The New Testament emphasizes that without Jesus, who came to heal the relationship between God and people, Christians are subject to sin and thus are susceptible to Satan’s power. In the early beginning of Christianity the fear of impending evil was of great concern to the Christian church. They believed anyone outside of the Christian community did not just have a difference of opinion, but were a part of the cosmic war between good and evil. The church constantly feared being torn apart from heresy within the church (Russell The Prince 64). The early Christian church quickly realized they needed to clearly enforce their beliefs in order to keep Christianity
Ask any American Christian about Satan and they will probably describe an evil being who hates God and Christians, but this has not always been the case. Much of the present day Christian views on Satan began to take shape during the beginning of Christianity. Early Christian writers helped shape the development of Satan, including his influence on humanity, within the boundaries of the Christian tradition. Such ideas created the framework for the writings of the New Testament. Satan transforms from God’s servant in the divine council of heaven to directly acting against God and humanity. The Hebrew Bible’s interpretation of Satan and his apparent fall from heaven helped form the Christian view on Satan, which greatly influenced …show more content…
The passage in Isaiah chapter 14 describes the fall of the king of Babylon, which often gets interpreted as symbolizing the fall of Satan from heaven. Whether Satan fell from heaven to Earth or from heaven to the underworld remains up to interpretation. Isaiah 14:12 states, “How you have fallen from heaven, O Day Star, Son of Dawn”. Later translated into Latin, “O Day Star, Son of Dawn” became another name for Satan—Lucifer (Russel The Prince 35). A passage from Ezekiel also describes the fall of another king, the king of Tyre. This passage may explain why Satan fell from heaven. “Your heart was proud because of your beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12), often gets interpreted to mean Satan fell from heaven because he became too prideful of his appearance (Russel The Prince 43). The possible descriptions of Satan’s descent from heaven helps describe his havoc on Earth in the New Testament, especially with Jesus’ arrival to …show more content…
The New Testament emphasizes that without Jesus, who came to heal the relationship between God and people, Christians are subject to sin and thus are susceptible to Satan’s power. In the early beginning of Christianity the fear of impending evil was of great concern to the Christian church. They believed anyone outside of the Christian community did not just have a difference of opinion, but were a part of the cosmic war between good and evil. The church constantly feared being torn apart from heresy within the church (Russell The Prince 64). The early Christian church quickly realized they needed to clearly enforce their beliefs in order to keep Christianity