[PDF] To Make A Hell Of Heaven The Influence Of Pre Christian Deities On Medieval European Devil Folklore eBook

Author : Dimitri Dikhel
Publisher : GRIN Verlag
Page : 19 pages
File Size : 10,71 MB
Release : 2020-11-23
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 3346300471

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Essay from the year 2020 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,5, Ruhr-University of Bochum, language: English, abstract: In this essay I am going to argue that the medieval perception of the Devil incorporated iconography previously associated with the deities of pre-Christian Europe as part of their demonization under the interpretatio Christiana. While numerous literary portrayals of Satan from that period draw from “heathen” imagery, they do not always exemplify the larger trend of demonizing pagan gods. Although Satan’s tricephalic form in Dante’s Divina Commedia is likely to have been at least partially inspired by the Greek goddess Hecate, for instance, there do not seem to have been enough depictions of the Devil as having three faces to use this as an example of how Hecate was demonized. It is the more prevalent, folkloric portrayals of the Devil with hooves, horns, a forked tongue and carrying a pitchfork, bearing little resemblance to his theological counterpart (cf. Russell, Lucifer), that highlight the interpretatio Christiana of the Germanic Æsir and the Greco-Roman pantheon. As Richard Kiekhefer states in Magic in the Middle Ages (1989), “orthodox opinion” in early medieval Europe “held that pagan religion was no true religion but mere demon-worship”. Thus, while figures such as Loki were imbued with Satanic qualities in later retellings of Norse myths, reinterpreting his shapeshifting and gender-fluidness as a sign of evil, iconography associated with Norse and Greco-Roman gods, such as goat legs, dogs, snakes and tridents, was incorporated into medieval Christian Devil folklore.

Author : Allan Wright
Publisher : Vernon Press
Page : pages
File Size : 41,77 MB
Release : 2018-01-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1622733568

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In this monograph, the author argues that Satan was not perceived as a universal malevolent deity, the embodiment of evil, or the “ruler of Pandemonium” within first century Christian literature or even within second and third century Christian discourses as some scholars have insisted. Instead, for early “Christian” authors, Satan represented a pejorative term used to describe terrestrial, tangible, and concrete social realities, perceived of as adversaries. To reach this conclusion, I explore the narrative character of Satan selectively within the Hebrew Bible, intertestamental literature, Mark, Matthew, Luke, Q, the Book of Revelation, the Nag Hammadi texts, and the Ante-Nicene fathers. He argues that certain scholars’ such as Jeffrey Burton Russell, Miguel A. De La Torre, Albert Hernandez, Peter Stanford, Paul Carus, and Gerd Theissen, homogenized reconstructions of the “New Testament Satan” as the universalized incarnation of evil and that God’s absolute cosmic enemy is absent from early Christian orthodox literature, such as Mark, Matthew, Luke, Q, the Book of Revelation, and certain writings from the Ante-Nicene Fathers. Using Jonathan Z. Smith’s essay Here, There, and Anywhere, the author suggests that the cosmic dualist approach to Satan as God’s absolute cosmic enemy resulted from the changing social topography of the early fourth century where Christian “insider” and “outsider” adversaries were diminishing. With these threats fading, early Christians universalized a perceived chaotic cosmic enemy, namely Satan, being influenced by the Gnostic demiurge, who disrupts God’s terrestrial and cosmic order. Therefore, Satan transitioned from a “here,” “insider,” and “there,” “outsider,” threat to a universal “anywhere” threat. This study could be employed as a characterization study, New Testament theory and application for classroom references or research purposes.

Author : Allan Wright
Publisher : Vernon Press
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 33,11 MB
Release : 2017-10-31
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1622732871

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In this monograph, I argue that Satan was not perceived as a universal malevolent deity, the embodiment of evil, or the “ruler of Pandemonium” within first century Christian literature or even within second and third century Christian discourses as some scholars have insisted. Instead, for early “Christian” authors, Satan represented a pejorative term used to describe terrestrial, tangible, and concrete social realities, perceived of as adversaries. To reach this conclusion, I explore the narrative character of Satan selectively within the Hebrew Bible, intertestamental literature, Mark, Matthew, Luke, Q, the Book of Revelation, the Nag Hammadi texts, and the Ante-Nicene fathers. I argue that certain scholars’ such as Jeffrey Burton Russell, Miguel A. De La Torre, Albert Hernandez, Peter Stanford, Paul Carus, and Gerd Theissen, homogenized reconstructions of the “New Testament Satan” as the universalized incarnation of evil and that God’s absolute cosmic enemy is absent from early Christian orthodox literature, such as Mark, Matthew, Luke, Q, the Book of Revelation, and certain writings from the Ante-Nicene Fathers. Using Jonathan Z. Smith’s essay Here, There, and Anywhere, I suggest that the cosmic dualist approach to Satan as God’s absolute cosmic enemy resulted from the changing social topography of the early fourth century where Christian “insider” and “outsider” adversaries were diminishing. With these threats fading, early Christians universalized a perceived chaotic cosmic enemy, namely Satan, being influenced by the Gnostic demiurge, who disrupts God’s terrestrial and cosmic order. Therefore, Satan transitioned from a “here,” “insider,” and “there,” “outsider,” threat to a universal “anywhere” threat. This study could be employed as a characterization study, New Testament theory and application for classroom references or research purposes.

Author : Miguel A. De La Torre
Publisher : Fortress Press
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 25,83 MB
Release :
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1451414811

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For centuries the figure of Satan has incarnated absolute evil. Existing alongside more intellectualist interpretations of evil, Satan has figured largely in Christian practices, devotions, popular notions of the afterlife, and fears of retribution in the beyond. Satan remains an influential reality today in many Christian traditions and in popular culture. But how should Satan be understood today? "The Quest for the Historical Satan excavates cultural, historical, religious, and morally constructed productions of evil within Christianity, from myth and legend to the complex ways people conjure the embodiment of evil and harm. De La Torre and Hernßndez are engaging sleuths as they carefully examine Satan's conception and his presence in modernity and through the ages. The wrestle with the spiritual notions of Good and Evil and justice and injustice.-Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan Professor of Theology and Women's Studies Shaw University Divinity School

Author : Gary Randall Wallace
Publisher : Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
Page : 55 pages
File Size : 34,36 MB
Release : 2022-02-09
Category : Religion
ISBN : 109808991X

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The devil (Satan) has been able to fool the church and Christians ever since the early church went to bed with Rome around AD 330 under Emperor Constantine, who supposedly had a conversion to Christianity. The pagan religion brought all the false teachings and false gods all the way back to Egypt. And that system is just as false today. Repeatedly God warned the Jews in the Old and New Testaments that there are no gods but He alone. Yet we're still taught that by a rebellion Lucifer and Satan fell from heaven, which would make them gods. But the scripture verse in 1 Samuel 15:23 states specifically "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft." And there is absolutely no sin in the third heaven or there would be death in heaven. So the title To Hell with the Devil: It's Time to Blow the Lid Off Lucifer's Coffin. This will certainly make Satan uncontrollable mad and upset if this book comes to publication. He does not like being exposed as the complete liar that he has been from the beginning. Unfortunately, because of the past presidential election of 2020, he has managed to get his foot in the door of the US government. But he won't be satisfied until he takes over the entire USA. And as long as Christians and Patriots remain silent, it will all be over but the shouting. What I have written from the word of God only is the absolute truth. But as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said to those Serpents (Sadducees and Pharisees) in John 8:40, "But now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth which I heard of God." And as the apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears and they will turn from the truth and shall and shall be turned unto fables." That is certainly what has happened in our time. But Satan's ultimate goal is the complete destruction of God's church.

Author : Alan E. Bernstein
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 409 pages
File Size : 12,13 MB
Release : 2020-06-30
Category : History
ISBN : 150171175X

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What becomes of the wicked? Hell—exile from God, subjection to fire, worms, and darkness—for centuries the idea has shaped the dread of malefactors, the solace of victims, and the deterrence of believers. Although we may associate the notion of hell with Christian beliefs, its gradual emergence depended on conflicting notions that pervaded the Mediterranean world more than a millennium before the birth of Christ. Asking just why and how belief in hell arose, Alan E. Bernstein takes us back to those times and offers us a comparative view of the philosophy, poetry, folklore, myth, and theology of that formative age.Bernstein draws on sources from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and Israel, as well as early Christian writings through Augustine, in order to reconstruct the story of the prophets, priests, poets, and charismatic leaders who fashioned concepts of hell from an array of perspectives on death and justice. The author traces hell's formation through close readings of works including the epics of Homer and Vergil, the satires of Lucian, the dialogues of Plato and Plutarch, the legends of Enoch, the confessions of the Psalms, the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezechiel, and Daniel, and the parables of Jesus. Reenacting lively debates about the nature of hell among the common people and the elites of diverse religious traditions, he provides new insight into the social implications and the psychological consequences of different visions of the afterlife.This superb account of a central image in Western culture will captivate readers interested in history, mythology, literature, psychology, philosophy, and religion.

Author : Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Page : 80 pages
File Size : 22,90 MB
Release : 2018-02-09
Category :
ISBN : 9781985198869

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*Includes pictures of historic art depicting the Devil and Hell. *Explains the origins of the belief in Hell, and the way in which descriptions of Hell changed over time. *Includes a Bibliography for further reading. The Catholic Church has defined Hell as "a state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed," but the images most have of the Devil and Hell are far more vivid. Even non-Christians are fully familiar with the idea of Hell being a fiery realm of eternal damnation, and the Devil has been depicted so frequently in literature, movies, and television that the figure is instantly recognizable. While most people know the fairly consistent description of Hell that exists today, the description of Hell has evolved countless times over the centuries, including within the Christian faith. During medieval times, many Christian writers described parts or all of Hell as cold and desolate places, going as far back as the 4th century work Apocalypse of Paul. At the same time, the concepts of the Devil and Hell are not unique to Christianity; other major faiths have similar concepts, while ancient religions had an underworld and assorted characters, such as the Greeks' Hades. Satan, the Devil, and the History of Hell looks at the historical origins of these crucial concepts, as well as the evolution of them over time among Christian and Jewish works, in an effort to trace the history and development of them as central religious tenets. This work includes pictures of historic artwork and a bibliography.

Author : Gábor Klaniczay
Publisher : Central European University Press
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 33,93 MB
Release : 2006-10-10
Category : History
ISBN : 6155211019

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The authors—recognized historians, ethnologists, folklorists coming from four continents—present the latest research findings on the relationship, coexistence and conflicts of popular belief systems, Judeo-Christian mythology and demonology in medieval and modern Europe. The present volume focuses on the divergence between Western and Eastern evolution, on the different relationship of learned demonology to popular belief systems in the two parts of Europe. It discusses the conflict of saints, healers, seers, shamans with the representatives of evil; the special function of escorting, protecting, possessing, harming and healing spirits; the role of the dead, the ghosts, of pre-Christian, Jewish and Christian spirit-world, the antagonism of the devil and the saint.