Satan
A Biography

This study shows how the Satan of the New Testament became the modern day personification of evil.

Henry Ansgar Kelly (Author)

9780521604024, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 14 August 2006

376 pages, 15 b/w illus.
22.9 x 16 x 2 cm, 0.5 kg

'In this succinct study, he adopts the role of Satan's unofficial spin doctor. The result is entertaining as well as rigourous. … What could have been a crawling survey is in fact a lively and sane account that does much to rehabilitate Satan's reputation. Kelly's conclusions will surprise many…Kelly displays impressive control of his material attuned to nuances in Hebrew, Greek and Latin.' The Times Literary Supplement

Christians traditionally think of Satan as Lucifer, God's enemy, who rebelled against Him out of pride and then caused Adam and Eve to sin. But, as Kelly shows, this portrayal is not biblical but a scenario invented by the early Fathers of the Church which became the 'New Biography of Satan'. The 'Original Biography' must be reconstructed from the New Testament where Satan is the same sort of celestial functionary we see in the Book of Job - appointed to govern the world, specifically to monitor and test human beings. But he is brutal and deceitful in his methods, and Jesus predicts that his rule will soon come to an end. Kelly traces the further developments of the 'New Biography': humankind's inherited guilt, captivity by Satan, and punishment in Hell at his hands. This profile of Satan remains dominant, but Kelly urges a return to the 'Original Biography of Satan'.

List of illustrations
List of abbreviations
Introduction
Part I. Hebrew Backgrounds: 1. The Old Testament
2. Apocryphal works and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Part II. The New Testament: Satan Comes Into His Own: 3. St Paul, the first Christian writer
4. The four Gospels
5. Later Epistles
6. The apocalypse of John the Divine
7. Putting the New Testament together: a composite portrait of Satan in canonical order
Part III. Satan and Adam: 8. Satan's original sin: felling Adam
Part IV. The Rise of the Fallen Lucifer: 9. Lucifer and the new biography of Satan
10. Satan and the human race
11. Theorizing Satan
12. Satan in literature and art
Part V. Satan in the Modern World: 13. Temptation and possession
14. Doubts and affirmations
Summary and conclusion
Index of passages
General index.

Subject Areas: Christian theology [HRCM], Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG], History of religion [HRAX], Literature: history & criticism [DS]