Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: It is strange but true: belief in the Devil is alive. This fact is \nbrilliantly argued by Robert Muchembled in his book A History \nof the Devil: From the Middle Ages to the Present (2003). He \nsays: “In fact, for almost a thousand years, he had never really \ngone away. The devil has been part of the fabric of European \nlife since the Middle Ages, and has accompanied all its major \nchanges” (Muchembled 2003:1). This article presents a brief \nhistory of the origin and development of the belief in Satan \nfrom the First Temple period (950–586 BCE) to the Second \nTemple period (539 BCE–70 CE) in order to answer the \nquestions: When did the belief in the Satan appear? Could \nJudaism and Christianity do without this character? \nIf you asked a theologian the question (...): Who is \nSatan? he would doubtless answer: Satan is the \nCommander-in-chief of the fallen angels. \n(Corte 1958:7)
Author: Izak J.J. Spangenberg
Institution: University of South Africa
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2155283005