Devil

The Devil is the name given to a supernatural entity who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. This entity is commonly referred to by a variety of other names, including Satan, Asmodai, Beelzebub, Lucifer and/or Mephistopheles. In classic demonology, however, each of these alternate names refers to a specific supernatural entity, and there is significant disagreement as to whether any of these specific entities is actually evil. The English word devil is derived from the Greek word diabolos ("to slander"), and the term devil can refer to a greater demon in the hierarchy of Hell. In other languages devil may be derived from the same Indo-European root word for deva, which roughly translates as "angel".

Concept of The Devil in World Religions

Christianity

Christianity understands the Devil in the context of the Old Testament. Unlike Manichaeism which teaches a coeval dualism, Christians see the devil as a corrupted or fallen angel. He was Lucifer, an angel in authority before the Creation (theology) who fell because of pride and because he waged a war against God. The key fact in understanding the devil is that he was originally a holy being who was corrupted by pride.

Related Topics:
Christianity - Old Testament - Manichaeism - Dualism - Lucifer - Creation (theology) - God - Pride

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Catholic Scholar Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica said:

Related Topics:
Catholic - Thomas Aquinas - Summa Theologica

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"An angel or any other rational creature considered in his own nature, can sin; and to whatever creature it belongs not to sin, such creature has it as a gift of grace, and not from the condition of nature. The reason of this is, because sinning is nothing else than a deviation from that rectitude which an act ought to have; whether we speak of sin in nature, art, or morals. That act alone, the rule of which is the very virtue of the agent, can never fall short of rectitude. Were the craftsman's hand the rule itself engraving, he could not engrave the wood otherwise than rightly; but if the rightness of engraving be judged by another rule, then the engraving may be right or faulty." (ST I.63.1, italics added)

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Commonly-quoted Bible-texts are:

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The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you — all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones — all those who were kings over the nations.

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They will all respond, they will say to you, "You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us."

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All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.

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How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

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You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

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I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

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But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

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Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?" ({{bibleverse||Isaiah|14:9-17|NIV}} - this is commonly held to be a dual prophecy about the King of Babylon and Satan)

Related Topics:
Dual prophecy - Babylon

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"And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." ({{bibleverse||Revelation|12:7-9|NIV}})

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The epic poem by John Milton Paradise Lost has a stylized depiction of the devil that influenced C. S. Lewis (The Screwtape Letters and Space Trilogy), and the J. R. R. Tolkien characters Melkor and Sauron.

Related Topics:
Epic - John Milton - Paradise Lost - C. S. Lewis - The Screwtape Letters - Space Trilogy - J. R. R. Tolkien - Melkor - Sauron

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Islam

In Islam the Devil is referred to as Shaitan or Iblis. According to the Qur'an, God created the Devil out of ?smokeless fire?, understood as a metaphor, while he created man out of clay. The primary characteristic of the Devil, besides hubris, is that he has no power other than the power to cast evil suggestions into the heart of men.

Related Topics:
Shaitan - Iblis - Qur'an

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According to the verses of the Qur?an, the Devil is given time until the Resurrection Day (yaum-ul-qiyama) to deceive Adam's children (mankind). After that, he will be put into the fires of Hell along with those whom he has deceived. The Devil is also referred to as one of the Jinns (genies), as they are all created from the smokeless fires.

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The Devil was expelled from the order of high-ranking Malakhs (archangels) when he failed to pay homage to Adam, the father of all mankind. He claimed to be superior than Adam, on the grounds that man was created of earth unlike himself. Even the other angels showed a degree of suspicion when Allah informed them about the creation of man as the regent (caliph) of all things on Earth, but they ultimately prostrated before Adam to show their homage. However, Iblis, adamant in his view that man is a worthless being, never bowed his head before any other than Allah (like a strong monotheist - Sufi writings expound on this fact). This caused him to be expelled by Allah from the position of archangel, a fact that Iblis blamed on humanity. Initially, the Devil was successful in deceiving Adam, but once his intentions became clear, Adam and Eve repented to Allah and were freed from their misdeeds and forgiven. Allah gave them a strong warning about Iblis and the fires of Hell and asked them and their children (humankind) to stay away from the deceptions of their senses caused by the Devil. (For a more detailed account, see Shaitan.)

Related Topics:
Archangels - Monotheist - Sufi - Adam and Eve - Shaitan

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The Holy Qur'an does not depict Shaitan as the enemy of Allah, for Allah is supreme over all his creations and Iblis is just one of his creations. Unlike the Zoroastrian beliefs, all good and bad deeds are from Allah himself and only he can save humanity from the evils of his universe and his creations. Shaitan's single enemy is humanity. He intends to discourage humans from obeying God. Thus, humankind is warned to struggle (jihad) against the mischiefs of the Shaitan and temptations he puts them in. The ones who succeed in this are rewarded with Paradise (jannath ul firdaus), attainable only by righteous conduct.

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Ayyavazhi

Ayyavazhi, officially an offshoot of Hinduism, in Tamil Nadu, believes in a Satan-like figure, Kroni. Kroni, according to Ayyavazhi is the primordial manifestation of evil and manifests in various forms of evil, i.e., Ravana, Duryodhana, etc., in different ages or yugas. In response to such manifestation of evil, believers, in Ayya-Vazhi religion believe that God, as Vishnu manifests in His avatars, Rama, Krishna, to destroy evil. Evantualy, the Ekam with the spirit (the spirit taken by Narayana only for incarnating in the world) of Narayana incarnates in the world as Ayya Vaikundar to destroy the final manifestaion of Kroni, Kaliyan.

Related Topics:
Ayyavazhi - Satan - Kroni - Ravana - Duryodhana - Yugas - Vishnu - Avatars - Rama - Krishna - Ekam - Narayana - Ayya Vaikundar - Kaliyan

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Kroni, the spirit of Kali Yuga is said to be omnipresent in this age and that is why one of the reasons, followers of Ayya Vazhi, like other Hindus, believe that the current yuga, Kali Yuga is so degraded.

Related Topics:
Kali Yuga

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Judaism

In Hebrew, the biblical word ha-satan means adversary or obstacle, or even "the prosecutor" (recognizing that God is viewed as the ultimate Judge).

Related Topics:
Hebrew - Prosecutor - Judge

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In the book of Job (Iyov), ha-satan is the title, not the proper name, of an angel submitted to God; he is the divine court's chief prosecutor. After God points out Job's piety, ha-satan asks for permission to test the faith of Job. The righteous man is afflicted with loss of family, property, and later, health, but he still stays faithful to God. At the conclusion of this book God appears as a whirlwind, explaining to all that divine justice is inscrutable with human intellect. In the epilog Job's possessions are restored and he has a second family to "replace" the one that died.

Related Topics:
Book of Job - Angel - Job - Whirlwind

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There is no evidence in Torah, or in the books of the Prophets and other writings, to suggest that God created an evil being. In fact, the Book of Isaiah, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Deuteronomy all have passages which, in the King James Version, may imply that God himself creates the evil of this world, for example:

Related Topics:
Torah - Prophets - Evil - Book of Isaiah - Ecclesiastes - Deuteronomy - King James Version

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"I form light and create darkness,

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I make weal and create evil,

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I the Lord do all these things"

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(Isaiah 45:7, King James Version)

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The Hebrew word for evil used above is usually translated as 'calamity', 'disaster' or 'chaos' in more recent translations, removing the implication that God is responsible for the moral evil in the world.

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According to some scholars the serpent of Genesis had no direct connection with such a being either, and it was only later that people came to believe that a being in opposition to God existed, and back-read such beliefs into the Hebrew Bible. These scholars believe that later Christian theologians and philosophers read the Torah and determined that God must have created some being to at least temporarily afflict mankind with plagues and lamentation in an attempt to turn true believers from God, later to be purified through fire.

Related Topics:
Serpent - Genesis - Mankind

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