The Origin of Satan
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Book Overview
From the National Book Award-winning and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of The Gnostic Gospels comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition.... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0679401407
ISBN13:9780679401407
Release Date:May 1995
Publisher:Random House
Length:214 Pages
Weight:1.01 lbs.
Dimensions:9.5" x 1.0" x 6.5"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
More like a "social history" of Satan
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
This is extremely good and informative. Pagels is not out to discuss the origin of the big bad spirit with horns, but the ways in which "religious" people have employed the idea of Satan to characterize their enemies or oppressors. One chapter is called "The Social History of Satan," and I almost think this would have been a better title for the whole book. Pagels also presents fascinating information on the many strains of thought in early Christianity; it made me want to read the recently (50 years ago) recovered "Gospel of Phillip" in particular.
Well written and very informative...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
Elaine Pagels is not only a respected researcher in the area of Gnosticism and Early Christian History, but she is also an excellent writer that conveys complex ideas with simplicity and eloquence. She has the ability, unlike many scholars, to explain history with a lively wit and style that helps to keep an average reader's attention while at the same time revealing scholarship and logical thought. This book explains the evolution of Satan as an idea from its beginnings in the Old Testament to the beliefs of Orthodox Christians of the early first millennia and those of the Gnostics. This is a must read for all who wish to learn about Christianity and the origins of one of its main precepts.
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