From the Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2nd Ed. -------------------------------------------------------------------- _Devil_ A name derived from the Greek *Diabolos*, meaning "slanderer." The name is used for the supreme spirit of evil, the enemy of God and man. In primitive religious systems there is no conception of evil, and the gods are neither good nor bad, as we conceive of these terms, but may possess "good" and "bad" attributes at one and the same time. Thus we have very few traces of beings which are absolutely evil in the older religions, and it may be broadly stated that the conception of Satan as we have it today is almost purely Hebrew and Christian. In Egypt and Babylon, figures like Apepi and Tiawath, although clearly in the line of evolution of a Satanic personality, are by no means rulers of the infernal regions. Again the Hades of the Greeks is merely a ruler of the shades of the dead, and not an enemy of Olympus or mankind. It is strange that in Mexico, Mictlantecutli, lord of hell, is a much more directly Satanic figure than any European mythologies, there are frequent allusions to monsters who may quite easily have colored our conception of Satan. Such is the Hindu serpent Ahi, and the Hebrew Leviathan, the principle of Chaos. In the Teutonic mythology we have the menacing shape of Loki, originally a god of fire, but afterwards the personification of evil. The conception of Satan, too, appears to have some deeply-rooted connection with ancient serpent-worship, which seems to have penetrated most oriental countries. Thus we find the Tempter in the Old Testament in the guise of a serpent. The serpent or dragon is being generally regarded as the personification of night who swallows the sun and envelops the world in darkness. It is thought that the Hebrew conception of Satan arose in the post-exilic period, and exhibits traces of Babylonian or Assyrian influence. It is not likely that before the captivity any specific doctrine respecting evil spirits was held by the Hebrews. Writing on this subject, F. T. Hall in his book "The Pedigree of the Devil" (1882) stated: The term 'Satan' and 'Satans' which occur in the Old Testament, are certainly not applicable to the modern conception of Satan as a spirit of evil; althought it is not difficult to detect in the Old Hebrew mind a fruitful soil, in which the idea of a 'Satan' is that of an 'adversary,' or agent of 'opposition.' The angel which is said to have withstood Balaam is in the same breath spoken of as 'The angel of the Lord,' and a 'Satan.' When the Philistines [sic] under Achish their king was about to commence hostilities against the Israelites under Saul and David and his men were about to march with the Philistines; the latter objected, lest, in the day of battle, David should become a 'Satan' to them, by deserting to the enemy. When David, in later life, was returning to Jerusalem, after Absalom's rebellion and death; and his lately disaffected subjects were, in turn, making their submission; amongst them came the truculent Shimei: Abishai, David's nephew, one of the fierce sons of Zeruiah, advised that Shimei should be put to death: this grated upon David's feelings, at a time whn he was filled with exuberant joy at his own restoration; and he rebuked Abishai as a 'Satan'. Again Satan is said to have provoked David to number Israel, and at the same time, that 'the Lord moved David to number Israel;' a course strenuously opposed by Joab, another of the sons of Zeruiah. Solomon in his message to Hiram, King of Tyre, congratulated himself on having no 'Satans' and that this peaceful immunity from discord enabled him to build the Temple, which had been forbidden to his warlike father, David. This immunity was not, however, lasting; for Hadad, the Edomite, and Regon, of Zobah, became 'Satans' to Solomon, after his profuse luxury had opened the way for corruption and disaffection. In all these cases, the idea is simply identical with the plain meaning of the word: a Satan is an opponent, an adversary. In the elaborate curse embodied in the 109th Psalm, the writer speaks of his enemies as 'Satans' and prays that the object of his anathema may have 'Satan' standing at his right hand. The Psalmist himself, in the sequel, fairly assumes the office of his enemy's 'Satan,' by enumerating his crimes and failings, and exposing them in their worst light. In the 71st Psalm, enemies (v. 10) are identified with 'Satans' ore adversaries (v. 13). The only other places in the Old Testament where the word occurs, are in the Book of Job, and the prophecy of Zechariah. In the Book of Job, Satan appears with a distinct personality, and is associated with the sons of God, and in attendance with them before the throne of Jehovah. He is the cynical critic of Job's actions, and in that character he accuses him of insincerety and instability; and receives permission from Jehovah to test the justice of this accusation, by afflicting Job in everything he holds dear. We have here the spy, the informer, the public prosecutor, the executioner; all embodied in Satan, the adversary: these attributes are not amiable ones, but the writer does not suggest the absolute antagonism between Jehovah and Satan, which is a fundamental dogma of modern Christianity. In the prophecy of Zechariah, Satan again, with an apparent personality, is represented as standing at the right hand of Joshua, the high- priest, to resist him: he seems to be claiming strict justice against one open to accusation; for Joshua is clothed in filthy garments -- the type of sin and pollution. Jehovah relents, and mercy triumphs over justice: the filthy rags are taken away, and fair raiment substituted. Even here, the character of Satan, although hard, is not devoid of virtue, for it evinces a sense of justice. The Babylonians, among whom the Hebrews dwelt during the Captivity, believed in the existence of vast multitudes of spirits, both good and bad, but there is nothing to show that the Hebrews took over from them any extensive pantheon, either good or evil. Indeed the Hebrew and Babylonian religions possessed many things in common, and there was no necessity that the captive Jews should borrow an animism which they probably already possessed. At the same time it is likely that they adopted the idea of an evil agency from their captors, and as the genius of their religion was averse to polytheism, the probabilities are that they welded the numerous evil forces of Babylonia into one central figure. Again, it must have occurred to them that if the world contained an evil principle, it could not possibly emanate from God, whom they regarded as all-good, and it was probably with the intention of separating all evil from God that the personality of Satan (having regard to the amount of evil in the universe) was invested with such importance. In later Judaism we find the conception of Satan strongly colored by Persian dualism, and it has been supposed that Asmodeus of the Book of Tobit is the same as Aeshara Daewa of the Ancient Persians. Both "Satan" and "Satans" were mentioned in the Book of Enoch, and in Ecclesiasticus Satan was identified with the serpent of Genesis, and in the "Book of Secrets of Enoch" his revolt against God and expulsion from Heaven are described. In the Jewish Targinn, Sammael, highest of the angels, merges with Satan into a single personality. The Satan of the New Testament is clearly a reproduction of these later Jewish forms. In Matthew he is alluded to as the "Prince of Demons," and in Ephesians is spoken of as ruling over a world of evil beings who dwell in the lower heavens. Thus he is a prince of the powers of the air. In Revelation the war in Heaven between God and Satan is described, and his imprisonment is fore- shadowed after the overthrow of the Beast and the Kings of the earth, when he will be chained in the bottomless pit for one thousand years. After another period of freedom he is finally cast into the lake of brimstone for ever. According to the modern orthodox Christian belief, Satan has been endowed with great powers for the purpose of tempting man to prove his fortitude. In the Middle Ages, the belief in Satan and Satanic agencies was overwhelming, and was inherited by Protestantism from Roman Catholicism. There is much controversy as to the likelihood of the existence of an evil being, but the great consensus of Christian theological opinion has tended in favor of such a theory.... --------------------------------------------------- Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2nd Ed., edited and revised by Leslie Shepard, Gale Research Company, 1984; pp. 328-9. ______________________________________________________ _Devil Worship_ (1) The worship of Satan or Lucifer. (2) The worship by semi- civilized or barbarous people, of deities having a demoniac form. The Worship of Satan or diabolism is spasmodic and occasionally epidemic. It dates from the early days of dualism and perhaps originated in the Persian dual system when the opposing deities Ormuzd and Ahriman symbolized the good and bad principles respectively. Instances of pure Satanism are comparatively rare, and it must not be confused with the Sabbatic orgies of witchcraft which partake more of the nature of (2), or with the evocation of the Evil One for the purpose of making a pact with him. Modern groups practicing Satanism are, of course, a conspicuous part of the revival of occultism and witchcraft in the twentieth century. Concerning the cultus of Lucifer, much discrimination is required in dealing with this aspect, the bulk of the literature on the subject being manifestly imaginative and often wilfully misleading. The members of the church of Lucifer are of two groups, those who regard the deity they adore as the evil principle, thus approximating to the standpoint of the Satanists, and those who look upon him as the true god in opposition to Adonai or Jehovah, whom they regard as an evil deity who has, with fiendish ingenuity, miscreated the world of man to the detriment of humanity. The latter view derives largely from the heresies of the _Albigenses_ and the _Cathari_. Much of the literature of diabolism is written from the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church, and some hold the theory that it was composed to subserve the necessities of that institution. But this cannot be wholly true, as it is a substantial fact that hosts have been frequently stolen from Catholic churches for the purpose of Satanic rites which require the destruction of the consecrated wafer as a ritual act.... So far as the ceremonies of non-Christian peoples are concerned, "devil worship" is a misnomer, as the "devils" adored by them are deities in their eyes, and only partake of the diabolic nature in the view of missionaries and others. But inasmuch as the gods possess demoniac form they may be classed as diabolic. ...The Chinese also used to placate devils... as also the people of _Burma_ and _Cambodia_ but in no sense can their oblations to evil spirits be classed as "worship," any more than the gods of classic times may be regarded as devils, simply because they were so labelled by early Christianity. Another group of reputed devil worshipers is the Yezidi sect of Kurdistan, who regard the world as the creation of Lucifer, the fallen angel, whom they propitiate in the symbolic form of the peacock. This faith has some resemblance to aspects of the Gnostic and Albigensian heresies of Christianity.... Ibid, pp. 328-331. __________________ EOF