Where does Satan mythology come from?

Question

the old testament has almost no mention of satan and from what ive read in the new testament there is not much specifics about him, so where does all this fall from heaven, original sin, satan in the garden of eden, stuff come from? I admit I know the old testament much more than the new but if anyone knows the origin of Stan mythology, i am curious and would like to know. And I am sorry if using the word mythology offends people, but as a Jew, I don't belive in any of that stuf and i have no better word to call it.

Answer 1

In ancient Jewish tradition Satan is simply an angel doing the work that God assigned to Satan to do.

The word Satan means challenger. With the idea of Satan challenging us, or tempting if you will. This description sees Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. This idea of Satan works closely with God as an integral part of God plan for us. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it becomes clear to us that there can be only one meaningful or logical choice.

Contrast this to Christianity, which sees Satan as God's opponent. In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be considered polytheistic or setting up the devil to be an equally powerful polarity to god or a demigod.

Oddly, proof for The Christian satan/devil mythology is supposedly found in the ancient Jewish texts that were borrowed to create the bible. One can’t help but wonder how Christians came up with such a fantastically different interpretation of Gods assistant Satan in their theology.

Other hints about Satan’s role in human relations can be seen if you look at the name Lucifer. It meaning in the original tongue translates as Light bearer or light bringer. Essentially the bringer of enlightenment. The temptations of the Satan idea bring all of us eventually into Gods light. Hardly the Evil entity of Christian mythology.

Love and blessings
don

Answer 2

I don't know the answer to this question myself, but I want to respond to Shell. While some of your quotations are perfectly valid, there is really no way to assume that the snake in the garden of Eden was the devil unless you read the bible backwards, starting from the new testament and working your way down. Reading the story of Adam and eve straight through there is nothing to indicate the snake was anything but a snake.

also to mandbturner3699 I jsut read that passage in ezekiel and it clearly is not about Satan as verse 12 starts" Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus,"

Answer 3

I'm glad you know the Old Testament because you would have read all about Satan in Ezekiel Ch. 28 from verse 13 - 19. Satan is, amongst other things, described as being full of wisdom and he is certainly smarter than you if you don't believe he exists and he will use your ignorance to manipulate you.

Answer 4

Back when the church was first formed, it had problems with persecution and most people wanted to remain pagan, like there families had been for generations. The Catholic Church, which at that time was almost a government institution in Rome, created Hell. As for Satan, I think he might have been a pagan god but I'm not 100% sure about him. And as for most of the lore about the fall and the archangels and such, its not in the bible. It is only church propaganda left over from the middle ages. After these things were invented the church was able to speed conversions and solidify its power.

Answer 5

In Isaiah, satan is mentioned as the angel who sets himself up, in pride, over the throne of God and is cast out of heaven. Yes, satan took the form of the serpent in the garden, also. As Jesus said, he was a liar from the beginning. Actually satan makes appearances in the new testament often. He is mentioned as entering Judas just before Judas went to betray Jesus. When Peter tried to warn Jesus away from Jerusalem, where Jesus said He would be killed, Jesus said "get thee behind me satan". In Revelation, we see that satan will be bound in the abyss for the 1,000 year reign of Jesus on earth. And of course, the best news....he will be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.

Satan prowls the earth as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. He is called the father of lies. But Jesus, who is the truth, the life and the way, came to give us life, and that more abundantly.

Answer 6

You obviously never read a bible!
Genesis 3: chapter shows him talking to eve, deceiveing her.
Telling her to disobey God.
Genesis 6: shows these angels coming down from heaven to live with the daughters of men and do something god never intended for them to do. They are not human but spirit persons.
Jude 6 says when the patience of god was waiting when the angels forsoke there posisions in heaven and came down to the earth.
Job 1 st chapter shows satan entering in before the most hight god and saying he had been wondering in the earth.
Rev. 12: 7 Shows Micheal the arch angel and his angels at war with Satan and his angels and satan and his angels are thrown down to the earth woe for the earth.
If would be difficult to read the bible and not see Satan mentioned numerous times.

Answer 7

You are right! "Satan" is a myth. As you know the translators of the KJV changed the word "satan" to "adversary" when it went against their preconceived beliefs...as in Numbers 22:22. What fools they are to believe in such a being...it's far from the truth and they have made a fantasy out of the Bible. I know what "satan" is according to the Hebrew language.

Answer 8

Satan (or Lucifer, rather) was once the mythical leader of a Pagan religion, where he was a kind and benevolent leader. His name literally translates to "bringer of light". Unfortunately, when Catholicism came to power, Pagan icons were recast as symbols of sin (like, for example, the pentacle, a once revered sign of beauty) and Lucifer was made as leader of Hell, his name an alternate title for Satan (I am not sure though, if he is ever called Lucifer in the Bible though.)

Answer 9

Harvard scholar Elaine Pagels has written about the Satan Myth.

Answer 10

In this subject, we need to agree one thing to settle this; let us base everything in the Bible.

The Fall of Satan was mentioned in book of Daniel. Long before Adam, Lucifer (now Satan) was a high-ranked angel of God. Because of his pride, he want to be a god. So, God dumped him with his followers (who became demons) in to the earth.