Satan in the Bible

Gustav Doré

Satan is character as well known as Christ himself. Satan went through many transitions in the Bible. Initially, he was known as "The Adversary" but it was not until the New Testament that he really developed into the force of evil that we know him as today. In many stories, Satan's plots serve only to point out God's "evil" and rather unforgiving side. This is especially true in the instances of Job and of David. Satan challenges the purity of Job and basically makes a bet with God that he can make him 'crack.' God decides to take Satan's offer to see how long it will take Job to break and gives him complete freedom to do whatever he deems necessary save harming Job himself. Rather a cruel exercise for the "all loving, all knowing, all forgiving" God many of us were raised to believe in. In the story of David, Satan tempts David in to taking a census of his troops. Apparently this offends God for some reason and the "all forgiving" God decides to punish all of Israel (who had nothing to do with decision) for David's mistake.

It would seem that if Satan had a role to play it would be to make all of us realize that God isn't as perfect as we have been led to believe. Perhaps I have also fallen prey to the ploys of the Father of Lies, and my apparent 'sympathy for the devil' is a development of my lack of Faith in God. However, I take the view that everything that we know of the Higher Powers, be that God & Satan, Set & Osiris, or Odin & Loki, is corrupt. None of it can be trusted as it has been touched and written by the hand of Man. History proves again and again that Man corrupts everything he comes across - intentionally or unintentionally. When undertaking any study of religion, this point must be held foremost in one's mind if the research is going to be pure. If you come from a perspective of faith, then the truth will remain hidden from you - and no more so than when the faithful study the bible. The Bible has more versions than I care to think about and many of those were written during the Dark Ages - a less than reputable time in our history, and one in which all things served the Crown and Church in whatever way they deemed regardless of accuracy.

This portion of the site will chronicle Satan's trials and tribulations in the bible. In so doing, it is hoped that the reader will leave with a different perspective on religion as a whole. I believe that religion has a place in our lives, but that place needs a proper perspective, not blind devotion based on completely false and unquestioned premises.