Satan

The Bait of Satan exposes one of the most deceptive snares Satan uses to get believers out of the will of God--offense.

Many people today think of Satan as a little red demon with a pointy tail and a pitchfork—but this vision of the devil developed over many centuries and would be foreign to the writers of the Old Testament, where this figure makes his first appearances. The earliest texts that mention the Satan—it is always “the Satan” in the Old Testament—portray him as an agent of Yahweh, serving as an executioner of evildoers. But over the course of time, the Satan came to be regarded more as God’s enemy than God’s agent and was blamed for a host of problems. Biblical scholar Ryan E. Stokes explains the development of the Satan tradition in the Hebrew scriptures and the writings of early Judaism, describing the interpretive and creative processes that transformed an agent of Yahweh into the archenemy of good. He explores how the idea of a heavenly Satan figure factored into the problem of evil and received the blame for all that is wrong in the world.

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. "Arresting...brilliant...this book illuminates the angels with which we must wrestle to come to the truth of our bedeviling spritual problems." —The Boston Globe With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan’s story into an audacious exploration of Christianity’s shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.

Discover the benefits of nontheistic Satanism, the dynamic religion taking the world by storm! Get started with this comprehensive, easy-to-understand guide to modern Satanic practice by an experienced Satanic insider. Drawing on her years of leadership in The Satanic Temple (now with over 300,000 members worldwide), award-winning author Lilith Starr demystifies the rapidly-growing Satanic religion based on compassion, reason, and justice and provides a clear road map for building Satanic practice. Learn to tap into your own power, create your own unique, meaningful religious practice, stand up against tyranny and oppression, and find a supportive Satanic community that accepts you just as you are. With a Foreword by Lucien Greaves, Co-Founder of The Satanic Temple. Learn about: The benefits of religion without superstition The narrative of Satan as revolutionary hero The Seven Tenets' system of humanitarian ethics Reclaiming the power of the Outcast The origin and meaning of Satanic symbols The role of nontheistic Satanic ritual (and how to create your own rituals) Developing self-compassion and self-empowerment Coming out to friends and family as a Satanist Taking action against tyranny and injustice Finding your local Satanic community This extensive guide to modern Satanism also includes a collection of Satanic ritual scripts, a number of in-depth interviews with practicing Satanists, and a section on Satanic holidays. Perfect for beginners and Satanic sophisticates alike!

They say that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing us that he doesn't exist. In this book, Yehuda Berg uses the device of an as told to autobiography to explain the concept of The Adversary, which plays a major role in Kabbalistic wisdom. Readers learn that Satan exists within everyone, manifesting as a recurrent little voice of uncertainty and negativity, and that that is how havoc is wreaked throughout the world. By doing the spiritual work that Kabbalah teaches, readers banish doubt and evil influences from their lives and eliminate chaos from the world. Although author Berg takes creative license with the narrative, he presents a truthful representation of Kabbalah's view on the force of evil in the physical universe.

In 1988 Ericka and Julie Ingram began making a series of accusations of sexual abuse against their father, Paul Ingram, who was a respected deputy sheriff in Olympia, Washington. At first the accusations were confined to molestations in their childhood, but they grew to include torture and rape as recently as the month before. At a time when reported incidents of "recovered memories" had become widespread, these accusations were not unusual. What captured national attention in this case is that, under questioning, Ingram appeared to remember participating in bizarre satanic rites involving his whole family and other members of the sheriff's department. Remembering Satan is a lucid, measured, yet absolutely riveting inquest into a case that destroyed a family, engulfed a small town, and captivated an America obsessed by rumors of a satanic underground. As it follows the increasingly bizarre accusations and confessions, the claims and counterclaims of police, FBI investigators, and mental health professionals. Remembering Satan gives us what is at once a psychological detective story and a domestic tragedy about what happens when modern science is subsumed by our most archaic fears.

In this book-length study of The Satanic Temple, Joseph Laycock, a scholar of new religious movements, contends that the emergence of "political Satanism" marks a significant moment in American religious history that will have a lasting impact on how Americans frame debates about religious freedom. Though the group gained attention for its strategic deployment of outrage, it claims to have developed beyond politics into a religious movement. Equal parts history and ethnography, Speak of the Devil demonstrates why religious Satanism is significant to larger conversations about the definition of religion, religious freedom, and religious tolerance.