The Quest For The Historical Satan

For centuries the figure of Satan has incarnated absolute evil. Existing alongside more intellectualist interpretations of evil, Satan has figured largely in Christian practices, devotions, popular notions of the afterlife, and fears of retribution in the beyond. Satan remains an influential reality today in many Christian traditions and in popular culture. But how should Satan be understood today? "The Quest for the Historical Satan excavates cultural, historical, religious, and morally constructed productions of evil within Christianity, from myth and legend to the complex ways people conjure the embodiment of evil and harm. De La Torre and Hernßndez are engaging sleuths as they carefully examine Satan's conception and his presence in modernity and through the ages. The wrestle with the spiritual notions of Good and Evil and justice and injustice.-Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan Professor of Theology and Women's Studies Shaw University Divinity School

A comprehensive, two-volume reassessment of the quests for the historical Jesus that details their origins and underlying presuppositions as well as their ongoing influence on today's biblical and theological scholarship. Jesus' life and teaching is important to every question we ask about what we believe and why we believe it. And yet there has never been common agreement about his identity, intentions, or teachings—even among first-century historians and scholars. Throughout history, different religious and philosophical traditions have attempted to claim Jesus and paint him in the cultural narratives of their heritage, creating a labyrinth of conflicting ideas. From the evolution of orthodoxy and quests before Albert Schweitzer's famous "Old Quest," to today's ongoing questions about criteria, methods, and sources, A History of the Quests for the Historical Jesus not only chronicles the developments but lays the groundwork for the way forward. The late Colin Brown brings his scholarly prowess in both theology and biblical studies to bear on the subject, assessing not only the historical and exegetical nuts and bolts of the debate about Jesus of Nazareth but also its philosophical, sociological, and theological underpinnings. Instead of seeking a bedrock of "facts," Brown stresses the role of hermeneutics in formulating questions and seeking answers. Colin Brown was almost finished with the manuscript at the time of his passing in 2019. Brought to its final form by Craig A. Evans, this book promises to become the definitive history and assessment of the quests for the historical Jesus. Volume One covers the period from the beginnings of Christianity to the end of World War II. Volume Two (sold separately) covers the period from the post-War era through contemporary debates.

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.

This erudite and critically up-to-date book will be of interest to those concerned with the early traditions of Jesus and the origins of the narratives about his life.

In Evil, Spirits, and Possession: An Emergentist Theology of the Demonic David Bradnick suggests that the demonic arises from evolutionary processes and manifests as non-personal emergent forces that influence humans to initiate and execute nefarious activities

This collection of essays honours Kevin J. Vanhoozer by representing the current state of evangelical hermeneutics in light of his work. The volume consists of three parts: The Biblical Script, Great Performances, and Theodrama Today. Each part contains wide-ranging contributions from well-known scholars, who address important topics for contemporary hermeneutics in dialogue with Vanhoozer's influential work. Kevin J. Vanhoozer is today's leading evangelical theologian of biblical interpretation. He is one of the most influential voices in contemporary hermeneutics, and in academic theology he is one of his generation's most influential evangelicals.

This collection brings together new papers addressing the philosophical challenges that the concept of a Devil presents, bringing philosophical rigor to treatments of the Devil. Contributors approach the idea of the Devil from a variety of philosophical traditions, methodologies, and styles, providing a comprehensive philosophical overview that contemplates the existence, nature, and purpose of the Devil. While some papers take a classical approach to the Devil, drawing on biblical exegesis, other contributors approach the topic of the Devil from epistemological, metaphysical, phenomenological, and ethical perspectives. This volume will be relevant to researchers and scholars interested in philosophical conceptions of the Devil and related areas, such as philosophers of religion, theologians, and scholars working in philosophical theology and demonology.

Satan is not God’s enemy in the Bible, and he’s not always bad—much less evil. Through the lens of the Old and New Testaments, Erik Butler explores the Devil in literature, theology, visual art, and music from antiquity up to the present, discussing canonical authors (Dante, Milton, and Goethe among them) and a wealth of lesser-known sources. Since his first appearance in the Book of Job, Satan has pursued a single objective: to test human beings, whose moral worth and piety leave plenty of room for doubt. Satan can be manipulative, but at worst he facilitates what mortals are inclined to do anyway. “The Devil made me do it” does not hold up in the court of cosmic law. With wit and surprising examples, this book explains why.