OT: Re: Who is Lucifer? Who is the Devil? Who is Satan?

On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:31:01 +1000, in sci.archaeology, Peter Jason wrote:


Come back and clean up your mess!


"Garry Denke" <garrydenke@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
in message
news:31bcdbb74a53940ad0735d196b8f1aba.106283@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
My work on this planet is done.
The son of perdition,
Garry Denke

Denke's nuts, but the question is interesting. I became aware of this
yesterday:

http://www.physorg.com/news75128924.html
What the Devil? Prince of Darkness Is Misunderstood, Says UCLA Professor
He's not the enemy of God, his name really isn't Lucifer and he isn't even
evil. And as far as leading Adam and Eve astray, that was a bad rap
stemming from a case of mistaken identity.

"There's little or no evidence in the Bible for most of the
characteristics and deeds commonly attributed to Satan," insists a UCLA
professor with four decades in what he describes as "the devil business."

In "Satan: A Biography" (Cambridge Press), Henry Ansgar Kelly puts forth
the most comprehensive case ever made for sympathy for the devil, arguing
that the Bible actually provides a kinder, gentler version of the infamous
antagonist than typically thought.

"A strict reading of the Bible shows Satan to be less like Darth Vader and
more and more like an overzealous prosecutor," said Kelly, a UCLA
professor emeritus of English and the former director of the university's
Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. "He's not so much the proud
and angry figure who turns away from God as [he is] a Joseph McCarthy or
J. Edgar Hoover. Satan's basic intention is to uncover wrongdoing and
treachery, however overzealous and unscrupulous the means. But he's still
part of God's administration."

....

"His job is to test people's virtue and to report their failures," Kelly
said.

....

Ironically, the only mentions of Lucifer in the New Testament ? and there
are three of them ? refer to Jesus, Kelly said. "Jesus is called 'Lucifer'
or 'the morning star' because he represents a new beginning."

Another prominent omission in the Old Testament, Kelly said, can be found
in Genesis. "Nobody in the Old Testament ? or, for that matter, in the New
Testament either ? ever identifies the serpent of Eden with Satan," Kelly
said. "The serpent is just the smartest animal, and he's motivated by envy
after being jilted by Adam for Eve."
--
Doug Weller --
A Director and Moderator of The Hall of Ma'at http://www.hallofmaat.com
Doug's Archaeology Site: http://www.ramtops.co.uk
Amun - co-owner/co-moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amun/

.

Relevant Pages

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