May I Introduce You to Mr. Satan?
Just out from Oxford University Press in both paperback and Kindle formats is a short new book from Darren Oldridge, The Devil: A Very Short Introduction (2012), 144pp. This book, the publisher tells us:
- Focusses specifically on the Christian Devil, exploring all of the
issues and debates about the Devil from the ancient to the modern
- Highlights the Devil's place in the history of
ideas and how he has shaped thought about our past
- Considers the many guises and meanings of the
Devil represented in the Bible
- Emphasises the influence the Devil has had on
many forms of popular culture, including art, literature, and even
language
- Part of the bestselling Very Short
Introductions series - over five million copies sold worldwide
Why do the innocent suffer in a world created by a loving
God? Does this mean that God cannot prevent this suffering, despite His
supposed omnipotence? Or is God not loving after all? This in brief is 'the
problem of evil'. The Devil provides one solution to this problem: his rebellion
against God and hatred of His works is responsible for evil.
The Christian Devil has fascinated writers and
theologians since the time of the New Testament, and inspired many dramatic and
haunting works of art. Today he remains a potent image in popular culture. The Devil: A Very Short Introduction presents an introduction to the Devil
in the history of ideas and the lives of real people. Darren Oldridge shows us
that he is a more important figure in western history than is often
appreciated, and also a richly complex and contradictory one.
Oldridge focuses on three main themes: the idea of
the Devil being integral to western thought from the early Middle Ages to the
beginnings of modernity; the principle of 'demonic inversion' (the idea that as
the eternal leader of the opposition, the Devil represents the mirror image of
goodness); and the multiplicity and instability of ideas about the Devil.
While belief in the Devil has declined, the idea
of an abstract force of evil is still remarkably strong. Oldridge concludes by
exploring 'demonological' ways of thinking in our own time, including
allegations of 'satanic ritual abuse' and the on-going 'war on terror'.
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