Learning outcomes • To learn about the development of Satan’s character in the Hebrew Tanak and Christian New Testament. • To look at some examples of Satan in popular culture. • Lucifer • Satan in Jesus movies • Essay advice Office hours this week • Wednesday 2-4pm, Arts Student Centre study space (level 4, HSB) • Thursday 10-11am, Science building foyer (outside lecture theatre) • Thursday 2-4pm, Arts Student Centre study space (level 4, HSB) • Tuaakana support (contact David or myself) • Get in touch if you want to see me outside these times Essay advice • Writing style - can be formal or more informal (think of a well-written, engaging blog post). • You can use first person – ‘in this essay, I will …) • Writing – PROOFREAD YOUR ESSAY • Use Spell Check at the very least • Read it aloud – does it sound okay? • Get a friend to read it – does it make sense to them? • Come see me or your Tuaakana tutor for help • Referencing • Include a bibliography/reference list at end of essay • Use whatever referencing style you’re used to (e.g. APA, Chicago, etc.) • See http://www.cite.auckland.ac.nz/2.html for help • It’s important to get your referencing right. Essay advice • Don’t’ waste too much time retelling Bible stories or movie plots – that takes up precious words. • Assume the reader knows the Bible story • Assume the reader is less familiar with your cultural text (e.g. film, music, person) so give enough information to make your points clearly • Your introduction should be short and sharp, clearly highlighting your essay focus – start with a catchy first sentence! • Conclusion can be short too • Don’t summarize what you’ve done in too much detail (we know what you’ve done!) • Avoid including new information, but you can reflect on some of the issues you’ve covered in your discussion and how they raise new questions about the topic (so, what are the implications of your findings – what should we look at next?). Essay advice – check the FAQs under the Essay Help module for advice on • Referencing the Bible • Referencing things like movies, music, YouTube video, etc. • Word limit - aim for a minimum of 1350 words and a maximum (if you need to) of 1800 words. • Late submission and extension policy • Submission format – online only Essay advice: Turnitin Plagiarism - don’t be caught out. Plagiarism includes: • Copying directly from a source without putting quotes around it and referencing the source (either books or online sources). One or the other is not enough. • Copying work from another student (past or present) • Copying work from another assignment you have done for another course. Satan in the Hebrew Tanak • Hebrew Bible: the name (satan) means ‘adversary’ or ‘accuser’ – a tester of faith. • The same word is used in the Hebrew Bible to refer to human adversaries. • A title/description, rather than a proper name? • Not an enemy of God at this point – he works for God, testing human faithfulness. a personification of human inclination to sin. • The book of Job: in chapters 1-2, ha-satan (‘the accuser’) is one of God’s divine council, who only acts with God’s approval. The Examination of Job (c. 1821) by William Blake • Look at the text of Job 1-2 and see what you think of Satan’s character. Is he ‘evil’? Or simply doing his job? Zechariah 3:1-2 One of the prophetic books, written in the late 6th Century BCE (c. 520 BCE). It has apocalyptic themes, and emphasizes God’s plans to save the Israelites from their enemies and cleanse them from sin. Then [the angel] showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan (the adversary) standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” • Is God rebuking Satan for testing Joshua (and Jerusalem) too harshly? Satan is NOT in Genesis 3, the fall of Adam and Eve ‘Now the snake was cleverer than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.’ • The snake is a creature of God, not a divine being. • Later Christian tradition starts to associate the snake with Satan/the Devil, perhaps because the snake fulfils a similar function to the Hebrew/OT Satan – a tester of faith/obedience to God. William Blake, Satan Watching Adam and Eve (1808) Satan in the New Testament and Early Christianity • Satan (aka the Devil) plays a relatively small role in the NT • ‘Devil’, from Middle English ‘devel’, from Old English dēofol, from early Germanic borrowing of Latin diabolus, from Greek diabolos. • Some similarities with the Hebrew Tanak depictions – but more corrupt, someone who can damage human faith and turn people from God. • E.g. Mark 4:1-20 (the parable of the sower). • At times seems to personify the bondage of sin and corruption, rather than a dangerous and external force of evil … • …but hints appear that Satan has become equated more with demonic powers and spirits (especially in Revelation). • No tradition yet of Satan/the Devil ruling over hell though. Satan in the Gospels • Matthew 4:1-11 • Satan is still testing faith – similar role to the book of Job? • Translated by the Greek word diabolos • Associated with the snake in Genesis 3 (but see slide above!) • Luke 22.3, 31 – Satan tempts Judas to betray Jesus. Jesus warns other disciples Satan will test them all. • Satan associated with demons that cause sickness (e.g. Matthew 12.22-29) Ary Scheffer, Temptation of Christ (1854) Satan in the book of Revelation • Revelation 12:7-9 - Referred to as “the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan.” • Defeated after a cosmic battle with Michael and the heavenly angels (12.7-9) • Revelation 20 – Satan is imprisoned in the Abyss, but gets out and goes to war against the righteous. Is eventually defeated with fire from the heavens and is thrown into the lake of fire. • Satan as the supernatural ruler of the Roman Empire and the cause of all evil in the world. Raphael, St Michael Vanquishing Satan (1518) Early Christian theology • Satan rules over the demonic realm. • Associated with Lucifer (Latin form of Hebrew word heylel – ‘morning star’ – used in Isaiah 14.12 and Ezekiel 28.12-15 to refer to corrupt foreign kings). • Holds the souls of humanity to ransom after Adam and Eve’s disobedience in Genesis 3. • An angel who was expelled from the heavens after he became corrupt. • Christianity’s interest in and understanding of Satan waxes and wanes over the centuries Detail of Satan from Hans Memling's Triptych of Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation (c. 1485) Gustave Dore, Satan (c.1866) Satan in Jesus movies “Filmmakers must decide whether to ignore Satan, on the grounds that many members of their audience do not believe he exists, or whether to treat him realistically, in keeping with the beliefs of the Gospel writers, early Christians, and some contemporary movie viewers as well.” Satan in The Passion of the Christ (2004) Adele Reinhartz, Jesus at the Movies. Last Days in the Desert (2015) Satan is played by the same actor as Jesus (Ewan McGregor) – Satan represents Jesus’s inner ‘demons’, insecurities, fears? Controversial Satan? Son of God (2014) – controversial Satan (black, foreign, Barack?). Cut from film after public outcry. What cultural function does this serve? Jesus Christ is white, while Satan is black. Lucifer (Fox, 2016-) • Based on characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg • Lucifer Morningstar (Satan) starts a new life in Los Angeles. He ends up helping LAPD cops to solve crime. • Has a complex relationship with his heavenly ‘family’ – including his brother Amenadiel, and his father (i.e. God) and mother. Samael • Samael is the proper name attributed to Satan – ‘poison of God’, ‘blindness of God’ • An archangel in Medieval Jewish lore – an accuser and destroyer, associated with both good and evil. • Personifies the severity of God - God’s ‘bad side’. • Remains in one of the heavens – not hell. • A member of the heavenly council, one of God’s servants, who has some unpleasant duties to perform – the archangel of death. • Husband of Lilith, whose children are demons. • Invites more sympathetic evaluation of Satan character than in Christian and Jewish traditions. • But also draws on Jewish traditions of Satan as a complex mix of good and evil. • Reflects on Satan’s role in human sinfulness – is he really all bad? Or do humans commit their own sins, and then blame Satan? Liz Hurley, Bedazzled (2000) Why is Satan suddenly so ‘cool’? What new significance does this biblical character have in contemporary culture? Lucifer clips showing the complex nature of his portrayal – Satan with a conscience? • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4bF_quwNtw • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2or2T62T1I&t=2s • https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=x-KSgN5d3x4 • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osct4hIRGoA Clip from Rick and Morty – the devil shows us the danger of our own vices? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUqLVN5Ydtc&frags=pl%2Cwn.