What was your upbringing regarding your belief in Satan or the Devil? How were you taught (or scared) growing up about the fallen angel, the demon, the serpent, Beelzebub, and the many other names? In this episode, we will discover where our idea of Demon or Satan comes from. Brian is so excited about this subject and has prepared a ton of materials for this one. So tune in and see how your beliefs or ideas about the devil line up with what scripture says.

Satan in the Hebrew Bible: Numbers 22:22

And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

Satan in the Garden of Eden as the serpent: Ezekiel 28:12-19

‘You were the seal of perfection,

    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

You were in Eden,

    the garden of God;

every precious stone adorned you:

    carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,

    topaz, onyx and jasper,

    lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.[b]

Your settings and mountings[c] were made of gold;

    on the day you were created they were prepared.

You were anointed as a guardian cherub,

    for so I ordained you.

You were on the holy mount of God;

    you walked among the fiery stones.

You were blameless in your ways

    from the day you were created

    till wickedness was found in you.

Through your widespread trade

    you were filled with violence,

    and you sinned.

So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,

    and I expelled you, guardian cherub,

    from among the fiery stones.

Your heart became proud

    on account of your beauty,

and you corrupted your wisdom

    because of your splendor.

So I threw you to the earth;

    I made a spectacle of you before kings.

By your many sins and dishonest trade

    you have desecrated your sanctuaries.

So I made a fire come out from you,

    and it consumed you,

and I reduced you to ashes on the ground

    in the sight of all who were watching.

All the nations who knew you

    are appalled at you;

you have come to a horrible end

     and will be no more.’”

Where the term “fallen archangel” come from: Isaiah 14:12

How you have fallen from the heavens, O Morning Star, son of the dawn!

How you have been cut down to the earth, you who conquered nations!

Pop-cultural resources about The Devil:

Inferno by Dante Aligheri
Paradise Lost by John Milton
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

A few images depicting Satan:

If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology.

If you’d like to be featured in future episodes, email your question or Bible passage suggestion to connect@queertheology.com.

Photo by Norbert Buduczki on Unsplash

The post Scary Things: The Devil and His Many Names appeared first on Queer Theology.

Edward J. Balleisen, “Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff” (Princeton UP, 2017)