Customer Reviews

The Biography of Satan

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The Biography of Satan is ideal for Christians, Athiests, Pagans, Witches/Wiccans & Satanists alike, giving a fantastic insight into the developement and roles of the Devil in all his forms throughout history. It describes the root mythologies and evolution of Satan, Hell etc as we understand them today in simple, digestible terms. It gives an understanding of the antagonist and his origins and dispells his cloak of shadows, describing the assimilation of classical figures and concepts of malevolence and the church's demonisation of ancient deities during the middle ages. The development of the snake symbolism and origins of the concepts of eternal damnation & the fires of hell were fascinating. Well researched, easy to understand, it's a definite must-have for anyone at all with an interest in ancient and/or modern mythos.

I bought this as part of my post-grad, University research. I was hoping for a historical/cutural overview of the big fella. What I read was a standard 19th Century "essay" in the mannered, circumlocutive style of the day. It was a stylistically unremarkable example at that.
In saying this, I Googled the author - Graves was apparently a Quaker interested in spiritual, rather than biblical support. Actions speak louder than words and all that. In this essay he suggests the devil is a Christian invention, a demoralising hoax used by a corporate religion (that exploits the poor of what little they have)to control hearts and minds through fear. Read historically he might seem a bit heterodox and if you take on board what he writes, maybe nothing's changed much after all these years.

KERSEY GRAVES HAS ENCAPSULATED "THE DEVIL" IN A CONCISE EASY TO READ MANNER. THOUGHT PROVOKING TO A TRADITIONAL BELIEVER AND ENHANCING TO SOMEONE ALREADY AWARE OF HIS ORIGINS. KERSEY GRAVES GIVES THE READER SCOPE TO CHALLENGE HIM/HERSELF AND COME OUT WITH A MUCH MORE REALISTIC AND BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE DOCTRINE OF SATAN THE DEVIL - THAT OLD SERPENT AND DRAGON OF REVELATION. I THOROUGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANY STUDENT AND THE BOOK HAS A WIDE MARGIN FOR NOTES.