Satan: A Biography [Hardcover]

Henry Ansgar Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2006

Christians traditionally think of Satan as Lucifer, God's enemy, who rebelled against Him out of pride and then caused Adam and Eve to sin. But, as Kelly shows, this portrayal is not biblical but a scenario invented by the early Fathers of the Church which became the 'New Biography of Satan'. The 'Original Biography' must be reconstructed from the New Testament where Satan is the same sort of celestial functionary we see in the Book of Job - appointed to govern the world, specifically to monitor and test human beings. But he is brutal and deceitful in his methods, and Jesus predicts that his rule will soon come to an end. Kelly traces the further developments of the 'New Biography': humankind's inherited guilt, captivity by Satan, and punishment in Hell at his hands. This profile of Satan remains dominant, but Kelly urges a return to the 'Original Biography of Satan'.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...the book intriguingly and meticulously maps each minute twist and turn in Satan's "biography.""
Daniel Pick, BOOKFORUM

"K.'s chronological and historical approach makes a useful contribution to the understanding of Christian images of Satan and will be of interest to historians, theologians, and individuals interested in religious studies and the humanities in general." --J. Edward Wright, University of Arizona, Tucson: The Catholic Bible Quarterly

Book Description

The Devil of the New Testament is actually one of God's ministers, assigned to rule the world and monitor the conduct of human beings, but at the hands of the Church Fathers he became the personification of evil. Kelly shows how this portrayal developed and persists to the present day.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (August 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521843391
• ISBN-13: 978-0521843393
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,266,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poor Kelly..., October 29, 2009

By 

R. Barrow - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Satan: A Biography (Hardcover)

In contrast to other reviewers, I found the book to be very useful actually.

It's one of those books that does what it says on the tin, and pretty much lists every reference to Satan in the Bible and brings a number of interesting concepts to light.

No, it's not written by a theologian, and if you want one written by a theologian, I'd recommend The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots by Wray and Mobley.

Some people are a bit snobbish when it comes to theological books because they make a distinction between theologians and 'laymen'. I do too. But that doesn't mean non-theologians books are non-useful. One has to remember that most of the New Testament were written by laymen.

Also, once you've read a number of theologians, you eventually realise "Oh dear...scholars love to contradict each other and disagree."

Personally, I'd recommend this book if you want to have a good overview of the topic of Satan.

I didn't read anything that was contradicted by official theologians, and have found it useful to explain things to others.

So yes, even though I went to seminary, and have studied the official theologians, and have read the writings of the Early Church, and studied Koine Greek, I still think that this book would be very useful, although when I bought it, it was much cheaper!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Dubious Disciple Book Review, April 2, 2011

By 

Dubious Disciple "Lee Harmon" (White Bear Lake, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Satan: A Biography (Hardcover)

A strange book; I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. Kelly's premise, and he is quite serious, is that Satan is a badly misunderstood fellow. That the Satan we know today bears little or no resemblance to the Biblical Satan.

As far as I can tell, Kelly is a believer in the Bible and in Satan, and wants to set the record straight. He doesn't appreciate the legends that have sprung up about Satan since the writing of the Bible. Satan, for example, has nothing to do with the serpent in the Garden of Eden; that association began with the early church fathers. He has not yet been thrown out of heaven. He is not evil, and certainly will not be put in charge of punishing the damned in Hell.

Rather, Satan is merely an Accuser, and a useful one at that. Kelly begins with the oldest Biblical books, travels through the Septuagint translation and inter-testamental writings such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees, and wraps up the first half of his book with the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. In these writings, we see the picture of Satan remaining largely unchanged: Satan is a functionary of the Divine Government, charged with testing and disciplining mankind. He is suspicious of everyone, including Jesus. He is hostile to Jesus' followers, constantly trying to trip them up and then lodge complaints against them before God. He is God's Chief Tester, at worst a homicidal liar.

Then in the second half, Kelly methodically traverses the next 2,000 years and how Satan's name has been corrupted.

I agree with Kelly that the understanding of Satan/Devil/Lucifer has evolved quite radically. I'm just not sure I agree with his timing. For example, I think Satan had evolved into God's adversary in the minds of most believers before the New Testament was written, and I think the same about Satan's connection with the serpent of Eden. Moreover, different Biblical writers appear to have had different ideas. I just don't think the line is as crisp as Kelly draws. Nevertheless, it's a book to make you think, and though the writing is a bit dry, I did enjoy the discussion, so I'll give it four stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The 'You'll need to know alot already to appreciate this' biography, May 4, 2008

By 

Andrew "AJ" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Satan: A Biography (Paperback)

As someone talking to friends about my own beliefs and conclusions on the devil, finding the need to look for a helpful book on the issue to clarify my thoughts, bounce them off another's and generally see if I could find a few handy passages to logically help myself and others reason through this complex issue, I bought this book.
I was fortunate that I was able with my pre-exising knowledge 'keep up' with the approach of this book. My appetite for information drove me through this book. The author's approach in both his written style and method of presentation of his thesis was simply a hinderance. Without my drive, this book is a reluctant 'page turner', because there's more of the same over.
The analysis is, from my theological point of view as a believer in the devil, satan and human sin as being essentially 'the same' phenonomenon described, ie that sin or any adversary is the 'enemy' expressed or embodied in satan or personified as the devil... not a fallen angel etc, was attracted to the overall thesis, but his reasoning is outlined without an elegant line of reason sufficient to captivate any but the most committed reader. It sounds like notes from a series of lectures that still need the mind of their author to extend them into an argument in prose. Helpful content + stylistic hinderance =