The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics (Paperback)

by Elaine Pagels (Author) "In 66 C.E., a rebellion against Rome broke out among the Jews of Palestine..." (more)
Key Phrases: cosmic war, kosher laws, New Testament, Gospel of Thomas, Book of the Watchers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
. . . ground-breaking . . . Many times in the course of reading her explications I found myself saying, "Of course, why hasn't someone said this before?" By showing how the sectarian demonization of the "intimate enemies"--Jews and heretics--shaped early Christianity, the book helps us to understand the power of irrational forces that still need to be confronted in contemporary society. -- S. David Sperling, professor of Bible, Hebrew Union College --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Pagels, whose Gnostic Gospels (LJ 1/15/79) was a best seller and a major award winner, here examines the New Testament tendency to associate the Devil with Jews resistant to the teachings of Christianity.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (April 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679731180
• ISBN-13: 978-0679731184
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,860 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

194 of 199 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cosmic Warfare Between Good and Evil, November 18, 2002

By	Missing in Action (Idaho Falls, Idaho USA) - See all my reviews

Elaine Pagels is an exceptional author and skilled interpreter of Christian history. The "Origin of Satan" is an excellent book for laypeople trying to understand the evolution of one piece of the Christian paradigm, namely the cosmic battle between good and evil, and the vilification of the Jews in the gospels.

The book is organized in three principal sections. The first part dissects the four gospels in the order they were written, and delineates the relationships between the authors, their social context, and their thinking with regard to Satan and all things/people evil. Among the most helpful recognitions in this part of the book is that as the gospels evolved, Pilate and the Romans grew more and more "innocent" (the Christians were trying to make a distinction between themselves and the troublesome dissidents of Palestine), and the Jews grew more and more "responsible" for Jesus' crucifixion, thus "under the influence of Satan." Much of this awareness is found in the recognition that Jews in the Roman Empire were torn between the social elite who were for the most part the priesthood and the wealthy, and the poor fundamentalists who saw the privileges of the empire in opposition to the covenants with God.

The second section of the book describes the growing rift between the pagans of the Roman empire and the growing Christian sect. What is most helpful in this section is comparing the writings of such pagan minds as Celsus and Marcus Arelius with the early writings of Justin, Origen and others. In the Roman Empire, there was no greater virtue than that of "citizenship" in the empire, and the strength of the empire was assured by performing the ritual obligations to the Gods. The Christians saw themselves not as citizens of Rome, but of Heaven, and their rituals ran counter to those of the Pagans. Naturally, this was threatening to the pagan majority, and resulted in the wholesale slaughter of Christians who wouldn't cede to the authority of the Roman pantheon. Satan, of course, was identified with the pagans.

The last section of the book discusses the growing dissent within the early church itself, and the identification of Satan with heretics from within. For me persoanally this was the most engaging part of the book, as it was SO telling in terms of the evolution of the control paradigm so apparent in Western religion to this day. Reading the writings of Tertullian in particular, compared with the gnostic writers of the same time period, is incredibly enlightening!

In spite of the title, this book is in no way "dark." In fact, it shines light in so many dank dark corners of our history that it is truly a bright spot on my bookshelf and in my mind. This is a "Highly Recommend" book!

146 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly what I was expecting, September 9, 2003

By	Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book is a historical study of early Christians and their relations with opposing groups. Pagel starts with a detailed interpretation of the Gospel according to Mark as a historical document, juxtaposed with a description of the rebellion that was raging amongst the Jews in Palestine at the time the account was written. She then goes on to some Old Testament interpretations of the word and concept of Satan. Following this, she takes up the remaining gospels in turn, interpreting their historical content in the political context of the times when they were written. She also considers lesser known Christian religious writings, such as the Gnostic scriptures.

Reading this book made me a lot more familiar with some of the political issues that were of concern to early Christians, and how these issues may have been reflected in the writing of the Gospels. But I was a little disappointed in the book because I felt that most of the focus was on general Christian history and politics and not on the central questions posed on the back cover concerning the origin of Satan. It seemed that the idea of using the question of the invention of Satan as the central theme of the book was almost pasted onto individual articles as an afterthought. In reading each chapter, it often felt like the chapter was meant to be a self-standing entity, and details concerning the conception of Satan were added simply to glue the book together. Many times, Pagel's comments touched on how the early Christians related to opposition, and how they might even demonize opposing groups, but how this led to the invention of the concept of Satan is still unclear to me after reading this book.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a catholics interpretation, December 31, 2000

By	isamu1023 (Las Cruces, NM) - See all my reviews

Pagels is, by far, one of the worlds best writers on early christian history. She presents, with no bias, a clear and consise picture of the usage of satan in the new testament. Though, probably not for those who are fundementally minded, it is by no means an attack on the faith( I am myself a devout Catholic). It purpose is to show how one Jewish sect( Christianity) demonized another Jewish sect (Rabbinic Judaism) which had ostacized them. This expoeses how a strictly religous argument( anti judasim) became racial( anti semitism) as the churh became more gentile. It also shows how, once the church came to power, it used these same techniques against the Pagans and Gnostics. Another good book on this subect is Who Killed Jesus, by John Dominic Crossan.