Welcome to another Bonus Edition of the MTB podcast—a segment of the weekly episode that I call Afterthoughts! This is one of my favorite parts of these weekly presentations because it gives us a chance to dig a little deeper, connect the dots, and really challenge ourselves to think critically about what we discussed during the main episode.
In today’s main episode, we talked about resisting temptation and practicing self-discipline, which naturally leads Christians to a discussion about the devil. Because, of course, if temptation exists, then somebody has to be the one doing the tempting—at least, that’s how many people see it. The idea of Satan, the devil, or the satan (depending on which tradition you’re coming from) is one of the most widely recognized religious concepts in the world. And yet, if you ask a dozen people to describe who or what Satan actually is, you’ll probably get a dozen different answers.
And that’s our key question for this bonus episode: Where did the idea of Satan actually come from? And why do different religions—and even different groups within Christianity—view him so differently?
Framing the Discussion
Now, depending on who you ask, Satan is anything from a metaphor for human evil to a literal, supernatural being running around causing mischief like a villain in a bad TV drama. Some see him as a fallen angel, some see him as the ruler of hell, and some just see him as a convenient scapegoat for bad behavior. “The Devil made me do it!”
But here’s the thing: the way most people think of Satan today isn’t actually how he was described in the earliest religious texts. In fact, the satan—with a lowercase "s"—wasn’t even a name originally. It was more of a job title. And he didn’t start out as an evil figure at all.
So, in this episode of Afterthoughts, we’re going to explore:
How the concept of Satan evolved over time—from a minor character in the Hebrew scriptures to the ruler of hell in Christian theology.
The differences between Jewish and Christian understandings of Satan.
Why so many people imagine Satan as a real, active force in the world today.
And the big question: Does Satan even make sense within the framework of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God?
Spoiler alert: If God is all-powerful, why would He need an arch-nemesis?
So, let’s dig in and see where this whole "Prince of Darkness" thing really came from.
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