|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Amazon
From Library Journal
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
In 66 C.E., a rebellion against Rome broke out among the Jews of Palestine. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loaded with Insights and Information,
By
This review is from: The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics (Paperback)
In THE ORIGIN OF SATAN Elaine Pagels traces some of the earliest known incidents of religious groups demonizing their enemies back to Jewish apocalyptic sources and then shows how this idea was further developed by the Essenes and soon thereafter employed by the first Christian writers. The book is much more than a history of Satan. It is actually a story of the origins of Christianity told from the vantage point of how Satanic forces were described by different groups and succeeding generations of Christians.In the beginning the enemies of the Christians are seen as other Jews such as the Pharisees. When the new movement fails to attract many Jewish converts, it instead starts to successfully recruit Gentiles. Now Satan is more likely to be seen at work orchestrating the Roman persecutions or instigating angry pagan mobs. Still later the enemy can be identified among groups of Christian heretics. The author's strength and primary interest is the history of early Christianity. As usual her text is loaded with information on that subject. You may not agree with her conclusions but you will probably be impressed with the wealth of insights she gives to the reader on her favorite topic. Don't let the heavy-sounding title discourage you. Above all Elaine Pagels is an optimist and a message of hope can almost always be found in any of her books.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not exactly what I was expecting,
By
This review is from: The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics (Paperback)
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.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Misleading Title,
This review is from: The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics (Paperback)
I found this book via a search through Amazon. I was looking for a real in depth history of the legend and character of satan, his origins and developement through history. I feel the title of the book is misleading as for much of the text it concentrates on the developement of the gospels through history and how they interpret the Jesus story differently, and Satan seems to be a very background figure in the whole thing, barely earning a mention. It is much more a religious/ theological book than a study study of the character of satan, which the title seems to indicate. Having said that, it is an interesting book in it's own right, just not what I was looking for or, I feel, what the title indicates.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
|
