The Origin of Satan

How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics

By: Elaine Pagels

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Who is Satan in the New Testament, and what is the evil that he represents? In this groundbreaking book, Elaine Pagels, Princeton's distinguished historian of religion, traces the evolution of Satan from its origins in the Hebrew Bible, where Satan is at first merely obstructive, to the New Testament, where Satan becomes the Prince of Darkness, the bitter enemy of God and man, evil incarnate. In The Origin of Satan, Pagels shows that the four Christian gospels tell two very different stories. The first is the story of Jesus' moral genius: his lessons of love, forgiveness, and redemption. The second tells of the bitter conflict between the followers of Jesus and their fellow Jews, a conflict in which the writers of the four gospels condemned as creatures of Satan those Jews who refused to worship Jesus as the Messiah. Writing during and just after the Jewish war against Rome, the evangelists invoked Satan to portray their Jewish enemies as God's enemies too. As Pagels then shows, the church later turned this satanic indictment against its Roman enemies, declaring that pagans and infidels were also creatures of Satan, and against its own dissenters, calling them heretics and ascribing their heterodox views to satanic influences.

©1995 Elaine Pagels (P)2014 Audible Inc.

deceptive

deceptive title, the character of satan is rarely discussed. primarily a history of the early church.

interesting

loved it,very well done,was a pleasure to listen to, will definitely check out more of her books

Good Information

Well done
Well said
Historical Information
Maybe more present day application would have took the book to that next level

Very informative!

This book was very informative and inspirational. I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend it!

Hmmm

Definitely not what it purports to be. Rather than “the origin of Satan, it’s more like “history of good and bad in the Bible and associated works”. I’m not even sure about the good and bad. It’s mostly a historical work, and I never was sure where she was actually going with it. Not that it’s not interesting in its own right, but it just wasn’t what it said. Perhaps she pulled it together at the end but I didn’t get there because I wasn’t wanting to listen to general biblical history. If it had been a print book perhaps I would have flipped through the pages and seen where we were going and then it would have made more sense? Anyway, not bad just not “the origin of Satan”

Interesting

If you could sum up The Origin of Satan in three words, what would they be?

Not what I expected, need to listen again.

Would you recommend The Origin of Satan to your friends? Why or why not?

Probably, only recommend to those who are interested in learning the historical origin of Satan.

What about Suzanne Toren’s performance did you like?

Not bad, sometimes I had a hard time following her.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Man Creates Evil

level headed and informative

found the narrator's voice pleasant and nicely oriented to the subject matter. highly informative and detailed discussion of the social implications of the apocalyptic view of a battle between Cosmic forces.

Solid Book, Title A Little Off

Let me start by saying that this book is fantastic. There’s true insight into the writings and backgrounds of the early Jesus movement and its struggles to define its place in the world.

The titular origin of Satan, however, is a but more subtle. Pagels tells a compelling story about early Christianity’s struggle to place itself and develop its worldview. Pagels reveals how Christianity came to frame the world as an apocalyptic struggle between good and evil.

It’s good material and well worth the listen. Toren’s narration is fantastic albeit with a handful of mispronunciations.

This is not about the personified Satan-as-Devil, though, and I’m sure many people will take issue with the framing in the title.

Eye opening

This was well researched. The narrator spoke clearly and with emotion when called. I will keep this book in my library for future listening. Well done.

Interesting, but Misleading Title

This book had a good deal of new information for me, but did not at all explain the "Origin of Satan."