Satan and the Problem of Evil

From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers

De: Archie T. Wright

Narrado por: George W. Sarris

Satan's transformation from opaque functionary to chief antagonist is one of the most striking features of the development of Jewish theology in the Second Temple Period and beyond. Once no more than an "accuser" testing members of the human community, Satan, along with his demons, is presented by Jewish apocalyptic texts and the New Testament as a main source of evil in the world. In Satan and the Problem of Evil, noted scholar Archie Wright explores this dynamic in both its historical and theological trajectories.

Interactions with Zoroastrianism led Jewish and Christian writers of the Second Temple Period to separate God from responsibility for evil in the world. This led to the emergence of a heavenly being that is responsible for evil and suffering: Satan. Satan and the Problem of Evil charts the development of Satan traditions and the problem of evil from the Hebrew Bible and its various translations in the Greek Septuagint to Jewish literature from the Second Temple Period to the Greek New Testament. It concludes by examining the writings of the early church theologians, from the late first century through the fourth century CE. Wright argues that these latter writers present a shift in the understanding of Satan to one that is significantly different from the Jewish Scriptures, extrabiblical Jewish literature, and the New Testament.

©2022 Fortress Press (P)2022 Tantor

Aimless and Dull

A long-winded description of different doctrines about evil figures in Judaism and Christianity with little commentary from the author until the brief conclusion. Probably useful for academics.

Not scriptural accurate

Sources not congruent with Scripture. Reading is not fluent. Continuously pausing on certain words. Becomes annoying.

I did not like this book

Wow, what a snoozer! This book does an exhaustive retelling of all mentions of the name Satan or its similar personification in ancient texts. It is hyper repetitive and fails to educate the reader in any substantive way. I was very interested in this topic going in at the start of this book but I feel like I took such a beating upon finishing it that the subject matter is just no longer that interesting to me. I fail to understand the author's purpose in writing this book. I do not recommend it to anybody.