History of the Devil

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HIST 799, Queens College The History of the Devil Professor Sarah Covington Fall 2009

Riley Kellogg rileybk@gmail.com 646-413-3749

Suffering, Theodicy, and the Devil in Job, Anthony, and Luther

The theme of suffering is a strong line throughout the story of Job, the life of Saint Anthony, and the writings of Martin Luther. What role does the devil play in each of these? What, if any, is the theodicy put forward in them? How do these issues fit into the larger picture presented by each of these narratives of mans life in relation to God and the devil? And, finally, how do these positions fit into the fabric of their times? The devil presents himself to these three men in different ways, employing trial, temptation, and torment in varying degrees for each of them. In Job we do not see the devil directly tempting the subject to evil action; he does not appear to Job at all. The temptation and inducement to sin is solely through the imposing of suffering, and the sin to which he is tempted is solely that of blasphemy or infidelity. Further, in this story, unlike the others considered here, Satan acts under Gods explicit orders. In the story of the Life of Saint Anthony, Satan appears to him in various guises, tempting him to sin through various means. The temptations are to sinful acts, but more to spiritual weakness, doubt, and despair. The devil was very real to Luther, and harassed him in many petty ways, annoying and distracting him, attempting to frighten him and derail him from his spiritual path. But the sin with which Luther was most concerned with was that of spiritual error, Satans ability to draw one into wrong thinking on spiritual matters, on both the individual level and the institutional. Despite the differences in their lives, their circumstances, and their eras, Anthony and Luther have more in common with one another in their perceived relationship to Satan than they do with Job, in that they are Christians and thus share the conviction that Christ has assured the final victory of good over the forces of evil. Satan attacks the individual and battles hard against him, and the ultimate victory of his ones own soul in eternity may be beyond ones own power to determine, but there is hope of salvation in eternity because of the incarnation. Elaine Pagels writes, The faith that Christ

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has conquered Satan assures Christians that in their own struggles the stakes are eternal, and victory is certain. Those who participate in this cosmic drama cannot lose.1 Job, and the contemporary Jewish readers of the book about him, had no such assurance.

Job
The book of Job was written c. 550 B.C.E. Though it was likely a much older story handed down through generations (Pagels refers to it as a folk tale2), the form the story takes when recorded fixes it in the context of the historical perspectives and concerns of the times. On the plane of human history, Elaine Pagels provides a linguistic and historical context for the presentation of Satan here. When first seen in the story, Satan has been prowling about on earth roaming around there3. The Hebrew word satan, opposer, or adversary, sounds similar to the Hebrew sht, meaning to roam. This suggestion of a roaming adversary would have sounded to contemporary readers very much like those whom many Jews of the time would have knownand detested from the king of Persias elaborate system of secret police and intelligence officers. Known as the kings eye or the kings ear, these agents roamed the empire looking for signs of disloyalty among the people. 4 Though the character of Satan in the book of Job is clearly superhuman in nature and the story religious and instructional in the intent, this satan has a parallel in the worldly lives of the reader. In addition, not long before the story was written, in 586 B.C.E., the Jewish Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonian exile began. Profound questions must have arisen from this experience: if we, the Jews, are the chosen people of God, why would he bring such suffering on us? This question is at the center of the book of Job, and is felt through much of the Old Testament. God does not act strictly for mans benefit, at least not in a way accessible to mans understanding. The main lesson of Job seems to be that faith must persist, even when understanding fails. The God of Jewish understanding at this time was a fully monotheistic God; God was harsh, with his chosen people as well as with their enemies. The radical dualism of Zoroaster had been rejected, as had dualistic monism; but as all-powerful, God paradoxically contained within himself the responsibility for evil as well as for good. When someone transgressed against His laws, He was responsible for the law, the transgression, and the punishment. Satan was not a fully-formed concept,
1 2

Pagels, Elaine. The Origin of Satan. New York: Random House, 1995.p. 181 Pagels, p. 42 3 Job 1:7 4 Pagels, pp. 41-42

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and was not at all the personification of evil, nor its supreme principle or source. He was sometimes counted among the sons of God, and sometimes as a messenger of God, and did Gods bidding. He was the opponent, or accuser. In scriptural passages written earlier, satan was used as a common rather than a proper, nounan angel was a satan when he was opposing someone. The book of Job is where we first encounter a character for whom that word is used as a name. In Job, Satan is not the foe of God or of Gods creation, man. He is one among Gods servants, or sons, and does Gods bidding. He appears only at the start of the story, setting the action in motion. Job is blameless; the perfect example of Gods human creation.5 Satan suggests that God test Jobs faith, but takes no action against him before God agrees. In fact, the text is not clear whether it is Satan acting on Gods orders, or God himself, who visits the plaguing punishments on Job. But in either case, Satan does not act on his own. Once the stage has thus been set, the story addresses the question of theodicy, rather than the devil per se. Jobs friends speak with him, each arguing the causes and implications of his position. Job replies, and also addresses God directly, challenging Him to justify His actions. Eliphaz tells him that he, Job, must have sinned whether or not he believes this is so, since God does not inflict suffering on the innocent. Eliphaz poses the central question of the text explicitly: Can mortal man be righteous before God?6 do they not die, and that without wisdom?7 Happy is the man whom God reproves .8 In other words, all men are sinful in Gods sight; we die without understanding the nature of our sufferings or our wrongs; and we should be glad to receive Gods punishment, since we deserve it and it will serve Gods good plan at the end of time.

It is worth noting that in this text there is no hint of the existence of anything corresponding to the concept of original Sin; no limitation is placed on the righteousness and blamelessness of Job in Gods description of him to Satan in the prologue. The fall, in Judaism, did not lead to inherent sin in man, and did not weigh against the individual in Gods judgment of him. Another omission worth noting is that Jobs livestock, servants, and children are all killed, yet there is no reference at all to the harm or suffering of anyone other than Job. The servants and children could be thought of as doubly undeserving of this fate, since their deaths were brought about not only irrespective of whether they themselves were innocent or sinners, but for the sake of Gods relationship with someone else. This is a further cause to question the justice of Gods actions, yet even Job, when he asks the reason for his suffering, makes no reference to the suffering and deaths of the other people. 6 Job 4:17 7 Job 4:21 8 Job 5:17

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Bildad also contends that God is just and will punish only the wicked, and will reward Job if he is indeed blameless. Zophar says, But oh, that God would speakand that he would tell you the secrets of his wisdom!Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves. Job answers each time that he believes himself innocent, and unjustly punished; but he steadfastly refuses to renounce his faith. He says that the arrows of the Almighty are in methe terrors of God are arrayed against me9, and wishes that it would please God to crush me for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.10 Job answers, in chapter 9, that he also believes in the justice of God. But he then says
He crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause. If it is a contest of strength, behold him! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse. It is all one; therefore I say, he destroys both the blameless and the wicked. he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; if it is not he, who then is it?11

One cannot fight God; no one has the strength. To whom would one appeal for justice when God is the one complained against? And even if there were an authority higher than God to whom one could appeal, God would turn ones words against oneself. Job is certain of his innocence. Therefore, he must conclude that God metes out punishment to men indiscriminately as regards their righteousness, and mocks the suffering of the innocent. None but God has the power to inflict this undeserved suffering. Therefore none but God is responsible for evil. Jobs response (chapters 1213) to his friends is that they are not telling him anything he did not already know; all men know the things they are saying.
What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I would speak with the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.
9

Job 6:4 Job 6:910 11 Job 9:1724

10

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Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may. Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope; yet I will defend my ways to his face. This will be my salvation, that a godless man shall not come before him.

He addresses God directly, and asks him to justify his actions. Let God show him where he has erred: Teach me, and I will be silent.12 His terms are provocative, asking God why He hides His face; why he will not openly tell Job why he deserves to be so badly treated. In 10:1 et. seq. Job challenges God: Is it right for you to attack me, in contempt for what you yourself have made, thus abetting the schemes of the wicked? this is precisely what God has done: He knows Job is innocent, and even if he were not, Job says, God himself, as creator of mans being, is author of his life and therefore responsible for the contents of that life.

Anthony
Anthony lived in Egypt c. 250355 C.E., as did his biographer, Athanasius, c. 293373. The attitudes and perspectives attributed to Anthony may have been those of Athanasius as much as of Anthony himself, and the episodes described may have been embellished by either of these two, or by intermediate storytellers. However, the two men being essentially contemporaries, the historical context of the ideas and their place in the development of Christian thought is the same regardless. At this time, there was little precedent for the solitary life of devotion Anthony chose. But there were scattered ascetic practitioners whom Anthony sought out as mentors, learning from each as much as he could. At this time, the devil was frequently viewed as tempting Christians to renounce their faith since devotion could be difficult, and profession of faith could even be fatal, under the persecution that was prevalent in some places. During Anthonys lifetime, state-sanctioned persecution of Christians ranged from heavier taxation to imprisonment or even execution. The predominant view of the devil was as an opponent of the individuals true, Christian spiritual path. The devils motive for action in this story (and generally at this time), is always that he is envious of man having the hope of salvation when he himself has no such hope. He hates the thought of mans being raised up to abide in heaven for eternity, when he has, through his own choice, fallen from that place and lost the prospect of ever returning. Anthony gave up the affluent life he had inherited and took up the monastic life, going into the desert in emulation of Christ, living alone and devoting himself to prayer and spiritual development.
12

Job 6:24

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The desert was also the reputed haunt of the devil and demons, making it an ideal place to go to do spiritual battle.13 The devil appeared to him in several ways, and each time Anthony countered them with faith, prayers, and fasting14, passed through the temptation unscathed.15 The devil escalated his attacks each time when the previous attempt had been unsuccessful in deterring Anthony from his path. The first onslaught was the insinuation of doubt in his thoughts regarding the choice to devote his life to God, speaking through his inner thoughts and impulses, through imagination and desire16: thoughts of his family obligations, of how much easier life would be if he went back to his ancestral lands, how he could do more good for the needy if he had money, and finally what hard work it was to lead the pious life he had set out upon. In a word he raised in his mind a great dust of debate, wishing to debar him from his settled purpose.17 Next, the devil instilled lustful thoughts and feelings in the saint, and appeared in the shape of a woman attempting to seduce Anthony. He then appeared in the form of a black child, taking a visible shape in accordance with the colour of his mind. He identified himself as the friend of whoredom, and boasted of his success in corrupting others. Anthony replied to him, Thou art very despicable then, for thou art black-hearted and weak as a child. Henceforth I shall have no trouble from thee for the Lord is my helper, and I shall look down on mine enemies. This drives the devil away in shame at his failure. Anthony then moved into a tomb outside of the village. One night, the devil with a multitude of demons comes into the tomb and beats Anthony severely. Anthony prays, and shouts to the devil in defiance that he is not afraid. The devil and many demons come that night in the form of beastslions, bears, wolves, scorpions, insects, etc. They attempt to frighten Anthony, but he mocks them, saying that if they really had any power, it would have been enough for one of them to come; and that it is a sign of their weakness that they needed to come in the form of animals, rather than their own forms. At that point, the roof of the tomb appeared to open, and a light came in which was a sign of God. The demons vanished, and the pain from the beating left him. Anthony asked God why He did not intervene sooner to prevent or remove his pain. God answered that He wanted to wait, to see how Anthony would fight;

13

In modern, psychological terms, the solitude of the desert or other wilderness is conducive to the deep contemplation and reflection that bring out our inner demons. 14 ibid. 15 ibid. 16 Pagels, p. 173 17 Athanasius: Select Works and Letters, Volume IV of Nicene And Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, editors, pp. 196-197

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He sees that Anthony has proved himself, and promises to watch over him from then on.18 Next, the devil places silver and gold in Anthonys path as he is making his way through the desert to the mountains. Anthony recognizes this for the trick that it is, and it vanishes. He finds a ruined fort, where he lives for twenty years, his friends and admirers bringing him food periodically. During this period, those who visit him sometimes hear several voices arguing. Anthony tells them that these were demons, and that the friends must pay no attention, but be aware that their faith in Christ has more power than the demons. When he comes out of his solitary seclusion, Anthony preaches to his followers about demons: concerning their nature much could be said, but at this time it is pressing and necessary for us only to know their wiles against ourselves. We must learn to recognize them when they come. But as fearsome as the devil and his demons are, their strength is, to the faithful, nothing compared to the strength of faith in Christ. He reminds his followers that in the story of Job, Satan could take no action to bring him harm until God granted him permission; the devil was bound by the Lord as a sparrow, that we should mock him. Let us then heed not his words, for he is a liar: and let us not fear his visions, seeing that they themselves are deceptive.19. He is merely a deceiver, and weak as well. So we should remember that only God is to be feared, and the devil and his demons merely despised. The harm that the devil can do to us is only through his power to deceive us and thus make us despair; the real danger comes through the power of our minds, if they are weak enough to be deceived: we ourselves cause our own downfall. Pagels puts this in a modern phrasing: Anthony taught his spiritual heirs to picture Satan as the most intimate enemy of allthe enemy we call our own self. 20

Luther
The devil was at the height of his strength in the minds and lives of the faithful during the Reformation. Cities, urban life, and commerce were on the rise in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. With the advent of the printing press had come a surge in literacy which allowed many of the laity to readand interpretscripture for themselves. There was an increase in the cash economy, and more emphasis on secular power than in the past. Luthers Reformation encouraged
18 19

Like Job, Anthony questions God. Unlike Job, he is completely satisfied with Gods answer. Athanasius p 201202 20 Pagels, p. 173

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the introspective, solitary individual in his spiritual quest. The Protestants rejected the traditional and communal protections and defenses against Satan: the confessional and exorcism. Although most people still belonged to a church, and had their pastor and community for spiritual support, more than in the past the individual was, or felt, alone in his battle with the devil. Pagels eloquently describes the context:
No angels armed with the sword of glory protected you now; you were solitary with your bible, fearfully pondering your sins, exposed to evils winter winds. No wonder that the literary heroes of the age were Faust alone at the midnight crossroads with Mephistopheles, and Macbeth alone on the blasted heath with the three witches.21

Isolation leads to an overblown fear of overblown evils. Ask any child afraid of the monster hiding under his bed. This may help to explain why the Protestants, though eagerly dispensing with almost anything not clearly rooted in scripture, held fast to and even expanded on the medieval beliefs about witches. Russell writes of Lactantiuss view that good and evil can only be defined in relation to one another; evil must logically exist for good to exist. Not only for their intrinsic existence, though, is the one necessary to the other, but also for mans comprehension of them. I tell you in short that God wishes it to be so. to exclude evil is to eliminate virtue.22 Further, evil must have real power for good to have real meaning. This is, as Russell points out, foundational to Luthers doctrine of the two wills of God: evil must exist in Gods overall plan, but God also hates it and wishes us to fight with him against it. From the mystics Luther drew the notion of God as a coincidence of opposites. God is wrath, and God is love. God is repudiation, and God is faith. God wills wickedness and God hates the wicked. this apparently double will is actually one united will that we cannot understand. While the Devil and God may will the same thing, their purpose is never the same. The devil is Gods tool, like a pruning hook or a hoe that God uses to cultivate his garden. This accords with the role of Satan in Job: that of a faithful servant, bringing evil to humanity at Gods command. In Luthers view, the Devil takes pleasure in the suffering he causes, but he can not cause any suffering that God does not will him to. God takes pleasure in the larger good that grows out of that suffering. Luther

21

Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Prince of Darkness. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1988.p. 168. 22 Russell, p. 82-83

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also believed that the Devil tormented one more the more faithful one became. This is again in accord with Job. However, for Luther, it was faith specifically in Christ, not only in the God of the Old Testament, that provoked the Devil to torment and tempt man. 23 Here, Luthers philosophy also follows that of Anthony. Because of this view that all of created reality was a moral battleground with the most profound stakes, Luther could not see any religious difference as one of simple disagreement; differing views were necessarily evil and from the Devil. He denounced as agents of Satan all Christians who remained loyal to the Roman Catholic church, all Jews who refused to acknowledge Jesus as messiah, all who challenged the power of the landowning aristocrats by participating in the Peasants War, and all protestant Christians who were not Lutheran. 24 Lutherwould come to see his former fellow ChristiansRoman Catholicsas the Pharisees and scribes against whom Jesus warned his disciples. some dissenting Christians since the second century have claimed that the gospel itself has been co-opted by the forces of evil.25 In the personal battle against the Devil, one had only to remember that Christ had won that war to believe one was secure in ones own victory. Our every defense against Satan rests upon the power of Jesus Christ. Luther also used more direct means of defense, such as cheerfulness, laughter, boisterousness, bawdiness, scorn, insults, and obscenity. Everything active, assertive, earthy, and good humored fends off the depression on which the Prince of Darkness thrives. One of Luthers best defenses was to go to bed with Katie[his wife].26 This presents is a sharp contrast to the Gnostic idea, echoed in much Protestantism, of the inherently evil nature of the physical world, and the necessity of suppressing it in favor of exclusive cultivation of the spiritual. The lyrics of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, Luthers famous hymn, include the lines:
A mighty fortress is our god A good weapon and defense The old, evil enemy Is determined to get us; However fierce he claims to be, One little word can fell him
23 24

Russell, p. 171. Pagels, p. 180 25 Pagels, p. 158 26 Russell, p. 173.

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Similarly, Anthony referred frequently to the devil being vanquished by simply the mention of Christs name. Conclusions The three texts considered here seem to agree that God is the source and cause of evil in the world, but that although responsible for evil, He is not morally blameworthy. Taken together, they can argue that evil is necessary for two reasons: First, human moral good cannot exist without human free will. The inevitable outcome of free will is that some will will be for good and some for evil. Second, if all divine response to human action were justi.e., reward for good, suffering and punishment for evilthen man would do good with the certainty of reward. This then, would not be really good. God wishes to allow man the opportunity of choosing to be truly good for the sake of goodness, or for the sake of love of God. Thus there must be gratuitous, unearned suffering inflicted even on the good, and gratuitous, unearned reward given to the evil. This is the explanation of Jobs suffering, and of Luthers philosophy that salvation is received by grace alone, and not by works. This leads to the view that Satans acts against man are all a part of Gods plan for the creation, and for the eventual salvation of mankind. The individual may not be saved at the end of time, but the suffering of menboth earned and gratuitousis necessary to the eventual salvation of any.

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Addendum: Iconography Considerations of length prevent a thorough discussion of the artistic treatments of the subjects of this paper. However, I will briefly address how some visual artists have addressed the Temptation of Saint Anthony. Visual works range from 10th century Italian frescoes through Hieronymus Boschs famous triptych, Breugel, Michelangelo, to Max Ernst and Salador Dalieven tattoos27. The changing social and political settings in which these works were created influenced both the artistic styles and the interpretations and emphases of the theology.28 Bosch produced several paintings on the subject, all around 1550 C.E. The triptych is the best known of these works. The iconography is incredibly dense, and much of it is difficult to interpret. Throughout the painting can be seen the fantastical, grotesque, and disturbing creatures and situations for which Bosch is known. There are many depictions of physical suffering, implements of torture, bodies or dismembered parts of bodies, crippled, caged and otherwise bound or entrapped, pierced with swords, etc. It includes a depiction of a Black Mass, with a baby apparently being served on a platter to a bishop. There are a few naked bodies; the woman in the right-hand panel may be intended to represent the body in which the devil came to tempt Anthony in the desert. Other fantastic creatures, hybrids or mutants, abound. The worldview here shows the influence of persecutions, torture, belief in black magic; the uncertainty and insecurity of the world as influenced by the discovery of the New World, the beginnings of doubt about the eternal certainties such as the earth being the center of the universe. Other artists, roughly contemporary with Bosch, are similarly filled with fantastic and gruesome images of suffering and ghastly creatures. They include many figures and scenes mentioned in Athanasiuss Life of Anthony. These include Breugel the elder, Lucas Cranach, (1506), Grnewald (1515),29 Lucas Van Leyden (c. 1530), Jan Mandijn (c. 1550) The overall effect of most of these is not so much an image of temptation as of the decay and corruption of the fleshly world, and of nightmare-like horrors attempting to annihilate the saint. Callots 1635 etching is dominated by a huge dragon at the top center representing the devil.
27 28

http://hubpages.com/hub/Tattoo-Ideas-Famous-Works-of-Art The Bucerius Kunst Forum in Hamburg, Germany, presented an extensive exhibition on works on this subject in 2008, titled Terror and Desire; The Temptation of St. Anthony from Hieronymus Bosch to Max Ernst. See http://www.buceriuskunstforum.de/h/index.php?id=129 for representative pieces and brief commentary. 29 This painting, in its execution, if not in its contents, looks disconcertingly like a scary illustration for a modern childrens book.

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One of the dragons feet is bound by a chain, but loosely enough for him to be orchestrating the action of the smaller players, the many demons surrounding the saint. The scene has shifted here to be not so much a depiction of the testing and triumph of Saint Anthony as a use of that story as a vehicle to illustrate the Revelation story of Satan having dominion over the earth, though bound and thus ultimately doomed to fail in the final reckoning. By the nineteenth century, for example in a painting by Jacques-Antoine Vallin c. 1800, many depictions ignored the horrifying episodes of demons in animal form, and concentrated on the sexual temptation: beautiful, partly nude young women pull the saint by a rope, or lie next to him as he studiously avoids their gazes, or hover around him as misty apparitions. By this time, belief in the devil had changed. Those who did still believe in the reality of the devil were unlikely to believe in his power to take physical form in the shape of a monster; it was far more believable that the lust in his own mind was the sin plaguing Anthony than that the devil had literally taken human form. The psychological approach to sin had become dominant.

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Works cited: Doniger, Wendy. Splitting the Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. Pagels, Elaine. The Origin of Satan. New York: Random House, 1995. Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Prince of Darkness. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1988. New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1985. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters, Volume IV of Nicene And Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, editors. Oberman, Heiko A. Luther Against the Devil. Christian Century, January 24, 1990, pp. 75-79. Excerpted from Luther: Man Between God and the Devil, Yale University Press 1990.