The Devil: A New Biography

ISBN-13: 9781350274259 / Angielski / Miękka / 2022 / 288 str.

Philip C. Almond

Opis

It is often said that the devil has all the best tunes. He also has as many names as he has guises. Lucifer, Mephistopheles, Beelzebub (in Christian thought), Ha-Satan or the Adversary (in Jewish scripture) and Iblis or Shaitan (in Islamic tradition) has throughout the ages and across civilizations been a compelling and charismatic presence. For two thousand years the supposed reign of God has been challenged by the fiery malice of his opponent, as contending forces of good and evil have between them weighed human souls in the balance. In this rich and multi-textured biography, Philip C Almond explores the figure of the devil from the first centuries of the Christian era through the rise of classical demonology and witchcraft persecutions to the modern post-Enlightenment 'decline' of Hell. The author shows that the Prince of Darkness, in all his incarnations, remains an irresistible subject in history, religion, art, literature and culture.

Spis treści

List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsPrologueChapter One: The 'Birth' of the Devil Angels and Demons, Sons and Lovers'The Book of the Watchers'Angels, Arising and FallingThe Birth of 'Satan'The Archdemon BelialSatan and JesusThe Fall of the DragonChapter Two: The Fall of the DevilThe Fall of ManThe Satanic SerpentPride Cometh before a Fall Lucifer DescendingThe Battleground of HistoryChapter Three: Hell's AngelPaying Off the DevilThe Demonic ParadoxThe Harrowing of Hades In Hell, and in the AirChapter Four: The Devil Rides OutA Pope BewitchedCathars, Moderate and ExtremeAngels and Demons The Demonisation of MagicMagic Defined, Damned, and DefendedConjuring Demons and Conversations with AngelsChapter Five: Devilish Bodies The Demonisation of Popular MagicErrors Not Cathartic but Satanic The Devil, Sex and Sexuality Embodied DemonsChapter Six: The Devil and the WitchInfanticide and CannibalismTravels SabbaticalThe Satanic PactThe Devil's MarkChapter Seven: A Very Possessing Devil The Possessed BodyPossession, Medicine, and ScepticsForensic DemonologyBeyond the Borders of the HumanExorcising the Devil Chapter Eight: The Devil DefeatedThe Binding and Loosing of SatanThe AntichristAdso and the AntichristThe Future Binding of SatanApocalypse NowSatan and the Fires of HellChapter Nine: The 'Death' of the DevilSatan and SuperstitionThe Cessation of MiraclesThe Devil De-skilledThe Devil DisembodiedBodies, Platonic and DemonicDisenchanting the WorldEpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex

O autorze

Philip C. Almond is Emeritus Professor of Religion in the University of Queensland, Australia.