Satan

Satan is the evil man in the sky we don't want to spend time with after we die.  We also want to resist the temptations he places before us each day of our life.  Yet who really is this guy?

Sure most of us know that Satan is the Devil*.  He was actually created by God as a good angel, and it was by his own choice that he became evil.  He was inherently good as all of God's creatures are good, and he became evil by his own doing.

Usually scriptures do not give names to devils, and one of the few exceptions is where the Bible describes how after 40 days and 40 nights of fasting Jesus is hungry and is tempted by the Devil, or Satan.  Sometimes he's referred to as Lucifer, or 666.

Yet in reality the word "Satan" is a Hebrew noun that means an adversary, tester, accuser.  It was translated into Greek as "Diablolos" which essentially means the same thing.  "Diabolos" as translated into English as "devil." 

So the Devil is essentially referring to one person, although in reality it is many people.  It refers to the many situations and people that tempt us to sway from the principles that keep us on the straight and narrow.

It's also the "Devil" that is used to keep societies on the straight and narrow.  The founding fathers, even those who Deist, knew about the importance of religion in order to keep society functioning.

They knew that the only way to make a new nation last was to create values and principles among the people.  And that is why God was referred to so much by them.

They knew that faced with the fear life in Hell with Satan, that people would choose the better path in life. Have you been tempted by the devil lately?  Chances are you have. 

*The above definitions came from "The Little Black Book:  six- minute meditations on the Sunday gospels of Lent (Cycle A)," by the Catholic Church Diocese of Saginaw.  Your definition may vary slightly.

Facebook Twitter