Figure Of Satan Essay

In the eyes of a non-religious person, the figure of Satan might appear as an obsolete, mythical character of an antiquated view of the world. However, upon immersing oneself in the study of this persona, one can observe the strong belief in its power and the influence that the figure of Satan represents in the religious world. One might wonder how such a feat is possible even after hordes of scientists and academics objected to the existence of such a fabled character. Moreover, many theologists advanced theories that strived to diminish the importance of Satan in order to achieve a more monistic religion. It would be normal, nowadays to find the figure of Satan relegated to the status of a mere myth of the old times much like the ancient

The Satan was able to retain his strong influence over the population due to the immutable presence of evil in the world and the strong need to separate that evil from God as well as to explain the presence of evil in a cosmos supposedly created by a benevolent God. A look at the roots of the figure of Satan can explain its lasting persistence. In simpler words, the figure of Satan is the scapegoat of Christianity, the guy we blame when something goes wrong, the person we say he made us do it when we are in trouble and the one we associate all the people we do not trust, or simply dislike, to. The Devil is the guy we love to hate. The need for a scapegoat is strong and will always be present as long as evil persists as well; it is a symbiotic relationship that cannot be broken unless Christianity is replaced by a new religion providing a satisfying alternative to the role of the

As the religion grew older the many facets of the Devil developed as well. The characteristics of the Satan came from the Bible, theology and popular religion. From the horns that symbolize his higher status to his hooved feet inspired by the Greek Deity Pan, God of the wilderness, the image of Satan is an amalgam of traits taken from the fears of all humanity. The colour of his skin is most often described as red, reminiscent of a raging fire symbolizing our lack of control and the impending destruction that comes from it. Darkness and the colour black are also present in most, if not all, of the descriptions of the Satan representing the void or chaos that comes from evil . Moreover, they both expresses the unknown, a concept that has long and is still terrifying most of the humanity; for example, hate crimes mostly come from ignorance and fear of an unknown subject. In addition, his bottom is described as that of a goat with cloven feet and furry legs is a parallel to the Greek god Pan as expressed earlier which brings us to the wilderness and once again the concept of the unknown. The forests, seas, deserts and oceans were all extremely feared places that humanity avoided for a long time due to the darkness and the numerous unknown dangers looming around. Even to this day most people still hold an anxiety when entering a forest or going on the sea. Moreover, even if we praise ourselves