Publisher's Synopsis
Sourcery: The History of Satan with Fresh Readings of Primary Sources grew out of many years of teaching the course History of Satan (RELS 6.66 in the Santa Rosa Junior College catalog), which was in turn modeled after the course History of God. The creation of History of Satan was suggested by students who were taking History of God who felt the devil needed his due. The course, and this text, are concerned to answer three questions. One, given the sketchiness of the figure of Satan in the Bible compared to his fuller definition in later medieval theology, how did that happen? In other words, how did Satan get that way since it is clear he did not start out that way. Two, how and why did brutalized and persecuted social groups, such as heretics, Jews and women (as witches for example), come to be associated with Satan and demons as a reason or excuse for the persecution? Three, why does Satan (and his demon minions) continue to imbue religion, popular culture, and social movements in contemporary culture? This book seeks to explain the answers through nine Satanic chapters that cover the history of Satan from the first mention of the character in the Hebrew Torah to the present day, and covers a range of diverse cultural contexts including Judaism; Christianity; Ancient Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, and Iran; Islam; Mormonism; and contemporary popular culture in the US.
