The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics [B0164]

1996 HCDJ in excellent condition. From the National Book Award-winning and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of The Gnostic Gospels comes a dramatic interpretation of Satan and his role on the Christian tradition. "Arresting...brilliant...this book illuminates the angels with which we must wrestle to come to the truth of our bedeviling spiritual problems." -The Boston Globe. With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan's story into an audacious exploration of Christianity's shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "I really enjoyed this book, especially where it goes through each gospel and describes when it was written and by who, and how those political realities influence how the gospels were recorded. The book is at its best when evaluating competing roman, Jewish, and early Christian sources."; "The title was a bit misleading, it's more about the adversaries to the church like the heretics and gnostics, not the origins of Lucifer or the devil as a character. A really good read though."; "It's always good to educate oneself by reading different views. I highly recommend this as an educational and thought provoking book."