This description is used to establish major characteristics of the devil: that he was created good as a high ranking angel, that he lived in Eden, and that he turned evil on his own accord. The Church Fathers argued that, therefore, God is not to be blamed for evil but rather the devil's abuse of his free will. [42] Belial [ edit ] In Eastern Orthodoxy, the devil is an integral part of Christian cosmology. The existence of the devil is taken seriously and is not subject to question. [206] According to Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, there are three enemies of humanity: Death, sin and Satan. [207] In contrast to Western Christianity, sin is not viewed as a deliberate choice but as a universal and inescapable weakness. [207] Sin is turning from God towards oneself, a form of egoism and ungratefulness, leading away from God towards death and nothingness. [208] Lucifer invented sin, resulting in death, and introduced it first to the angels, who have been created before the material world, and then to humanity. Lucifer, considered a former radiant archangel, lost his light after his fall and became the dark Satan (the enemy). [209]

a b c Bamberger, Bernard J. (2010). Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm. Jewish Publication Society. p.94. ISBN 9780827610477. A number of prayers and practices against the Devil exist within Catholic Church tradition. [198] [199] The Lord's Prayer includes a petition for being delivered "from the evil one", but a number of other specific prayers also exist. The Puritans living in New England’s early colonies were petrified of the Devil. They believed he gave powers to witches who were faithful to him. This fear gave rise to the infamous Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. The Catholic Church views the battle against the Devil as ongoing. During a 24 May 1987 visit to the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel, Pope John Paul II said: [205] Martin Luther taught that the devil was real, personal and powerful. [168] Evil was not a deficit of good, but the presumptuous will against God, his word and his creation. [169] He also affirmed the reality of witchcraft caused by the devil. However, he denied the reality of witches' flight and metamorphoses, regarded as imagination instead. [c] The devil could also possess someone. He opined that the possessed might feel the devil in himself, as a believer feels the Holy Spirit in his body. [d] In his Theatrum Diabolorum, Luther lists several hosts of greater and lesser devils. Greater devils would incite to greater sins, like unbelief and heresy, while lesser devils to minor sins like greed and fornication. Among these devils also appears Asmodeus known from the Book of Tobit. [e] These anthropomorphic devils are used as stylistic devices for his audience, although Luther regards them as different manifestations of one spirit (i.e. the devil). [f]An impossible trident, [1] also known as an impossible fork, [2] blivet, [3] poiuyt, or devil's tuning fork, [4] is a drawing of an impossible object (undecipherable figure), a kind of an optical illusion. It appears to have three cylindrical prongs at one end which then mysteriously transform into two rectangular prongs at the other end. Christianity is undecided whether the devil fell immediately into hell or if he is given respite until the Day of Judgment. [230] Several Christian authors, among them Dante Alighieri and John Milton, have depicted the devil as resident in Hell. This is in contrast to parts of the Bible that describe the devil as traveling about the earth, like Job 1:6–7 [231] and 1 Peter 5:8, [232] discussed above. On the other hand, 2 Peter 2:4 [233] speaks of sinning angels chained in hell. [234] At least according to Revelation 20:10, [87] the devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire and Sulfur. Theologians disagree whether the devil roams the air of the earth or fell underground into hell, [235] yet both views agree that the devil will be in hell after Judgment Day. Christians have understood the devil as the personification of evil, the author of lies and the promoter of evil, and as a metaphor of human evil. However, the devil can go no further than God, or human freedom, allows, resulting in the problem of evil. Christian scholars have offered three main theodicies of why a good God might need to allow evil in the world. These are based on the free will of humankind, [103] a self-limiting God, [104] and the observation that suffering has "soul-making" value. [105] Christian theologians do not blame evil solely on the devil, as this creates a kind of Manichean dualism that, nevertheless, still has popular support. [106] Origen [ edit ] Metzger, Bruce M.; Coogan, Michael David, eds. (14 October 1993). "Belial". The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford University Press. p.77. ISBN 978-0-19-974391-9.

Aiello, Thomas (28 September 2010). "The Man Plague: Disco, the Lucifer Myth, and the Theology of 'It's Raining Men': The Man Plague". The Journal of Popular Culture. 43 (5): 926–941. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2010.00780.x. PMID 21140934. Liberal Christianity often views the devil metaphorically and figuratively. The devil is seen as representing human sin and temptation, and any human system in opposition to God. [192] Early Unitarians and Dissenters like Nathaniel Lardner, Richard Mead, Hugh Farmer, William Ashdowne and John Simpson, and John Epps taught that the miraculous healings of the Bible were real, but that the devil was an allegory, and demons just the medical language of the day. Such views are taught today by Christadelphians [193] and the Church of the Blessed Hope. Unitarians and Christadelphians who reject the Trinity, immortality of the soul and the divinity of Christ, also reject belief in a personified evil. [194] Charismatic movements [ edit ] Spirit Halloween is the largest Halloween retailer in North America, with over 1,450 pop-up locations in strip centers and malls across North America. Celebrating nearly four decades of business, Spirit has cemented its position as the premier destination for all things Halloween. Known to many as an exciting and interactive event for shoppers, Spirit stores offer complete selections of costumes and accessories for infants/toddlers, children, 'tweens, teens, and adults, along with exclusive jaw-dropping animatronics and décor you won't find anywhere else. In fact, Spirit knows how to have so much fun, it's scary! Dungeon Crawl gives us the Demon Trident, a superior version of the basic trident, as one of the three demonic weapons that often show up in the hands of powerful demons and hell knights. Players with a Prayer level of 49 or higher are able to make use of the Redemption prayer. The Redemption prayer can be used at the thermonuclear smoke devil as a way of restoring hitpoints. When the player's hitpoints are reduced below 10% of their maximum hitpoints while the Redemption prayer is active, the Redemption prayer will use the player's remaining prayer points to heal the player. The number of hitpoints healed is equal to 25% of their Prayer level (rounded down).Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: While not exactly evil, the Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy Wufei is probably the most morally ambiguous of the five main characters & has a double-bladed Beam Trident as his Gundam's sole handheld weapon after its Midseason Upgrade. Notably, this is the only part of any of the five main Gundams not to get massively overhauled yet again by Hajime Katoki for The Movie, which features Wufei as one of the main antagonists for much of his screentime & even has him Putting on the Reich. Most other religions and cultures teach of an evil being who roams the earth wreaking havoc and fighting against the forces of good. In Islam, the devil is known as Shaytan and, like the Devil in Christianity, is also thought to have rebelled against God. In Judaism, “satan” is a verb and generally refers to a difficulty or temptation to overcome instead of a literal being. Run north-west after entering the Smoke Devil Dungeon to find a crevice leading to the section with the thermonuclear smoke devil. Satan, on the other hand, appears as a leader of a class of angels. Satan is not among the fallen angels but rather a tormentor for both sinful men and sinful angels. The fallen angels are described as "having followed the way of Satan", implying that Satan led them into their sinful ways, but Satan and his angels are clearly in the service of God, akin to Satan in the Book of Job. Satan and his lesser satans act as God's executioners: they tempt into sin, accuse sinners for their misdeeds, and finally execute divine judgment as angels of punishment. [56] Book of Jubilees [ edit ]