Bob and Randy:
Bob, you are right, Sammael is not mentioned in the Scriptures, he is
mentioned in the Qaballa, as is Lilith, the Original Wife of Adam.
Sammael
is, in essence, a greater demon, as well as the Serpent in the Garden of
Eden.
Lucifer's fall describes the Great War in Heaven and following his casting
out, he became the Lord of Hell, displacing Sammael.
The role of Satan/The Great Temptor is derived from Ariman, from
Zoroastrianism, and is developed following the Babylon Captivity. If you
study the early books of the Bible, pre-Captivity, there is no mention of
him. Starting with Chronicles, post-Captivity, he begins to appear. Over
time, this role becomes more greatly defined.
The current vision of "Satan" derives from a bastardization of the
pan-Celtic god Cernnenos , the god of woodland creatures, and dates back
to
the Middle Ages. This was an attempt by St. Patrick, among others, to
demonize the Celtic religion and convert the Druids to Christianity.
All of this is based on research LS McGill and I had to do in order to
complete our novel _LoveStruck: Seven Days_. Our credentials also include
LS McGill's seven years under the tutelage of the Southern Baptist
Convention, with the intent of becoming a pastor.
Disclaimer: How accurate this is depends on the Southern Baptist
Convention, who are as fundamentalist Christian as Al-Qeada is
fundamentalist Islam, right down to the bombings (abortion clinics in the
name of Christ).
Hope that helps!
Jen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Schroeck" <rms@eclipse.net>
To: "Fanfic Mailing List" <ffml@anifics.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 3:03 PM
Subject: [FFML] Re: [fanfic][Ranma]Even Angels Have Wings prologue
Randy Grant wrote:
> 5) Burning One: this is derived from the name "Lucifer." A common
> misconception is that the Devil's name as an angel was Lucifer, but
> became Satan after the Fall. In reality (or what passes for it in
> theological philosophy), the angel's name was Sammael and became
Satan
> after the Fall. Lucifer is a nickname derived from the Christian
> conceptualization of Hell (fire and brimstone) meaning something
along
> the lines of "Bringer of Fire" in Latin. This is why matches and
> fireflies both have names similar to "lucifer" in most romance
languages
> ("luciole" in French; "luciola" in Italian; "luci�rnaga" in Spanish):
> they are also "bringers of fire."
Actually, there are several major errors and misconceptions here, all of
which are being presented as "fact". This is fine to do within the
context of the story where the fabric of the world is up to you, but to
throw them here in a footnote as a presumably "scholarly" comment is
more than a bit sloppy.
First, as anyone with a high school exposure to Romance languages should
be able to figure out, "Lucifer" means "light bringer" -- "lux" and its
cognates all mean "light" and not "fire". Secondly, "Lucifer" was not a
real heavenly figure -- the one reference to Lucifer in the Bible
(Isaiah
14:12, used to justify the myth of the Fall), is in fact a gloating
political commentary on the writer's contemporary Nebuchadnezzar.
Thirdly,
you appear to be conflating this mythical figure with another --
Prometheus,
the "bringer of fire" in ancient Greek myth.
Fourthly, "Satan" as a named entity is a recent invention. In the Old
Testament books of Job, Chronicles, Psalms, and Zechariah there is
mention of "the satan" (there's once instance of "satan" without the
definitive article in I Chronicles 21, but it's generally accepted to be
a transcription error). As numerous Old Testament texts show, the satan
is not a specific person, but a title or job description -- God's loyal
"prosecuting attorney". There is no scriptural material ever naming a
"Sammael" or "Samael" -- and a lot of rather dubious effort was made in
the middle ages to try and shoehorn him into the Bible to justify his
presence in Christian orthodoxy of the period.
For some good, straightforward plain-English information on the subject,
check out:
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mangels.html
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mjob.html
-- Bob
============================================================================
===
Robert M. Schroeck rms@eclipse.net
http://www.eclipse.net/~rms
============================================================================
===
Please to remember
Eleven September --
Hijack, destruction and plot.
Our outraged reaction
To terrorist action
Should never be forgot.
============================================================================
===
-- Bob
============================================================================
===
Robert M. Schroeck rms@eclipse.net
http://www.eclipse.net/~rms
============================================================================
===
Please to remember
Eleven September --
Hijack, destruction and plot.
Our outraged reaction
To terrorist action
Should never be forgot.
============================================================================
===
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
| Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
| Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'