From my Armchair

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Isaiah 45:7

This verse more than any others illustrates the point that all things come from God, even “evil”. This, of course, is in complete contrast to what most theological authorities say. Even when the Hebrew word “ra” is translated as calamity, woe, bad, or disaster, it doesn’t detract that God has created something that is of an ill nature.

Many who really take a deep look and study the bible are often surprised to learn the the Devil is a rather recent Beiblical concept. In the earliest books of the Torah or Bible, there is no mention of the Devil. In the Job, we find an intity  called Satan, which means ‘the accuser’, who appears to be one of the Heavenly Host. Many scholars agree, the idea of the Devil is not an original Hebrew idea but was borrowed from other religious traditions, most likely Zorastrianism.

Zoroaster was an ancient Iranian prophet and religious poet from around the 11th or 10th century BCE that taught there was a great cosmic conflict between the power of good and the power of evil — the forces of light and the forces of darkness. God was the spiritual force for good Ahriman was an equal and oposite force for evil. This Ahriman was probably encountered by the Hebrews during the Babylonian exile and later became whom we call today, The Devil.

Pre-Babylonian Exile — And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. 2  Samuel 24:1

Post-Babylonian Exile — And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. 1 Chronicles 21:1

These are but two of a few examples that show that the idea of a Devil did not come into Hebrew thought until after the Babylonian exile. If one really exams the scriptures of the Christian and Hebrew Bible, they will find that this is true.

Technorati Tags: Conceptions of God, Duality, God, Religion

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