Evil and the Devil

The problem of evil has pursued world religions for centuries. The Old Testament contained no uniform dogma on evil powers, launching a fierce debate that has dominated theological and philosophical thought through the centuries to this day. Evil and the Devil brings together contributions from leading international scholars to chart that debate, tracing the history of evil from its origins in ancient rabbinic literature through the New Testament to the thought of Origen and one of the topic's most influential theologians, Augustine. What role did evil adopt in ancient Judaism? Why was Yahweh often equated with Satan in the Old Testament? What impact did the association of miracles with demons have upon Matthew's Gospel? Evil and the Devil examines such questions, resulting in a fascinating and comprehensive exploration of portrayals of evil and its power and influence on religious thought.

Erkki Koskenniemi is adjunct professor of Biblical Studies at Abo Akademi Finland.

Introduction/1. The Devil in the Old Testament/2. Evil in Second Temple Texts/3. Demonic Beings and the Dead Sea Scrolls/4. The Devil in Rabbinic Literature/5. Miracles of the Devil and His Assistants in Early Judaism and Their Influence on the Gospel of Matthew/6. Mark and the Devil/7. Binding the Strong Man: Demon-Possession and Liberation in the Gospel of Luke/8. The Believing Jews as the Children of the Devil in John 8.44: Similarity as a Threat to Social Identity/9. Paul and the Devil/10. 1 Peter and the Lion/11. The Dangerous Loser: The Narrative and Rhetorical Function of the Devil as Character in the Book of Revelation/12. "Evil is not a Nature". Origen on Evil and the Devil/13. Augustine and Evil