In 2009 The Barna Research Group polled Christians on their belief in Satan. Here are the results:
“Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan ‘is not a living being but a symbol of evil.’ An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they ‘agree somewhat’ with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with this statement: one-quarter (25%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan.”
In 2013 YouGov put out a poll which surveyed Americans. The people ranged from Christians, to Jews, to Muslims, and to atheist. The result is that 60% believe that Satan is a real being
Now, I know polls aren’t perfect, but there seems to be a disconnect. The people who should have no problem believing in a real Satan (Christians), actually do have a problem with believing in a real Satan. It seems like most Americans don’t have a problem believing in a real Satan, but most Christians do.
Grant it, when you see a post entitled “Rethinking Satan”, one could conclude that I have gone the way of the Christian crowd, and am going to argue that he does not exist and that he is just a symbol of evil. If you thought that, you would be wrong.
I am actually going to go against the grain here and say that he does exist. So what do I mean by my title? Two things: First, since it seems that most Christians lean toward Satan being a symbol of evil, I want them to rethink their position. Second, and most importantly for these posts, I am going to challenge the popular belief that based off of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, Satan was an anointed cherub made in pristine perfection, who then, at some point before creation, rebelled and brought other angels down with him.
Who is he then and why do I disagree with that popular interpretation? Well, I guess you’ll have to read and find out. :-)
Before we get started, I want to give you an outline on how this series of articles on “Rethinking Satan” is going to unfold. First, we are going to look at the Hebrew word for “satan” in the Old Testament and see how it is used. You are going to be surprised. Second, we are going to examine Genesis 3, Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28. We will look at the passages in their context, and also consider what both the early rabbis and the Church Fathers had to say about those text. Third, we will examine the writings of the intertestamental period (the period of time between the writing of the Old and New Testament) and see what they believed about Satan. Fourth, we are going to examine the New Testament and what it has to say about him. Finally, in the last article, we will piece this all together and form a theology of Satan.