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I wonder, what are you opinions on the effects that books like Dante and Paradise Lost had the concepts of Satan? Despite them not being religous texts in the way of the bible, the effect of them have influcencd peoples notions of Satan. I was once told I was going to burn the nine circles for my paganism, or some people will think of Lucifer as a misunderstood anti hero like Milton said.
Hey, was wondering if you know of any good annotated bibles that can give me better understanding of what the writers meant while giving good historical context. Oh, and I would love to read any other noncanonical annotated books as well, especially the book of Enoch.
It's so hard to find scholarly and non-biased resources on demonology on the internet without pouring through every religious text that mentions them. I really would love to see more of this in the future keep it up!
@@ReligionForBreakfast I would also be interested in Kabbalah, Tarot, misc Mysticism from a scholarly view. I tried looking for it before but most sources are believers in it rather than examiners of it.
ESOTERICA is another good channel for in depth looks at occult texts including Kabbalah. Found his channel through Angela's Symposium, which was promoted on here with the previous demon video.
As a decidedly irreligious person, I find the practice, concepts, and history of religion extremely fascinating. Thank you so much for these videos that you put out!
@@ParadiseLordRyu Tricky for an atheist who doesn't have any religion. Or are you one of those who insists that not believing is some kind of belief system which counts as a religion?
@Michael Lozano Not necesarily unless he explicitly says so for himself. "Irreligious" does not explicitly mean "I have no religion." It can very well mean you do, but you don't practice it or don't practice it orthodoxically.
As someone raised in a small, Evangelical community who saw their every belief as immutable and eternal, it is soooo refreshing to hear religion discussed in such a mature and thoughtful way. It’s also just more fun and interesting! Thanks for a great video.
Devil eats us. You are domesticated animal product Psalms 44:22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
@@dannikasoukoroff9633 the djinn realm is parallel beside our realm. They can see us but we can't all the time see them... A djinn or dybuk can easily latch on and feed off us... Check out the greek archons or Islamic djinn, same thing. Legend says the devil touches every baby out of the womb except mother mary because her mother hannah did not sin... All born into sin!
im so glad I found this page, not directly denouncing or promoting any one religion but simply putting into fact the timeline and beliefs of each religion
Especially when charles darwin worshipped the devil, yet people fall in line with science. Not knowing that science means to know, which is exactly what satan gave adam and eve in the garden the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. Also if it's fake then why do truly evil people worship satan? No other religion can make the boost that a large group of people worship the bad guy, just a thought. If you believe in the law you have to swear on the bible to prove your telling the truth.
@@sleepystar6312 about that last part, you swear on whatever holy book is a part of your religion. There's s funny clip of a guy on the news learning this fact.
@@jeffsmith5787 Apple, is a play on words, the fruit of knowledgeof good and evil. It also has a bite out of it. They also sold their first computer for 666.66$. You bring a strawman, I'll give you a strawman.
As a person struggling with my beliefs, THANK YOU for these insightful videos. I'm on a spiritual journey, and I can't just accept everything like I did as a child in Sunday school. Following religion causes major life changes and I'm never blindly going to follow something bc it's what my parents\church taught me
I highly recommend exploring different Eastern religions. Fun fact: the satan is something positive in Judaism created by G-d himself, which is why antisemites over the ages have accused Jews of devil worshipping.
We're in the same boat. Your soul truly does become unchained when you break free of fundamentalism (I'm assuming that is the kind of environment your Sunday school was).
As Phd in History (and having within my interests issues related with the history and sociology of religion) I have to say I loved this video, and especially how you explain what it means to think historically. Great job. This video deserves to be used in the classroom.
One of my resolutions for 2021 is to beef up the “takeaway” sections of my videos so they are not simple distributions of rote fact. Hence the extended methodological discussion at the end of my recent Aztec video.
@@ReligionForBreakfast I just want to stop by to say that I wholeheartedly support that decision. Teaching how historical research works and "what it actually does" has great importance if we want to teach history at all. I believe you have chosen your channel's trajectory... wisely
@Eric Moore "Secretly an atheist" is very funny, he was always an atheist. Zeena didnt care for how he was running things and left. Also why are you telling me this, how is this relevant to anything.
Dude, straight explanation without cute snark or sarcasm or any pandering to trendy politics? A message at the end to explain how to understand history vs empirical sciences? No fancy music or huge budget graphics? Subbed forever.
^ This. This is really what most people want but content creators always think they need bells and whistles. All I need is smart, simple, neutral content
I love how, in the book of Job (Jobe like “robe”), God and Satan speak to each other in a casual manner like “Hello Satan. What are you doing?” “Hello God. I’ve been around the world, walking here and there.” 😆 Wow. They really do sound like absolute enemies. 🤣
@@SamuelBlack84and getting bored of their ant hill and flooding it and letting every ant go thru horrible things all bc 1 ancient ant ate something it wasn’t supposed to
@@jsnicks7189 That's what our human parents chose. Of course the ALMIGHTY, ( if HE so wills it,) can cause every bit of suffering & wickedness, that ANYONE has ever experienced to be completely forgotten, while allowing those that please HIM, to live Happily Forever ! BTW, GOD has given all the humans on this planet every Good thing they have ever enjoyed in their lives. GOD does NOT owe anybody anything & there is no negative attitude that can stand against the logic & reasonableness of that statement !
I'm in the same boat but lean more towards being agnostic and take a "till proven otherwise" approach. What's funny for me though is out of all suspense / horror movies it's always the devil / demonic ones that frighten me the most. It's like this genetically ingrained thing along with the social conditioning and brainwashing we all get as children. So even though you don't believe in such things, it seems you still do in some respects. That or some people just make really believable devil movies lol.
@@oldowl4290 And now enters the 3rd poster with the 3rd viewpoint lol…I am a theist with leanings towards Christianity, with caveats that Biblical texts contain all of the same complications & difficulties as any other historical texts (I see the Bible as a sliding scale of difficulty levels all throughout). But I might enjoy the philosophical angle more. And between this and my strong belief in Philosophical Dualism it does bring with it a higher level of intrigue for those evil spirit type horror movies. Although not a horror movie, I really recommend Fallen with Denzel Washington!! Paranormal Witness was a show that gave me chills quite a few times. I just liked the first Paranormal Activity…if you know of any really good ones feel free to recommend them!
Tbh I don’t know how people can listen to how religion has warped and constantly changed over the centuries and blended with other religions, and come out still believing in a religion. It’s so clearly just created by people.
i was looking for an idication one way or the other so based on your comment the answer is no statan is not a living entity. thanks for saving me the time!
🤺☦️🇷🇺No. It was very shallow and misleading. Only Protestant heretics view Satan in a childish Zoroastrian way of the pagans. Orthodox Christians and Jews' concept of Satan is loyal to the old testament as mentioned in the book of Eyob: Satan is simply one of God's spirits who is in charge of all evil and sin, and his job is to test humans in their faith to God - by God's command and permition. He is not an enemy of God (that is an heretic view) - God HAS NO enemies or equals! Nor a fallen angel: 1. Fallen angels were the ancestor of the giant race called Nefilim, which has nothing to do with all of that 2. Angels CANNOT "rebel" against God, because they have no freedom of choice as humans have. If this video was a true serious study, it would have mentioned all of that, but of course it is done by a heathen so what can you expect lol🤷♂️
I read Political science, and yes I agree with the Hobbesian concept, we are all capable of absolute evil without a god figure or devil .... It's in us, even chimpanzees exhibit the force of evil and we are evolved from the same evolutionary line..... I wrote in essays when I was at study, humans are not sympathetic to each other but as Hobbes described, capable of selfishness and evil one to another to gain our own needs !
I don't know why it took me so long, but the realization hit me just a few years ago that demons are mentioned several times in the New Testament but never in the Old. Definitely a time lapse that needs to be explored to explain that. And yes, I was around the Charismatic/Pentecostal "demon behind every bush" mentaility for a time.
The word 'shedim' occurs a couple of times in the OT, and is translated as 'demons'. The NT 'daimonion', or demon, obviously doesn't appear in the OT, since the OT wasn't written in greek. The word demon didn't appear before the greek language, which is why you'll find it a lot in the NT pertaining to entities which the OT dealt with as well, though you wouldn't find them when doing a Greco English search. Besides that, the NT has a simplified view of spiritual entities. The good ones are mostly simply called 'angels', and the bad ones 'demons' or 'fallen angels' at best, while angel is merely a kind of job description (mal'ak) and doesn't mean anything ontological (elohim would be the right word for all spiritual entities in that case, including angels). In the OT there are about 10 'kinds' of 'angelic' entities like the Ophanim and Cherubim (the entity Satan is called 'the covering cherub'), but I digress. Here's a paper by Heiser on the word demon in Deut. 32:17 digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1325&context=lts_fac_pubs
@@pjevandenbussche3752 don't waste your time. Let them die in their false knowledge. But ill take a look into this. I'm somewhat a fan of heisers work.
Thank you, Dr. Henry, for one of your most helpful online lectures I've yet come across. As a person who believes in God, I am constantly reminded (as well as reminding others) that religion is an irrational discipline that must be periodically subjected to rational processing in order to preserve its internal as well as external consistency. In this way it avoids self-contradiction and real-world irrelevance. This is how it continues to be viable for generations beyond its Bronze-age origins. If Christianity, in particular, is to survive, it must do more than dig its heels into a bedrock of orthodoxy. It must examine every question that arises through the discipline of humility (open-mindedness) and science (scholarship) as you do in your lectures in order to prevent it from lapsing into pathological thinking and uselessness. If God is admitted to this process - the Lord of science as well as of faith - true enlightenment may take place. For my part, I do not need a pre-existing and perpetual Devil to account for the presence of evil in this world. The default human condition of self-centeredness when not sublimated by justice and love is enough to account for it.
Very well said. You may find a Jungian level reading of Mirza Husayn Ali of Nur's (Baha'u'llah) 1861/1862 book the "Kitab-I-Iqan" helpful. The key factor right now in human history, it appears, is that we are in "World Age Passage Archetypal Eternal Return." The religions of the Age of Pisces are all dying. A different spiritual sensibility is now being born in the Age of Aquarius. Your excellent post here belongs to the now budding thought of the latter. I also recommend the 1969 Classic book "Hamlet's Mill" as a foundation for this World Age Passage Cosmological view in World History. The historical Zoroastrian Cosmological discussion was brilliantly put forth in the tremendous 2014 Season 1 of the HBO TV Series "True Detective". The study of Cosmological Zoroastrian thematic ideas in Film and Television these days is absolutely astounding! Once again, thank you so much for your extremely thoughtful post!
What does irrational mean? In what way? In terms of faith? No, faith and disbelief do not belong to the dualism of rational and non-rational. This is a scientific myth
@@topsuperseven7910 the devil’s advocate takes and defends contrarian positions that they don’t actually support as a way of checking against the worst case scenarios. So if “the adversary” were not an actual enemy of god, but just a devil’s advocate, then their purpose and actions still make sense. This character is called “the satan” which got misunderstood and became Satan AKA the devil. So the devil himself originally playing the devil’s advocate is ironic because that character evolved from just being a devil’s advocate into being the devil himself. That’s why it’s ironic.
Despite the mass confusion the internet is largely responsible for including the pernicious effect of algorithms this logical, educated, thoughtful analysis of satanic origins is provided for free and easily available to most. Thanks for all the hard work that led to this impressive examination.
It is incorrect, the oldest mention of Satan by name is from the oldest book in the Bible, and it is not Genesis, and Moses didn't write it. Read Job and ask yourself if this is a concept or a person. Skip the pseudo-historical blathering and use your brain.
I wonder if his reputation as “evil” mostly comes from his role as a prosecutor You’re not gonna be the nicest guy if your job is seeing the worst of humanity on a daily basis
@everestrada9141 the concept of demons (daimons) got tarred with that stick. to the Greeks, daimons were neutral spirits who brought difficult lessons. so we interpret them as unpleasant which morphed into evil over time. in Hindu, Saturn (Shani) has the same reputation. it is the ruling planet, God of karma therefore people see him as an ill omen, but karma is only a b"tch when we are! logically, Shani would also bring auspicious things to people who have the fruit of good karma coming
As a persian zoroastrian I've always thought of the similarities between Abrahamic religions and zoroastrianism. I thank you for making such an interesting video about this. Thank you
🤺☦️🇷🇺As a pagan enemy of the holy Islamic republic of Iran, like those American puppets who protest - you should be ashamed of yourself. No. Wrong, it was done very shallow and misleading. No, Jewish view of satan wasn't changed due to Zoroastrian influence, on the contrary, Zoroastrianism stole the concept and corrupted him in the pagan way, as all pagan religions did always! Only Protestant heretics view Satan in a childish Zoroastrian way of the pagans. Orthodox Christians and Jews' concept of Satan is loyal to the old testament as mentioned in the book of Eyob: Satan is simply one of God's spirits who is in charge of all evil and sin, and his job is to test humans in their faith to God - by God's command and permition. He is not an enemy of God (that is an heretic view) - God HAS NO enemies or equals! Nor a fallen angel: 1. Fallen angels were the ancestor of the giant race called Nefilim, which has nothing to do with all of that 2. Angels CANNOT "rebel" against God, because they have no freedom of choice as humans have. If this video was a true serious study, it would have mentioned all of that, but of course it is done by a heathen so what can you expect lol🤷♂️ 🇷🇺❤🇮🇷
I believe you are failing to understand the distinction between an anointed one, and THE anointed one in the context of Jewish theology. Also, Nebuchadnezzar took Judah away in chains and the Jewish Bible still records him as being chosen by God.
It's interesting. People perceive the devil differently depending on their culture. I'm Russian and the "red skin and pitchfork" image is quite unknown in our country. Well, maybe it is known but mostly from american movies. If demons are depicted, they're always coal-black , with horns and quite often - with a pig snout. Sometimes with bat wings, sometimes not. In our old icons however demons usually look black, with wings, clawed feet and without horns, but with their black hair standing up. Seriously. I've read that such depiction of their hair was used to convey their savage, wild and chaotic nature
@@Arius90 That one's easy. Star Wars. Specifically, the Japanese RPG version of the orc was influenced by the Gamorreans in Star Wars, and Gannon's the boss of the "Blins" (goblinoids).
@@madmonkee6757 There is this old Russian saying: " Pray to God but also don't anger the devil. Light a candle for the devil as well because you don't know where you'll end up after you die" The idea was that it's better to be in a respectful relationship with satan in case you die and go to him after death. I know this ambivalence of eastern slavic people may seem weird, but the thing is that attitude towards the devil and demons was much milder in Russia than it was in the west. Most people retained some pagan ways of thinking and even though they were christians they didn't see the devil/demons as absolute monsters, more like dark entities that could be mischievous sometimes but not completely evil. For example people believed in initially pagan spirits of the household, the forest, rivers, etc. After Russia became christian these entities started to be seen as demons, but people never stopped worshipping them and making offerings. So a typical Russian peasant could literally go to church and pray to god and then go home and make an offering to a spirit of the house, and he would not see it as something unusual or illogical. This attitude to demons was also the reason why witches in Russia were never systematically hunted. Most people didn't see them as evil or particularly malevolent. People feared them but also respected for their talents, even though they knew those talents came from the devil himself. The fact that in the fairytale you've mentioned it was the smith who used to lit the candle for satan is no accidence. People of certain professions ( smiths, millers for example) were considered to be witches or at least having special close relationship with demons(because peasants attributed millers' and smiths' talents and skills to demonic forces)
Don’t know how I stumbled upon this channel, but I sure am glad I did. Such interesting stuff. Being a historian myself, I love learning about the origins of religions throughout history. Thank you for everything you do, and thank you especially for using scholarly, non-biased sources!
The concept of "the satan" as an archetype in early text vs Satan as a being is really interesting. I guess a modern example of this kind of thing is the divide between people who interpret the antichrist to be some singular person vs those who frame being an antichrist as being a specific mindset or behavior.
Spirit of Anti-Christ, people against Christ, and the Antti-Christ figure in Daniel, and Revelations. So THE anti-christ will be a person, and is a mindset of non-believers of Jesus, and will be manifested in a system of control via currency, religion, and politics/policies.
As a follower of Yeshua, I love all of the valuable research that you are doing. It inspires me to search more for the truth regarding God. Thank you for all that you are doing! 🕊🙏🏾
Having studied the "Bible"in the original Hebrew I have, perhaps, a different view. I was taught that the word Shatan is related to the word Shala or sheta, both meaning "question" or "inquiry". Hashatan as written in Jobe, and other writings means adversary but in the context of "questioner". Thus hashatan was the role given to the individual who job is to question God's choices. As such it served as the Conscience of god.
It's all fake news. The Devil, last time I checked, was in fact the black panther disguised as the Devil. The Devil, meanwhile, was searching for his soul in a four part mini-gospel.
@@MatthewCaunsfield Comments that slip slide on by can be the most effective in altering thinking patterns. Star Trek and Twilight Zone excelled in this.
Finally atleast one video that doesn't speak about demonology from a religious POV. I am doing a lot of practical research about it and it's almost impossible to find stuff like this. Keep up the good work!!
I was an Anthropology major and was taught a similar concept for cultural studies. The "Father of American Anthropology" Franz Boas also introduced a historical perspective of cultures focusing on how they change through time. It's also heavily influenced in Linguistics studies of how languages have changed and spread, influencing each other. Humans are incredibly complicated and yet fascinating how we might focus in on different things yet come to similar conclusions or analytical techniques.
Thank you for an open-minded discussion, based and interpreted on historical facts. I love your mind and your dedication to searching for truth. Reason in a time of much confusion and mistrust.
🤺☦️🇷🇺Only Protestant heretics view Satan in a childish Zoroastrian way of the pagans. Orthodox Christians and Jews' concept of Satan is loyal to the old testament as mentioned in the book of Eyob: Satan is simply one of God's spirits who is in charge of all evil and sin, and his job is to test humans in their faith to God - by God's command and permition. He is not an enemy of God (that is an heretic view) - God HAS NO enemies or equals! Nor a fallen angel: 1. Fallen angels were the ancestor of the giant race called Nefilim, which has nothing to do with all of that 2. Angels CANNOT "rebel" against God, because they have no freedom of choice as humans have. If this video was a true serious study, it would have mentioned all of that, but of course it is done by a heathen so what can you expect lol🤷♂️
As an atheist, I absolutely support your approach: when discussing religion, I don't want to dismantle it, but rather I want to examine the historical and cultural context of beliefs The evolution of Jewish and Christian ideas are infinitely fascinating to me
@@topologyrob I believe that the universe is governed by natural laws, therefore there's no space for any metaphysical force, or even free will. How about that?
This is along the same misconceptions of hell. I remember being a kid and my pastor tell me “Do you think hell is just some place that God can’t touch? He rules over all things” Really changed my perspective on a lot of concepts from that point onwards
@Valare Beauchamp Right. There's an "elder" as well. Sorry, I'm used to having to "defend" this thing and especially its modern implications... Though frankly, I'd wear it on a T-shirt if I could.
And yet so many wise people regard religion as true, and many rulers have outlawed religion -except the cult of personality- and many common people think it's false nowday's.
Thank you for making this video. There is frustratingly little public information on the influences of Zoroastrianism on Judaism and by extension Christianity. While it seems fairly obvious to me that some key elements of Zoroastrianism made their way into Jewish eschatology this does not appear to be the mainstream scholarly view. I’m genuinely surprised by this and by the resulting lack of scholarly investigation into this topic.
One of the most freeing steps for me as a Christian was when I came to understand that "the devil & demons" were not literal beings bent on my eternal doom and misery. I came to this through the writings of Joseph Priestley, Hugh Farmer, Theophilus Lindsey, and other dissenting Unitarians and ministers of England during the 17th-19th centuries.
Ever since I became obsessed with Zoroastrianism twenty years ago and read my first Mary Boyce I've been trying to explain the likely influence of Achaemenid Persia. Heck, Cyrus is called the anointed. So, maybe that was coincidence too. But people hear me pull out a strange Z word and think I'm high or speak to crystals. Another, though more fanciful theory was R.C. Zaehner's Teaching of the Magi, where he noted the Saoshyant and the Messiah and... Bethlehem. He later recanted that I think, but fun thought experiment. Anyway thanks for making me not feel crazy. I truly believe there needs to be an intersection of Iranian Studies with those of the Levant focused on textual beliefs, etc.
With the advent of Internet and social media we can now learn and decide for ourselves what is man made and what is not. Keep an open mind and be curious. Thank you for putting this together.
Sir, I have just discovered your channel. I am thoroughly impressed with its content. You take a very academic approach to subject matter few can discuss without emotion or an unwillingness to question. Thank you and keep up the good work!
As an atheist I really like learning religions from this angle. Well bloody done, as is your standard from my reckoning. I've nothing against religions, only against refusing knowledge.
Here’s a serious question I have though. Are people happy that he’s approaching this topic objectively because it makes sense to do this within the topic? I’ve seen a lot of people in these comments that are happy with this approach because they’re religious more than not.
@@sosmooth13 as someone who is (still) interested in religious studies and also religious, a lot of discussions of religion tend to be annoying debates about "does god exist?" and "is religion good?" with the side saying no being hardcore atheist and saying that religious people are stupid and religion is stupid. for a lot of people, it's not that it's objective, it's that it's more scholarly than richard dawkins calling you stupid for being christian. this type of video looks at religion secularly with the respect and seriousness it deserves, recognizing the key role religion plays for a lot of people in their lives. people are interested in learning about religion, but it sucks when the only talking about religion is all emotional with the secular side being hardcore scientism. this is talking about religion with a secular lens in a way that isn't a massive turn off for everyone religious.
This is very interesting. I'm leaning so much with your videos. I was always interested in theology. I still have my beliefs. I don't feel threatened at all. We should all be kind to each other regardless of religion
Thank you for all your efforts; I didn't know Persians we're so intertwined with various religions through history. Your presentation feels very unbiased. I really want to believe that it's the results of a cumulative review and synthesis, not based on few choices made from computer search results.
Thank you taking us on deep dives into such interesting topics without bias! Religion is a fascinating topic and it is nice to see it resented this way!
I am honestly supprised you didn't mention Dante's "Inferno" and John Millton's "Paradise Lost", as those two works have had the most influnce on how people in the modern day view Satan.
I would probably pair this video with one about the crusades and dark ages, and then Dante's etc., A final video about how the modern Popular Culture God And Satan is basically turning really Gnostic really fast
You seem to have a way of explaining ideas and concepts to a normal person exploring the idea and concept of such an ambiguous and convoluted system of beliefs that actually makes sense. I have very little knowledge of the topic, however I respect the fact that you encourage people to consider the historical proof to determine what ultimately helps us reach a conclusion.
Just because of Constantine throw the book of Enoch out doesn't mean it is false...it is accurate but not acceptable by Constantine and many Christian who believe in Constantine
@@Kristina3rdeye I don’t believe in Constantine this is not a religion meant for white to begin with but research shows the the book of Enoch is not canon it does not intertwine with the old or New Testament
@@Kristina3rdeye It isn't part of God's Word. The old testament and the new testament must agree with each other. That's how we know the book of Enoch doesn't belong. It has things in it that go against God's Word.
That’s a really clever take on The Satan in Job, I never thought of the book like that before (I.e, that Satan was essentially playing ‘devil’s advocate’ or that he was a prosecutor in Yahweh’s court).
The event recorded in Job is interesting because it reveals a lot about Satan’s character. His statement “ a man will give everything for his life” is very cynical. Of course he was implying humans would reject their Creator if faced with death.
As a non-christian, I've always found the God and Satan dichotomy interesting. Satan is nefarious, but his actions tend to be relatively mild compared to evil entities in other religions, whereas God is good but holds jealousy and rage within him, just like how a good person sometimes feels bad emotions
@@_delevicate_2137 And what's it got to do with the rest of us? That were not born, had NO choice, and had to chose from multiple gods, and multiple definitions of good, whilst the... real... one, was hidden, and soweth own rivals here... Never saw any angels have to 'chose' among that.
@@_delevicate_2137 When is it at hand? Was it at hand in August 1572, on the massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve? And watch this video, and tell me what precisely, DID used to be right, wrong, or glorious? th-cam.com/video/KN4654qFxzk/w-d-xo.html
@The Expat Dodo Honestly from what I've heard that branch of christianity has a level of internal consistency and an ability to answer questions theologians have been asking about non gnostic christianity for years. I don't believe it, I'm an agnostic atheist, but I don't begrudge the former athiests who discovered gnostic christianity was a thing and converted.
@@Psychwriteify I'm in total agreement with you. I was a practising Christian until my 30s when I finally had the courage to reject it. I've not studied Gnosticism in great detail, but what I know of it, it explains reality better - ie not an all-perfect creator, rather one that is a bit jealous and self centred. (I know that is a massive oversimplification, but I can't describe it any better in a TH-cam comment.) As it is, I have no belief now in anything. You could call it nihilistic - life just happens and there is no meaning to look for. But I'm perfectly happy, not like I was trying to live up to being a Christian. That was the worst!
Such a brilliant and informative episode, as are all that you publish. Thank you so much for this, as a religious studies student your channel is a wonderful resource
One thing that woke me up from Christianity was realizing how much Christianity re-interpreted the Old Testament, primarily about Satan. It felt offensive, like we were disregarding the interpretations of the actual culture and religion that wrote it, and rewriting it to fit this idea of “good vs evil” and make people feel anxious over being tempted
You are, to me, outstandingly the best at this type of research AND presentation. I have said this before and feel the compulsion to say it again. And probably will feel a repeated need in the future. Given the opportunity. Please keep well.
This is a very well informed and interesting video! I studied theology at uni when I was a Christian and still engage with it from time to time. I think that from my understanding of theology, the character of satan was realised by the church through the study of canon once completed. The same for various doctrines - there may not be an explicit statement about something but there can be an underlying theme throughout the texts which leads to a conclusion. I.E. satan is referred to as the deceiver (ex Genesis), the tormentor (job), the accuser (revelation) etc. and so it’s not surprising that when the church finally canonised the bible in roughly 4th century, they saw that there was a character who was constantly opposing God. Alongside anecdotal stories as well I assume. But I love the Zoroastrianism overlaps - there’s a theory the Magi who visited Jesus were Zoro bois too. Anyways, really enjoyed this!
It appears as if a number of religions heavily borrowed from Zoroastrianism. We don't hear much of Zoroastrianism today, but chances are that there are many concepts of it in whatever holy book you read from whatever religion you believe in. It was quite influential.
I really loved reading about this in Elaine Pagels’ book on the topic, also called Origin of Satan, I think. There were some new things in here that she doesn’t discuss. I will probably end up sharing this with my students next time I teach this unit.
It would be interesting. My understanding is that Abraham came from the area of Mesopotamia so that is why they are similar. But it would be interesting to see the reason why from a scholar on religion then from my own logic.
The most interesting part is that supposedly the Epic of Gilgamesh was written before the Hebrew Bible. This really caused a stir amongst certain religions
@@bobmorane5021 Because it begs the question how the Sumerians apparently knew about the flood before the Hebrews did (or at least wrote about it before they did)
This is brilliant. Thank you. Mara is an intriguing concept. I'd love to see you do a video detailing, Mara and the Buddhist relationship with the concept of temptation/accuser.
I had the exact same thought. I hope your comment will receive enough likes to gain more visibility. I would love to see a video that puts a historical light on the concept of Mara.
Fascinating. Whenever I’ve heard religion taught in the past, the priest first figures out what he wants you to believe, then selectively interprets the religious books to put his words in God’s mouth.
“Lucifer" is not a demon's name. It is "morning star" in Latin. Some theologians in 3-4 century thought the morning star in Isaiah was a demon. So they thought the demon's name was Lucifer. However, the Old Testament is written in Hebrew. Lucifer is Latin. And most of all, in Revelation, who is the almighty morning star? Wrong analogy took Jesus' place for thousands years.
To add on, the morning (and evening) star is a common Near Eastern name for the planet Venus. Since it is the brightest object in the sky, only after the moon and sun, and appears best at twighlight, Venus was heavily associated with power and both good and bad omens.
One thing I would add to this is that apparently scholars of Zoroastrianism aren't sure how similar the religion of the Archaemenids was to what we know of as Zoroastrianism today so that would be another reason why it's hard to know how much influence the Persians had on Judaism.
Yes, from my reading, it seems that the problem stems from the fact the extant Zoroastrian manuscripts are quite late, but the texts themselves probably date back much earlier. Achaemenid religion is thus murkier than we would like. But the cultural exchange seems to be extensive at least on a linguistic level as Achaemenid Persian loan words end up in Jewish texts (esp the DSS).
It looks like Zoroastrianism has affected Manichaeism, the religion St. Augustine originally believed in. There are two gods, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness. Now Quantum Computing is going to create a new religion: quantum is always two, particle and wave.
I wished you would do such a good video about the view of world, God and "evil" in biblical texts before the exil. You do such a great job. Short and compact. Thank you!
The way you talk about contingency reminds me of the excellent James Burke series Connections where he explores how science evolves through building on previous advances that were themselves built on from even earlier advances and so on. This was an excellent video and I'll be checking out more of your content in the future.
Hi Suranjan, I have read the books by JW Waterhouse and SA Kapadia, as well as the Gathas of Zoroaster and the Avesta. I have some questions about the teachings and beliefs of this most interesting religion. Do you know of a website or other source where I can get my specific questions answered? thanks, Frederick
In his sci fi novel "Tunnel in the Sky" Robert Heinlein briefly mentions that the hero's family were converts to the "great religious revival from Persia that swept the world a century earlier". One of the things I loved about Heinlein is how he would casually throw out provacatice comments like these, then leave them, as if they were something everyone knows. The family has their meals under "the lamp of peace", a literal lamp lit and extinguished after each meal. The father is the family priest. That's all Heinlein wrote about it. Does any of this sound like Zoroastrianism? Have you read the novel? It's a young adult adventure story, survival on a strange planet. Smack in the middle is one of the greatest speeches about government I've ever read.
A huge problem I noticed is some of these old religions, and even the Abrahamic ones, use the word “dark” to mean “evil”-I think “dark” just means unknown or “unidentifiable in its constitution.” It doesn’t help that many people seem to think something along the lines of “darkness [of an evil god (“Satan”)] is the absence of light [of a good god (“God”)]” which is somewhat egregious, IMHO. This “light vs. darkness” thing gets taken to crazy heights, and forget that darkness is mysterious and you can’t see when in the absence of light, yet it doesn’t mean it’s anything inherently evil. It comes back to humans being afraid of the unknown. If you can live your life believing that the “spiritual unknown/darkness” is likely always that of demons or evil, and not have to think critically and lean on “trusted sources” for justification of these beliefs, then some people would absolutely live that way.
Well done, sir! I have long thought that the Zoroastrian stance on evil had some syncretistic influence on Second Temple.Judaism. Thank you for your research and presentation!
Zoroastrianism also had influence on Christianity (without the Judaism-Christianity connection) considering the Wise Men are thought to have been believers in Zoroastrianism.
I discovered this channel this week because of the channel "Let's talk about religion". I already love this one too 🥰 Both channels are amazing. Thank you for this amazing content 🌷
Thanks for this video. As an Orthodox Jew who has the read the Xtan scriptures struggled to understand the concept of “duality” in Pauline theology eg the constant struggle b/t Jesus (good) vs Devil (bad). Turns out this concept was influenced by either Zoroastrian and/or Greco-Roman mythology. Could you do a video on Paul’s understanding of the concept of salvation eg “individual salvation” vs Tanakh’s “collective salvation”. I realized that “individual salvation” was influenced by Hellenistic culture.
Appreciate all the religious people coming to this video out of curiosity, don't be afraid to expand what you know and learn something new so you can understand yourself better
Curiosity and seeking truth is not anti God. I’d suggest it’s an action of following God. Jesus says he is the truth and scripture urges us to seek the the truth so why would doing so be antithetical to worshiping God? And why should it be something to be feared? Scripture and Jewish/Christian philosophy shows us that essence of the creator is present in all humanity. So while the scripture is a good source it’s not the sole truth. For me the exploration of history and its effects on religion has not shaken my beliefs. In fact I’m many ways it has strengthened my faith and my knowing that God is everywhere and in everything. It doesn’t help better understand ourselves but rather the creation in which we live. It helps us to understand God better. His love and His will.
I was raised a Christian (& still profess to be one). My parents taught me that satan is someone expelled from heaven, etc. I’m currently trying to enrich my knowledge with truth & not tradition. My biggest fear is thinking that I will never find out the truth or, even worse, the “truth” I’ve been taught isn’t real or was lost in the past. I’m young & still learning. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THE KNOWLEDGE IN THIS VIDEO!!
🤺☦️🇷🇺Well, i will explain to you the right and true Christian view. Only Protestant heretics view Satan in a childish Zoroastrian way of the pagans. Orthodox Christians and Jews' concept of Satan is loyal to the old testament as mentioned in the book of Eyob: Satan is simply one of God's spirits who is in charge of all evil and sin, and his job is to test humans in their faith to God - by God's command and permition. He is not an enemy of God (that is an heretic view) - God HAS NO enemies or equals! Nor a fallen angel: 1. Fallen angels were the ancestor of the giant race called Nefilim, which has nothing to do with all of that 2. Angels CANNOT "rebel" against God, because they have no freedom of choice as humans have. If this video was a true serious study, it would have mentioned all of that, but of course it is done by a heathen so what can you expect lol🤷♂️
God believed he created perfect people Satan disagrees Satan did not fall from heaven God gave the earth to Santa to prove God wrong, Satan is not evil we are Satan is the temptor we make the choice 👍
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Amogus
I wonder, what are you opinions on the effects that books like Dante and Paradise Lost had the concepts of Satan? Despite them not being religous texts in the way of the bible, the effect of them have influcencd peoples notions of Satan. I was once told I was going to burn the nine circles for my paganism, or some people will think of Lucifer as a misunderstood anti hero like Milton said.
Another great video.
Hey, was wondering if you know of any good annotated bibles that can give me better understanding of what the writers meant while giving good historical context. Oh, and I would love to read any other noncanonical annotated books as well, especially the book of Enoch.
lol you’re letting your inner nerd show with that TNG reference my friend. I forgot how hilarious that makeup was
It's so hard to find scholarly and non-biased resources on demonology on the internet without pouring through every religious text that mentions them. I really would love to see more of this in the future keep it up!
Scholarly and nonsectarian is what RFB is all about! More definitely to come.
@@ReligionForBreakfast I would also be interested in Kabbalah, Tarot, misc Mysticism from a scholarly view. I tried looking for it before but most sources are believers in it rather than examiners of it.
Kabbalah video is coming in March. Script is 60% done.
@@ReligionForBreakfast I’ve been waiting for this one
ESOTERICA is another good channel for in depth looks at occult texts including Kabbalah. Found his channel through Angela's Symposium, which was promoted on here with the previous demon video.
As a decidedly irreligious person, I find the practice, concepts, and history of religion extremely fascinating. Thank you so much for these videos that you put out!
You ain't seen nothing yet.. I'm going to have to start a youtuber channel
Same.
@@howiegruwitz3173 let me guess, one where you trash on everyone else’s beliefs but yours
@@ParadiseLordRyu Tricky for an atheist who doesn't have any religion. Or are you one of those who insists that not believing is some kind of belief system which counts as a religion?
@Michael Lozano Not necesarily unless he explicitly says so for himself. "Irreligious" does not explicitly mean "I have no religion." It can very well mean you do, but you don't practice it or don't practice it orthodoxically.
As someone raised in a small, Evangelical community who saw their every belief as immutable and eternal, it is soooo refreshing to hear religion discussed in such a mature and thoughtful way. It’s also just more fun and interesting! Thanks for a great video.
Only for itching ears
I’m getting cult survivor vibes.
@@beesting6135whose ears are you referring to?
@@Plethorality yours
careful... eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is a no-no. 😊 you can't un-know something. your reality may become less magical.
Came for religious stories and fun
Stayed for a history lecture with absolutely enjoyable contents, and learnt something new
Worth it
I agree with Calvin's tiger, Hobbes, who says that "Humans are sufficiently capable of doing evil without any need of supernatural help."
Devil eats us. You are domesticated animal product
Psalms 44:22 Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Yes, But the question is why?
Hobbes, smart kitty.
Agreed, they use spiritual possession often as an excuse to cover up evils they choose to do as to not be responsible.
@@dannikasoukoroff9633 the djinn realm is parallel beside our realm. They can see us but we can't all the time see them...
A djinn or dybuk can easily latch on and feed off us...
Check out the greek archons or Islamic djinn, same thing.
Legend says the devil touches every baby out of the womb except mother mary because her mother hannah did not sin...
All born into sin!
im so glad I found this page, not directly denouncing or promoting any one religion but simply putting into fact the timeline and beliefs of each religion
Except he uses a bunch of texts that aren't even in the bible.
Especially when charles darwin worshipped the devil, yet people fall in line with science. Not knowing that science means to know, which is exactly what satan gave adam and eve in the garden the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. Also if it's fake then why do truly evil people worship satan? No other religion can make the boost that a large group of people worship the bad guy, just a thought. If you believe in the law you have to swear on the bible to prove your telling the truth.
@@sleepystar6312 about that last part, you swear on whatever holy book is a part of your religion. There's s funny clip of a guy on the news learning this fact.
@@sleepystar6312 My computer is a result of science. What's yours?
@@jeffsmith5787 Apple, is a play on words, the fruit of knowledgeof good and evil. It also has a bite out of it. They also sold their first computer for 666.66$. You bring a strawman, I'll give you a strawman.
As a person struggling with my beliefs, THANK YOU for these insightful videos. I'm on a spiritual journey, and I can't just accept everything like I did as a child in Sunday school. Following religion causes major life changes and I'm never blindly going to follow something bc it's what my parents\church taught me
I know the struggle. I endured it almost a decade ago. Good luck to you. 🙂
I highly recommend exploring different Eastern religions.
Fun fact: the satan is something positive in Judaism created by G-d himself, which is why antisemites over the ages have accused Jews of devil worshipping.
@@simonbennatan8257 wow that is so wrong, Judaism never sees the Devil as positive, Easter religions are some of the most demonic religions out there.
Nice...so you will believe a stranger who makes a video and reinforces your beliefs...LOL...read the bible
We're in the same boat. Your soul truly does become unchained when you break free of fundamentalism (I'm assuming that is the kind of environment your Sunday school was).
I am Zoroastrian from Iran and your videos are so interesting 👌❤️
ASHEM VOHU...🙏✨🙏
Friends of the Jews, Bless you Zoroastrians
Bless you and your Kings
A thousand times over
Sending you good karma from the US, I have lots of interest in researching the Zoroastrian faith ❤️
As Phd in History (and having within my interests issues related with the history and sociology of religion) I have to say I loved this video, and especially how you explain what it means to think historically. Great job. This video deserves to be used in the classroom.
One of my resolutions for 2021 is to beef up the “takeaway” sections of my videos so they are not simple distributions of rote fact. Hence the extended methodological discussion at the end of my recent Aztec video.
@@ReligionForBreakfast I just want to stop by to say that I wholeheartedly support that decision. Teaching how historical research works and "what it actually does" has great importance if we want to teach history at all. I believe you have chosen your channel's trajectory... wisely
I would like to add the question: Why did they invent Satan. Whom benefits from dividing the world into good and evil. The «warlords» ?
I am reading these comments like the quotes on the back of a book to decide if I want to watch the video or not lol
@@ellengran6814 It was likely so that they could stop assigning evil to YHWH, as Amos 3:6 and Isaiah 45:7 somewhat did, I suppose.
Lucifer lives in LA, owns a nightclub and helps a detective solving crimes. Everybody knows that.
I can't tell if youre talking about the show or Anton Laveys stupid grandson
@Eric Moore "Secretly an atheist" is very funny, he was always an atheist. Zeena didnt care for how he was running things and left. Also why are you telling me this, how is this relevant to anything.
@Eric Moore LaVey* ? And okay bud....
lol love that series
@Eric Moore "literally the most influential dude ever"
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm really? You sincerely believe this?
Dude, straight explanation without cute snark or sarcasm or any pandering to trendy politics? A message at the end to explain how to understand history vs empirical sciences? No fancy music or huge budget graphics? Subbed forever.
Same
^ This. This is really what most people want but content creators always think they need bells and whistles. All I need is smart, simple, neutral content
Same. This is excellent content.
I like snark and sarcasm 😕
@@danielhart7435 I like it in the right contexts, plus it can be confusing for some people.
I love how, in the book of Job (Jobe like “robe”), God and Satan speak to each other in a casual manner like
“Hello Satan. What are you doing?”
“Hello God. I’ve been around the world, walking here and there.”
😆
Wow. They really do sound like absolute enemies. 🤣
Both of them seem to be two sadistic kids with a magnifying glass over an ant hill
@@SamuelBlack84and getting bored of their ant hill and flooding it and letting every ant go thru horrible things all bc 1 ancient ant ate something it wasn’t supposed to
That is NOT a casual conversation I They are indeed enemies & JAH has a purpose in allowing Satan to exist for a time !
@@jerryshunk7152ahh yes justify suffering and evilness
@@jsnicks7189 That's what our human parents chose.
Of course the ALMIGHTY, ( if HE so wills it,) can cause every bit of suffering & wickedness, that ANYONE has ever experienced to be completely forgotten, while allowing those that please HIM, to live Happily Forever !
BTW, GOD has given all the humans on this planet every Good thing they have ever enjoyed in their lives. GOD does NOT owe anybody anything & there is no negative attitude that can stand against the logic & reasonableness of that statement !
I like how your videos explain religion without ridiculing it, as so many others do.
Or do they simply do so gracefully? 🤔
@@loweffortgaming2593 Just let them wander on in ignorance.
@@stucody and what do we get for doing that other than exhaustion?
@@stucody To be analyze and critique, yes. But ridicule accomplishes nothing.
@@justinb864 How have I ridiculed?
I’m a staunch atheist but the history/philosophy and metaphorical mythology/stories of religion fascinates me. Cool channel so far mate. Keep it up.
I'm in the same boat but lean more towards being agnostic and take a "till proven otherwise" approach. What's funny for me though is out of all suspense / horror movies it's always the devil / demonic ones that frighten me the most. It's like this genetically ingrained thing along with the social conditioning and brainwashing we all get as children. So even though you don't believe in such things, it seems you still do in some respects. That or some people just make really believable devil movies lol.
@@oldowl4290 And now enters the 3rd poster with the 3rd viewpoint lol…I am a theist with leanings towards Christianity, with caveats that Biblical texts contain all of the same complications & difficulties as any other historical texts (I see the Bible as a sliding scale of difficulty levels all throughout). But I might enjoy the philosophical angle more. And between this and my strong belief in Philosophical Dualism it does bring with it a higher level of intrigue for those evil spirit type horror movies.
Although not a horror movie, I really recommend Fallen with Denzel Washington!! Paranormal Witness was a show that gave me chills quite a few times. I just liked the first Paranormal Activity…if you know of any really good ones feel free to recommend them!
@@joebuck4496 Check out .. The Pyramid. Khufu doesn’t mess around. I’ll leave it at that. :)
Tbh I don’t know how people can listen to how religion has warped and constantly changed over the centuries and blended with other religions, and come out still believing in a religion. It’s so clearly just created by people.
i was looking for an idication one way or the other so based on your comment the answer is no statan is not a living entity. thanks for saving me the time!
furiously taking notes for a D&D compaign.
Roll for "craft mythology” DC 18
@@TheNorwog Pardon me, it's been awhile, but wouldn't you need a pretty high spell caster for that?
@@jmarkbryce or a really imaginative bard good at deception and manipulation
@@TheNorwog That's a good idea. Like I said, it's been awhile.
@@TheNorwog Pretty sure that's how real world religion gets started as well.
Saul Goodman vs Satan in the Albuquerque courthouse
Epic
Thank you for presenting this complex topic in under 20 mins without sensationalism or pushing doctrine. That is a blessed relief
🤺☦️🇷🇺No. It was very shallow and misleading. Only Protestant heretics view Satan in a childish Zoroastrian way of the pagans. Orthodox Christians and Jews' concept of Satan is loyal to the old testament as mentioned in the book of Eyob: Satan is simply one of God's spirits who is in charge of all evil and sin, and his job is to test humans in their faith to God - by God's command and permition. He is not an enemy of God (that is an heretic view) - God HAS NO enemies or equals! Nor a fallen angel:
1. Fallen angels were the ancestor of the giant race called Nefilim, which has nothing to do with all of that
2. Angels CANNOT "rebel" against God, because they have no freedom of choice as humans have. If this video was a true serious study, it would have mentioned all of that, but of course it is done by a heathen so what can you expect lol🤷♂️
I still can't believe ManBearPig killed him so easily.
He's pretty therial
Never underestimate ManBearPig. 😱😱😱
Ahhh a lady of culture I see
That makes ManBearPig the new Prince of Darkness, right?
I read Political science, and yes I agree with the Hobbesian concept, we are all capable of absolute evil without a god figure or devil ....
It's in us, even chimpanzees exhibit the force of evil and we are evolved from the same evolutionary line..... I wrote in essays when I was at study, humans are not sympathetic to each other but as Hobbes described, capable of selfishness and evil one to another to gain our own needs !
I don't know why it took me so long, but the realization hit me just a few years ago that demons are mentioned several times in the New Testament but never in the Old. Definitely a time lapse that needs to be explored to explain that. And yes, I was around the Charismatic/Pentecostal "demon behind every bush" mentaility for a time.
@Bill Leonard imsorrywhat? Solomon *enslaved* demons?
That old serpent is mentioned right from first book of the Bible; Genesis
@Bill Leonard wow, what a mad lad lol
The word 'shedim' occurs a couple of times in the OT, and is translated as 'demons'. The NT 'daimonion', or demon, obviously doesn't appear in the OT, since the OT wasn't written in greek. The word demon didn't appear before the greek language, which is why you'll find it a lot in the NT pertaining to entities which the OT dealt with as well, though you wouldn't find them when doing a Greco English search. Besides that, the NT has a simplified view of spiritual entities. The good ones are mostly simply called 'angels', and the bad ones 'demons' or 'fallen angels' at best, while angel is merely a kind of job description (mal'ak) and doesn't mean anything ontological (elohim would be the right word for all spiritual entities in that case, including angels). In the OT there are about 10 'kinds' of 'angelic' entities like the Ophanim and Cherubim (the entity Satan is called 'the covering cherub'), but I digress. Here's a paper by Heiser on the word demon in Deut. 32:17 digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1325&context=lts_fac_pubs
@@pjevandenbussche3752 don't waste your time. Let them die in their false knowledge. But ill take a look into this. I'm somewhat a fan of heisers work.
Thank you, Dr. Henry, for one of your most helpful online lectures I've yet come across. As a person who believes in God, I am constantly reminded (as well as reminding others) that religion is an irrational discipline that must be periodically subjected to rational processing in order to preserve its internal as well as external consistency. In this way it avoids self-contradiction and real-world irrelevance. This is how it continues to be viable for generations beyond its Bronze-age origins. If Christianity, in particular, is to survive, it must do more than dig its heels into a bedrock of orthodoxy. It must examine every question that arises through the discipline of humility (open-mindedness) and science (scholarship) as you do in your lectures in order to prevent it from lapsing into pathological thinking and uselessness. If God is admitted to this process - the Lord of science as well as of faith - true enlightenment may take place. For my part, I do not need a pre-existing and perpetual Devil to account for the presence of evil in this world. The default human condition of self-centeredness when not sublimated by justice and love is enough to account for it.
Very beautiful and well put together words
Very well said. You may find a Jungian level reading of Mirza Husayn Ali of Nur's (Baha'u'llah) 1861/1862 book the "Kitab-I-Iqan" helpful. The key factor right now in human history, it appears, is that we are in "World Age Passage Archetypal Eternal Return." The religions of the Age of Pisces are all dying. A different spiritual sensibility is now being born in the Age of Aquarius. Your excellent post here belongs to the now budding thought of the latter. I also recommend the 1969 Classic book "Hamlet's Mill" as a foundation for this World Age Passage Cosmological view in World History. The historical Zoroastrian Cosmological discussion was brilliantly put forth in the tremendous 2014 Season 1 of the HBO TV Series "True Detective". The study of Cosmological Zoroastrian thematic ideas in Film and Television these days is absolutely astounding! Once again, thank you so much for your extremely thoughtful post!
Very well-said.
All depends on which god you believe in.
What does irrational mean? In what way? In terms of faith? No, faith and disbelief do not belong to the dualism of rational and non-rational. This is a scientific myth
So the satan was what we might call the “devil’s advocate”
So. Much. Irony.
That’s kinda my thing
@@Lucifer-oj7rg wow! Is this the beginning of 3 spiderman meme?👆
@@topsuperseven7910 do you not know what devil’s advocate means?
@@topsuperseven7910 ok, then let me rephrase it. You don’t know what devil’s advocate means. Go look it up. I’m not google.
@@topsuperseven7910 the devil’s advocate takes and defends contrarian positions that they don’t actually support as a way of checking against the worst case scenarios. So if “the adversary” were not an actual enemy of god, but just a devil’s advocate, then their purpose and actions still make sense. This character is called “the satan” which got misunderstood and became Satan AKA the devil. So the devil himself originally playing the devil’s advocate is ironic because that character evolved from just being a devil’s advocate into being the devil himself. That’s why it’s ironic.
Despite the mass confusion the internet is largely responsible for including the pernicious effect of algorithms this logical, educated, thoughtful analysis of satanic origins is provided for free and easily available to most. Thanks for all the hard work that led to this impressive examination.
That was a whole lotta nothin breh.
Big words and bad grammar, somethings off here
Reading this comment and seeing that the dude is subscribed to both Whoopi Goldberg and RT News is like a self-fulfilling prophecy
It is incorrect, the oldest mention of Satan by name is from the oldest book in the Bible, and it is not Genesis, and Moses didn't write it. Read Job and ask yourself if this is a concept or a person. Skip the pseudo-historical blathering and use your brain.
I'm addicted to pigger nussy 🤠
I like how disciplined and scholarly this channel approaches religious texts. It even tries to be neutral in its approach.
kyle kullinsky be like dat sometimes
It makes SO MUCH SENSE that Satan was originally a lawyer
I wonder if his reputation as “evil” mostly comes from his role as a prosecutor
You’re not gonna be the nicest guy if your job is seeing the worst of humanity on a daily basis
and rabbis interpret law 🤔🤔🤔
@everestrada9141 the concept of demons (daimons) got tarred with that stick. to the Greeks, daimons were neutral spirits who brought difficult lessons. so we interpret them as unpleasant which morphed into evil over time.
in Hindu, Saturn (Shani) has the same reputation. it is the ruling planet, God of karma therefore people see him as an ill omen, but karma is only a b"tch when we are! logically, Shani would also bring auspicious things to people who have the fruit of good karma coming
My money was on Satan being a real estate agent.
That's hilarious😅
As a persian zoroastrian I've always thought of the similarities between Abrahamic religions and zoroastrianism. I thank you for making such an interesting video about this. Thank you
🤺☦️🇷🇺As a pagan enemy of the holy Islamic republic of Iran, like those American puppets who protest - you should be ashamed of yourself. No. Wrong, it was done very shallow and misleading. No, Jewish view of satan wasn't changed due to Zoroastrian influence, on the contrary, Zoroastrianism stole the concept and corrupted him in the pagan way, as all pagan religions did always! Only Protestant heretics view Satan in a childish Zoroastrian way of the pagans. Orthodox Christians and Jews' concept of Satan is loyal to the old testament as mentioned in the book of Eyob: Satan is simply one of God's spirits who is in charge of all evil and sin, and his job is to test humans in their faith to God - by God's command and permition. He is not an enemy of God (that is an heretic view) - God HAS NO enemies or equals! Nor a fallen angel:
1. Fallen angels were the ancestor of the giant race called Nefilim, which has nothing to do with all of that
2. Angels CANNOT "rebel" against God, because they have no freedom of choice as humans have. If this video was a true serious study, it would have mentioned all of that, but of course it is done by a heathen so what can you expect lol🤷♂️
🇷🇺❤🇮🇷
What is Zoroastrian? 😂
@@sweetman5249 Are you a clown?
Zor o a Strian.... è in lingua Ilire oggi albanese, ed è una parola composta...ma i ruffiani dell'assolutismo danno valore da...
@@sweetman5249 it's on Wikipedia check it out
Seeing as Isaiah calls Cyrus a Messiah, I have a feeling they were pretty cozy with Persia on religious topics lol
@Вхламинго
What's the irony here?
I believe you are failing to understand the distinction between an anointed one, and THE anointed one in the context of Jewish theology. Also, Nebuchadnezzar took Judah away in chains and the Jewish Bible still records him as being chosen by God.
@@diegotobaski9801
Chosen by YHWH to destroy Israel as punishment for having turned away from Him and failing to keep His commandments, yes.
@@Boss_Isaac And with Him knowing they'd do that, far ahead of time, and all...?
@@chrissonofpear1384
Yes, if you adhere to the common interpretation of YHWH being an omniscient deity.
It's interesting. People perceive the devil differently depending on their culture. I'm Russian and the "red skin and pitchfork" image is quite unknown in our country. Well, maybe it is known but mostly from american movies. If demons are depicted, they're always coal-black , with horns and quite often - with a pig snout. Sometimes with bat wings, sometimes not. In our old icons however demons usually look black, with wings, clawed feet and without horns, but with their black hair standing up. Seriously. I've read that such depiction of their hair was used to convey their savage, wild and chaotic nature
Here in Brazil I think most people have the image of Satan as being a half goat demon with big horns and stuff, no bat wings tho.
I've seen that in the Igor Moisevitch Ballet video of "Night on Bald Mountain"
@@Arius90 That one's easy. Star Wars. Specifically, the Japanese RPG version of the orc was influenced by the Gamorreans in Star Wars, and Gannon's the boss of the "Blins" (goblinoids).
@@madmonkee6757 There is this old Russian saying: " Pray to God but also don't anger the devil. Light a candle for the devil as well because you don't know where you'll end up after you die"
The idea was that it's better to be in a respectful relationship with satan in case you die and go to him after death.
I know this ambivalence of eastern slavic people may seem weird, but the thing is that attitude towards the devil and demons was much milder in Russia than it was in the west. Most people retained some pagan ways of thinking and even though they were christians they didn't see the devil/demons as absolute monsters, more like dark entities that could be mischievous sometimes but not completely evil. For example people believed in initially pagan spirits of the household, the forest, rivers, etc. After Russia became christian these entities started to be seen as demons, but people never stopped worshipping them and making offerings. So a typical Russian peasant could literally go to church and pray to god and then go home and make an offering to a spirit of the house, and he would not see it as something unusual or illogical.
This attitude to demons was also the reason why witches in Russia were never systematically hunted. Most people didn't see them as evil or particularly malevolent. People feared them but also respected for their talents, even though they knew those talents came from the devil himself.
The fact that in the fairytale you've mentioned it was the smith who used to lit the candle for satan is no accidence. People of certain professions ( smiths, millers for example) were considered to be witches or at least having special close relationship with demons(because peasants attributed millers' and smiths' talents and skills to demonic forces)
@@aloevera3932 wow, thanks for the insight into Russian folklore. Very interesting!
Thanks for this lesson. It serves to me to be a reminder to always ask questions, study, and learn our whole lifetime.
Don’t know how I stumbled upon this channel, but I sure am glad I did. Such interesting stuff. Being a historian myself, I love learning about the origins of religions throughout history. Thank you for everything you do, and thank you especially for using scholarly, non-biased sources!
this is your reminder to watch the entire video before commenting!
I have the horrible habit of reading comments while listening.
I always read the comments while videos are playing 🤦🏻♂️ it’s a horrible habit that I need to stop!
@@bigbossignition same
Or else Satan will get you?
@@zachbos5108 No,PRIDE
The concept of "the satan" as an archetype in early text vs Satan as a being is really interesting. I guess a modern example of this kind of thing is the divide between people who interpret the antichrist to be some singular person vs those who frame being an antichrist as being a specific mindset or behavior.
Bible clearly states multiples
@@GODHATESADOPTION where?
I think Cesar was the "antichrist".
In 1 John chapter 2 it talks about “many antichrists”
Spirit of Anti-Christ, people against Christ, and the Antti-Christ figure in Daniel, and Revelations. So THE anti-christ will be a person, and is a mindset of non-believers of Jesus, and will be manifested in a system of control via currency, religion, and politics/policies.
I was expecting this video to be shrouded in theology and theodicy. But to see it grounded in archeology and history is fantastic.
As a follower of Yeshua, I love all of the valuable research that you are doing. It inspires me to search more for the truth regarding God. Thank you for all that you are doing! 🕊🙏🏾
The truth is that men wrote it to control people.
Amen! 🙏
@@orionishi6737 no, it was written by apostles... thats just nonsense
@Martyn Rogers its as good as it gets
@@GODHATESADOPTION apostles are men!
What always amazes me about you is your consistency. It’s incredible how informative, interesting and coherent each and every single video is.
You consistently produce really graceful framings of contentious topics.
Having studied the "Bible"in the original Hebrew I have, perhaps, a different view. I was taught that the word Shatan is related to the word Shala or sheta, both meaning "question" or "inquiry". Hashatan as written in Jobe, and other writings means adversary but in the context of "questioner". Thus hashatan was the role given to the individual who job is to question God's choices. As such it served as the Conscience of god.
Questioning is something religion generally doesn't like
Makes since
I thought the devil was the lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen who would sometimes team up with Spider-Man to take down the Kingpin.
Same here, wait! This new devil is blind too,right?
It's all fake news. The Devil, last time I checked, was in fact the black panther disguised as the Devil. The Devil, meanwhile, was searching for his soul in a four part mini-gospel.
@Kurapika Giovanna no we cannot
Man I love this community
I'm familiar with Hell's Kitchen but not this reference? They have a lawyer on the show???
Why yes I WILL have a slice of Star Trek with my religious discussion, thank you! 😀 😉
Right, how could one past up The Omega Glory. Such a daring episode at that time.
@@bardmadsen6956 Right, I'd forgotten about that one! The most plot convenient Bible ever 😂
@@MatthewCaunsfield - I just searched again, I don't think people 'got it' so to say.
@@bardmadsen6956 you mean on this comments section? That's OK, it was just a passing comment amongst a wealth of fascinating info 👍
@@MatthewCaunsfield Comments that slip slide on by can be the most effective in altering thinking patterns. Star Trek and Twilight Zone excelled in this.
Finally atleast one video that doesn't speak about demonology from a religious POV. I am doing a lot of practical research about it and it's almost impossible to find stuff like this. Keep up the good work!!
@Eric Moore That's what I love about him
Me, an ET researcher: Which star system and race are they from? I'm figuring it out.
I was an Anthropology major and was taught a similar concept for cultural studies. The "Father of American Anthropology" Franz Boas also introduced a historical perspective of cultures focusing on how they change through time. It's also heavily influenced in Linguistics studies of how languages have changed and spread, influencing each other. Humans are incredibly complicated and yet fascinating how we might focus in on different things yet come to similar conclusions or analytical techniques.
Thank you for an open-minded discussion, based and interpreted on historical facts. I love your mind and your dedication to searching for truth. Reason in a time of much confusion and mistrust.
It is not. It was very shallow. You yourself can go reading and have a way better historical research and discussion than that... thing lol
🤺☦️🇷🇺Only Protestant heretics view Satan in a childish Zoroastrian way of the pagans. Orthodox Christians and Jews' concept of Satan is loyal to the old testament as mentioned in the book of Eyob: Satan is simply one of God's spirits who is in charge of all evil and sin, and his job is to test humans in their faith to God - by God's command and permition. He is not an enemy of God (that is an heretic view) - God HAS NO enemies or equals! Nor a fallen angel:
1. Fallen angels were the ancestor of the giant race called Nefilim, which has nothing to do with all of that
2. Angels CANNOT "rebel" against God, because they have no freedom of choice as humans have. If this video was a true serious study, it would have mentioned all of that, but of course it is done by a heathen so what can you expect lol🤷♂️
@@EasternRomeOrthodoxy Well sorry,for you can't really do too much under 20 minutes to explain things
@@EasternRomeOrthodoxy "i did my own research" type of clown
As an atheist, I absolutely support your approach: when discussing religion, I don't want to dismantle it, but rather I want to examine the historical and cultural context of beliefs
The evolution of Jewish and Christian ideas are infinitely fascinating to me
The controversy of zion by Douglass Reed...free online.
Very interesting...
The controversy of zion by Douglass Reed...free online.
Very interesting...
Beliefs are to religion as training wheels are to cycling.
@@topologyrob I believe that the universe is governed by natural laws, therefore there's no space for any metaphysical force, or even free will. How about that?
@@spinakker14 Sounds pretty cool, though it's also rather a fundamentalist, dogmatic position I'd suggest, and one that many outgrow in time.
Just a brilliant explanation!
just a gray person that needs very ke cat gino badge
no ones second
no ones 3rd
no one 4th
only 6th
This is along the same misconceptions of hell. I remember being a kid and my pastor tell me “Do you think hell is just some place that God can’t touch? He rules over all things” Really changed my perspective on a lot of concepts from that point onwards
Don't most Christians describe hell as a place distant from God and without his love?
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."
~Lucius Annaeus Seneca
@Valare Beauchamp Brought out of exile to do so.
You're point being...
@Valare Beauchamp Right. There's an "elder" as well. Sorry, I'm used to having to "defend" this thing and especially its modern implications...
Though frankly, I'd wear it on a T-shirt if I could.
Great quote, I probably expressed the same concept multiple times with a lot more words. Love good sinthesis 👍🏻
And yet so many wise people regard religion as true, and many rulers have outlawed religion -except the cult of personality- and many common people think it's false nowday's.
glad I'm not religious... I chose Jesus instead.
Thank you for making this video. There is frustratingly little public information on the influences of Zoroastrianism on Judaism and by extension Christianity. While it seems fairly obvious to me that some key elements of Zoroastrianism made their way into Jewish eschatology this does not appear to be the mainstream scholarly view. I’m genuinely surprised by this and by the resulting lack of scholarly investigation into this topic.
Its refreshing to see someone who actually did their research and compared the writings.
One of the most freeing steps for me as a Christian was when I came to understand that "the devil & demons" were not literal beings bent on my eternal doom and misery. I came to this through the writings of Joseph Priestley, Hugh Farmer, Theophilus Lindsey, and other dissenting Unitarians and ministers of England during the 17th-19th centuries.
What are they?
@@godsees-5871Fictional characters
Ever since I became obsessed with Zoroastrianism twenty years ago and read my first Mary Boyce I've been trying to explain the likely influence of Achaemenid Persia. Heck, Cyrus is called the anointed. So, maybe that was coincidence too. But people hear me pull out a strange Z word and think I'm high or speak to crystals. Another, though more fanciful theory was R.C. Zaehner's Teaching of the Magi, where he noted the Saoshyant and the Messiah and... Bethlehem. He later recanted that I think, but fun thought experiment. Anyway thanks for making me not feel crazy. I truly believe there needs to be an intersection of Iranian Studies with those of the Levant focused on textual beliefs, etc.
Nerd, you sound like the type of person who people avoid at a party
@@anthonykelly3175 how? He litterally just gave his opinion on something
@@anthonykelly3175 Go back to your hentai, simp.
dat "weird or strange calling after saying something completely new" concept again, welp
cliche but sure
Admirable clarity of exposition and scholarly standards. Many thanks for this young Sir!
That microscope clip at 14:50 was so funny considering how sincere you were being.
LOL I hadn’t even noticed 🤣
Good, I wasn't sure if I saw that right!
But it happened at 14:49 while at 15:00 it was already over...
love so much that you shared the methodology behind navigating conversations on history
With the advent of Internet and social media we can now learn and decide for ourselves what is man made and what is not. Keep an open mind and be curious. Thank you for putting this together.
Believe it or not, before the internet people were able to do the same thing with libraries and book stores.
@@termsofusepolice Not as quickly or as easily. You couldn't just check sources and verify them within minutes back then.
Sir, I have just discovered your channel. I am thoroughly impressed with its content. You take a very academic approach to subject matter few can discuss without emotion or an unwillingness to question. Thank you and keep up the good work!
th-cam.com/video/UWktcW5iR6M/w-d-xo.html
As an atheist I really like learning religions from this angle. Well bloody done, as is your standard from my reckoning. I've nothing against religions, only against refusing knowledge.
The greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing the world that he was god
That 5 C framework deserves it's own video, it was enlightening that small summary.
Thank you so much for treating religion with the seriousness it should be treated with regardless of the truth of it.
Here’s a serious question I have though. Are people happy that he’s approaching this topic objectively because it makes sense to do this within the topic? I’ve seen a lot of people in these comments that are happy with this approach because they’re religious more than not.
@@sosmooth13 as someone who is (still) interested in religious studies and also religious, a lot of discussions of religion tend to be annoying debates about "does god exist?" and "is religion good?" with the side saying no being hardcore atheist and saying that religious people are stupid and religion is stupid. for a lot of people, it's not that it's objective, it's that it's more scholarly than richard dawkins calling you stupid for being christian.
this type of video looks at religion secularly with the respect and seriousness it deserves, recognizing the key role religion plays for a lot of people in their lives. people are interested in learning about religion, but it sucks when the only talking about religion is all emotional with the secular side being hardcore scientism. this is talking about religion with a secular lens in a way that isn't a massive turn off for everyone religious.
This is very interesting. I'm leaning so much with your videos. I was always interested in theology. I still have my beliefs. I don't feel threatened at all. We should all be kind to each other regardless of religion
Learning what? It is done very shallow
@@EasternRomeOrthodoxy why does god hate Russia?
Thank you for all your efforts; I didn't know Persians we're so intertwined with various religions through history. Your presentation feels very unbiased. I really want to believe that it's the results of a cumulative review and synthesis, not based on few choices made from computer search results.
Thank you taking us on deep dives into such interesting topics without bias! Religion is a fascinating topic and it is nice to see it resented this way!
I am honestly supprised you didn't mention Dante's "Inferno" and John Millton's "Paradise Lost", as those two works have had the most influnce on how people in the modern day view Satan.
I would probably pair this video with one about the crusades and dark ages, and then Dante's etc., A final video about how the modern Popular Culture God And Satan is basically turning really Gnostic really fast
There's no "inferno". It's Divina Comedìa.
@@rikospostmodernlife Divine Comedy in English)
😮😮😮
You seem to have a way of explaining ideas and concepts to a normal person exploring the idea and concept of such an ambiguous and convoluted system of beliefs that actually makes sense. I have very little knowledge of the topic, however I respect the fact that you encourage people to consider the historical proof to determine what ultimately helps us reach a conclusion.
I have seen that "Go to church or the devil will get you!" sign countless times! It is along a major highway in central Alabama.
After reading enoch, I realized how much the theology of angels and satan was influenced by books that aren’t even in most people’s awareness.
The book of Enoch is not biblical cannon so get that out of your head
Just because of Constantine throw the book of Enoch out doesn't mean it is false...it is accurate but not acceptable by Constantine and many Christian who believe in Constantine
@@Kristina3rdeye I don’t believe in Constantine this is not a religion meant for white to begin with but research shows the the book of Enoch is not canon it does not intertwine with the old or New Testament
@@nekiddo site you’re sources
@@Kristina3rdeye It isn't part of God's Word. The old testament and the new testament must agree with each other. That's how we know the book of Enoch doesn't belong. It has things in it that go against God's Word.
That’s a really clever take on The Satan in Job, I never thought of the book like that before (I.e, that Satan was essentially playing ‘devil’s advocate’ or that he was a prosecutor in Yahweh’s court).
In other myths he is the king of the humans and the one we see in death.
The event recorded in Job is interesting because it reveals a lot about Satan’s character. His statement “ a man will give everything for his life” is very cynical. Of course he was implying humans would reject their Creator if faced with death.
As a non-christian, I've always found the God and Satan dichotomy interesting.
Satan is nefarious, but his actions tend to be relatively mild compared to evil entities in other religions, whereas God is good but holds jealousy and rage within him, just like how a good person sometimes feels bad emotions
Back then they had too much time on their hands.
@@HardKore5250 hardly any time on their hands.
@@robertopics To create stories
duality
@@robertopics What you mean?
Thank you for sharing those 5Cs which you learnt as a student of history. Very helpful
I don't have any deep comment on regards this topic, but I wanted to say that I honestly admire you. Please keep up the amazing work!
You’re gorgeous btw 😳💕
Thank you very much!
“...The sect of Christianity that interpreted the snake in the Garden of Eden as the good guy.”
You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.
@Mark Harrison and a related question: who in that story was the liar, and who told the truth?
@@_delevicate_2137 And what's it got to do with the rest of us? That were not born, had NO choice, and had to chose from multiple gods, and multiple definitions of good, whilst the... real... one, was hidden, and soweth own rivals here...
Never saw any angels have to 'chose' among that.
@@_delevicate_2137 When is it at hand? Was it at hand in August 1572, on the massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve?
And watch this video, and tell me what precisely, DID used to be right, wrong, or glorious?
th-cam.com/video/KN4654qFxzk/w-d-xo.html
@The Expat Dodo
Honestly from what I've heard that branch of christianity has a level of internal consistency and an ability to answer questions theologians have been asking about non gnostic christianity for years.
I don't believe it, I'm an agnostic atheist, but I don't begrudge the former athiests who discovered gnostic christianity was a thing and converted.
@@Psychwriteify I'm in total agreement with you. I was a practising Christian until my 30s when I finally had the courage to reject it. I've not studied Gnosticism in great detail, but what I know of it, it explains reality better - ie not an all-perfect creator, rather one that is a bit jealous and self centred. (I know that is a massive oversimplification, but I can't describe it any better in a TH-cam comment.) As it is, I have no belief now in anything. You could call it nihilistic - life just happens and there is no meaning to look for. But I'm perfectly happy, not like I was trying to live up to being a Christian. That was the worst!
Remarkable lecture, so accurate and informed. So honest and down to the historical facts. Thanks for the excellent work offered.
Such a brilliant and informative episode, as are all that you publish. Thank you so much for this, as a religious studies student your channel is a wonderful resource
One thing that woke me up from Christianity was realizing how much Christianity re-interpreted the Old Testament, primarily about Satan. It felt offensive, like we were disregarding the interpretations of the actual culture and religion that wrote it, and rewriting it to fit this idea of “good vs evil” and make people feel anxious over being tempted
You are, to me, outstandingly the best at this type of research AND presentation.
I have said this before and feel the compulsion to say it again.
And probably will feel a repeated need in the future.
Given the opportunity.
Please keep well.
This is a very well informed and interesting video! I studied theology at uni when I was a Christian and still engage with it from time to time. I think that from my understanding of theology, the character of satan was realised by the church through the study of canon once completed. The same for various doctrines - there may not be an explicit statement about something but there can be an underlying theme throughout the texts which leads to a conclusion. I.E. satan is referred to as the deceiver (ex Genesis), the tormentor (job), the accuser (revelation) etc. and so it’s not surprising that when the church finally canonised the bible in roughly 4th century, they saw that there was a character who was constantly opposing God. Alongside anecdotal stories as well I assume. But I love the Zoroastrianism overlaps - there’s a theory the Magi who visited Jesus were Zoro bois too. Anyways, really enjoyed this!
It appears as if a number of religions heavily borrowed from Zoroastrianism. We don't hear much of Zoroastrianism today, but chances are that there are many concepts of it in whatever holy book you read from whatever religion you believe in. It was quite influential.
I really loved reading about this in Elaine Pagels’ book on the topic, also called Origin of Satan, I think. There were some new things in here that she doesn’t discuss. I will probably end up sharing this with my students next time I teach this unit.
I'd love for some pretty lady to teach MY unit.
Would you ever cover the similarities between the ancient Mesopotamian myth of Gilgamesh and Noah's flood from Abrahamic?
It would be interesting. My understanding is that Abraham came from the area of Mesopotamia so that is why they are similar. But it would be interesting to see the reason why from a scholar on religion then from my own logic.
The most interesting part is that supposedly the Epic of Gilgamesh was written before the Hebrew Bible. This really caused a stir amongst certain religions
@@stylicho i dont see the big fuss since its pretty much the same story
@@bobmorane5021 Because it begs the question how the Sumerians apparently knew about the flood before the Hebrews did (or at least wrote about it before they did)
There is a Vedic flood account as well. However it differs greatly.
This is brilliant. Thank you.
Mara is an intriguing concept. I'd love to see you do a video detailing, Mara and the Buddhist relationship with the concept of temptation/accuser.
I had the exact same thought. I hope your comment will receive enough likes to gain more visibility. I would love to see a video that puts a historical light on the concept of Mara.
Fascinating. Whenever I’ve heard religion taught in the past, the priest first figures out what he wants you to believe, then selectively interprets the religious books to put his words in God’s mouth.
Keep making videos like these this is awesome I’ve always looked for a TH-cam channel that details the complexities of religions
I just discovered your channel. As a hobbyist-theologian, I'm hooked. Great content.
22
This is a hugely interesting subject and you help me to digest substantial chunks of it. Many thanks
“Lucifer" is not a demon's name. It is "morning star" in Latin. Some theologians in 3-4 century thought the morning star in Isaiah was a demon. So they thought the demon's name was Lucifer.
However, the Old Testament is written in Hebrew. Lucifer is Latin.
And most of all, in Revelation, who is the almighty morning star? Wrong analogy took Jesus' place for thousands years.
To add on, the morning (and evening) star is a common Near Eastern name for the planet Venus. Since it is the brightest object in the sky, only after the moon and sun, and appears best at twighlight, Venus was heavily associated with power and both good and bad omens.
One thing I would add to this is that apparently scholars of Zoroastrianism aren't sure how similar the religion of the Archaemenids was to what we know of as Zoroastrianism today so that would be another reason why it's hard to know how much influence the Persians had on Judaism.
Yes, from my reading, it seems that the problem stems from the fact the extant Zoroastrian manuscripts are quite late, but the texts themselves probably date back much earlier. Achaemenid religion is thus murkier than we would like. But the cultural exchange seems to be extensive at least on a linguistic level as Achaemenid Persian loan words end up in Jewish texts (esp the DSS).
Hey Spinoza, didn't know you were still active on TH-cam comment sections! How's Rieuwertsz doing?
It looks like Zoroastrianism has affected Manichaeism, the religion St. Augustine originally believed in. There are two gods, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness. Now Quantum Computing is going to create a new religion: quantum is always two, particle and wave.
@@franciskai4155 sorry but abrahamic religion isn't for the feature extract useful values discarded the insanity.
@@ReligionForBreakfast its more like how much influence isralites had over persians
“Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years!” ― Anton LaVey
Ave. 🤘🏻
Aint that the truth
🤘😈🤘
I wished you would do such a good video about the view of world, God and "evil" in biblical texts before the exil. You do such a great job. Short and compact. Thank you!
The way you talk about contingency reminds me of the excellent James Burke series Connections where he explores how science evolves through building on previous advances that were themselves built on from even earlier advances and so on. This was an excellent video and I'll be checking out more of your content in the future.
Didn’t know it could be done but this adds even more layers of metaphor to the MONTERO music video
Lol
Looking for montero comments, now i got it
Man that's such a good video. Lil Nas X makes music and videos with actual meaning I love it
The next time I'm called into the principal's office, I'm going to say, "So, you have decided to play the Satan."
My family is Zoroastrian, and hello to you all.
Hi Suranjan, I have read the books by JW Waterhouse and SA Kapadia, as well as the Gathas of Zoroaster and the Avesta. I have some questions about the teachings and beliefs of this most interesting religion. Do you know of a website or other source where I can get my specific questions answered? thanks, Frederick
I had some nice Zoroastrian conversaions with my Farsi friends in Delhi and some Persian friends in Australia.
BE GONE EVIL ONE! 🤣 🤣
In his sci fi novel "Tunnel in the Sky" Robert Heinlein briefly mentions that the hero's family were converts to the "great religious revival from Persia that swept the world a century earlier".
One of the things I loved about Heinlein is how he would casually throw out provacatice comments like these, then leave them, as if they were something everyone knows.
The family has their meals under "the lamp of peace", a literal lamp lit and extinguished after each meal. The father is the family priest.
That's all Heinlein wrote about it.
Does any of this sound like Zoroastrianism? Have you read the novel? It's a young adult adventure story, survival on a strange planet. Smack in the middle is one of the greatest speeches about government I've ever read.
@@topologyrob how old were those "Persian" friends?
A huge problem I noticed is some of these old religions, and even the Abrahamic ones, use the word “dark” to mean “evil”-I think “dark” just means unknown or “unidentifiable in its constitution.” It doesn’t help that many people seem to think something along the lines of “darkness [of an evil god (“Satan”)] is the absence of light [of a good god (“God”)]” which is somewhat egregious, IMHO. This “light vs. darkness” thing gets taken to crazy heights, and forget that darkness is mysterious and you can’t see when in the absence of light, yet it doesn’t mean it’s anything inherently evil. It comes back to humans being afraid of the unknown. If you can live your life believing that the “spiritual unknown/darkness” is likely always that of demons or evil, and not have to think critically and lean on “trusted sources” for justification of these beliefs, then some people would absolutely live that way.
Well done, sir! I have long thought that the Zoroastrian stance on evil had some syncretistic influence on Second Temple.Judaism. Thank you for your research and presentation!
Zoroastrianism also had influence on Christianity (without the Judaism-Christianity connection) considering the Wise Men are thought to have been believers in Zoroastrianism.
I discovered this channel this week because of the channel "Let's talk about religion". I already love this one too 🥰 Both channels are amazing. Thank you for this amazing content 🌷
Dropped everything when I saw the title of this video
???
@@logans.butler285 it’s an interesting topic! I was excited!
Thanks for this video. As an Orthodox Jew who has the read the Xtan scriptures struggled to understand the concept of “duality” in Pauline theology eg the constant struggle b/t Jesus (good) vs Devil (bad). Turns out this concept was influenced by either Zoroastrian and/or Greco-Roman mythology.
Could you do a video on Paul’s understanding of the concept of salvation eg “individual salvation” vs Tanakh’s “collective salvation”. I realized that “individual salvation” was influenced by Hellenistic culture.
Appreciate all the religious people coming to this video out of curiosity, don't be afraid to expand what you know and learn something new so you can understand yourself better
Thanks for commenting, Satan.
Good to know you weren't offended by any of the content of this video.
Curiosity and seeking truth is not anti God. I’d suggest it’s an action of following God. Jesus says he is the truth and scripture urges us to seek the the truth so why would doing so be antithetical to worshiping God? And why should it be something to be feared? Scripture and Jewish/Christian philosophy shows us that essence of the creator is present in all humanity. So while the scripture is a good source it’s not the sole truth. For me the exploration of history and its effects on religion has not shaken my beliefs. In fact I’m many ways it has strengthened my faith and my knowing that God is everywhere and in everything. It doesn’t help better understand ourselves but rather the creation in which we live. It helps us to understand God better. His love and His will.
Hi Satan
@@j.conrad5374 uh...ok
Thanks satan :)
I was raised a Christian (& still profess to be one). My parents taught me that satan is someone expelled from heaven, etc.
I’m currently trying to enrich my knowledge with truth & not tradition.
My biggest fear is thinking that I will never find out the truth or, even worse, the “truth” I’ve been taught isn’t real or was lost in the past. I’m young & still learning.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THE KNOWLEDGE IN THIS VIDEO!!
Thats the beauty of it... You dont have to find THE truth, because its all connected
🤺☦️🇷🇺Well, i will explain to you the right and true Christian view. Only Protestant heretics view Satan in a childish Zoroastrian way of the pagans. Orthodox Christians and Jews' concept of Satan is loyal to the old testament as mentioned in the book of Eyob: Satan is simply one of God's spirits who is in charge of all evil and sin, and his job is to test humans in their faith to God - by God's command and permition. He is not an enemy of God (that is an heretic view) - God HAS NO enemies or equals! Nor a fallen angel:
1. Fallen angels were the ancestor of the giant race called Nefilim, which has nothing to do with all of that
2. Angels CANNOT "rebel" against God, because they have no freedom of choice as humans have. If this video was a true serious study, it would have mentioned all of that, but of course it is done by a heathen so what can you expect lol🤷♂️
@@janschinkel What?🤦♂️
God believed he created perfect people Satan disagrees Satan did not fall from heaven God gave the earth to Santa to prove God wrong, Satan is not evil we are Satan is the temptor we make the choice 👍
@@karlmiller4061 Exactly! You understand the scripture, not like those Protestant heathens👏☦️🇷🇺
Your channel is one of the best in the entire TH-cam
volevo solo essere uno dei The Strokes Truth