Evil and the Devil (The Library of New Testament Studies) Hardcover – July 25, 2013

by Erkki Koskenniemi

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

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing too earth shattering here. The book provides introductory articles to Early Christian conceptions of evil and the devil, from the Old Testament to Augustine. I picked up to read the article on Origen "Evil is not a nature" and also went through the account of Augustine's Original Sin. The articles were comprehensive introductions, but failed to challenge me or tell me anything I didn't already know - and that is not a compliment to my knowledge. I have only begun to dig into this particular subject.