by Colleen Mart

Created on: February 15, 2010   Last Updated: February 17, 2010

Is Satan real? 

This is a difficult question to answer for most people.  Without tangible proof many people don’t see Satan as an actual being, but consider him the embodiment of evil.  In fact, a poll in August 2002 taken by Barna Research found that more than half of adult Americans believe that Satan is only a symbol of evil, not an actual being.  Approximately one third of Americans believe that Satan is a supernatural being, an entity, but they are in the minority. 

Christianity teaches that Satan, who is also known as the devil, is an evil fallen angel.  They point to the Bible as proof of the existence of this evil entity.  According to the teachings of Christianity, in the first book of the Bible, the first man and woman were tempted by a serpent which is claimed to be Satan in disguise.   Nowhere in Genesis Chapter 3 is the serpent identified as anything other than simply a serpent.  It is not said to be Satan nor a fallen angel.    

The concept of Satan did not appear in the Bible until after the exile of the Jews from Egypt that the idea of an evil entity became popular belief around 200 B.C.  This belief in the duality of influences over mankind, good and evil, may have came about as the Jews adopted customs from the Persians.  The concept of an evil being called Satan became so ingrained in the Jewish culture that Judaism called this evil being “the accuser.” It was supposedly Satan that accused Job of being a hypocrite, only serving God because of the benefits.  It is claimed that Satan brought tragedy into Job’s life.  Although it was the accusation that instigated the catastrophic events in Job’s life, most people would be surprised to read that these events were actually the work of God’s hand.  In Job 2:3, God told Satan that it was his accusation of hypocrisy that caused God to move against Job and destroy his life.  However, it is a story related by a writer who never actually witnessed the events. 

So where did the concept of Satan come from?  Evidence found by archaeologists indicates that the concept of Satan began in Zoroastrian religion that had adopted the religious beliefs of ancient Babylon.  In fact, in the book of Isaiah, Chapter 14:4 through 12 indicates that the King of Babylon and Lucifer, another name for Satan, are one and the same.  The King of Babylon has long since ceased to exist, of course. 

The idea of a satanic evil being is one that churches have used to assure that their believers are afraid to stray from the teachings of the church for centuries.  Satan is also used as an excuse for the horrendous things that mankind is capable of.  Although it is entirely up to each individual to decide for themselves if Satan is real or not, there is no physical evidence to show that this being really exists. 

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