Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian literature, including recurring myths such as ascending a mountain, the axis mundi, myths of combat, descent into the Underworld, accounts of a dying-and-rising god, a flood myth, stories about the founding of a tribe or city, and myths about great heroes of the past, paradises, and self-sacrifice.
A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of the devil can be summed up as 1) a principle of evil independent from God, 2) an aspect of God, 3) a created being turning evil or 4) a symbol of human evil.
Iblis, alternatively known as Eblīs, is the leader of the devils in Islam. According to the Quran, Iblis was thrown out of heaven after refusing to prostrate himself before Adam. He is often compared to the Christian Satan, since both figures were cast out of heaven according to their respective religious narratives. Similar to Mastema, a satanic figure in the Book of Jubilees, he makes a request to God in order to put mankind to test and receives command over the demons in order to do so. In his role as the master of cosmic illusion in Sufi cosmology, he functions similar to the Buddhist concept of Mara. As such, Iblis embodies the cosmic veil supposedly separating the immanent aspect of God's love from the transcendent aspect of God's wrath. He entangles the unworthy in the material web hiding the underlying all-pervading spiritual reality.
The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. It appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate, not as the name of a devil but as the Latin word lucifer (uncapitalized), meaning "the morning star", "the planet Venus", or, as an adjective, "light-bringing". It is a translation of the Hebrew word הֵילֵל, hêlēl, meaning "Shining One".
Satan, also known as the Devil, is an entity in Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin. In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the yetzer hara, or 'evil inclination'. In Christianity and Islam, he is usually seen as a fallen angel or jinn who has rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of demons. In the Quran, Iblis is an evil entity (shaitan) made of fire who was cast out of Heaven because he refused to bow before the newly created Adam and incites humans to sin by infecting their minds with waswās.
Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, and/or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Satan is commonly associated with the Devil in Christianity, a fallen angel often regarded as chief of the demons who tempt humans into sin. The phenomenon of Satanism shares "historical connections and family resemblances" with the Left Hand Path milieu of other occult figures such as Chaos, Hecate, Lilith, Lucifer, and Set. Self-identified Satanism is a relatively modern phenomenon, largely attributed to the 1966 founding of the Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States—an atheistic group that does not believe in a supernatural Satan.
Samael is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic tradition; a figure who is the accuser or adversary, seducer, and destroying angel.
A Black Mass is a ceremony celebrated by various Satanic groups. It has allegedly existed for centuries in different forms, and the modern form is intentionally a sacrilegious and blasphemous parody of a Catholic Mass.
Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven or angels who sinned. Such angels often tempt humans to sin.
Azazil is a figure in Islamic tradition, and believed to be the original name of Satan (Iblīs). The name does not appear in the Quran, however, is frequently mentioned in tafsīr. According to a ḥadīth by ibn Abbas, Satan was once an angel called ʿAzāzīl or al-Ḥārith. He states that God created most angels from "light" (Nūr), but ʿAzāzīl and the angels with him from "poisonous fire". The djinn were created from "a mixture of fire".
The Satanic Bible is a collection of essays, observations, and rituals published by Anton LaVey in 1969. It is the central religious text of LaVeyan Satanism, and is considered the foundation of its philosophy and dogma. It has been described as the most important document to influence contemporary Satanism. Though The Satanic Bible is not considered to be sacred scripture in the way that the Christian Bible is to Christianity, LaVeyan Satanists regard it as an authoritative text as it is a contemporary text that has attained for them scriptural status. It extols the virtues of exploring one's nature and instincts. Believers have been described as "atheistic Satanists" because they believe that God and Satan are not external entities, but rather projections of an individual's personality—benevolent and stabilizing forces in their life. There have been thirty printings of The Satanic Bible, selling over a million copies.
The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. The doctrine of the Fall comes from a biblical interpretation of Genesis, chapters 1–3. At first, Adam and Eve lived with God in the Garden of Eden, but the serpent tempted them into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden. After doing so, they became ashamed of their nakedness and God expelled them from the Garden to prevent them from eating the fruit of the tree of life and becoming immortal.
In Islam, angels are believed to be heavenly beings, created from a luminous origin by God. The Quran is the principal source for the Islamic concept of angels, but more extensive features of angels appear in hadith literature, Mi'raj literature, Islamic exegesis, theology, philosophy, and mysticism.
A deal with the Devil, also known as a Faustian bargain, is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to traditional Christian belief about witchcraft, the pact is between a person and the Devil or another demon, trading a soul for diabolical favours, which vary by the tale, but tend to include youth, knowledge, wealth, fame and power.
Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as traditional Satanism, religious Satanism, or spiritual Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural entity, or spiritual being worthy of worship or reverence, whom individuals may believe in, contact, and convene with, in contrast to the atheistic archetype, metaphor, or symbol found in LaVeyan Satanism.
The Heavenly host refers to the army of Yahweh, as mentioned in both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, as well as other Abrahamic texts.
In Christianity, the Devil is the personification of evil. He is traditionally held to have rebelled against God in an attempt to become equal to God himself. He is said to be a fallen angel, who was expelled from Heaven at the beginning of time, before God created the material world, and is in constant opposition to God. The devil is conjectured to be several other figures in the Bible including the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Lucifer, Satan, the tempter of the Gospels, Leviathan, and the dragon in the Book of Revelation.
Serpents are referred to in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The symbol of a serpent or snake played important roles in the religious traditions and cultural life of ancient Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Canaan. The serpent was a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld as well as a symbol of fertility, life, healing, and rebirth.
A shaitan or shaytan is an evil spirit in Islam, inciting humans and jinn to sin by whispering in their hearts. According to Islamic tradition, though invisible to humans, shayatin are imagined to be ugly and grotesque creatures created from "Hellfire".
In Islam, Nār as samūm refers to a type of infernal fire or hot wind. The term is related to a type of storm in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. According to the Quran, the damned will be tormented in samūm and demons are said to be created from samūm.
