06/06/06

Posted by Johnny at 1:13 p.m.

In honour of my good friend Tom, I've decided to do a numerically-themed post in honour of June 6, 2006. Well, it's not so much about the number 666, but that which the number typically represents in Judeo-Christian culture.

Satan has a long and disputed history in the world's major religions. Even his name has been subject for debate, commonly varying between Satan, The Devil, the "Prince of Darkness", Beelzebub, Belial, Lucifer, and Mephistopheles.

The concept of Satan played little or no role in early Jewish theology, but was absorbed gradually due to popularity. Some think the concept was inherited from Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions. The details of Satan's existence have had many interpretations, ranging from that of an independent agent to the incarnation of all evil, whose thoughts are devoted to the destruction of mankind.

In Christianity, Satan appeared as a tempter for Jesus and has been regarded as a fallen archangel of Heaven. There is a discrepancy between the Bible and other Christian literature when discussing the home of Satan. Christian literature typically places Satan in Hell, while the Bible places Satan on Earth, spending his time seeking to destroy human lives and keeping them separated from God.

Discrepancies between Jewish and Christian biblical interpretations exist on the subject of Satan. For example, the Jews believe that in Genesis, the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge was literally a snake. The Christians, on the other hand, believed this serpent to be Satan. Many Christians, unfortunately, are unaware that the original interpretation did not involve Satan whatsoever.

Another interpretational error occurred when Christian monks were translating the Hebrew Bible to Latin. The monks assumed the name Lucifer referred to Satan, however, Lucifer (or "light bringer") was the name of a Babylonian king.

The origins of the mythical "Number of the Beast" are just as varied as those of the Beast himself. 666 is mentioned in Revelation 13:16-18:

Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom: let anyone with the understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

Some original Greek manuscripts of Revelation show the number to be 666, while other early manuscripts show it as 616. In Greek, the numbers 1 and 6 are easily mistaken for each other, and historians continue to argue which is the proper number. English translations typically use 666.

The confusion persists when tracing the origin of that number specified in Revelation. Many believe the number to be the numerical value of Nero ("Neron Caesar", "Nrwn Qsr") using Hebrew Gematria, which is 666. This could be somewhat conclusive if it wasn't for the alternate spelling in Hebrew ("Nrw Qsr") based on the Latin "Nero Caesar," which has a Gematriac value of 616.

Since Roman emperors were known to have oppressed both Jews and early Christians, the hypothesis that 666 is a code for Nero is supported by many historians. Both the Jewish and Christian communities in Roman times were known to have used numerology and codes to avoid persecution.

The secular positions on Satan and his number are expectedly different from religious views. For example, Skeptics typically do not accept Satan as real. Their reasons are as follows (from Wikipedia):

1. It is unclear how Satan, in the traditional notion, could defy or defeat an omnipotent opponent. Spinoza argued that it is unclear why an all-powerful good God would allow Satan to do evil deeds and go unpunished, but then punish humans who are victimized by Satan to an eternity of hellfire.

2. The existence of supernatural beings conflicts with naturalism. It is unclear how Satan, who is said to be supernatural, would interact with the human world. It is unnecessary to explain tragic events by appealing to Satan. Furthermore, from a humanist point of view, it is unnecessary to require a supernatural source for human behavior that arises from normal animal urges like lust, adultery, theft and lying. Also, Satan and his demons are not something observed under rigorous scientific study.

3. Satan's origins can be explained and traced through comparative mythology.

4. Satan, in another way of thinking, could also represent an 'anti-Christianity' view, where those who worship Satan see themselves as those who are opposite of Christianity views, for example, as a Christian one would follow Gods word, as a self proclaimed 'Satanist', one would follow ones own personal word and view, one would see themselves as a 'god' per se, with their own ability to chose right or wrong without the need of an 'almighty' to dictate their actions, in the eyes of a church this way of thought could be seen as 'satanic' where one should live with the presence of God and follow God's word. Therefore one could argue Satan does not exist, and was created to represent 'an external influence' for those who's actions are against the church, to allow the church to proceed to condemn or prosecute the individuals or group.

Personally, I agree with the Skeptics on this issue (as well as most others). I would expand on their claim that Satan represents an anti-Christian view to say that any incarnation of one religion's anti-God is a mere interpretation of an opposing religion's God. Many (especially Neo-Pagans) believe that the image of Satan as a horned half-man, half-goat was chosen by the Church to discredit pagan gods, such as Pan and Dionysus.

As Aleister Crowley, an occult writer, put it in Magick in Theory and Practice, "The Devil does not exist ... 'The Devil' is, historically, the God of any people that one personally dislikes."