Devils, Demons, Satan, and Lucifer in Old Time Radio!

According to numerous recent surveys, the majority of mainstream Christians do not believe in Satan or the Devil, although as many as 97% of evangelical Christians have little trouble accepting the notion that angels exist. Yet there are "fire and brimstone" sects which seem to spend more effort fearing the devil than they do worshiping or praising God.

It is pretty certain that the Devil is not the cartoon figure we are all used to seeing, with the red suit, tail, horns, pitchfork, and stylish goatee. Early Christian artwork often depicted the Devil as having the horns of a goat and a ram, a goat's fur and ears, and the nose and canines of a pig. Even these characteristics are hard to pin down because the Devil is also referred to as "the Deceiver". If he is going to go to the trouble of hiding the Truth from us, what is to stop him from appearing as attractive as he wants to be. The Devil was playing the role of deceiver when he convinced Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.

Many Christians believe that the Devil is an Angel called Satan. A third of the angelic host, the demons, rebelled against God and were cast out of Heaven and condemned to the Lake of Fire. Thus, the Devil and the demons are opposed and hateful towards humanity, indeed all of Creation. According to Islamic tradition, god created the Devil and the other djinn out of "smokeless fire". After God created mankind, He ordered the angels to bow down before Adam. The Devil and his followers refused, stating that they were superior because they were created from fire rather than clay.

In Arabic, the word Shaitan means "astray" or "distant", and the Hebrew word Satan refers to "the adversary". One of Satan's most important episodes in the Bible is in the Book of Job. God asks Satan to comment on the piety of Job. Satan replies that of course Job is pious, God has given him everything that he could want. So God gives Satan permission to test Job by taking away everything and then to torment him. Much to Satan's chagrin, Job passes the test and continues to praise God.

Another of Satan's important roles in the Bible comes during the Temptation of Christ. The episode occurs after Jesus has met John the Baptist on the banks of the River Jordan to be baptized. After the baptism, Jesus goes into the Judean desert to fast for forty days and forty nights. During this time, Satan comes to him and tempts him three times, showing him the power to turn stones into bread, challenges Jesus to cast himself from the pinnacle of the Temple, and finally offers Jesus dominion over the whole world if only he will worship Satan. Of course, Christ does not succumb to the temptation, and at the end of this period the Devil departs and Jesus goes forth into Galilee to begin his Earthly mission.

There is some disagreement as to just how much power the Devil actually has. In some traditions, he is the source of everything that is corrupt and evil in the world, but in some ways this would put the Devil on a nearly equal footing with God. In other belief systems, Satan only has the power to put evil and wicked thoughts into the hearts and minds of men, and once these have taken root they can bear as much evil as the most gruesome of monsters.

In the episodes in this collection where the Devil himself actually shows up, he is little more than a Science Fiction monster. In other words, for all his power and threatening continence, the Devil is in fact constrained by rules, and the Devil can actually be defeated by a Hero who understands and follows said rules. In most, however, we find that Satan, demons and the Devil are merely stand-ins for "the evil which lurks in the hearts of men".

See also: Witches in Old Time Radio.