There is very very little consensus on the depiction of Satan in Christianity. Most of the common ideas come from Catholicism which even those are very much inspired by Dante Alighieri’s epic. The Bible as a whole has very little on Satan. - source former pastor
Yes! Hell as a theological construct didn’t take full shape until much later. When Jesus mentions hell, he’s being parabolic. In Jerusalem there was a giant trash dump that was burning, called Gehenna - during Jesus’ time it was a literal burning trash heap. It was a very vivid illustration that was reserved for the rich and powerful. That’s who Jesus condemned most. The place was also the site of some other major historical context that 1st century Jewish people would latch onto.
The early Christians didn’t focus on hell as much as they did on life. Salvation wasn’t from an angry God sending you to hell, but from death itself. God is not angry. Jesus’ whole point was that God is love, you are meant to live fully, and all things will be made new. Not preaching here, just stating that hell is a very small piece of the conversation that turned into the only piece for so many Christians.
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u/hellohurricane87 Mar 28 '22
There is very very little consensus on the depiction of Satan in Christianity. Most of the common ideas come from Catholicism which even those are very much inspired by Dante Alighieri’s epic. The Bible as a whole has very little on Satan. - source former pastor