Satan is not God’s enemy in the Bible, and he’s not always bad – much less evil. Through the lens of the Old and New Testaments, Erik Butler explores the Devil through literature, theology, visual art, and music from antiquity up to the present, discussing canonical authors (Dante, Milton, Goethe) and a wealth of lesser-known sources. Since his first appearance in the Book of Job, Satan has pursued a single objective: to test human beings, whose moral worth and piety leave plenty of room for doubt. Satan can be manipulative, but at worst he facilitates what mortals are inclined to do, anyway. ‘The Devil made me do it’ does not hold up in the court of cosmic law. With wit and surprising examples, this book explains why.
Erik Butler is a researcher at the Yale School of Drama. He has translated many works of European literature and has written three books, including The Rise of the Vampire (also published by Reaktion).
