In Defence of New Testament Satanologies: A Response to Farrar and Williams

Abstract

Satan is a key figure in many New Testament books. The authors of these books build on hugely diverse Second Temple traditions and themes. A recurring trend in New Testament Satanology is to assume or argue for a monolithic image of Satan throughout the New Testament. This trend is seen, most recently, in Farrar and Williams’s (2016) argument for a distinct, coherent Satanology, published in this journal. Such a uniform New Testament Satanology is untenable: there is only evidence of New Testament Satanologies. Within the 27 books of the New Testament, and indeed within works of a single author, various – sometimes almost contradictory – Satanologies are evident. As such, the New Testament authors continue the Second Temple trend of diverse Satan traditions, and any examination of Satan should keep this front and centre.