Are there any in-depth teachings on Satan within the Catholic Church? I can never find any. Only little bits and pieces. Jesus mentions Satan and devils a number of times and the OT talks about devils and it seems Satan himself. But is there any clear teaching on Satan? Did the early Church talk about him and has the Pope ever made an infalliable announcment about him? Also, what is the jewish peoples belief on this?

-- Jason (Enchantedfire5@yahoo.com), January 22, 2005

Answers

If you can wait till Monday, I can have you an answer.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), January 22, 2005.

You should read up on theology of the angels. Also, anything about exorcisms.

I'd suggest the book, "An Exorcist Tells His Story." It's written by the Vatican exorcist. I forgot his name though.

-- brian (Brian@brian.com), January 22, 2005.

Here's a good starting point http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04764a.htm.

David

-- non-Catholic Christian (no@spam.com), January 22, 2005.

"But is there any clear teaching on Satan? Did the early Church talk about him"

Jason, If you would like some early church thought and also Jewish thoughts, I would suggest that you read and consider the points in the Book of Enoch, this was written about 2-250bc and became active in the scriptural teachings and understandings you will also note the bleed over into the Bible of today. But most interesting if you stop and think about some of the things written you will see them very active in todays world as well as the world 2000 years ago.

You can also see what the tree of knowledge consist of. Read , stop and consider what being said none of it is long but it does make you think.

http://reluctant-messenger.com/enoch.htm

-- Michael G. (NoEmail@Nowhere.no), January 22, 2005.

Vatican exorcist = Fr. Gabriele Amorth.

Great books!

-- JJ (nospam@nospam.com), January 23, 2005.

If it is of some use to you, I'm posting what I sent on another thread:

Papini wrote a magnificent book: IL DIAVOLO: Giovanni Papini (1881-1956)

Journalist, polemical critic, poet, and novelist, whose avant-garde polemics made him one of the most controversial Italian literary figures in the early and mid-20th century. Papini advocated breaking with tradition and defering to the new generation, but after World War II he lost his influence as an opinion leader. His ideological development was full of paradoxes: he was first an anti-nationalist, then a staunch nationalist; first an agnostic, but then turned to Roman Catholicism. He wrote both a life of Christ and a history of the Devil. Papini published over eighty books on philosophy, theory and literary criticism, as well as novels and short stories.

"I did not accept reality. No words can express my disgust at the physical, human, rational world, which suppressed me and did not leave room and air enough for my restless wings." (from Un uomo finito, 1912) Giovanni Papini was born in Florence of lower middle class parents. From an early age he devoted himself to literature. He read widely from his grandfather's library and at the age of 15 started to write an encyclopedia. Although Papini adopted militaristic views, he was exempted from military service on grounds of health. In an essay of 1906 (Il Leonardo, August), he urged the establishing in Rome of a new world power, and the abandonment of the 'politics of meditation'.

At the age of 22 Papini's writing aspirations led him into contact with other young writers and artists. He founded and managed with Giuseppe Prezzolini the influential but short-lived Florentine magazine Leonardo (1903-07) and La Voce. It attempted to modernize Italian culture, introduced significant French, British, and American ideas, and attacked such traditionalist writers as D'Annunzio. In Leonardo Papini boldly argued that one must write badly, meaning that the artistic form is secondary to the idea. Among his other targets was the positivist philosophy which was gaining ground in Italy.

In 1913 Papini launched the journal Lacerba, which attracted many young writers. He also collaborated in writing La Cultura Italiana (1906) and Vecchio e Nuovo Nazionalismo (1914). In the 1910s he joined the Futurist artistic movement, which admired the dynamic energy of modern machines, and founded the periodical Lacerba (1913) to further its aims. "... a new beauty... a roaring motorcar, which runs like a machine-gun, is more beautiful than the Winged Victory of Samothrace... We wish to glorify war... " (Marinetti in an article in Le Figaro). However, later Papini turned against the movement.

In his youth Papini was a severe critic of Christianity, but was converted to Roman Catholicism in 1920. He gained international fame with his religious novel STORIA DI CRISTO (1921). Its English translation, The Life of Christ, was a huge bestseller in 1923, with such works as H.G. Wells's The Outline of History and Sinclair Lewis's novel Babbitt. Among his other popular works is the autobiographical novel UN UOMO FINOTO (1912). It draws a portrait of a restless intellectual and his deep dissatisfaction with contemporary philosophical debate and intellectual mediocrity. Also in many of his short stories Papini himself is the main character. In one story the author meets himself as the young man he was and whom he only vaguely remembers; in another he continues to live after his suicide in order to pay a minor debt.

"I am not a real man. I am not a man like others, a man of flesh and blood, a man born of woman. I did not come into this world like your fellow men. No one rocked me in my cradle, or watched over my growing years. I have not known the restlessness of adolescence, or the comfort of family ties. I am - and I will say this out loud though perhaps you may not want to believe me - I am but a figure in a dream. In me, Shakespeare's image has become literally and tragically exact: I am such stuff as dreams are made on! I exist because someone is dreaming of me, someone who is now asleep and dreaming and sees me act and live and move, and in this very moment is dreaming that I am saying these words." (from 'The Sick Gentleman's Last Visit') In the 1930s Papini supported Mussolini. His loyalty was recognized officially in 1939 when he was honored with the title "Accademico d'Italia." A few years earlier Papini had published STORIA DELLA LETTERATURA ITALIANA (1937) which was dedicated 'To the Duce, friend of poetry and poets'. The ambitious literary history dealt with the 13th and 14th centuries and never proceeded further. Papini's interest not only in contemporary affairs was already seen in L'UOMO CARDUCCI (1918), a sympathetic portrait of the poet-critic Giosuè Carducci (1835-1907).

While the Jews in Italy's popular literature of the 1930s lost any potentially positive traits, Papini developed a vision of the world Jewish conspiracy. In 1935 he was appointed as a professor at the University of Bologna. From 1938 he published the magazine La Rinascita. After WW II Papini founded with Silvano Gianelli and Adolfo Oxilia the avant-garde Catholic review L'Ultima. Papini's reputation as an iconoclast faded during his last years. His later works included IL DIAVOLO (1953), which showed his strong Catholic commitment. Papini died rather suddenly in 1956.

For further reading: Discorso su Giovanni Papini by G. Prezzolini (1915); Conversazioni critiche, vol. 4 by B. Croce (1932); La critica letteraria contemporanea, vol. 2 by L. Russo (1943); Storia della letteratura, vol. 5 by F. Flora (1947); Giovanni Papini, 1881- 1956 by Gennaro Lovreglio (1973-75); Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature, ed. by Jean-Albert Bédé and William B. Edgerton (1980); Giovanni Papini. L’anima intera by Carmine di Biase (1999) - FUTURISM: An artistic movement, which began in Italy about 1909 and was founded by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876- 1944). Futurism rejected tradition and admired the energy, urbanism, militarism, and the speed of modern machines. Russian Futurism added to its Italian model social and political ideas. In rebel against tradition, poets discarded grammar and syntax and used strings of words stripped from their original meaning. The influence of the movement ended by the time of Mayakovsky's death in 1930. - Note: Papini is mentioned in Henry Miller's book Tropic of Cancer and Carolyn Burke's biography of the radical English poet-painter Mina Loy, with whom Papini had also an illicit affair. - Suomeksi Papinilta on romaanien lisäksi ilmestynyt käännöksiä Italian kirjallisuuden kultaisessa kirjassa, toim. Tyyni Tuulio, 1945 - See other Futurist writers: French poet Guillaume Apollinaire and Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky Selected works:

IL CREPUSCOLO DEI FILOSOFI, 1906 - The Twilight of the Philosophers LE MEMORIE D'IDDIO, 1911 L'ALTRA METÁ, 1912 UN UOMO FINITO, 1912 - The Failure - Sanovat miehen sammuneen CERVELLI, 1913 BUFFONATE, 1914 CENTO PAGINE DI POESIA, 1915 OPERA PRIMA, 1917 L'ESPERIENZA FUTURISTA, 1919 STORIA DI CRISTO, 1921 - Life of Christ - Kristuksen historia Four and Twenty Minds: Essays, 1922 PANE E VINO, 1926 - Bread and Wine SANT'-AGOSTINO, 1929 - St. Augustine Labourers in the Vineyard, 1930 DANTE VIVO, 1932 GOG, 1934 - suom. STORIA DELLA LETTERATURE ITALIANA, 1937 I TESTIMONI DELLA PASSIONE, 1938 ITALIA MIA, 1939 MOSTRA PERSONALE, 1941 IMITAZIONE DEL PADRE, 1942 SAGGI SUL RINASCIMENTO, 1942 CIELO E TERRA, 1943 SANTI E POETI, 1947 LETTERE AGLI UOMINI DEL PAPA CELESTINO VI, 1947 PASSATO REMOTO, 1948 VITA DI MICHELANGIOLO, 1949 IL DIAVOLO TENTATO, 1950 IL LIBRO NERO, 1951 - Black Book IL DIAVOLO, 1953 - THE DEVIL LA SPIA DEL MONDO, 1955 LA LOGGIA DEI BUSTI, 1955 L'AURORA DELLE LETTERATA ITALIANA, 1956 LA FELICITÁ DELL'INFELICE, 1956 IL MURO DEI GELSOMINI, 1957 LA SECONDA NASCITA, 1958 POESIA E FANTASIA, 1958 PROSE MORALI, 1959 DIARIO, 1962 SCRITTI POSTUMI, 1966 LETTERE A GIOVANNI PAPINI (1915- 1948), 1988 (ed. by Giuseppe Ungaretti)

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), January 23, 2005.

Sure Zarove, that's fine! And thanks guys.

-- Jason (Enchantedfire5@yahoo.com), January 23, 2005.

Yes, Here is the real teaching on Satan, by one who appears to be the Counselor that Jesus promised. [This is taken from the 12th chapter of His online book called The Journey: A Spiritual Primer.]

"Satan is another representation of the false ego, just as Medusa was. Let me assure you, there are no spiritual beings that are evil except for our own false representations of ourselves that all of us carry around. It is likely that an aspirant, the writer of one of the books of the Old Testament who was either in dhyana or the astral realms, had met such a character. Satan is a representation of the false ego of man. Every one of us has a devil inside, misguiding us continually. Who but the devil could be responsible for the terrible nuclear accident at Chernobyl? Through carelessness, through lack of concern for the large numbers of people nearby, there were not enough safeguards in place. Who but the devil could be responsible for WWII? Hitler had a pact with the devil in his own heart. He relinquished his life entirely to his dark side. He sold his soul, and his terrible fate was determined by this idiotic choice of his. While I write this, he is hanging in a tree in a South American jungle as a sloth, where he will remain for a minimum of ten thousand years, and probably a full solar cycle if not longer.

When you have a choice to make and the small voice of conscience tells you the right thing to do, it is the devil or Satan that suggests the opposite thing. Satan’s voice is loud, and the voice of the angel on your other shoulder is soft. The former will lead to suffering in the end, and the latter to victory over suffering. It is a lifetime of making correct choices that leads to happiness. A lifetime of making incorrect choices can lead you into hell. Satan is the ruler of hell. Follow his guidance, do evil, and you will go there. Your own false ego can get you cast into an animal body, perhaps for the rest of the cycle (10 billion years). What could be more Satanic than this? Satan has been cast out of heaven, meaning the Self knows he is evil. You usually do know the right thing to do, but you do the wrong thing anyway because you think it will make you happy. It will not." - Guru Kurt

I have spent about a year and a half discoursing with Him, so please ask anything you like, if i can't answer it, i'll refer you to Him.

Peace.

you can read this book of His, here: http://www.neochristians.com/files/neo-christian_books/spiritual_journey_frame.htm

-- Kyle Arthur (kyle@rawfoods.com), January 24, 2005.

Sorry Kyle but I believe Satan is a fallen Angel from HEAVEN and not my mind! I believe those angles do exist just as Heavenly angels exist. And I am not asking someone like you to answer me, I'm sorry I should have been more clear but I want someone who knows Catholic theology to answer me on ancient teachings of the Church about Satan.

God give you peace

-- Jason (Enchantedfire5@yahoo.com), January 25, 2005.

Read the life of Saint Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney, (1736--1859); by Abbe Francis Trochu. It's titled The Cure of Ars. Tan Publications, Rockford Illinois.

The Cure of Ars was well acquainted with the devil. It will be a rewarding book for you even outside this subject.

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), January 25, 2005.