The Origin of Satan
How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics
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Narrated by:
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Suzanne Toren
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By:
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Elaine Pagels
About this listen
Who is Satan in the New Testament, and what is the evil that he represents? In this groundbreaking book, Elaine Pagels, Princeton's distinguished historian of religion, traces the evolution of Satan from its origins in the Hebrew Bible, where Satan is at first merely obstructive, to the New Testament, where Satan becomes the Prince of Darkness, the bitter enemy of God and man, evil incarnate. In The Origin of Satan, Pagels shows that the four Christian gospels tell two very different stories. The first is the story of Jesus' moral genius: his lessons of love, forgiveness, and redemption. The second tells of the bitter conflict between the followers of Jesus and their fellow Jews, a conflict in which the writers of the four gospels condemned as creatures of Satan those Jews who refused to worship Jesus as the Messiah. Writing during and just after the Jewish war against Rome, the evangelists invoked Satan to portray their Jewish enemies as God's enemies too. As Pagels then shows, the church later turned this satanic indictment against its Roman enemies, declaring that pagans and infidels were also creatures of Satan, and against its own dissenters, calling them heretics and ascribing their heterodox views to satanic influences.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,920
From the internationally bestselling author of No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history's most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Vivid and well-researched
- By Tad Davis on 07-21-13
By: Reza Aslan
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Reading Judas
- The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity
- By: Elaine Pagels, Karen L. King
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre, Robertson Dean
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 154
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Two celebrated scholars illustrate how the newly discovered Gospel of Judas provides a window into understanding how Jesus' followers understood his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus, and why God allowed it. Presented with the elegance, insight, and accessibility that has made Pagels and King the leading voices in this field, this is a book for academics and popular audiences alike.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Judas Iscariot: Betrayer or Saint?
- By Diane on 08-21-12
By: Elaine Pagels, and others
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Creating Christ
- How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity
- By: James S. Valliant, C. W. Fahy
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 205
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 186
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 186
This explosive work of history unearths clues that finally demonstrate the truth about one of the world's great religions: that it was born out of the conflict between the Romans and messianic Jews who fought a bitter war with each other during the first century. The Romans employed a tactic they routinely used to conquer and absorb other nations: they grafted their imperial rule onto the religion of the conquered.
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5 out of 5 stars
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life is one big lie
- By Anonymous User on 12-25-19
By: James S. Valliant, and others
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Anti-Judaism
- The Western Tradition
- By: David Nirenberg
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
This incisive history upends the complacency that confines anti-Judaism to the ideological extremes in the Western tradition. With deep learning and elegance, David Nirenberg shows how foundational anti-Judaism is to the history of the West. Questions of how we are Jewish and, more critically, how and why we are not have been churning within the Western imagination throughout its history. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans; Christians and Muslims of every period; even the secularists of modernity have used Judaism in constructing their visions of the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Book: Terrible Narrator
- By LB on 12-29-16
By: David Nirenberg
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Jesus, Jihad and Peace
- What Bible Prophecy Says About World Events Today
- By: Michael Youssef
- Narrated by: Jon Gauger
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
In a world that cries out for peace, which will prevail - Jesus or Jihad? Bible-believing Christians wonder: What does Islamic extremism mean in terms of Bible prophecy? Do today's turbulent events have prophetic significance? In Jesus, Jihad and Peace, Dr. Michael Youssef provides answers that are concise and biblically accurate, explaining how trends within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam fit into prophetic history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent analysis
- By 404 on 03-04-15
By: Michael Youssef
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Desire of the Everlasting Hills
- The World Before and After Jesus
- By: Thomas Cahill
- Narrated by: Brian F. O'Byrne
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
In his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus, Thomas Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Desire Delivers
- By David on 04-18-03
By: Thomas Cahill
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Understanding the Koran
- A Quick Christian Guide to the Muslim Holy Book
- By: Mateen Elass
- Narrated by: Don Reed
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 97
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 79
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Story4 out of 5 stars 78
A quick non-technical introduction to the Koran designed to help Christians understand a hidden book revered by 1.3 billion Muslims, covering the background on its writing, a summary of its contents, a perspective on how it’s used and viewed by Muslims, a comparison of differences and similarities to the Bible, and some suggestions on how it should and should not be used in conversations with Muslims.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Favors Christianity
- By Dianne on 12-18-15
By: Mateen Elass
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When the Church Was Young
- Voices of the Early Fathers
- By: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Narrated by: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 999
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 864
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 864
Marcellino D'Ambrosio dusts off what might have been just dry theology to bring you the exciting stories of great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Jerome. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved the rich legacy of the early Church for us.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Masterful summary of the early Church Fathers
- By Mike C on 08-22-14
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The Barbarians Are Here
- Preventing the Collapse of Western Civilization in Times of Terrorism
- By: Michael Youssef
- Narrated by: Jon Gauger
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
For decades Americans were vaguely aware that Islamist barbarians were in the deserts of the Middle East and in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, executing "infidels" and raiding villages with unrecognizable names. The Muslim world seemed far away, remote, and irrelevant to our daily lives. Then came the terrorist attack of 9/11, followed by attacks at Fort Hood, the Boston Marathon, San Bernandino, Orlando, and more. Now terrorists seem to be emerging everywhere, unleashing senseless death and destruction on our nation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amen
- By SCOTT R MULLIN on 06-07-24
By: Michael Youssef
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Tried by Fire
- The Story of Christianity's First Thousand Years
- By: William J. Bennett
- Narrated by: Wayne Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Full of larger-than-life characters, stunning acts of bravery, and heart-rending sacrifice, Tried by Fire narrates the rise and expansion of Christianity from an obscure regional sect to the established faith of the world's greatest empire with influence extending from India to Ireland, Scandinavia to Ethiopia, and all points in between.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best history of Christianity I've read
- By JOHN F KANARY on 05-05-16
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The Truth About Muhammad
- Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion
- By: Robert Spencer
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,169
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 724
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 728
In The Truth about Muhammad, New York Times best-selling author and Islam expert Robert Spencer offers an honest and telling portrait of the founder of Islam - perhaps the first such portrait in half a century - unbounded by fear and political correctness, unflinching, and willing to face the hard facts about Muhammad's life that continue to affect our world today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Enlightening
- By Cx30 on 12-09-06
By: Robert Spencer
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Christ
- A Crisis in the Life of God
- By: Jack Miles
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Jack Miles's book is a provocative and revisionary look at the life of Jesus, in which many of the most well-worn truths about Christ are recontextualized and revisited. It does not look for the historical Jesus, but takes the Gospels as the sole source about his life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Missed a lot of stuff
- By Wintertao on 01-08-21
By: Jack Miles
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Paul and Jesus
- How the Apostle Transformed Christianity
- By: James D. Tabor
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 253
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 226
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 225
Historians know virtually nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time the man we know as the apostle Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have - the letters of Paul - as well as other early Christian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Paul or Jesus?
- By James on 01-29-13
By: James D. Tabor
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The First Paul
- Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon
- By: Marcus J. Borg, John Dominic Crossan
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story5 out of 5 stars 41
Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression - condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: The later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's message.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Liberal Paul
- By Kayla on 05-12-20
By: Marcus J. Borg, and others
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The Misunderstood Jew
- The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus
- By: Amy Jill Levine
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 137
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
In The Misunderstood Jew, scholar Amy-Jill Levine helps Christians and Jews understand the "Jewishness" of Jesus so that their appreciation of him deepens and a greater interfaith dialogue can take place. Levine's humor and informed truth - telling provokes honest conversation and debate about how Christians and Jews should understand Jesus, the New Testament, and each other.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Courageous
- By Tad Davis on 07-27-17
By: Amy Jill Levine
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Rescuing the Gospel
- The Story and Significance of the Reformation
- By: Erwin W. Lutzer
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 75
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Story5 out of 5 stars 74
The Reformation unfolded in the cathedrals and town squares of Europe - in Wittenberg, Worms, Rome, Geneva, and Zurich - and it is a stirring story of courage and cowardice, of betrayal and faith. The story begins with the Catholic Church and its desperate need for reform. The dramatic events that followed are traced from John Wycliffe in England, to the burning of John Hus at the stake in Prague, to the rampant sale of indulgences in the cities and towns of Germany.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book for Protestants & Catholics
- By Michael Novak on 09-23-18
By: Erwin W. Lutzer