Satan and His Friends: A Minimalist Approach for Believers

Neither God nor his Word give place to the Devil.

Western tradition has enshrined what Gallagher calls a ＂Satan maximalist＂ approach to the evil spiritual beings mentioned in the Bible, finding the devil and his army of fallen angels everywhere. But what does Scripture actually say about Satan and his wicked companions?

Not much, it turns out.

Gallagher calls readers to critically examine the traditional view of Satan and the demonic taking into account the full testimony of Scripture. What emerges is a vision of evil that includes a being known as Satan, but whose power and scope of influence are smaller than tradition usually suggests. The chief enemy of God is not nearly as powerful nor mentioned as frequently in the Bible as is often thought.

The Bible does not center on a conflict between good and evil spiritual beings. Early Christians were not obsessed with Satan, and the New Testament writers chose not to speculate about his origins or motivations. Instead, they focused on godly living that would allow believers to stay in step with the Spirit and avoid every appearance of evil.

Edmond L. Gallagher (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is a professor of Christian Scripture at Heritage Christian University in Florence, Alabama. He has published widely on the Bible in early Christian history. He is a member of several academic societies, including the Society for New Testament Studies and the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies. He and his wife, Jodi, have six children.