Even the youngest child in Sunday school has as almost his/her first question: "where did the devil come from?" or "why does GOD allow the devil to exist if he is so powerful and strong?" These are good questions. Haven’t we all asked them at one point or another? There are many stories about the nature and origin of the devil, though I cannot say where they all come from. The Bible is very sparse in direct references, so I have no idea where the preachers get all of their information from. The first reference, is of course, in the book of Genesis, chapter Three. Although the text does not name the serpent the devil, many assume that it is. In any event, the serpent is cursed as if he was the devil.

    In the Old Testament, there are 17 uses of the names "satan" and "devil". Twelve of these are in the book of Job. There is one use of the name "lucifer", which is in the book of Isaiah, chapter 14, verse 12. The verses here read:
 

    "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of GOD: I will also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high."
 
 

    This is most likely the source of most of the stories about who the devil was, and why he was cast out of heaven. Lucifer, satan, the devil, refer to an angel that GOD created to serve him in his will. This angel was said to be his favorite at one time. Lucifer was said to be an angel of the light, most brilliant and beautiful of all the angels in heaven. The name lucifer is derived from the latin word luceo, which means "shine, be light, be clear". The name itself in latin means "light-bringing", and "the morning star; Venus". This angel was very special to GOD, so special that he began to think he was equal to, if not better than GOD. The name satan means "opposer", someone or something which opposes GOD. All of this considered together allows some very heretical hypotheses to be drawn out.

    Since our writing about Sophia has shifted to writing about the devil, let us go back now and complete the first thought. When dealing with the possibility that GOD was not alone, and that possibly he created a mate to help him with creation, this new information may help clarify a few things. We have a possible place for Sophia, but little reason to back it up. We also have a devil which has fallen from grace, that we really can’t understand how GOD could have created in the first place, or why he lets continue to exist. By combining these ideas together, we are faced with a new possibility. What if this Sophia and the devil were one and the same entity? How far of a reach is that? As we have already discussed, there is good reason for this mate; this co-creator; to be upset with the LORD. Could this mate have fought with GOD? Could she have demanded that she be given equal glory for her own very important role in the creation of the universe? Would she not have then become the opposer of GOD? Would she not fit the description of his favorite creation betraying him? Let us also consider the statement in the book of Revelations, chapter 22, verse 16, that says:
 

    "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."
 

    This verse tells us that Jesus is the son of David and Lucifer, who has been said to be the morning star. This would tend to coincide with this new idea that the devil is not a male, but a female in gender. There is a divine entity that has not been written into this book of GOD. They had different ideas about how things should be. Women should not take offense that I have made the devil a woman, any more than a man should take offense that GOD is such an egotistical chauvinist. They say "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Well, maybe it really does. The LORD may punish her, throw her out of heaven, bind her for a thousand years, but nowhere does it say he will, or even can destroy her. Why can we not love them both, as we humans love both of our parents on earth? Is there no way in the law of GOD to glorify them both? Jesus taught us to love our enemies. He does not even teach us to hate the devil. He says beware of the devil – don’t get fooled. It seems to be that the book of GOD is full of inferior references toward women, from making them less than men in all instances, to even referring to righteous men as "those who have not been defiled by women." This cannot be right. Who wants to go to a heaven where the women are all quiet, meek, and subservient? It seems to me that we have only been given one side of the story.

    To understand this bias against females may simply be an acceptance of monotheism. It is, after all, a one sided belief to begin with. The greatest question to pose is why the real world is so full of opposites then? We have Day and Night, Life and Death, Growth and Decay, among many others. The list is endless if we were to try and compose it. Male and Female are just one of the pairs of opposites that are necessary for this reality to exist. The Bible instructs us to follow GOD and no other; to treat women as second to men; to stay in the Light and keep out of the Darkness; to acknowledge the Spiritual and refuse the Physical. It is no wonder why, when the essence of the religion seems to be the oppression of the female and glorification of the male. We must explore the reasoning behind this, if there is any.

    The first possibility is that of the alignment of the writers. The church tells us that the Bible was written by GOD. According to the Bible itself, the only part that was written actually by GOD himself are the Ten Commandments, which he caused to be engraved upon the stone tablets which Moses brought down from the mountain. Then again, we must remember that Moses wrote the book of Genesis also, which contains a great deal of questionable material. The sins of Moses were enough, in the eyes of the LORD, to prevent him from ever reaching the promised land as well. Every other word in the Bible was written by human beings, mostly men. Men were in charge. Women were property for the most part. GOD was written to be male, and the sex certainly does suit the attitude that is written. Being then created mostly, if not entirely by men, the Bible would naturally reflect the masculine dominance of the writers.

    The second possibility is that of the Spiritual nature of GOD. Earth is very much a material world. There are many things which have a spiritual essence in nature, but we relate to what we can sense more than imagine. This separates men and women mentally and psychologically. Women tend to be more innately material than men, and men more innately spiritual. Women are our mothers. They are the ones who must nurture us from virtually nothing within their own bodies. They are the ones who must carry us to term, and, painfully, deliver us into the material world. No man can know what that duty entails. It is a very physical relationship between mother and child. The man may well be emotionally tied to his child, but can never share the bond that the mother has. The experience of a man in the propagation of the species is much more a spiritual one than a material one. As a man may consider that he has done as much to bring the child into the world as the woman, he is in error. True, the egg and the sperm are but two halves which are both necessary for reproduction, but the material investment is not at all equal. It is entirely possible for a man to not even know how many children he has brought to life. The woman will always know. If GOD is male in essence, then it is entirely possible that he has no understanding of what the balance truly is.

    The Earth is very much like a mother to us, while GOD seems so far away at the best of times. As a mother, she must feel like he has left us all here with her as bastard children. Perhaps he does understand this. Perhaps that is why he asserts himself into our reality in the way that he does. He must inspire other men to write of him and keep him alive and in our minds. We might not even recognize him for who and what he is otherwise. Maybe this is why he seems to be at odds with her so much. One thing seems very apparent to me, and that is that there is more to this story than we have been told. The fact that I can think this, and wonder about these things, tells me that it is intended that I do so. The one rule that cannot be denied in this world, when wondering about sin, evil, and wrong, is the Golden Rule of Jesus Christ, and the applications thereof. I must do no thing that causes any suffering to anyone else. I can explore then any thought, so long as it has no foul consequence upon others. Many of you have been taught false doctrines and had no choice. This doctrine I am teaching you now may be just as false, maybe more so, but you are here by your own will. You can acknowledge or attack. You can believe or belittle. You can consider or criticize. No one but yourself shall tell you that you must have faith in any of it. That disclaimer aside, let us move on.

Copyright 2000 by J.S.Graham