Overview
Can we know that Satan exists as a particular, disembodied spirit? Current Catholic teaching insists that Satan exists as a person, a fallen angel who has instigated the Fall of humanity, continues to influence humans today, and constitutes a singular nemesis to God. How, one might ask, could human beings know such a thing with certainty? In response, this book seeks to rescue the mythical language in which the doctrine of Satan is rooted so that it is freed from the unreasonable expectation that it affirms the existence of a particular creature, and can instead express theological truth that is of relevance to all free-willed creatures. In doing so, it addresses thorny questions concerning the interpretation of Scripture, the relationship between God and evil, between doctrine and truth, between the Church and modernity, and between the condemnatory impulses apparent in Christian thought and the doctrine of an omnipresent God of infinite mercy. The book detects in the doctrine of Satan the expression of fundamental truths concerning the Creator-creature relationship--truths that are too easily obfuscated in current formulations that invite either fundamentalism or incredulity.
Full Product Details
Author: Alan McGill
Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
Imprint: Wipf & Stock Publishers
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.40cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.354kg
ISBN: 9781725266650
ISBN 10: 1725266652
Pages: 260
Publication Date: 04 May 2021
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
The Possibility of Satan is clear, well reasoned, interesting, and well researched. Both critical and constructive, it is a book I would happily recommend to anyone wanting a sense of modern theological discussions about Satan. --James Alison, Catholic priest, theologian, and author McGill's research is innovative, exhaustive, solid, and sharply focused. He undertakes a study of the doctrine of Satan within Catholic thinking and delivers probably one of the few truly authoritative and thorough critical accounts available in Western scholarship. . . . McGill presents a new reading that will challenge both traditional and progressive thinkers alike. He has produced a constructive and creative engagement to offer a proposal for how we might interpret 'personal' evil today. A sophisticated, impressive, and well-argued account that will be an important addition to academic libraries and seminaries. --Professor David Cheetham, Professor of Philosophical Theology, University of Birmingham
"""The Possibility of Satan is clear, well reasoned, interesting, and well researched. Both critical and constructive, it is a book I would happily recommend to anyone wanting a sense of modern theological discussions about Satan."" --James Alison, Catholic priest, theologian, and author ""McGill's research is innovative, exhaustive, solid, and sharply focused. He undertakes a study of the doctrine of Satan within Catholic thinking and delivers probably one of the few truly authoritative and thorough critical accounts available in Western scholarship. . . . McGill presents a new reading that will challenge both traditional and progressive thinkers alike. He has produced a constructive and creative engagement to offer a proposal for how we might interpret 'personal' evil today. A sophisticated, impressive, and well-argued account that will be an important addition to academic libraries and seminaries."" --Professor David Cheetham, Professor of Philosophical Theology, University of Birmingham"
Author Information
Alan McGill teaches theology at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School and Religious Studies at Georgia Gwinnett College, having worked in schools and parishes in Ireland, the UK, and the US.
