Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Devil


The Devil is a title given to the supernatural being, who, in mainstream Christianity, Islam, and other religions, is believed to be a powerful, evil entity and the tempter of humankind. The Devil is commonly associated with heretics, infidels, and other unbelievers.

In mainstream Christianity, God and the Devil are usually portrayed as fighting over the souls of humans, with the Devil seeking to lure people away from God and into Sheol. The Devil commands a force of lesser evil spirits, commonly known as demons.

The name "Devil" derives from the Greek word diabolos, which means "slanderer" or "accuser".[1] The Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) does not assign this level of personification to a devil; there, the Adversary is a servant of God whose job it is to test humankind.