How do we know the Devil is male?

[Phlosphr]

I was just pondering this the other day. Why do classic references to the Devil refer to him as a He? Lucifer was a seraphim. No genitalia - right? Not even a hermaphrodite.

Couldn’t the Devil very well be refered to as a ‘she’?

[3.885AM]

Sure, we just like to attribute gender to things based on perceived attributes, aggression and malice are perceived as predominantly masculine. And the culture that the modern image of the devil emerged from was male dominated. I find it interesting that angels are seen as both male and female in popular culture.

[Anonymous_Coward]

I was all ready to jump in here with an obvious PMS/Evil joke but nah… too easy

[Searching_For_Truth]

Phlosphr, I found your question very interesting. Upon reading the OP, I was immediately struck by one of my own- was Lucifer really a seraphim? Some preliminary research said yes. However, it seems that Lucifer is not the devil, according to some sources.

Here’s what I learned from http://kimbasangels.com/lucifer.html

Contrary to popular belief, Satan and Lucifer are two separate fallen angels. His banishment was because of his complete egotism and pure malice–his sin, pride. This then indicates that Lucifer, not Satan was indeed the first angel to have sinned. Lucifer has been equated to Satan due to a misreading of the passage Isaiah 14:12 that was applied to the King of Babylon–

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, You who weakened nations!”

The actual name “Devil” was applied to Lucifer when early theologians identified him with the falling star in the passage from Isaiah, hence how Satan and Lucifer started to become interchangeable…

Apparently it is when Satan was banished to earth that he became known as The Devil.

Now- to the question of why Satan is male. I would wager a guess that bbbill is right. Many people even claim that Christianity (or monotheism, period) is biased against females.

I found some interesting things, though, when I ran a Google search on that one. It seems that some people don’t believe that Satan/Lucifer/The Devil is male after all.

http://www.geocities.com/rastamage/Gnosis/Gnoses/male_and_female.html

To the Gnostics, Lucifer was known as Sophia, which in Greek means Wisdom. Sophia is the consort of the Christ in the Gnostic teachings.

Apparently there are some interesting differences AND similarities between Lucifer and Sophia, including their creation, whether or not they repented, etc. There is plenty to read, on that site alone, about whether or not they are the same person in the religious literature.

So now we not only don’t know why The Devil is male…we don’t even know who exactly he is. Or which one, rather.

[sub]Go me for complicating the question! Do I get bonus points?? [/sub]

[Miss_Purl_McKnittington]

There’s also the fact that the devil replaced the satyrs from Greek mythology, and the satyrs were definitely male. Anybody ever study satyr plays? I remember nearly falling out my seat when my drama teacher started talking about the enormous phalluses (phalli?) that Greek actors would strap on for plays. I’m still convinced that staging a selection from a satyr play would be a great way to get more people in the drama program.

Sarah

[j.c]

We know the devil is a man because in the Middle Ages he had a shrewish wife who made him suffer!

[mr.splitfoot]

Yeah, methinks we should re-define what we are looking for. Lucifer would be asexual, but many liken Lucifer to Prometheus, who was male. Also, a lot of the old grimoires state that Lucifer comes to those who summon him in the shape of a “beautiful male child”

If we’re looking for the sex of the office “Satan” (the adversary), then of course it’s a woman. They are the natural enemy of everthing that is wholesome and good in the world. smile