海外文化:英美民俗-魔鬼

【英文原文】

摘要：魔鬼在犹太教和基督教里又称撒旦，是上帝和天使的敌人。一般认为魔鬼也就是路济弗儿，一位因反叛上帝而被打入地狱受罚的天使

The Devil, also known as Satan in Judaism and Christianity, is an evil spirit that opposes God or good spirits. It is usually identified with Lucifer, an angel who tried to rebel against God and so fell from heaven to hell to suffer there forever. He is considered as the ruler of the underworld, or hell, where he has many followers to help him in spreading evil throughout the world. His followers, called devils, were lesser angels who fell with Lucifer. The Devil tempts people to be wicked. He is the chief Tempter. Sometimes the religious belief in devils is combined with folklore about ghosts and demons.

In many works of art and literature, Satan and other devils are pictured with goat’s horns, bat’s wings, split hooves, and a barbed tail, to show that the Devil is like a beast, cruel, gross, and savage. Many modern theologians consider the Devil to be a symbol of the power of evil, of the worst qualities of human nature, or of the destructive forces in the universe.