The Judeo-Christian tradition

In the theological at prevail, friction match was seen as the opposite of god. Therefore, whereas God represents perfect well-behavedness, Satan represents entirely that is incomplete and evil. In this way, Satan can be seen as a necessary component of the universe, since he stands as a balance to the purity and perfection of God. In addition, the theological view of Satan serves as a means to justify the-existence of surplus will in the lives of human beings. Satan represents the come-on to do evil or immoral acts, and the theological view claims that God wants people to decide for themselves what is right or wrong. Thus, a judgment in informal will is inherent in the theological perspective on Satan which "focuses on temptations to sin and the choose for Christians to be awargon of the transcendent aspect of both temptation and sin, which they ought to resist in advance by prayer, spiritual discipline, and working of love and justice" (Woods 276).

The viewpoints of psychiatry and the law differ from the theological perspective on the issue of satanism and execration. Whereas traditional deity accepts the thought that humans have free will in choosing good, as delineated by God, over evil, as represented by Satan, psychiatry and the law generally accept the idea that practitioners of Satanism are either amok or compulsory and therefore unable(predicate) of expressing free will in such(prenominal) matters. Psychiatrists, for exa

In the field of law, experts tend to be divided on the issue of satanism and crime depending upon whether they themselves favor a theological or a psychiatric perspective. Nevertheless, many experts in law do not trust that satanism itself causes crime, despite the fact that crimes often occur with " blessed overtones" (Gates, et al. 29). It is not generally believed that Satan causes such crimes to occur, but earlier that they are committed by people driven by forces which cause them to turn to both crime and satanism as outlets for their rage. For example, in a slickness at Matamoros, Mexico, drugs, ritual torture, and cut up were linked to a satanic cult.

Although it was evident that the criminals in this case were practicing satanism, at the same time, the cult members were described as exhibiting signs of " phantasmal craziness" (Woodbury 30). Thus, the legal experts investigating this crime reached the conclusion that the-evil full treatment did not necessarily result from the practice of satanism, but sort of from the fact that the cult members in this case had adopted an insane interpretation of satanic rituals. A person who is insane is incapable of expressing free will by making accurate choices regarding good and evil. An insane person cannot be said to be exhibiting free will in practicing satanism or committing crimes. Therefore, the legal perspective correlates with the psychiatric perspective in its claim that people who are evil or commit crimes do so because of unconscious mind motivations which drive them to such deeds.

Furth, Jane and Mimi Murphy. "Satan." Life June 1989: 48-56.

Carroll, Peter. "Cult Crimes." San Francisco Magazine Aug. 1987: 20-22+.

Sharma, Arvind. "Satan." The cyclopedia of Religion. Volume 13. Mircea Eliade, ed. New York: Macmillan, 1987, 81-84.

mple, generally agree that persons claiming to have seen demons or Satan himself are suffering from "hallucinations and projection with various degrees of sophistry" (Shar
Order your essay at Orderessay and get a 100% original and high-quality custom paper within the required time frame.