Editing Devil (section)

=== Platonism and early Christianity in Antiquity ===
[[File:BlueAngel.png|thumb|120px|Excerpt of a Byzantine-Mosaic-Image. A blue angel, probably representing the Devil, standing before goats. Early 6th century.]]
One way Christianity addressed the [[Theodicy|problem of evil]] was by distinguishing between mind and body, an idea inherited from [[Ancient Greek Philosophy|Greek]] [[Platonism]]. Similar to Zorastrianism, Platonism was dualistic. However, Platonism and Christianity differ from Persian dualism in sofar as that they associated goodness with only with spirit and evil with matter, proposing a form of [[mind–body dualism]].<ref>Jeffrey Burton Russell, The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity, Cornell University Press 1987 ISBN 978-0-801-49409-3, pp. 99; 160</ref> According to [[Plato]], God is like a [[Demiurge|craftsman]] (Demiurge) who [[Best of all possible worlds|builds the best possible world]]. However, God has to abide by the [[Scientific law|laws of nature]] and can only work with the material presented. Matter, thus, becomes to be the refractionary element in Plato's and later [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic]] models of the cosmos; resisting the perfection God originally intended.<ref>Jeffrey Burton Russell, The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity, Cornell University Press 1987 ISBN 978-0-801-49409-3, p. 160</ref><ref>Calder, Todd, "The Concept of Evil", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2022 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2022/entries/concept-evil/> Chapter: 2</ref> In religious beliefs, applying such theories of evil, matter (Greek: {{Lang|grc-latn|hyle}} {{Lang|grc|Ὕλη}}) becomes a sphere of lack of goodness and transforms matter into the devilish principle par excellence.<ref>Jeffrey Burton Russell, The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity, Cornell University Press 1987 ISBN 978-0-801-49409-3, p. 160</ref><ref>Horst, P. W. v. d. (2018). Hyle Ὕλη. In Various Authors & Editors (ed.), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/2589-7802_DDDO_DDDO_Hyle</ref> 

According to Neoplatonic cosmology, evil (or matter) results from a lack of goodness. The good spirit at the centre, gives rise to several emanations, each decreasing in goodness and increasing in deficiency. Thus, in Christianity, following the [[Absence of good|privation theory]] of the  Neo-Platonists, the Devil became the principle for the thing most remote from God.<ref>Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Lucifer: the Devil in the middle ages. Cornell University Press, 1986. p. 36</ref> Details were worked out by Christian scholars, such as [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite]]<ref>Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Lucifer: the Devil in the middle ages. Cornell University Press, 1986. p. 36</ref> and [[John of Damascus]]<ref>Russell, Jeffrey Burton (1986). Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-9429-1. pp. 37-38</ref> who argued that evil is merely a lack (or removal) of goodness. As such, the Devil was conceptualized as a [[fallen angel]]; a being brought forth as good first, but then turned evil by abandonning goodness.<ref>Felber, A., Hutter, M., Achenbach, R., Aune, D. E., Lang, B., Sparn, W., Reeg, G., Dan, J., Radtke, B., & Apostolos-Cappadona, D. (2011). Devil. In Religion Past and Present Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1877-5888_rpp_COM_025084</ref> John of Damascus used the privation theory to combat dualistic approaches to evil.<ref>Russell, Jeffrey Burton (1986). Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-9429-1. p. 38</ref> Similar rebuttals were written by [[Augustine of Hippo]].<ref>Babcock, William S. (1988). "Augustine on Sin and Moral Agency". The Journal of Religious Ethics. 16 (1): 28–55</ref>

The possibly strongest form of body-mind dualism, and a radical step back towards absolute dualism, as conceptualized earlier in Zorastrianism, was reestablished again by [[Manichaeism]]. Manichaeism was a major religion<ref>R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 {{ISBN|978-0-7914-3611-0}} p. 37</ref> founded in the third century AD by the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]]<ref>Yarshater, Ehsan ''The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3 (2), The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1983.</ref> prophet [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]] ({{circa|216–274 AD}}), in the [[Sasanian Empire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09591a.htm |title=Manichaeism |publisher=New Advent Encyclopedia |access-date=4 October 2013 |archive-date=12 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312005021/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09591a.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> One of its key concepts is the doctrine of ''[[Two Principles and Three Moments]]''. Accordingly, the world could be described as resulting from a past moment, in which two principles (good and evil) were separate, a contemporary moment in which both principles are mixed due to an assault of the [[Prince of Darkness (Manichaeism)|world of darkness]] on the realm of light, and a future moment when both principles are distinct forever.<ref>Willis Barnstone, Marvin Meyer ''The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition Shambhala Publications'' 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-834-82414-0}} page 575-577</ref>