Lucifer

In the development of religions, the gods of the old religion often became the demons of the new faith. This was seen above when Zoroastrianism was founded. It was seen again in the Middle Ages when many of the attributes of the Greek God Pan were adsorbed by Satan: "goat-hoofs, horns and unremitting lust; sometimes also a goat head and an attendant throng of satyrs," who became demons. 2 Pan was the horned God of the Greeks, and is also seen as the horned consort of the Goddess among the Wiccans. Later, he was given additional attributes: "a long serpentine tail with a heart-shaped tip, long claw-like fingernails, the leathery wings of bats, and a trident." 3Saint Augustine (354-430 CE) invented a new type of demon - a kind of sexual tormentor. Incubi were male fallen angels who sexually attacked women at night time and brought them immense sexual pleasure. Succubae were female fallen angels who coupled with men during their sleep. Their existence was confirmed by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). Aquinas also believed that the devil is the cause of sin, and "was probably the very highest angel who, through pride, fell immediately after creation, seducing those who followed him to become his subjects." 4The Roman church's Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 determined that: "The devil and the demons were also created by God; at the moment of their creation, they were not evil; they became so through their own sins, and ever since they have busied themselves with the temptation of men."The church taught that pastimes and spirituality outside of orthodox Christianity are a form of Satan worship. This included astrology, ceremonial magick, divination, pagan and rituals of other religions, etc. 5 Once other religious faiths are considered as forms of Satan worship, then the worse excesses of religious intolerance and genocide can follow. The church exterminated the Cathars as devil worshipers in the 13th Century, and killed off the Knights Templar in the 14th century. Other non-conforming religious groups were similarly targeted and wiped out.Religious dualism, originating with the Zoroastrians, and filtered through Judaism, reached its logical conclusion in Christianity. If God has innumerable angels as messengers, and a visible church of believers, it was reasoned that Satan must have demons as helpers and an invisible assembly of Satan worshipers. And so, the church imagined the existence of an entire network of people who had sold their soul to Satan, worshiped him, and dedicated their life to harming and killing other people. With the exception of some mentally ill individuals, no such network existed.A