Should we worship Satan instead of Jesus?
I went attended a lecture from William Hansen last night, a respected scholar of classics and folklore at Indiana University in Bloomington.
http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/bios/2005/WHansen.pdf
His talk, entitled “The Myth of the Fettered God” compared the essential elements of differing versions of a similar myth from ancient Greece, Nordic tradition, and the Caucasus region. In all three of these locales, a myth was/is perpetuated about an immortal being (god with a lower-case ‘g’) who is bound by God (capital ‘G’) and tortured for a very long time (maybe forever). The tale continues to this day in the Caucasus mountain region.
The ancient Greek and Norse traditions are very similar, with four figures being punished for various (similar) misdeeds. The most important and prominent is Hansen’s pairing of Prometheus, the firebringer, with the Norse god Loki, a cunning and clever being who commits atrocious acts but also benefits gods and men.
In the Caucasus today, differing versions of the myth either lament the imprisonment of a generous benefactor by a cruel and arbitrary god (i.e. Prometheus) or they are grateful that a dangerous being has been chained or bound, since his loosing will indicate the end of the world.
At dinner after the lecture, I asked Bill how he would compare Christian themes of the bound God. He noted that many have wondered about Christ being a fettered god, in the Promethean theme of a savior figure suffering for his gifts to humanity. I didn’t disagree (I see a lot of Christian typology in Prometheus), but I noted that I consider Satan to be a better example of a fettered god.
Consider: Lucifer (
Light-Bringer = Prometheus?) opposes his father in an attempt to save humanity, is notoriously clever, is punished by being “bound” (D&C 45.55) but his loosing will mark the end of the world (D&C 43.31). Although the match and perhaps sequentiality aren't perfect (they rarely are in comparative myths), it’s clear that the same elements are at work.
Those who would compare Lucifer’s battle with other ancient myths would find a decent comparison with the traditions of sons overthrowing fathers (e.g. Kronos and Ouranos, Zeus and Kronos. In both of these Greek versions of Ancient Near East themes, daring sons overthrew cruel and unjust fathers. In comparison, though, Lucifer has come up short (so far).
In the end, comparative myth is more interesting than instructive, but it appears to me that Lucifer has more elements of the fettered god (that often doubles as mankind’s champion against a cruel and irrational higher God) than does Jesus. Judging from mythic traditions, perhaps Lucifer is the fettered god humans should acknowledge as their champion.