Satan was one of the great angels in heaven and possessed other extraordinary qualities just like Adam. God invited all the angels to visit with Adam after he gained a soul to congratulate him. Satan went with a smile on his face to pay his respect too.
He challenged Adam to a battle of wits to see who was more superior. Satan believed he was the most extraordinary of the angels and therefore he would win. God appeared saying, “I created all the life on this planet, every animal and creature and they shall all come before us for this battle of wits.” God assigned them the tasks of creating places for every animal and creature will inhabit. If they are unable to respect their new assigned habitats by Adam, they are subject to Satan and his ability to place them accordingly. Whoever comes out on top will have a place in God’s garden.
Adam began respecting God for all his creations.
Adam incorrectly assigned homes to the first two animals he was presented, the cow and the ox. God led two others before him, the camel and the donkey, and once again, Adam assigned incorrectly.
God then turned to Satan, questioning if he could correctly execute the task; God gave him clues and framed His questions in a way that Satan could decipher the correct answer. Satan gave the proper homes for the animals and Adam was forced to acknowledge the superiority of the first man.
Adam was outraged and reached for the heavens because he was furious he was beaten by Satan. The angels no longer respected his superiority. Satan was who they now followed because he was the more intelligent of the two. God kept Adam down at earth and let Satan continue to be worshiped by the angels.
Author's Note: I decided to let Satan be the winner in this story. In the real story, Satan fails at assigning names to the animals and it's Adam who comes out on top. God helps Adam correctly assign names and Satan is the one punished down to earth and will forever be enemies with Adam. I decided to have Satan win because he is never shown in a positive light and he should have his moment to be glorious. I also changed the fact that they assigned the animals places to live rather than their names just to change things up a little more.
The Fall of Satan by Louis Ginzberg
The Fall of Satan. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Hi, Peyton!
ReplyDeleteThe Fall of Satan is such an interesting retelling of the story, and it left me with several questions!
First, I think you could implement a little humor in Satan and Adam's challenge, which would add to the irony of the story! What if Adam had assigned the cow to live in the sea, and the ox in the arctic? How would that change the tone of your story?
Next, what motivated God to help Satan succeed over Adam, especially if God was protecting Adam at all costs? Had Adam done something to lose God's favor? Had Satan and God struck some sort of deal that allowed Satan some measure of glory? Both options would make interesting explanations or backstories, I think!
Finally, why would God allow the other angels to continue worshipping Satan? In the original story, isn't that a major aspect of Satan's problem? Satan's fall and its causes are so familiar to me, making it hard to accept your proposed change in events without any explanation. However, I would love to hear about the possibilities you've imagined!
The title made me want to read this story. I always enjoy the retellings from the bible. I rewrote this one and made it into a love affair/popularity contest in a way of making fun of some aspects of it. I like to take on this subject in a light-hearted manner. I like that you let Satan win in your story. I do not remember reading many of these stories from the original that actually let him win. I like the idea of the alternative, because It is not common. I would have loved if you would have changed the game or competition too. I think that would have made it a little more interesting. You still kept me entertained and kept the story concise. I would have enjoyed a little more diverseness from the original, but just changing who won made an impact on the story itself. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteUgh I love letting the "villain" come out on top. I think that, especially in Christian theology, it is always interesting that there's such hatred for Satan when the entire belief system centers around forgiving and loving the poor. If that's true, then why haven't we spent more time praying to God for Satan and his eternal soul? Food for thought...
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