I once had a very long and in-depth debate/chat with two young christians in a pub in England. There was no anger or animosity on either side - just a deep, intellectual and respectable debate from two different points of view.
Overall this kind of conversation is lacking in social discourse these days, especially in the west, due to the current political climate.
The conversation was to do with the number 1 villain of christianity himself - Satan.
"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light"
2 Corinthians 11:14
The discussion centred around the depiction of Satan as ugly and grotesque in appearance, and how I believe that to be inaccurate considering his attributes in the Judeo-Christian traditions.
Satan, or "the devil", is often depicted as a half humanoid, half beast creature - usually with horns and a reptilian tongue. He is also often depicted with the colours red and black - possibly signifying blood, fire and shadow. Shadow- being the absence of light.
In my opinion, this depiction couldn't be more wrong, if we are only taking the Judeo-Christian traditions into account. I believe some of these attributes of Satan, as the devil, was picked up along the way as the Christian religion spread across the world and interfaced with different other philosophies.
The red and black colours, for instance, are attributes of a West African deity called "Esu", who has been (erroneously) equated with Satan by the Catholic missionaries that took the religion to those people.
So what would "Satan" look like really were he to suddenly appear? Well, like anything he wants. He's got the power to bend nature and perception to his will, so he can make you see whatever he wants you to see. In terms of power, he is second only to God himself.
Lucifer
Perhaps the very first attribute that Satan, or the devil, picked up was the Roman mythology of Venus. "Lucifer" is the Latin term for the morning star (or day star). That so called morning star is the planet Venus when it appears in the morning.
The Romans regarded Lucifer as a god and the son of Aurora (the dawn). ref
Lucifer would sometimes appear high up in the sky, and as the days progress, would appear lower and lower until it disappears behind the horizon. This gave the appearance to the ancients as Lucifer "falling from the heavens unto the earth, or the "underworld".
This was a pre-christian myth, but consider this;
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" - Isaiah 14:12
Satan became associated with Lucifer because, as the story goes, he was kicked out of heaven following a war and attempted mutiny. Satan and his mutinous army of angels attempted to overthrow God but was defeated by the arch angel Michael and his forces.
Lucifer and his army were ejected from heaven, and fell to the earth, where they henceforth became Satan and his legion of demons.
What was Satan like in heaven?
Lucifer's main attributes before his fall were beauty, glory and power. Like all other beings in existence, he was created by the Creator to be that way. His three attributes gave birth to another one - pride, which eventually led to his fall.
He looked at himself and was taken by his own beauty, glory and power that he wondered why he should take orders from anyone, even God. This influx of pride was described as the first sin in the universe because it predated Eve's "bite of the apple".
Back to the conversation at hand
I think I may have introduced some new information to my young christian friend's minds. I don't think they ever considered the possibility of "the devil" being "beautiful", let alone possibly the most beautiful creature ever made by God.
I put it to them that if Satan were to appear in his "true" form, he would be mistaken for Jesus by most christians - because he would be glorious and exude much power. He would not have a tail and two horns, no.
It should be obvious though. If you look at the way the devil operates (from a christian point of view), it is through beauty, desire, glory and power - never anything grotesque or ugly.
One more thing
All in all, it was one of the best conversations I'd had in a long, long time. And right at the end, something a little spooky happened. As we got up to leave, we looked up and notice we'd been sitting under this painting depicted above the whole time!
Thanks for your time.
Truly,
DT.