A Decoding of Evil Angels: the Other Aetiology of Evil in the Biblical Text and Its Potential Implications in Our Church and World

For many Christians there is a renewed urgency about what constitutes Christian belief, and why, or why not, it might be important to share aspects of this with others in a multi-faith, global context. Interwoven in this search are issues of biblical interpretation, Christology and Soteriology. One of the di1culties in the current discussion is this: whilst the “solution” may be presumed to be “Jesus saves”—whether assented to or dismissed—there is a lack of clarity about the “problem.” Jesus may save, but save from what?1 2eological responses from prior times are no longer su1cient for many. To be saved from eternal damnation, saved from the depravity of original sin, saved from God’s wrath or saved from the requirements of divine justice are no longer problems as persuasive or relevant as they may have been in prior times. Nor are the (o3en violent) atonement theologies that have sought to explain the process of how the cross of Jesus provides the solution to one or more of these problems. Nuanced faith positions can become the casualty within this context. Some reject the possibility of Jesus saving at all. For others, the cross of Christ becomes emphasized as the focus of salvation with little reference to Jesus’ ministry or teaching. For still others only Jesus’ life becomes essential, o4ering a model for right and just behaviour. Within this contemporary debate the reality in the biblical text of an entirely di4erent aetiology of evil—a very di4erent problem to which Jesus is the solution—is commonly ignored. For many New Testament writers the primary problem to which Jesus provides the solution is not the problem of original sin,