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SATAN – The Personification of Evil (Continued)

Christian Mysteries - Unveiled

Article: SATAN – 
                    The Personification of Evil
       (Continued...)




The Hebrew root “stn” means to oppose, obstruct. Later as Hebrew stories developed, the Satan took on a supernatural character, sent by God to obstruct human activity.  Satan does not act, however, of his own accord. Elsewhere Satan is stirred to account for division within same people: “The Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to number the people” (1 Chron. 21:1). 

In due course, as radical opposition to Jews increased, they began  to apply the negative characteristics of their opponents to Satan.  This process maligned the angelic figure of Satan, to a far more evil character.  The Jewish apostates and opponents were denounced as being seduced by the evil powers under many names such as, Satan, Beelzebub, Semihazah, Azazel, Belial, Prince of Darkness and so on.  

Here I have to make one important comment and, that is, both  Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 2 8:1 3 – 15 should not be misunderstood for the fall of Satan and his angels.  If read in proper context, the writings the prophets speak is about the earthly kings - King of Babylon and King of Tyre respectively and not any supernatural beings.

By the time of the new Testament canons, Satan had become God’s antagonist - enemy and contender. Throughout the scriptures, Satan is given an independent entity from God and comes across as the very personification of evil.

In Matthew 4, Satan personally tempts Jesus.  All dispossessed demon-spirits announce the divinity of Jesus and Revelation 12:9 mentions him by another name namely, the serpent now as the Devil and Satan who has deceived the whole world.


Satan also had counterparts in the Egyptian Set, in Greece as Typhon and Sumerian Enki, but not always as a personification of evil.  

The known primary source for depicting  the Devil as “evil” comes from Zoroaster’s teachings of the concept of  two co-equal powers (good and evil) existing from the beginning.  And that they would continue to battle till the end of the world.

Many concepts from  Zoroastrianism were adopted into Judaism by the Jewish priests during their captivity in Persia (538 BCE) and upon return to Judea (330 BCE). 

What had God to say?  The answer can be rather unexpected. It is God who deliberately sends out a lying spirit:

"And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord and said …  I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And be said… go forth and do so." (1 Kings 22:21)

Again, God declares that he is the creator of evil as well: “I make peace, and create evil, I the Lord do all these things.” Isaiah 45:7,   Prophet Amos says that whenever evil occurs it is the Lord’s handiwork: “Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? Amos 3:6.

In the New Testament, there are two schools of thought.  It appears that God does the work of the devil to tempt those who cannot be saved, for Paul, in his disputed Epistle 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, states: ”God shall send them a strong delusion, that they shall believe a lie; that all might be damned who believe not the truth.”  But Apostle James in his epistle, speaks differently:” Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted of evil, neither tempteth he any man."

                                                             ends


I invite your comments and queries. Thank you.


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Paul Rodricks,
Author & Freelance Writer.


Paul's WRITERS DIG 7

Contact: paulrodericks@gmail.com

Blog: www.paulswritersdig7.blogspot.com



PREVIEW of CHAPTER ONE


TERROR BLOODLINE Series

ON TARGET Book #3

Genre: #Mystery #Terror #Suspense #Thriller 

#Adventure  #Crime


ON TARGET 

Book #3

TERROR BLOODLINE  Series

Ex-CIA Jon Bradley 3-Series Thriller 





TERROR BLOODLINE 

Ex-CIA Jon Bradley 3-Series Thriller 



TERROR  BLOODLINE Series  abounds  with terror-cell plots, personal conflicts, rape, vengeance, child-abuse, betrayals, murders and illegal arms & drug trafficking, mingled with deceit and dangerous interplay by the FBI, CIA, Mossad and MI6.  
    Culminating in a mad race to hunt down and eliminate the fugitive Lebanese Hezbollah Terror Mastermind from carrying out the deadliest suicide-bombing act in modern history.

    Fields of Action: Beirut, Lebanon - New York City – Iran - Somalia - London - Jerusalem.

Meantime, read the Preview of the CHAPTER ONE of the FORTHCOMING International Thriller - ON TARGET


Books #3 continues with the action oriented plot of dangerous and intriguing, multi-dimensional  characters revolving around a family sharing a terrorist bloodline, including their agenda of personal vendetta. 

CAST OF MAIN CHARACTERS
   
JONATHAN BRADLEY
CIA Undercover Agent
MOHAMMED AL-ABBASI
alias “Surq” – The Falcon, Hezbollah Terror Mastermind
YOUSSEF HARIRI
Islamic Jihadi – Suicide Bomber
SAMANTHA CLARKE
Attorney in the NYC D.A.’s Office, Lady friend of  Jonathan Bradley
JAMES WAINSFORD
NBA Celebrity & Rape Suspect
JOANNE ROSS
Abandoned and abused as a child, Tracking down her biological parents.
KHALEED AL-ABBASI
Alias Pierre al-Khoury, illegitimate son of the fugitive Hezbollah Mastermind.
CLAIRE O’NEAL
Femme fatale MI6 field agent, Jon’s one-time lover.

SAMPLING

CHAPTER ONE

OCTOBER - 2006

Siege & Hostage Crisis
South East Bronx Synagogue, NYC
Saturday :  Mid-Morning

    There was the air of dread and uncertainty all around the Synagogue complex.  Adding to this menacing environment was the inclement weather. 
   
    The sunny hours of the morning were slowly giving way to an overcast sky, the dark hovering clouds threatening to let down a flood of rain showers any time before the onset of the afternoon. 

    However, the climate phenomenon was the least of Jonathan Bradley’s concerns. 

    Since arriving at the scene, his mind was totally preoccupied trying to cope up with the magnitude of the life-threatening spectacle, if it were allowed to unfold, should he and the law enforcement agencies fail to contain the tragedy in taking place.  Hundreds would lose their lives; men, women and children, whose only fault was to participate in the joyous centenary celebrations of the Bronx Synagogue built by their ancestors being the first Jewish settlers in this part of the great city.

    Excepting a few initial suspicions, neither Jon nor any of his FBI personnel knew for certain what had happened, and the extent of the real situation behind the closed doors of the Bronx Synagogue. 

    Half-an-hour earlier, the public had reported an explosion outside the complex building.  The NYPD and the FBI from Jonathan’s Counter-terrorism Unit had responded to the dispatcher’s call. They were now waiting for the NYPD Mobile Squad and the Bomb Squad to arrive.

    As his underlying concerns grew with every minute, Jonathan was in reality, scouting the Synagogue complex from the two exterior courtyards, accompanied by his SSA - Senior Special Agent, Allan Banks. William King, his other immediate colleague, SA - Special Agent, was around talking to the uniform police officers, who had first arrived at the scene and would then go about canvassing for possible witnesses.

    Outside the wrought-iron gate and the fencing along the front of the complex property, the news vans, journalists and reporters jostled with the growing spectators on the adjoining pavement.

    Ironically, the day happened to his last working day with the FBI before being re-assigned to the CIA, his former employers.

    Jonathan was video-filming on his cellphone the exteriors of the complex when he noticed at least two hidden CCTV cameras on either side of the Synagogue main structure. 

    The over hundred years old Synagogue building had been just given an extensive make-over, while retaining its original blueprint. It was a large one-story sprawling complex of two adjoining buildings, the main Synagogue separated by an open space from the one behind it.
   
    It appeared that everyone concerned with the management of the Synagogue complex was now inside the assembly hall attending the centenary services.  There was no one available who they could talk to. 

    His eyes lingered on the main entrance that ran the length of the front façade; its huge wooden arch door and the two narrow side doors, their arches and sides separated with plaques of Jewish art rose stained-glass. At both the far-ends were two long recessed windows with a portico each and fronted with stain-glass. 

    Jonathan visualized that behind the main entrance; there’d be a porch and another door opening directly into the main aisle of the assembly hall. 

    He and Allan stood at some distance from the main entrance trying to determine the situation inside. They could see nor hear anything.  But, he guessed that those inside would have noticed the ongoing activity outside through the CCTV cameras. 

    Someone was controlling the crowd inside the Synagogue very efficiently.  To have done that, he would have succeeded in creating fear and terror among the hostages.  How many of them were involved in high jacking the Bronx Synagogue?  How were they armed?  

    With hundreds of people held hostage, they wouldn’t manage to control them indefinitely. Children, elderly and ailing men and women would be difficult to keep down.  People react after a time.  Was there no security or even off-duty military or law enforcement personnel among the hostages?  They would have reacted unless the threat was greater than they could handle.  Perhaps, they were biding their time.  

    And what could mean a greater threat than suicide bombers, for whom death was holy martyrdom and the more people they killed, greater their afterlife reward. 
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PREVIEW of SECTION 2 - The Hook

CREATIVE SONG LYRICS
Self-teaching Manual


CREATIVE SONG LYRICS
Self-teaching Manual



Self-Teaching Guide to

WRITING SONG LYRICS

By Paul Rodricks

    Have you ever felt the urge to write your own songs?
To compose your own lyrics and melody?
    Are you a lyricist wishing to set music to your lyrics?
Or a music composer desirous of writing the lyrics to
your music? 
Or a music lover and hobbyist wondering how songs are crafted?
    If so, Creative Songwriting is just the right practical
self-teaching manual for you. Because Songwriting has
never been made so easy and simple.


     Is all about Lyrics Composing – Song forms, Title/Hook lines, Storylines and Themes, Rhyme Scheme, Crafting the Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Tag, Song Performing Styles and much more.
  
     The latest in Gospel/Worship Songwriting is also presented in a whole separate chapter devoted to it in this book.
  
     Become a successful Songwriter.  Compose your own Lyrics and Music to styles such as Pop, Rock, Blues, Country, R&B, Jazz and Gospel.
Lyrics: The Composition

SECTION TWO 
(Continued)

SAMPLING

 “To seize the flying thought before it escapes us is our only  touch with reality.” –  Ellen Glasgow


The Hook

(Songs are BEST remembered by their Title/Hook Line)


So, strive to make yours a memorable one.

Your title must be a short one, up-to-date and catchy enough to grab the listener‟s attention. Through the title or hook-line, the listener comes to know what your song is about as the story is built up on the title. The listener also gets an indication from the title as to the mood and rhythm of the song, i.e. the nature of the topic (love & romance and so on) and the type/style (pop, country, ballad, rock and so forth). Therefore, your title should be clear enough and appealing to most people for the song to become popular. Also bear in mind that that lyrical mood and rhythm should match that of the melody.

Purpose & Role of the Hook

You weave lyrics around the title. A simple story line or a narrative ballad or some dark and heavy lyrical stuff that begins with the first verse, builds up in the following verses, and resolves in the last verse, and/or with some additional twist in the Bridge section of the song, fading away in the tag. The Chorus all along summarizes your story line. That‟s the gist of it. Nothing hard and fast to restrict you from the freedom of attempting and coming up with some very good song lyrics in the best manner you can.

Usually, it is the title line of your song that is the HOOK. It very much matters that this title line/Hook attracts the immediate attention of the listener as he or she may relate to it due to some previous association of similarity, or from some personal experience or just that the Hook seems to incite curiosity.

Repeating the Hook

As a general guideline, the HOOK/Title-line can be the first line of your verse or the last line and can be repeated as the first line of your following verses. The hook must definitely be repeated, preferably not less than twice in the Chorus. Sometimes, depending on the genre of the song, the whole of the chorus lyrics is a mere repetition of the hook. However, it would not be wise to over-use the hook/title line.

Here‟s an example of an 8-line Chorus from a hip-hop song, “Baby, What‟s Love if It Isn‟t You?” where the hook is repeated twice at the beginning and twice for the ending. Moreover, the central theme of the chorus is the same as the hook.

Chorus:

Oh, Baby, what's love if it isn’t you?
Tell me, Baby, what's love if it isn’t you?
Breathing a new life in me
The kind of the love I never knew
So wholesome and wonderful
What more could I ask of you?
Oh Baby, what's love if isn’t you?
Tell me, baby, what's love, if it isn’t you?

Copyright 2004 Paul Rodericks

Song Forms & Hook Lines

Some popular song-forms like AACA, use the hook as the first or last line of every verse and not at all in the chorus.

Again, in the AAA form, the hook can be any one of the verse lines, repeating for the same line in the subsequent verses or as the top line of every verse.

BABAB or ABABCB format may have the hook line in the chorus, generally the first and the last line. Given a choice, make the hook the last line of your chorus.

Some Musical Requirements of a Hook:

1. Put a catchy rhythmic melody to your hook that calls for attention

2. Your rhythmic hook melody can come in as an Intro (perhaps a four-bar riff) or as part of your instrumental opening lines to the song and/or amidst vocalization.

3. Use a chord progression that leads into your opening verse or chorus, producing some contrast with that of the latter.

4. Keeping in view the above, experiment with a few different approaches – using both instrumental and vocal variations.

Story-Form Development Questionnaire

1. What is the subject, topic or theme of your song lyrics?

2. What is the subject category, such as love & romance and themes relating to social, political, philosophical and religious aspects?

3. Who moves the story forward - the gender of the character – male or female or neuter?

4. Where, When and How does the story, incident or plot develop?

5. Are the stages of story-development properly distributed in the verses and linked to the summary in the Chorus?

6. Is the time sequence properly maintained in all the sections and is clear to the listener?

7. Do the lyrics contain dialogue and is the speech form properly maintained, including the genders in all the sections of the songs?

8. Is there any interesting part of the theme that you may have overlooked or not fully developed?

9. Does the theme have a universal appeal or limited to a specific area or audience?

***



NEXT: Section 3
"The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.”
- Linus Pauling.

 Whence the Topic or Main Theme?

Do not miss out the next interesting component of Songwriting.

+++

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 Paul Rodricks, Author & Freelance Writer


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