Fallen Angels

This book presents the fantastic myths about the angels who were lured to sin and the proud angel who rebelled against God and was cast down as Satan. The author traces the history of these beliefs in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and assembles a variety of tales and superstitions - some grotesque, others quaint and humorous. The presentation also reveals a basic divergence between Judaism and Christianity. "In the sense that he instigated the sin of Adam, we may call the Devil the source of all sin. But individual sins have a variety of causes, and are not all the work of Satan. Some of the causes of sin are internal - ignorance, malice, passion. The external causes of sin are said to be God, the Devil and human tempters. St. Thomas denies that God can be the cause of sin. He is indeed the cause of all acts, insofar as they possess being and activity, but sinfulness is always in the nature of a deficiency, resulting not from God's will, but from man's free choice."