On Lucifer and religion

On Lucifer and religion -

Light Bearer is a metaphorical story about the dawn of enlightenment, based upon a number of interpretations of the Judaeo Christian version of the casting out of Lucifer and the fall of man from the book of genesis. The story is an intrinsic part of the mythological narrative of humanity, the subjective concept of good and evil. As an atheist, I probably think about the role of religion more than the average theist, perhaps because it angers me so much, or perhaps because the mythology is so rich, a story that has existed for thousands of years, far older than the main monotheistic religions of today, and has guided the framework of what many would call moral ideology -  loathsome prejudices towards sex and sexuality, gender roles, race and culture. Ironically, besides these divisive ideas, there are elaborate tales woven from a patchwork of mythologies, borrowed, rewritten, stolen, fabricated and forged to describe and perhaps chastise the many facets of human emotion. The epic poem “Paradise lost” by John Milton (and the incredible etchings by Gustave Dore) serve as a main source of visual inspiration, but  Philip Pullmans “His dark materials” trilogy struck a vital chord with me, the idea of the failed rebellion in heaven (in the novels, spearheaded by the angel Xaphania) against the oppressive false god and an attempt to broadcast this truth to all life in the multiverse. I wanted to begin with that story, combining it with various interpretations of the fall, which cast Lucifer as an unrequited lover. The story here is quite simple – the most esteemed angel cannot bow before anyone but god because of his love for him. When cast out for this act of devotion, Lucifer realises the hypocrisy and also the falsity of his gods claim over creation. With this knowledge, he charges himself with the task of keeping this truth alive, becoming his name sake and passing on the torch of enlightenment to all sentient life.

Ironically, Lucifer is a latin word, a language that did not exist at the time the Torah was written, and in fact  was the name given to the morning appearance of the planet Venus, which heralds daylight. It became attached to the character of Satan through an interpretation of a passage from Isaiah 14:3 – 20, in which an all powerful Babylonian king was known as the morning star or day star, due to ideas above his station, shining as bright as Venus, until the sun rose, and thus eclipsed by god. This would soon be incorporated as part of the mythology of the fall of satan, and thus imbue him with the name Lucifer. For the majority of humanity, those who do not know or do not care to know the many versions of his story, Lucifer is the epitome of evil. To us, Lucifer is a metaphor for the pursuit of knowledge and truth, the 14th century design we use in our artwork his sigil. Like most mythological characters, the significance of that character is a personal one, because Lucifer is a word, not a person.