theme in the stories of the Bible, in the stories of prophets and teachers.  Even in the story of the prophet Muhammad, this idea of the tempter, satan arises. The story about Muhammad and the devil was told in this week's The New Yorker.  The writer explains the context in which the new religion of Islam was being born.  A nomadic people had just begun to settle down permanently.  The new city of Mecca was prosperous.  Much of Mecca's financial power came from important temples to three goddesses which stood outside the gates.  The temples were controlled by Mecca's ruling families, and the offerings made by passing caravans served as fantastic tax revenue. In the new cities there was a new problem: homelessness and hunger.  In the caravan, this problem did not exist.  You did not leave people behind.  The nomads took care of each other.  The umbrella of extended families, headed by matriarchal leaders, made sure that even orphans were cared for.  Muhammad ibn Abdullah, the man who would become "The Prophet" worried about the growing numbers of hungry and holy people as he walked past the temples to the goddesses on his way to Mt. Hira On Mt. Hira, Muhammad would retreat from the busyness and poverty of Mecca.  He would spend weeks at a time holed up in the solitude of a cave.  It was at Mt. Hira that the Angel Gabriel appeared and ordered him to recite the verses that would become the holy book of