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Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. Research is defined as Human activity based on Intellectual application in the investigation of Matter. [1] Insofar as it involves exegesis, demonology is an orthodox branch of theology. Exegesis (from the Greek 'to lead out' involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a Holy Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective [2]

Contents

Description

Demonology is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective The term supernatural or supranatural ( Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature" pertains to entities events God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. [3] It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent beings of all kinds. It may be noted that the original sense of "demon," from the time of Homer onward, was a benevolent being;[4] but in English the name now holds connotations of malevolence. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Demons, when they are regarded as spirits, may belong to either of the classes of spirits recognized by primitive animism;[5] that is to say, they may be human, or non-human, separable souls, or discarnate spirits which have never inhabited a body. The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals A sharp distinction is often drawn between these two classes, notably by the Melanesians, the West Africans and others; the Arab djinn, for example, are not reducible to modified human souls; at the same time these classes are frequently conceived as producing identical results, e. GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange was an online service g. diseases. [4][3] Demonology, though often referred to with negative connotation, was not always seen as evil or devilish as the term would have one believe.

Types

See also: Classification of demons

Under the head of demons are classified only such spirits as are believed to enter into relations with the human race; the term therefore includes:

  1. angels in the Judeo-Christian tradition that fell from grace,[4]
  2. human souls regarded as genii or familiars,[6]
  3. such as receive a cult (e. There have been many attempts throughout the history of Christianity to classify Demons into categories Judeo-Christian (or Judaeo-Christian, sometimes written as Judæo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held The soul, according to many religious and philosophical beliefs is the self-awareness, or Consciousness, unique to a particular living In Early modern English Superstition, a familiar spirit, Imp, or familiar (from Middle English familiar, related to family g. , ancestor worship),[4]
  4. ghosts or other malevolent revenants. A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented This article is about the Revenant in Folklore For the Tzimisce Revenant Families see Revenant. [7]

Excluded are souls conceived as inhabiting another world. But just as gods are not necessarily spiritual, demons may also be regarded as corporeal; vampires for example are sometimes described as human heads with appended entrails, which issue from the tomb to attack the living during the night watches. Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living The so-called Spectre Huntsman of the Malay Peninsula is said to be a man who scours the firmament with his dogs, vainly seeking for what he could not find on earth - a buck mouse-deer pregnant with male offspring; but he seems to be a living man; there is no statement that he ever died, nor yet that he is a spirit. The incubi and Succubi of the Middle Ages are sometimes regarded as spiritual beings; but they were held to give proof of their bodily existence, such as offspring (though often deformed). A succubus (plural succubi) is a Demon who takes the form of a beautiful woman to seduce men especially monks in Dreams to have Sexual intercourse [8] Belief in demons goes back many millennia. The Zoroastrian faith teaches that there are 3,333 Demons, some with specific dark responsibilities such as war, starvation, sickness, etc. Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings

Prevalence of demons

According to some societies, all the affairs of life are supposed to be under the control of spirits, each ruling a certain "element" or even object, and themselves in subjection to a greater spirit. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. [9] For example, the Inuit are said to believe in spirits of the sea, earth and sky, the winds, the clouds and everything in nature. Inuit (plural the singular Inuk, means "man" or "person" is a general term for a group of culturally similar Indigenous peoples inhabiting Every cove of the seashore, every point, every island and prominent rock has its guardian spirit. All are potentially of the malignant type, to be propitiated by an appeal to knowledge of the supernatural. [10] In Korea, countless demons inhabit the natural world; they fill household objects and are present in all locations. Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. By the thousands they accompany travelers, seeking them out from their places in the elements. [11]

In ancient Babylon, demonology had an influence on even the most mundane elements of life, from petty annoyances to the emotions of love and hatred. Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq The numerous demonic spirits were given charge over various parts of the human body, one for the head, one for the neck, and so on. In present-day Egypt, the ubiquitous jinn are believed to be so densely distributed that acts such as pouring water unto the ground are accompanied by seeking the permission of a potentially dampened spirit. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. [11]

Greek philosophers such as Porphyry, who claimed influence from Platonism,[12] and the fathers of the Christian Church, held that the world was pervaded with spirits,[11] the latter of whom advanced the belief that demons received the worship directed at pagan gods. Porphyry of Tyre ( Greek:, c AD 233&ndashc 309 was a Phoenician Neoplatonic philosopher Platonic realism is a philosophical term usually used to refer to the idea of realism regarding the existence of universals after the Greek The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church [13]

Character of the spiritual world

The ascription of malevolence to the world of spirits is by no means universal. In West Africa the Mpongwe believe in local spirits, just as do the Inuit; but they are regarded as inoffensive in the main. West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. The Mpongwe are an Ethnic group in Gabon, notable as the earliest known dwellers around The Estuary, where Libreville is now located Passers-by must make some trifling offering as they near the spirits' place of abode; but it is only occasionally that mischievous acts, such as the throwing down of a tree on a passer-by, are, in the view of the natives, perpetuated by the class of spirits known as Ombuiri. [14] So too, many of the spirits especially concerned with the operations of nature are conceived as neutral or even benevolent; the European peasant fears the corn-spirit only when he irritates him by trenching on his domain and taking his property by cutting the corn;[15] similarly, there is no reason why the more insignificant personages of the pantheon should be conceived as malevolent, and we find that the Petara of the Dyaks are far from indiscriminating and malignant, being viewed as invisible guardians of mankind. The Dayak or Dyak (ˈdaɪək are the peoples indigenous to Borneo. [16]

Zoroastrian demonology

In the Zoroastrian tradition, Ahura Mazda, as the force of good Spenta Mainyu, will eventually be victorious in a cosmic battle with an evil force known as Angra Mainyu or Ahriman. Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator ae Amesha Spenta ( ae Aməša Spənta) is an Avestan language term for a class of divinity/divine concepts in Zoroastrianism, and literally means "Bounteous "Ahriman" redirects here For other uses see Ahriman (disambiguation. "Ahriman" redirects here For other uses see Ahriman (disambiguation. [17]

Jewish demonology

While historical Judaism never "officially" recognized a rigid set of doctrines about demons,[18] many scholars believe that its post-exilic concepts of eschatology, angelology, and demonology were influenced by Zoroastrianism. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Eschatology (from the Greek, Eschatos meaning "last" and -logy meaning "the study of" is a part of Theology Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings [19][20] Some, however, believe that these concepts were received as part of the Kabbalistic tradition[21] passed down from Adam, Noah, and the Hebrew patriarchs. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. See also Adam and Eve Adam ( Hebrew: אָדָם was according to a literal interpretation of Genesis, the first man created by Noah (or Noe, Noach;; Nūḥ; Arabic: نوح; "Rest") was according to the Bible, the tenth and last of [22] See Sefer Yetzirah. Sefer Yetzirah ( Hebrew, "Book of Creation" ספר יצירה is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish Esotericism.

The Talmud declares that there are 7,405,926 demons, divided in 72 companies. The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history Indeed, some commentators hold that Satan was a prosecutor for God in early Judaism, and a somewhat minor angel at that. Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally [23] While most people believe that Lucifer and Satan are different names for the same being, not all scholars subscribe to this view. Lucifer is a name frequently given to Satan in Christian belief [24]

There is more than one instance where demons are said to have come to be, as seen by the sins of the Watchers and the Grigori, of Lilith leaving Adam, of demons such as vampires, the demon-locusts from the Book of Revelation, impure spirits in Jewish folklore such as the dybbuk and of wicked humans that have become demons as well. The Grigori are a group of Fallen angels told of in Biblical apocrypha who mated with mortal women giving rise to a race of hybrids known as the Nephilim Lilith (Hebrew he לילית is a mythological female Mesopotamian Storm Demon associated with Wind and was thought to be a bearer Adam (אָדָם ʼĀḏām, "dust man mankind" آدم; Ge'ez: አዳ and Eve (חַוָּה Ḥawwā, "living Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου Jewish Mythology is generally the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize the Jewish religion whereas Jewish folklore consists of the In Kabbalah and European Jewish folklore, a dybbuk is a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated Soul [25][26]

Christian demonology

Main article: Christian demonology

In Christian tradition, it is believed that a demon is an evil spirit, and can be either a fallen angel or the spirit of a condemned human, and its intention is to mislead mankind into sin using every guile imaginable. Christian demonology is the study of Demons from a Christian point of view

The traditions state that the most damaging ways in which demons (or malicious spirits) can work are when they are given "ground" for their workings, i. e. when they are accepted, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously, by the human. Acceptance often means committing sin; eg. demons gradually gain control of the eyes when the eyes sin by looking at things vile, gain control of the tongue when it is used for slander or blaspheme, and can make it slip, etc, and this can spread to other parts of the body, regardless of whether the sinner calls himself Christian or no. This is called possession. In more extreme cases of possession, the demon gains an actual entrance into the bodily frame, leading to disastrous results, often hideous and agonestic, powerful examples of which are given in the Gospels.

Some Christians believe that symptoms of demon possession include voices in one's mind or a horror of mind, especially when there are no signs of insanity or mental damage/unhealthiness, a stubbornness of mind- holding fast to a particular belief and refusing to listen to reason, a split personality as if two separate personalities share the same body. A fierce and unreasoning hatred of God is a sure sign of possession.

Another way they can be "accepted" is by believing their lies whispered into the human mind, or accepting their suggestions, subtly disguised as one's own thoughts or otherwise (typically this can be recognized when the voices heard in the head seem to come from *outside* the bodily frame, especially if there are no signs of insanity in the person).

Forbidden rituals, the study of magic (black magic worse than white magic, though both ultimately come from demons and lead to ruin) bowing down to false gods (the more evil the god, the more damage done) accepting visions received from evil spirits, (mediums and diviners) and having faith that these visions will come to pass i. e. faith in evil spirits are among the worst things one can do to allow them possession, which can lead to unimaginable pain.

Some traditions say that perhaps the worst thing of all, however, that gives ground for demonic possession, is the disbelief in spirits of evil, or the disbelief that one can (whether Christian or not) be possessed by them, some Christians believe.

These traditions also state that for protection against demon possession, faith in God is needed, an alert watchfulness, a guarding of one's own mind (i. e. analysing one's thoughts and actions often) and an aggressive, often spoken refusal of all evil spirits and all things of evil spirits over every aspect of one's being, or over specific aspects of one's being (where possession is suspected or known to be manifest) in the Name of Jesus, and done in co-operation with God. Prayer against the evil spirit or spirits, prayer to shed light on what action(s) was done or word(s) said that allowed them ground for possession so that this too can be refused are also often necessary.

There are numerous accounts of evil spirits told by different witnesses; James Gall, Dr J. L. Nevius, Sir Robert Anderson, Pastor Ernst Lohmann.

Christians also believe the same evil spirits existed in the time of Christ Jesus that exist today in everyday society.

These traditions are generally not common in the current Roman Catholic Church, nor in most other Christians denominations. Belief in these concepts is generally considered to be a Medieval belief.

Occult demonology

Practitioners of Ceremonial magic sometimes attempt to constrain and command demons to do their bidding, using methods such as the Goetia and The Book of Abramelin. Ceremonial magic is a broad term used to encompass a wide variety of long elaborate and complex Rituals it is named as such because the works included are characterized by see The Goetia for the 1904 book by Crowley and Mathers la Goetia ( Middle Latin, anglicized goety The Book of Abramelin tells the story of an Egyptian mage named Abramelin, or Abra-Melin who teaches a system of magic to Abraham The demons are often those mentioned in Christian demonology. These practitioners do not necessarily worship demons, but seek to deploy them to obtain their goals.

Other followers of the occult do worship demons, and some refer to their religion as "demonolatry. "[27]. Demonolators consider methods such as the Goetia very disrespectful towards the demons, and possibly dangerous for the operator. see The Goetia for the 1904 book by Crowley and Mathers la Goetia ( Middle Latin, anglicized goety They instead use forms of prayer, magick and ritual which petition the demons, asking for their aid rather than commanding them. Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a Deity or spirit Magick, in the broadest sense is any act designed to cause intentional change A ritual is a set of actions often thought to have Symbolic value the performance of which is usually prescribed by a Religion or by the Traditions

Demonolators are not identical to practitioners of Theistic Satanism. Theistic Satanism also known as Traditional Satanism, is the belief that Satan is an actual Deity or force worthy of reverence or worship They worship other demons (such as Belial and Leviathan) either alongside, or instead of Satan. Belial (also Belhor, Baalial, Beliar, Belias, Beliall, Beliel, Bilael, Belu; from Hebrew בְּלִיַּ֫עַל Leviathan ( is a Biblical Sea monster referred to in the Old Testament ( Psalm 74:13-14 Job 41 Isaiah 271 [28] Some demonolators say that their form of demonolatry is a tradition, often familial, that is not related to the modern religious and philosophical movements collectively referred to as Satanism. [29]

Not all of the occultists who worship demons use the word "demonolator" to describe themselves, nor do all belong to the specific group mentioned above.

Islamic demonology

In Islam, the devil Iblis (Satan and/or Lucifer in Christianity) was not an angel, but of a different kind, the jinn. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. (Humans are created from earth, Angels from light, and jinn from fire). The jinn though, are not necessarily evil; they could be good doers or sinners just like humans. Since the jinn and humans are the only kinds of creation who have the will to choose, the followers of Iblis could be jinn or human. The angels, on the other hand, are sinless and only obey the will of God. [30]

In the Qur'an, when God ordered those witnessing the creation of Adam to kneel before him (before Adam), Iblis refused to do so and was therefore damned for refusal to obey God's will. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran [31]

Demonology in Buddhism and Hinduism

Some branches of Buddhism affirm the existence of Hells[32] peopled by demons who torment sinners and tempt mortals to sin, or who seek to thwart their enlightenment, with a demon named Mara as chief tempter. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering Bodhi (बोधि is both the Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English as "enlightenment In Buddhism, Māra is the Demon who tempted Gautama Buddha by trying to seduce him with the vision of beautiful women who in various legends [33] Most of these "demons" are considered to be representations of mental obstructions. [34] Hinduism contains traditions of combats between its gods and various adversaries, such as the combat of Indra and the asura Vritra. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Indra ( Sanskrit: इन्द्र or इंद्र Indra, Malay: Indera, Thai: พระอินทร์ Phra-Intra In Hinduism In Hinduism, the Asura ( Sanskrit: असुर are a group of power-seeking deities sometimes referred to as Demons or sinful In the early Vedic religion, Vritra ( Sanskrit: वृत्र ( Devanāgarī) or Vṛtra ( IAST) "the enveloper" was an Asura [35]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Demonology" at Dictionary. According to some Christian Theology, many Pagan deities are Demons So when names of demons are spoken one must consider that they were incorporated to This is a list of demons, including both specific Demons (eg Satan) and types of demons (e Christian demonology is the study of Demons from a Christian point of view In early Christian Theology, Satan or The Devil was seen as chief of all other Demons But soon this changed and Hell was divided in There have been many attempts throughout the history of Christianity to classify Demons into categories Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure is the practice of evicting Demons or other evil A deal with the Devil, pact with the Devil, or Faustian bargain is a cultural motif widespread wherever the Devil is vividly present most familiar Demonlogist — in fantasy a demonlogist is a powerful Warlock who has studied Demonology, and so may conjure different Demons and deal The word conjuration (from Latin 'conjure' 'conjurare' to swear together can be interpreted in several different ways as an Invocation or Evocation (the latter Early history Sumer The first known uses of the pentagram are found in Mesopotamian writings dating to about 3000 BC com Unabridged, (v 1. 1) Random House, Inc. , retrieved January 29 2007.
  2. ^ Theology definition and kinds of Theology at biblia.com
  3. ^ a b "Demon" from Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, © 2006 World Almanac Education Group, retrieved from history.com
  4. ^ a b c d van der Toorn, Becking, van der Horst (1999), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in The Bible, Second Extensively Revised Edition, Entry: Demon, pp. 235-240, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, ISBN 0-8028-2491-9
  5. ^ Animism at The Catholic Encyclopedia
  6. ^ Demon, entry in the Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper, hosted at dictionary.com
  7. ^ Ghost, entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2000, Houghton Mifflin Company, hosted at dictionary.com
  8. ^ Masello, Robert, Fallen Angels and Spirits of The Dark, pp. 64-68, © 2004, The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016, ISBN 0-399-51889-4
  9. ^ Ludwig, Theodore M. , The Sacred Paths: Understanding the Religions of the World, Second Edition, pp. 48-51, © 1989 Prentice-Hall, Inc. , ISBN 0-02-372175-8
  10. ^ Rink, Henry (1875), "Chapter IV: Religion" of Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, London, 1875, at sacred-texts.com
  11. ^ a b c Demonology at the Online Encyclopedia, Originally appearing in Volume V08, Page 10 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
  12. ^ Cumont, Franz (1911), The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, Chapter VI: Persia, p. 267 at sacred-texts.com
  13. ^ Augustine, The City of God, Book 8, Chapter 24, at the Christian Classics Etherial Library
  14. ^ Hamill Nassau, Robert (Rev. ) M. D. , S. T. D. , (1904), Fetichism in West Africa, Chapter V: Spiritual Beings in Africa - Their Classes and Functions, Charles Scribners Son
  15. ^ Frazer, Sir James George (1922), The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion, Chapter 46, "The Corn-Mother in Many Lands," at The University of Adelaide Library
  16. ^ Greem, Eda (c. 1909), Borneo: The Land of River and Palm at the Project Canterbury website
  17. ^ "Who are the Zoroastrians," at tenets.zoroastrianism.com
  18. ^ Mack, Carol K. , Mack, Dinah (1998), A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits, p. XXXIII, New York: Henry Holt and Co. , ISBN 0-8050-6270-X
  19. ^ Zoroastrianism at net.bible.org
  20. ^ Jahanian, Daryoush, M. D. , "The Zoroastrian-Biblical Connections," at meta-religion.com
  21. ^ Franck, Adolphe (1843), translated by Sossnitz, I. (1926), The Kabbalah, or, The Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews, Part Two, Chapter IV, "Continuation of The Analysis of The Zohar: The Kabbalists' View of The World," p. 184 at sacred-texts.com
  22. ^ Mathers, S. L. McGregor (Translation from Latin - 1912), Kabbala Denudata: The Kabbala Unveiled, Introduction, at sacred-texts.com
  23. ^ "Satan: The OT View of Satan," at bibletexts.com
  24. ^ Davidson, Gustav (1967), A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels, p. 176, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757
  25. ^ Demonology at jewishencyclopedia.com
  26. ^ Josephus, Flavius, Wars of The Jews, Book VII, Chapter VI, Par. 3, at Early Jewish Writings
  27. ^ OFS Demonolatry
  28. ^ [1]
  29. ^ OFS Demonolatry
  30. ^ "Who is Satan?" at understanding-islam.com
  31. ^ The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali, tr.): Sūra 38: Sād: Section 5 (65-88) at sacred-texts.com
  32. ^ Boeree, Dr. C. George (2000), Chapter: "Buddhist Cosmology", An Introduction to Buddhism, Shippensburg University
  33. ^ "Demon" and "Mara" in the Glossary of Buddhist Terms at kadampa.org
  34. ^ Ibid.
  35. ^ Vritra at the Encyclopedia Mythica

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

External links

Dictionary

demonology

-noun

  1. The study of demons, especially the incantations required to summon and control them.
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