"Demonology 101" – Traditional Christian Basics & Diabolic Tactics
- General Theology
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Pax, Ειρήνη, שלום! Praised be Jesus Christ!
I recently wrote this treatment for a friend. It is based on my studies of historical demonology, knowledge I've gleaned over the years from exorcists & those who assist them (including psychologists or doctors who scrutinize claims of cases), and the general experience & theology of Christians over the centuries. It is therefore a synthesis, although more based on experience than abstract theology. In many cases, the theology was confirmed or developed due to the experiences of ghosts & demons over the millennia. Some of it may be agreeable; some not. But this is the basic structure of Western demonology, and much of it is shared with the various Eastern Churches. Protestantism is most likely to contest certain claims, but, as I said, much of what is written here is based on experience than theologizing. I post it here so that knowledge of the Enemy's tactics and history might be known, and for anyone who may need this information.
Part I: Basic Theological Points
Demons are rebellious angels/spirits that have irrevocably chosen to oppose God. They harbor deep envy for humans, especially, because we are so beloved & because we can procreate with God. Satan, for all his great power (indeed, he may be the most powerful creation of God), cannot himself create anything nor reproduce. He can only warp what is already created. Demons lie, steal, destroy, and are never friends to humans. They hate us utterly, and desire us to be damned with them in Hell.
In ancient times, before the coming of Christ, the dominion of the Devil was almost supreme. After the Fall of Man, demons took up roles as "gods" of the various peoples. They spread iniquity and sin. They taught us things we were not ready to know. To make weapons, appear more sexually attractive, worship nature, astrology, divination, necromancy, and many other things. Yet, God was always intervening. He chose Israel as His own possession and began Divine Revelation, and He also influenced the rise of Gentile "prophets" & philosophers (e.g., Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Mencius, Stoics, Neoplatonists, Indian Gymnosophists, Zarathustra, Siddhartha Gautama, Numa Pompilius, Archimedes, Posidonius, etc.) to challenge demonic lies; although they themselves had no protection against them, and so many truths of reason were admixed with errors. This phenomenon was called the "seeds of the Word (Logos)," and Christians commented on it as early as St. Justin Martyr (A.D. 100s).
A key point, to which we shall return, is that the demonic realm operates according to a kind of system of "rights & permissions." This is especially the case in the Age of the Church. Put simply, God permits in His Good Providence to allow demons to tempt us. This is their "ordinary" activity. Yet, we can "invite" demons into our lives (I will discuss how momentarily), giving them "rights & permissions" to engage in "extraordinary" activity. God permits this too for the greater good & due to human freedom. Suffice it to say at the moment, Satan had "rights" over humanity because of the Fall. This is part of why Christ came to redeem us.
Through His life & the Paschal Mystery, Christ outwitted the Devil & reversed the weapons he used to enslave us. By atoning for sin, conquering Death by death, and glorifying human nature by the Resurrection, the Devil's "rights" over us were broken. Moreover, and this is important, Christ began what the Church & the Book of Revelation (Rev. 20) call the "Millennium." The Devil and the demons have been "chained," i.e., heavily limited in what they can do to us. In this "millennium," the demonic can only engage in extraordinary activity if "invited" by humans. Naturally, this follows the eschatology of Amillennialism, which is by far the dominant Christian view since the late Patristic era.
So, how do the demons get these "invitations, rights, & permissions?" There are three main ways. First, one can actively summon, call upon, or worship the demonic. This is rare. It is usually confined to hidden familial Satanic cults which seem to be spread over the world, small covens of modern theistic Satanists of Left-Hand Path religions, and outright demonolatry. Second, they can be invited "unwittingly" through the commission of heinous & grave sins. This is part of the phenomenon of "haunted houses" which have a history of something terrible happening therein. Things like mass murder, idolatry, abuse, sexual depravity, torture, and the like can allow them "access." Third, and this is perhaps the saddest, permission can be given that isn't revoked because the human does not or cannot renounce the rights, or the demon has not yet been driven away. Demons can thus be attached to places for a very long time, or even families it seems. It is thought that many pre-Columbian places in the Americas saw this phenomenon before the coming of the Gospel. Sometimes this is due to the human who first allowed the demon being dead or unwilling to renounce the permission given. This means that the demon can continue to have rights unless a descendent renounces these, or it is driven out by exorcism or some other means. This manifests in haunted places of malevolence, family history of demonic activity, curses & cursed objects, and other ways.
Continued...
I recently wrote this treatment for a friend. It is based on my studies of historical demonology, knowledge I've gleaned over the years from exorcists & those who assist them (including psychologists or doctors who scrutinize claims of cases), and the general experience & theology of Christians over the centuries. It is therefore a synthesis, although more based on experience than abstract theology. In many cases, the theology was confirmed or developed due to the experiences of ghosts & demons over the millennia. Some of it may be agreeable; some not. But this is the basic structure of Western demonology, and much of it is shared with the various Eastern Churches. Protestantism is most likely to contest certain claims, but, as I said, much of what is written here is based on experience than theologizing. I post it here so that knowledge of the Enemy's tactics and history might be known, and for anyone who may need this information.
Part I: Basic Theological Points
Demons are rebellious angels/spirits that have irrevocably chosen to oppose God. They harbor deep envy for humans, especially, because we are so beloved & because we can procreate with God. Satan, for all his great power (indeed, he may be the most powerful creation of God), cannot himself create anything nor reproduce. He can only warp what is already created. Demons lie, steal, destroy, and are never friends to humans. They hate us utterly, and desire us to be damned with them in Hell.
In ancient times, before the coming of Christ, the dominion of the Devil was almost supreme. After the Fall of Man, demons took up roles as "gods" of the various peoples. They spread iniquity and sin. They taught us things we were not ready to know. To make weapons, appear more sexually attractive, worship nature, astrology, divination, necromancy, and many other things. Yet, God was always intervening. He chose Israel as His own possession and began Divine Revelation, and He also influenced the rise of Gentile "prophets" & philosophers (e.g., Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Mencius, Stoics, Neoplatonists, Indian Gymnosophists, Zarathustra, Siddhartha Gautama, Numa Pompilius, Archimedes, Posidonius, etc.) to challenge demonic lies; although they themselves had no protection against them, and so many truths of reason were admixed with errors. This phenomenon was called the "seeds of the Word (Logos)," and Christians commented on it as early as St. Justin Martyr (A.D. 100s).
A key point, to which we shall return, is that the demonic realm operates according to a kind of system of "rights & permissions." This is especially the case in the Age of the Church. Put simply, God permits in His Good Providence to allow demons to tempt us. This is their "ordinary" activity. Yet, we can "invite" demons into our lives (I will discuss how momentarily), giving them "rights & permissions" to engage in "extraordinary" activity. God permits this too for the greater good & due to human freedom. Suffice it to say at the moment, Satan had "rights" over humanity because of the Fall. This is part of why Christ came to redeem us.
Through His life & the Paschal Mystery, Christ outwitted the Devil & reversed the weapons he used to enslave us. By atoning for sin, conquering Death by death, and glorifying human nature by the Resurrection, the Devil's "rights" over us were broken. Moreover, and this is important, Christ began what the Church & the Book of Revelation (Rev. 20) call the "Millennium." The Devil and the demons have been "chained," i.e., heavily limited in what they can do to us. In this "millennium," the demonic can only engage in extraordinary activity if "invited" by humans. Naturally, this follows the eschatology of Amillennialism, which is by far the dominant Christian view since the late Patristic era.
So, how do the demons get these "invitations, rights, & permissions?" There are three main ways. First, one can actively summon, call upon, or worship the demonic. This is rare. It is usually confined to hidden familial Satanic cults which seem to be spread over the world, small covens of modern theistic Satanists of Left-Hand Path religions, and outright demonolatry. Second, they can be invited "unwittingly" through the commission of heinous & grave sins. This is part of the phenomenon of "haunted houses" which have a history of something terrible happening therein. Things like mass murder, idolatry, abuse, sexual depravity, torture, and the like can allow them "access." Third, and this is perhaps the saddest, permission can be given that isn't revoked because the human does not or cannot renounce the rights, or the demon has not yet been driven away. Demons can thus be attached to places for a very long time, or even families it seems. It is thought that many pre-Columbian places in the Americas saw this phenomenon before the coming of the Gospel. Sometimes this is due to the human who first allowed the demon being dead or unwilling to renounce the permission given. This means that the demon can continue to have rights unless a descendent renounces these, or it is driven out by exorcism or some other means. This manifests in haunted places of malevolence, family history of demonic activity, curses & cursed objects, and other ways.
Continued...
