| DOCTRINES AND DOGMAS |
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| 3 MAJOR THEMES AND
MOTIFS |
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Throughout the history of religions,
varying kinds and degrees of beliefs have existed in various spiritual beings,
powers, and principles that mediate between the realm of the sacred or holy--i.e.,
the transcendent realm--and the profane realm of time, space, and cause and
effect. Such spiritual beings when regarded as benevolent are usually called
angels in Western religions; those viewed as malevolent are termed demons. In
other religions--Eastern, ancient, and those of nonliterate cultures--such
intermediate beings are less categorical, for they may be benevolent in some
circumstances and malevolent in others. (see also myth) |
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The term angel, which is derived from
the Greek word angelos, is the
equivalent of the Hebrew word mal'akh, meaning
"messenger." The literal meaning of the word angel thus points more
toward the function or status of such beings in a cosmic hierarchy rather than
toward connotations of essence or nature, which have been prominent in popular
piety, especially in Western religions. Thus, angels have their significance
primarily in what they do rather than in what they are. Whatever essence or
inherent nature they possess is in terms of their relationship to their source
(God, or the ultimate being). Because of the Western iconography (the system of
image symbols) of angels, however, they have been granted essential identities
that often surpass their functional relationships to the sacred or holy and
their performative relationships to the profane world. In other words, popular
piety, feeding on graphic and symbolic representations of angels, has to some
extent posited semidivine or even divine status to angelic figures. Though such
occurrences are not usually sanctioned doctrinally or theologically, some
angelic figures, such as Mithra (a Persian god who in Zoroastrianism became an
angelic mediator between heaven and earth and judge and preserver of the created
world), have achieved semidivine or divine status with their own cults. |
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In Zoroastrianism
there was a belief in the amesha spentas, or
the holy or bounteous immortals, who were functional aspects or entities of
Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord. One of the amesha
spentasVohu Manah (Good Mind), revealed to the Iranian prophet Zoroaster
(6th century BC) the true God, his nature, and a kind of ethical covenant, which
man may accept and obey or reject and disobey. In a similar manner, about 1,200
years later, the angel Gabriel
(Man of God) revealed to the Arabian prophet Muhammad (5th-6th century
AD) the Qur`an (the Islamic scriptures) and the true God (Allah),
his oneness, and the ethical and cultic requirements of Islam.
The epithets used to describe Gabriel, the messenger of God--"the spirit of
holiness" and "the faithful spirit"--are similar to those applied
to the amesha spentas of Zoroastrianism and the third Person of the Trinity
(Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in Christianity.
In these monotheistic religions (though Zoroastrianism later became dualistic)
as also in Judaism, the
functional characteristics of angels are more clearly enunciated than their
ontological (or nature of Being) characteristics--except in the many instances
in which popular piety and legend have glossed over the functional aspects. |
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Various religions, including those of
nonliterate cultures, have beliefs in intermediary beings between the sacred and
profane realms, but the belief is most fully elaborated in religions of the
West. |
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The term demon is derived from the Greek
word daimon, which means a
"supernatural being" or "spirit." Though it has commonly
been associated with an evil or malevolent spirit, the term originally meant a
spiritual being that influenced a person's character. An agathos daimon ("good spirit"), for example, was
benevolent in its relationship to men. The Greek philosopher Socrates, for
example, spoke of his daimon as a
spirit that inspired him to seek and speak the truth. The term gradually was
applied to the lesser spirits of the supernatural realm who exerted pressures on
men to perform actions that were not conducive to their well-being. The dominant
interpretation has been weighted in favour of malevolence and that which
forbodes evil, misfortune, and mischief. (see also devil) |
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In religions of nonliterate peoples,
spiritual beings may be viewed as either malevolent or benevolent according to
the circumstances facing the individual or community. Thus, the usual
classification that places demons among malevolent beings is not totally
applicable in reference to these religions. |
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The positions of spiritual beings or
entities viewed as benevolent or malevolent may, in the course of time be
reversed. Such has been the case in the ancient Indo-Iranian religion, from
which evolved early Zoroastrianism and the early Hinduism reflected in the Vedas
(ancient Aryan hymns). In Zoroastrianism the daevas
were viewed as malevolent beings, but their counterparts, the devas
in ancient Hinduism, were viewed as gods. The ahuras
of Zoroastrianism were good "lords," but in Hinduism their
counterparts, the asuras,
were transformed into evil lords. In a similar manner, Satan, the prosecutor of
men in the court of God's justice in the Old Testament book of Job, became the
chief antagonist of Christ in Christianity and of man in Islam. Many
similar transformations indicate that the sharp distinctions made between angels
as benevolent and demons as malevolent may be too simplistic, however helpful
such designations may be as indicators of the general functions of such
spiritual beings. |
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Because man is a being much concerned
with boundaries--i.e., what makes him
different from other animate beings, what makes his community (and thus his
world) different from other communities (and other worlds)--his view of the cosmos
has influenced his understanding of what are called angels and demons. The
cosmos may be viewed as monistic, as in Hinduism, in which the cosmos is
regarded as wholly sacred or as participating in a single divine principle
(Brahman, or Being itself). The cosmos may also be viewed as dualistic, as in Gnosticism
(an esoteric religious dualistic belief system, often regarded as a Christian
heretical movement, that flourished in the Greco-Roman world in the 1st and 2nd
centuries AD), in which the world of matter was generally regarded as evil and
the realm of the spirit as good. A third view of the cosmos, generally found in
the monotheistic religions of
Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam, centred on a tripartite
universe: celestial, terrestrial, and subterrestrial. This third view has
influenced Western man's concepts of angels and demons as well as his scientific
and metaphysical concepts. (see also monism) |
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In the biblical, Hellenistic
(Greco-Roman cultural), and Islamic worlds of thought, the terrestrial
realm was a world in which man was limited by the factors of time, space, and
cause and effect. The celestial realm, generally composed of seven heavens
or spheres dominated by the seven then-known planets, was the realm of the
divine and the spiritual. The subterrestrial realm was the area of chaos and the
spiritual powers of darkness. At the highest level of the celestial sphere was
the ultimate of the sacred or holy: e.g., Yahweh,
the God of Judaism, whose name was so holy it should not even be spoken; Bythos,
the unknowable beginning beyond beginnings of Gnosticism; the heavenly Father of
Christianity, known through his Logos (the divine Word, or Reason, Jesus
Christ); and Allah, the powerful, the almighty, and the sublime God of
Islam. |
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In order to reveal the purpose and
destiny of man--the highest being of the terrestrial realm--the ultimate of the
celestial sphere enabled man, according to such views, to come to a knowledge of
who he is, what is his origin, and what is his destiny through celestial
messengers--angels. The message, or revelation,
was usually focussed on the identity of the source of the revelation--i.e.,
the ultimate being--and on the destiny of man according to his response.
Because of a cosmic rift in the heavenly sphere prior to the creation of the
world or the announcement of the revelation, angels, depending on their
relationship to the Creator, might attempt to deceive man with a false
revelation or to reveal the truth about man's true nature (or identity), origin,
and destiny. Angels who attempted to pervert the message of the ultimate
celestial being in order to confuse man's understanding of his present boundary
situation as a terrestrial being or his destiny as a supraterrestrial
being--though not always termed demons--are malevolent in function. Included
among such malevolent angels are the devil of Christianity and Judaism or Iblis
(the Devil) of Islam, who, in the form of a serpent in the biblical story
of the Garden of Eden--according to later interpretations of the
story--attempted to disrupt man's understanding of his creaturely boundaries, or
limitations. He did this by tempting man to eat the fruit of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil so that he might become like God (or the divine
beings of the heavenly court). In Zoroastrianism, the Evil Spirit (Angra Mainyu,
later Ahriman)
attempted--through subservient spirits such as Evil Mind, the Lie, and Pride--to
deceive terrestrial man so that he would choose a destiny that was
subterrestrial--punishment in a chasm of fire. (see also original
sin) |
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In the aftermath of the 16th-century
Copernican revolution (based on the theories of the Polish astronomer
Copernicus), in which man's view of the cosmos was radically altered--i.e.,
the Earth was no longer seen as the centre of the cosmos but, instead,
merely as a planet of a solar system that is a very small part of a galaxy in an
apparently infinite universe--the concepts of angels and demons no longer seemed
appropriate. The tripartite cosmos--heaven above, Earth in the middle, and hell
below--appeared to be an anachronism. (see also Copernican
system) |
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With the emergence of modern Western
psychology and psychoanalytical studies in the 19th and 20th centuries, however,
the underlying principles of beliefs in angels and demons have taken on new
meanings. Many Christian theologians have found some of the concepts of
psychoanalysis helpful in reinterpreting the meanings underlying primitive and
traditional beliefs in angels and demons. The tripartite cosmos was
re-mythologized into a tripartite structure of the personality--the
superego (the restrictive social regulations that enable man to live as a social
being), the ego (the conscious aspects of man), and the id,
or libido (a "seething,
boiling cauldron of desire that seeks to erupt from beneath the threshold of
consciousness"). Thus, demons--according to this reinterpretation--might
well be redefined as projections of the unregulated drives of man that force him
to act only according to his own selfish desires, taking no account of their
effects on other persons. From a social point of view, demons might also be
defined as the environmental and hereditary forces that cause man to act, think,
and speak in ways that are contrary to the well-being of himself and his
community. A modern French writer, Denis de Rougemont, has maintained in his
book The Devil's Share that the devil
and the demonic forces that plague the modern world can be well documented in
modern man's return to barbarism and man's inhumanity to man. In the 2nd century
AD, Clement of Alexandria, a
Christian philosophical theologian, pointed toward a psychological
interpretation of demonic forces by stating that man was often captivated by the
inner appetitive drives of his passions and bodily desires. The Freudian
"myth" of the human personality and other psychological studies have
thus initiated a new dimension in the study of angels and demons. Medieval
iconography, which graphically depicted angels and demons as hybrid creatures
that often defied even the most vivid imaginations of the persons who viewed
them, has been supplanted by psychological, psychoanalytical, and modern
mythological symbolism coupled with theological reflection. |
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In religious traditions that have viewed
the cosmos in a dualistic fashion, such as Gnosticism, angels were believed to
be celestial beings who controlled certain spheres through which a soul was to
pass as it freed itself from the shackles of its material existence. Knowledge
of these angels and their names was a necessary prerequisite for achieving
eventual union with the ultimate spiritual reality. Included among various lists
of the seven angels ruling the seven planetary spheres are Gabriel, Adonai
(Lord), Aariel (lion of God), and others. The angel of the creation of the world
of matter, Yahweh (sometimes
called the Demiurge, the
Creator), was evil, in the Gnostic view, not only because he was the Creator but
also because he tried to keep spiritual men from knowing their true origin,
nature, and destiny. (see also dualism) |
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Manichaeism,
a dualistic religion founded in the 3rd century AD by Mani, an Iranian prophet,
like Gnosticism divided the world into two spheres--Goodness (Light) and Evil
(Darkness). These two principles are mixed in the world of matter, and the
object of salvation is to
unmix the material and the spiritual so that one may achieve a state of absolute
goodness. Highest in the celestial hierarchy are the 12 light diadems of the
Father of Greatness and the Twelve Aeons,
the "firstborn"--angelic figures that are divided into groups of
threes, surrounding the Supreme Being in the four quarters of the heavens.
Because the Devil, the Prince of Darkness, desires the advantages of the Kingdom
of Light, in an ensuing battle between the celestial forces Light and Darkness
are mixed, and the world of matter and spirit is created. Unaware of his
spiritual nature and constantly tempted by the demons of the Prince of Darkness,
man is eventually led to understand his true nature through the activity of
angelic beings called the Friends of the Lights and the Living Spirit and his
five helpers: Holder of Splendour, King of Honour, Light of Man, King of Glory,
and Supporter. |
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Those who view the cosmos as basically
monistic--such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism--generally have no belief in
angels, who function mainly as revealers of the truth. This function is
performed by other beings, such as avataras (incarnations of the
gods) in Hinduism, tirthankaras
(saints or prophets) in Jainism, or bodhisattvas
(Buddhas-to-be) in Buddhism.
Because such personages generally are viewed more in terms of exemplifiers of
the holy life than as conduits of a revelation (except in the case of several avataras
and bodhisattvas), they are not to be regarded in terms of the typical
Western conceptions of angelic beings. These religions do, however, have
widespread beliefs in demons. (see also monism) |
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Belief in demons is not connected with
any particular view of the cosmos. Demons have a very wide geographical and
lengthy historical role as spiritual beings influencing man in his relationship
to the sacred or holy. They may be semihuman, nonhuman, or ghostly human beings
who, for various reasons, generally attempt to coerce man into not attaining his
higher spiritual aspirations or not performing activities necessary for his
well-being in the normal course of living. The ancient Assyrian demon rabisu
apparently is a classic prototype of a supernatural being that instilled
such a fear in men that their hair literally raised from their bodies when
confronted with knowledge of the rabisu's
presence. |
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In 17th-century Europe, various demons
were cataloged according to their powers to entice men to indulge in what were
called their basic instincts or desires. Included in such lists were nightmare
demons, demons formed from the semen of copulation, and demons who deceived
persons into believing that they could perform transvections (nocturnal flights
to sites of sabbats, alleged rites of witchcraft).
According to some authorities in the 20th century (as well as early Christian
polemicists), the alleged demons noted by the prevailing religions of the world
are the former gods or spiritual beings that succumbed to or were overpowered by
the dominant doctrinal views of a conquering people. Thus, the Teutonic, Slavic,
Celtic, or Roman gods either were reduced to demonic antagonists of Christ, his
saints, or his angels or were absorbed by the cults of Christian saint figures.
Followers of the ancient but no longer influential deities were often subjected
to persecution as advocates of witchcraft, especially in Christian Europe (see
also OCCULTISM: e="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal">Witchcraft ). |
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Angels and demons, as noted earlier,
have been categorized as benevolent, malevolent, or ambivalent or neutral beings
that mediate between the sacred and profane realms. |
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Benevolent beings, usually angels but
sometimes ghosts of ancestors or other spiritual beings that have been placated
by sacrifices or other rituals, assist man in achieving a proper rapport with
God, other spiritual beings, or man's life situations. Angels, for example, not
only act as revealers of divine truths, but they also are believed to be
efficacious in helping man to attain salvation or special graces or favours.
Their primary function is to praise and serve God and do his will. This is true
of angels in both Christianity and Zoroastrianism, as well as in Judaism and Islam.
As functional extensions of the divine will, they sometimes intervene in human
affairs by rewarding the faithful and punishing the unjust or by saving the
weak, who are in need of help, and destroying the wicked, who unjustly persecute
their fellow creatures. In the intertestamental book of Tobit
(an apocryphal, or "hidden," book that is not accepted as canonical by
Jews and Protestants), the archangel Raphael
(God Heals), for example, helps the hero Tobias, the son of Tobit, on a journey
and also reveals to him magic formulas to cure his father's blindness and to
counteract the power of the demon Asmodeus. (see also Judaism) |
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Angels also have been described as
participants in the creation and the providential continuance of the cosmos.
Clement of Alexandria, influenced by Hellenistic cosmology, stated that they
functioned as the movers of the stars and controlled the four elements--earth,
air, fire, and water. Many angels are believed to be guardians over individuals
and nations. The view that there are guardian angels watching over children has
been a significant belief in the popular piety of Roman Catholicism. Angels are
also regarded as the conductors of the souls of the dead to the supraterrestrial
world. In the procreation of men, angels are believed to perform various
services. This is especially noticeable in the instances of angels announcing
the births of divine figures or special religious personages, such as Jesus and
John the Baptist in the New Testament. |
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Though the function of angels is of
primary significance, theological reflection and popular piety have placed much
emphasis on the nature of angels. In early Judaism angels were conceived as
beings in human form: the angel who wrestled with the patriarch Jacob, as
recorded in the book of Genesis, was in the form of a man. In Judaism of the
Hellenistic period (3rd century BC to 3rd century AD), however, angels were
viewed as noncorporeal spiritual beings who appeared to man in an apparitional
fashion. Their spiritual nature had been emphasized earlier by Old Testament
prophets, such as Ezekiel and Isaiah, in their visionary descriptions. The cherubim
and seraphim, two superior
orders of angels, are described as winged creatures that guard the throne of
God. The use of wings attached to various beings symbolizes their invisible and
spiritual nature, a practice that can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians,
who represented the battling sun-god Horus of Edfu as a winged disk. In
Christian iconography the
spiritual nature of angels has been almost universally represented--until the
20th century--by winged human figures. Their spirituality and, therefore, their
noncorporeality led to various kinds of speculation among theologians and common
people about the nature of the appearances of angels, which has been recorded in
both Scripture and legends based on popular piety. Some theologians, such as Augustine
in the 4th and 5th centuries, stated that angels, who have ethereal bodies, may
be able to assume material bodies. This problem, however, has not been solved to
the satisfaction of later theologians. |
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Malevolent beings--demons, fallen
angels, ghosts, goblins, evil spirits in nature, hybrid creatures, the daevas
of Zoroastrianism, the narakas
(creatures of hell) of Jainism, the oni(attendants of the gods of the underworld) in Japanese religions, and other
such beings--hinder man in achieving a proper relation with God, the spiritual
realm, or man's life situations. Some angels are believed to have fallen from a
position of proximity to God--such as Lucifer (after his fall called Satan by
early Church Fathers) in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--because of
pride or for attempts to usurp the position of the Supreme Being. In their
fallen condition they then attempt to keep man from gaining a right relationship
with God by provoking men to sin. Some medieval scholars of demonology ascribed
to a hierarchy of seven archdemons the seven
deadly sins: Lucifer (Pride); Mammon (Avarice); Asmodeus (Lechery); Satan
(Anger); Beelzebub (Gluttony); Leviathan (Envy); and Belphegor (Sloth). Besides
tempting men to sin, the fallen angels, or devils, were believed to cause
various types of calamities, both natural and accidental. Like the demons and
evil spirits of nature in primitive religions, the fallen angels were viewed as
the agents of famine, disease, war, earthquakes, accidental deaths, and various
mental or emotional disorders. Persons afflicted with mental diseases were
considered to be "demon possessed." |
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Though the functions of demonic figures,
like those of fallen angels, is of major significance, the nature of demons has
been of concern to theologians and persons infused with popular piety. Like
angels, demons are regarded as spiritual, noncorporeal beings, but they have
been depicted in religious iconography as hybrid creatures with horrifying
characteristics or as caricatures of idols of an opposing religion. In the early
church, for example, there was a belief that pagan idols were inhabited by
demons. The horrifying aspects of demons have been represented in the woodcuts
of medieval and Reformation artists and in the masks of shamans, medicine men,
and priests of primitive religions--either to frighten the believer into
behaving according to accepted norms or to ward off ritualistically the power of
the demonic forces loose in the terrestrial or profane realm. |
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Ambivalent or neutral spiritual beings
are usually not found in Western religions, which usually divide the inhabitants
of the cosmos into those who are either allied with or in opposition to the
Supreme Being. Islam, however, classifies spiritual beings into angels (mala'ikah),
demons (shayatin), and djinni, or genies.
This last category includes spiritual beings that might be either benevolent
or malevolent. According to legend, the djinni
were created out of fire 2,000 years before the creation of Adam, the first
man. Capable of both visibility and invisibility, a djinni
could assume various forms--either animal or human--and could be either a
help or a hindrance to man. By cunning, a superior use of intellect, or magic, a
man might be able to manipulate a djinni for
his own benefit. |
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Various minor nature spirits--such as
the spirits of water, fire, mountains, winds, and other spirits recognized in
primitive religions--are generally neutral, but, in order to keep them that way
or to make them beneficial to man, proper sacrifices and rituals must be
performed. |
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Intermediate beings between the sacred
and profane realms assume various forms in the religions of the world: celestial
and atmospheric beings; devils, demons, and evil spirits; ghosts, ghouls, and
goblins; and nature spirits and fairies. |
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In the Western religions, which are
monotheistic and view the cosmos as a tripartite universe, angels and demons are
generally conceived as celestial or atmospheric spirits. In the popular piety of
these religions, however, there is a widespread belief in ghosts, ghouls,
goblins, demons, and evil spirits that influence man in his terrestrial
condition and activities. The celestial beings may be either benevolent or
malevolent, depending on their own relationship to the Supreme Being. On the
other hand, the demons and evil spirits that generally influence man in his role
as a terrestrial being (rather than in his destiny as a supraterrestrial being)
are viewed in popular piety--and somewhat in theological reflection--as
malevolent in intent. |
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Angels are generally grouped in orders
of four, six, or seven in the first ranks, of which there may be several. The
use of four, which symbolically implies perfection and is related to the four
cardinal points, is found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Early
Zoroastrianism, much influenced by the astronomical and astrological sciences of
ancient Iran, coordinated the concept of the seven known planetary spheres with
its belief in the heptad (grouping of seven) of celestial beings--i.e.,
the amesha
spentasof Ahura
Mazda: Spenta Mainyu (the Holy Spirit), Vohu Mana (Good Mind), Asha
(Truth), Armaiti (Right Mindedness), Khshathra (Kingdom), Haurvatat
(Wholeness), and Ameretat (Immortality). In later Zoroastrianism, though
not in the Gathas (the early hymns, believed to have been written by Zoroaster,
in the Avesta, the sacred scriptures), Ahura Mazda and Spenta Mainyu were
identified with each other, and the remaining bounteous immortals were grouped
in an order of six. Over against the bounteous immortals, who helped to link the
spiritual and the material worlds together, was the counterpart of the Holy
Spirit, namely Angra Mainyu,
the Evil Spirit, who later became the great adversary Ahriman (the prototype of
the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Satan), and the daevas, who were most
likely gods of early Indo-Iranian religion. Allied with Angra Mainyu against
Ahura Mazda were Akoman (Evil Mind), Indra-vayu
(Death), Saurva (a daeva of death and disease), Nañhaithya (a
daeva related to the Vedic god Nasatya), Tauru (difficult to identify),
and Zairi (the personification of Haoma, the sacred drink related to the
sacrifices of both ahuras and daevas).
Among other demonic figures is Aeshma (violence, fury, or the aggressive
impulse that consumes man)--who may well be the demon Asmodeus of the book of
Tobit, Az (Concupiscence or Lust), Mithrandruj (He Who Lies to
Mithra or False Speech), Jeh (the demon Whore, created later by Ahriman
to defile the human race), and many others (see also ZOROASTRIANISM
AND PARSIISM ). |
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Angelology and demonology in Judaism
became more highly developed during and after the period of the Babylonian Exile
(6th-5th centuries BC), when contacts were made with Zoroastrianism. In the Old
Testament, Yahweh is called the Lord of hosts. These hosts (Sabaoth) are the
heavenly army that fights against the forces of evil and performs various
missions, such as guarding the entrance to Paradise, punishing evildoers,
protecting the faithful, and revealing God's Word to man. Two archangels are
mentioned in the canonical Old Testament: Michael,
the warrior leader of the heavenly hosts, and Gabriel,
the heavenly messenger. Two are mentioned in the apocryphal Old Testament:
Raphael, God's healer or helper (in the book of Tobit), and Uriel
(Fire of God), the watcher over the world and the lowest part of hell (in II
Esdras). Though these are the only four named, seven archangels are noted in
Tob. 12:15. Besides the archangels, there were also other orders of angels, the
cherubim and seraphim, which have been noted earlier. |
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Under the influence of Zoroastrianism,
Satan, the adversary, probably evolved into the archdemon. Other demons included
Azazel (the demon of the wilderness, incarnated in the scapegoat), Leviathan and
Rahab (demons of chaos), Lilith (a female night demon), and others. To protect
themselves from the powers of the demons and unclean spirits, Jews influenced by
folk beliefs and customs (as with Christians later) often carried charms,
amulets, and talismans inscribed with efficacious formulas (see also JUDAISM
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Christianity, probably influenced by the
angelology of Jewish sects such as the Pharisees and the Essenes as well as of
the Hellenistic world, further enhanced and developed theories and beliefs in
angels and demons. In the New
Testament, celestial beings were grouped into seven ranks: angels,
archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominions, and thrones. In addition
to these were added the Old Testament cherubim and seraphim, which, with the
seven other ranks, comprised the nine choirs of angels in later Christian
mystical theology. Various other numbers of the orders of angels have been given
by early Christian writers: four, in The Sibylline Oracles (a
supposedly Jewish work that shows much Christian influence); six, in the Shepherd
of Hermasa book accepted as canonical in some local early Christian
churches; and seven, in the works of Clement of Alexandria and other major
theologians. In both folk piety and theology the number has generally been fixed
at seven. The angels receiving most attention and veneration in Christianity
were the four angels mentioned in the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. Michael
became the favourite of many, and in the practice of his cult there was often
some confusion with St. George, who was also a warrior figure. |
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Demonology experienced a renewal in
Christianity that probably would have been acceptable in Zoroastrianism.
Satan, the archenemy of the Christ; Lucifer, the fallen Light Bearer; and the
originally Canaanite Beelzebub, the Lord of Flies (or, perhaps, Beelzebul, the
Lord of Dung), mentioned by Jesus, are all devils. The concept and term devil
are derived from the Zoroastrian concept of daevas
and the Greek word daibolos ("slanderer"
or "accuser"), which is a translation of the Jewish concept of Satan.
As a singular demonic force or personification of evil, the devil's chief
activity was to tempt man to act in such a way that he would not achieve his
supraterrestrial destiny. Because demons were believed to inhabit waterless
wastelands, where hungry and tired persons often had visual and auditory
hallucinations, early Christian monks went into the deserts to be the vanguard
of God's army in joining battle with the tempting devils. They often recorded
that the devil came to them in visions as a seductive woman, tempting them to
violate their vows to keep themselves sexually pure, both physically and
mentally. |
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During certain periods in Christian
Europe, especially the Middle Ages, worship of demons and the practice of witchcraft
brought about the wrath of both church and people on those suspected of
practicing diabolical rites, such as the Black
Mass. One formula from the Black Mass (the mass said in reverse and with
an inverted crucifix on the altar) has survived in popular magic:
"hocus-pocus," an abbreviated from of "Hoc est corpus meum"
("This is my body"), the words of institution in the Eucharist, or
Holy Communion. Witchcraft and sorcery have been closely associated with
demonology in the thought of Christianity, especially in the West. |
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In the second half of the 20th century,
in connection with a renewed interest in the supernatural, there has been
evidence of a revival of demon worship and black magic, although this has generally been
restricted to small cults that have proved to be quite ephemeral. (see also Christianity) |
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Angelology and demonology in Islam
are closely related to similar doctrines in Judaism and Christianity. Besides
the four throne bearers of Allah, four other angels are well known: Jibril
(Gabriel), the angel of revelation; Mikal (Michael), the angel of
nature, providing man with food and knowledge; 'Izra`il, the angel
of death; and Israfil, the angel who places the soul in the body
and sounds the trumpet for the Last Judgment. Demons also contend for control of
men's lives, the most prominent being Iblis (the Devil), who tempts
mortal man, or Shaytan, or Satan (see also ISLAM
). |
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As noted earlier, the function of angels
in Eastern religions was carried by avataras,
bodhisattvas, and other such spiritual
beings who were extensions of God or the sacred. Belief in demons was and is
very widespread, influencing various rituals and practices to counteract the
forces that are hostile to man and nature. In Hinduism,
the asuras
(the Zoroastrian ahuras) are the
demons who oppose the devas
(the gods). Both vied for the homa, or
the amrta (the sacred drink that gives power), but the god Visnu
(the preserver), incarnated as a beautiful woman (Mohini), aided the gods
so that they alone would drink the amrta, thus
giving them power over the demons. Among the various classes of Hindu asuras
(demons) are nagas (serpent demons); Ahi (the demon of drought); and Kamsa
(an archdemon). Demons that afflict men include the raksasas,
grotesque and hideous beings of various shapes who haunt cemeteries, impel men
to perform foolish acts, and attack sadhus
(saintly men), and pishacas, beings
who haunt places where violent deaths have occurred. Buddhists often view their
demons as forces that inhibit man from achieving Nirvana (bliss or the
extinction of desire). Included among such beings are Mara,
an arch tempter, who, with his daughters, Rati (Desire), Raga (Pleasure),
and Tanha (Restlessness), attempted to dissuade Siddhartha
Gautama, the Buddha, from achieving his Enlightenment. As Mahayana
(Greater Vehicle) Buddhism
spread to Tibet, China, and Japan, many of the demons of the folk religions of
these areas were incorporated into Buddhist beliefs. The demons of Chinese
religions, the kuei-shen, are
manifested in all aspects of nature. Besides these nature demons there are
goblins, fairies, and ghosts. Because the demons were believed to avoid light,
the Chinese who were influenced by Taoism and folk religions used bonfires,
firecrackers, and torches to ward off the kuei.
Japanese religions are
similar to Chinese religions in the multiplicity of demons with which men must
contend. Among the most fearsome of the Japanese demons are the onievil spirits with much power, and the tenguspirits that possess man and that generally must be exorcized by priests
(see also HINDUISM ; BUDDHISM
; JAINISM ;
SHINTO ). |
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The spiritual beings of nonliterate
religions of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas are generally viewed as
malevolent or benevolent according to circumstances rather than because of their
inherent nature. Eshu, a god
of the Yoruba of Nigeria, for example, is looked upon as a protective,
benevolent spirit as well as a spirit with an evil power that may be directed
toward one's enemies. These beings possess what is called mana
(supernatural power), a Melanesian term that can be applied both to spirits and
to persons of special status, such as chiefs or shamans. In nonliterate religions, the spirits of
nature are generally venerated in return for certain favours or to ward off
catastrophes, much in the manner of the religion of ancient Rome. Ancestor gods
abound, and thus the ghosts of the dead must be placated, often with the
performance of elaborate rites (see also SACRED
OFFICES AND ORDERS: e="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal">Shamanism ; RELIGIOUS
AND SPIRITUAL BELIEF: e="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal">Ancestor worship ). |
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Though traditional beliefs in angels and
demons have been questioned among those cultures affected by Western science and
technology, reinterpretations of such beliefs, under the influence of
psychological studies and the study of myth in the history of religions, have
been of significance to theological reflection. By viewing angels and demons
functionally, rather than in terms of their natures, modern man may discover
that he has a greater kinship than he has generally realized with men of
previous or different cultures in his attempt to gain an advantageous rapport
with the transcendent, social, and psychological realms that he faces in
everyday life. (L.F.) |
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