Interest in Demonology

Creation is the act of bringing something totally new into existence. Every atom and piece of matter that makes up my body has been in the universe since the beginning. Humans do not create, we make things. To make is to take something and change or combine and bring forth. There are difference there.

Also, we know who demons are, read the description of the pre-flood world. It mentions the fallen angels and shows them to be dark creatures. Also, we see again their being commented on in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel in the Old Testament and in Revelation specifically in the New Testament, which describes the fall of Satan and the third of the host.

Colin, I thought that was what you meant by "creation". The problem with not separating the two meanings of that word, is that demons are believed to have been "created" both by witches and by scientific parapsychologists. That means, that to be correct that they are fallen angels, you must somehow discredit their work. Further, the Greek words in the NT are different for the two types of creatures.

But these OT passages do not use the word demon. Further, they use a variety of terms, nephilim, anakim, gebarim, etc. If we cannot classify these to our satisfaction, determining if any are a demon will be more difficult. Literature from other cultures (non-Bible) suggest that none of these are in fact demons. The most consistent theory is that demons are leftover intelligences of men possessed by fallen angels. But even that is not proven.

Because Voodoo is sometimes brought into our churches, there is more demon activity. There are few voodoo churches, but many voodoo priests in Africa and in our American South. Voodoo is simply part of the African culture in many places. Some of our churches allow certain voodoo practices because they feel that if they didn't these people would never know Christ.

Confronting demons should never be done by only one person, or without prayer preparation. A missionary from our church spoke about he and his fellow pastor working to free a woman for many hours, and what a struggle it was.

There is a wonderful book that has lots of explanations about them and how they operate. It also tells about an exorcism. It is written by the same man who wrote "A Path Less Traveled" that was on the best seller list for so long. It is "People of the Lie" by M Scott Peck.

What do you base that one? I have confronted demons in other people by myself and without "prayer preparation". Of the times I have done so, only once was there an issue and it was handled very quickly. I would never encourage beginners or wannabes to do that, but it can be done and sometimes it is done with God's full blessing.

I also know a bit about voodoo, as I have been cursed by it several times.

That fascination doesn't come from God. So we know who it comes from, right? So resist it.

It's not an area that I would advise anyone to get into...past experience was a good teacher...stay away from it.

I am not sure how much we should focus in on demons. Our primary focus is God above all else. If God leads you into a deliverance ministry, then it might be helpful to know a little about demonology, but I certainly would not make that a primary focus in my life.

I have learned a few things about specific demons, but to study demons must be in a proper context. To study them just because you are fascinated with the subject, might be problematic. To study deliverance topics which might include some study on demons might be a beneficial thing, but demonology as a stand alone subject? That sounds dangerous to me.

Perhaps it is a good thing to know the character of demons and how they work.

After reading "A Road Less Traveled" I followed M Scott Peck to his "People of the Lie". Scott is considered a leader in leading psychiatry to an awareness of demons and evil. He says that he learned to be aware of it when he met Malachi Martin, who wrote "Hostage to the Devil" that gives an inside look at six exorcisms. Scott also wrote "Glimpses of the Devil: A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts of Possession"

I thought it was interesting that Peck wrote he first thought of people saying possession could just happen to anyone, but as he worked with it he found that it was a result of a character flaw. It cannot happen to those who accept God's love within them and spend their life expressing it. Also, that there is a big difference between people who are evil and those who are possessed. Another observation of Peck is that people who are evil or who are possessed are drawn to the church, for they can cloak these things under the guise of religion.

I believe people should not pay attention to demonic entities or set about studying into these things. It is enough to know that they exist and they seek our eternal ruin. The more attention a person gives to devils the greater influence they seem to gain over that person. Ignore all thoughts about demons. Give them none of your time. Remember that Satan is a changed dog. He cannot bite unless someone is foolish enough to stand to close. Focus on prayer and doing what God commands. Make saving your soul your priority.

After I read "The Road Less Traveled" by M Scott Peck, I followed with his book "People of the Lie". Peck felt that demons in our world were gaining power through the acceptance of sin and immorality as normal. If you think about the TV programs we accept, now, showing immoral sex that we enjoy watching and laugh at, you would have to agree.

I followed with Malachi Martin's Hostage of the Devil giving a blow by blow account of working to rid someone who was not only influenced by a demon, but possessed by one. They say possession has been rare, and is getting more common. They also point out the need for trained and very giving people to work in this field and lament that most churches have no one who will. It is a very dangerous undertaking to work with these people, demons are very dangerous.

After reading the account of people who have worked in this field, I feel that every Christian should know and understand the enemy. There is no danger for us who stand firm about sin and recognize it through the word, but Yes, people can accept Christ and try to live through Christ, but if they also accept sin as part of them and their lives they can open the way for demons to influence them, at least. Especially Malachi's book gives an account of how this was done by one of the people he worked with.

This advise seems very sound, and the wrong kind of attention to demons can be deadly.

Demon possession since 1970 have increased so much that everyone knows about it now, it was a very remote idea a very short time ago. The question is whether we can better combat it by knowing how it happens or pretending it isn't there and hope it goes away.

It seems to me that if we watch some of our movies or TV shows, we are getting closer to watching the sin that lets demons in our life, while learning how demons operate can protect us.