RESEARCH ON ‘DEMONOLGY’ In Arnold.G.Fruchtenbaums ‘THE DOCTRINE OF DEMONS’ In partial fulfillment of the requirements for Award of Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in English SUBMITTED BY: SUPERVISED BY: NILANJANA Dr. DEEPALI SHARMA A0706113034 ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AMITY INSTITUTE OF ENGLISH AND RESEARCH STUDIES AMITY UNIVERSITY, UTTAR PRADESH INDIA DECLARATION Date: I, Nilanjana Bhattacharya, student of B.A.(Hons.)- English of Amity Institute of English Studies and Research, Amity University …show more content…
One-third of the angels became demons and the rest remain loyal to the god. Therefore, there are innumerable demons but the exact number is not given. The first that we come across while studying the characteristics of the demons is their nature. Demons are unclean sprit beings. They are bodiless which means they do not have the body of their own but can possess a physical body. They have animal like features and they seek to possess men. The second characteristic in demons is their power. They have the power to control men from within and can afflict men. They can perform miracles and have the ability to appear visibly. The third characteristic is their morality. They are unclean and evil spirits corrupt in nature. They are fierce, vicious, vile and malicious. Their immortality leads to further immortality and is described as being part of the darkness controlled by Satan. The main division of demonology is the demonic control which is also called ‘demonic possession’. Demonic control actually means to be controlled by a demon from within. It involves a demon residing within a person who controls a person directly by creating mental or physical upset in the body.
Supernatural traditions was basically people in the “sixteenth and seventeenth centuries” (Dr.Heffner) who believed that the reason somebody was acting different was the doing of the devil, the supernatural tradition is also known as the “demonological method” (Dr.Heffner) during the stone age they would perform some type of surgery, where they would cut open the victim’s skull and drain the evil spirits out of there brain, “Ancient Chinese, Ancient Egyptians, and Hebrews, believed that these were evil demons or spirits and advocated exorcism” (Dr.Heffner) if after the exorcism the victim still did not show and improvements, the victim was then torture to leave them with a body that was no use for the evil
In his book, Anderson (2006) proposes that there are mental illnesses out there that individuals are dealing with, that really has, the characteristics of demonic possession. The problem with secular psychiatry is that they dismiss the idea of demonic possession and categorize the behavior as mentally disturbed. The whole dilemma is that they refusal to acknowledge that an individual can be possessed by demonic spirits. Anderson (2006) takes issue with their thinking and supplies some theological framework in the development of his theory that individuals can and do wrestle with demonic spirits. God has strictly prohibited mankind from using spiritual sorcerer as written in Leviticus (19:31; 20:6, 27), “Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them…”(Anderson, 2006, pp. 127-128). This has been a rogue of Satan to distract individuals from their life purpose so that he may temp them. The greatest gift any individual has is to know that Christ has won their freedom and loves them with his unconditional love. Christ has won our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of sin.
The seven Virtues, in medieval religious iconography, have been represented in various ways and various complexities. So, too, have the seven Vices, or Seven Deadly Sins. But while the Virtues are clearly part of the Lord's angelic host, there is some ambiguity regarding the nature of the Vices. I submit the theory that, being counterpart to the Virtues, the Vices are likewise devils under Lucifer.
A mortal is a human being that has a time-span on their life. They will die eventually and are usually at the mercy of the immortals. Mortals tend to have a more compassionate nature, and have significantly less power than the immortals.
way they show them in movies like “Gone With the Wind.” The movies portray them as
The rite of exorcism dates back many centuries. It is a practice not only practiced in Christianity but in Pagan religions as well. The main difference between the two is that Pagan exorcists rely on their own power to expel the demons rather then the Christians drawing their power directly from God to do the job (Baker, 137). This power was given to the Christia...
The experience of evil possession persists as well, and eventually, the boundaries between “divine” and “evil” possession plausibly blends together within societies. Through the centuries, this uncontrollable event of possession increasingly became far-reaching. The spiritual comprehension of what exactly a person happen to be dealing with, whether good or bad, ultimately, became acceptable by acquiring large amounts of alcohol, drugs and various sources of stimulators, (as today). This control of a person by a god or deity could easily manifest itself through Apollo, Dionysus/Bacchus, the mother goddess, Cybele, the Muses, Eros, the nymphs, and others known for their abilities to possess. At the same time, on a somewhat obscure level, evolves
Every cultural tradition and major religion has formed the idea of possession and has had the need for some form of exorcism. Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Islam’s, Buddhists and scientists all have different views on exorcism. Although these religions believe in the idea of exorcism, science proves to have different explanations to this phenomenon.
Neuleib, Janice, Kathleen Shine Cain, and Stephen Ruffus, eds. Mercury Reader for English 101. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2013 Print.
While it is unfortunately true that some Christians tend to hyperspiritualize events and exclaim "the Devil did it," or "the Devil made me do it," this is certainly not the case with all. Many Christians have pointed out alleged demonic (or divine) occurrences which were -- in fact -- instances of fraud, anomalies, psychosomatic phenomena, auto- or heterosuggestion, and so forth. (3) Such Christians have demystified baffling occurrences and accounted for them by their natural causes.
A History of Dissociative Identity Disorder. (n.d.). Specialized catholic web about possession and exorcism. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from http://www.fortea.us/english/psiquiatria/history.htm
With the start of the high Middle Ages came a notable increase in witch-prosecution and an undeniable fascination with all things occult, the devil, demons and the obliteration of such heretics. While the great strife between Catholicism and Lutheranism began the number of those accused of consulting with the devil, and condemned of the heinous crime of witchcraft began to rise. This was due in part of the teachings of the reformers and the church itself, refuting any argument against witchcraft and its infection of traditional catholic, obedient society. In Luther's catechism, the control held by the devil over man's body and soul, life and property, wife and children amounts almost to omnipotence. According to Sister Antoinette Maria Pratt the interest in the occult increased in the 1200s as “Satan became, their whole lives through, the dominant idea. This was particularly true of the fifteen and sixteenth centuries, when the doctrines of Luther had permeated all classes of society and were producing their terrible resu...
In Dante’s Inferno, throughout the epic journey of the character Dante into the depth of Hell, he encounters a number of beasts and monsters as he passes along the way, especially through the seven stations of the greatest monsters of Hell. The most significant of these seven major monsters is of central importance to the character Dante’s journey as well as to the narrative, for these monsters not only challenge the presence of the character Dante in Hell, but they are also the important custodians of Hell. Moreover, some of them even have more particular duty to perform, apart from being the Hell guardians.
Unearthed skulls dating back to 6500 BCE have been discovered by archeologists to have large holes drilled into the sides of them. (1) The purpose of the drilling was to release the demon spirits that ruled inside these unfortunate beings. (2) The thought at the time was that strange, disruptive, or unexplainable behaviors demonstrated by individuals was a direct consequence of demons controlling the persons soul. These behaviors were seen not as a medical condition of any kind, but primarily relating to bad morals. There are Biblical references that Jesus cast out devils in those demonstrating irrational or crazed behaviors. Of course there are also Biblical reference that describe maniacal behavior that Jesus also healed and those individual were thought to simply be ill.
Prior to open practice of Satanism, the Roman Catholic church used Satanism as a label for individuals and groups who held views or ideologies that conflicted with those of the church. This was an attempt to delegitimize their opponents and to strengthen the Church’s following. While these accusations were initially harmless and limited to heretics, they became increasingly frequent and extreme. These wild accusations spread to rumors of violent rituals claimed to be performed by Satanists which built up to widespread fear and panic. Ultimately, this would result in events like the Salem Witch Trials where innocent people were put to death due to false suspicion of individuals performing witchcraft and becoming possessed by the Devil. Ironically, while the church merely intended to bolster both its image and following with these accusations, the widespread panic that resulted put Satanism on the map, and “several scholars identify fundamentalist Christianity as one of the major influences shaping and driving the” onset of the Satanist movement (Underwager and Wakefield, 281). This sheds light on the true relationship between the conflicting belief systems of Christianity and Satanism. Although the two are at odds on even the most basic levels, their relationship is largely codependent. Christianity uses the fear surrounding Satanism and the