Christian demonology

Christian demonology is the study of the demons from a Christian point of view. It is primarily based on the Bible (Old Testament and mainly New Testament), the exegesis of these scriptures, the scriptures of some Christian philosophers and hermits, tradition, and legends incorporated from other beliefs.

First it has to be noted that, as well as theology, demonology is not a science, since it has not (and cannot) be proved by any scientific method and is based only in personal beliefs. Unlike in the case of theology, in demonology there was never agreement among authors.

As it is common in monotheistic religions, and Christian theology did, some deities of other cults were turned into demons, which in this particular case increased the number and names of those entities adding peculiar characteristics to them.

Since early Christianity, demonology has been evolved from an almost simple belief in some demons to a complex study that has abandoned the original idea taken from Jewish demonology and Christian scriptures to become an imaginative subject. Christian demonology is mainly Catholic, but other Christian churches do not deny the existence of demons or their nature, although concepts can vary depending on the church. Some concepts have changed in modern times, but the basis is the same.

Anyhow, Christians, as people of any other religion did, wanted to know the nature of evil and had to blame something for that. Demons had to bear the burthen, as a dogmatic explanation of things that happen every day but science cannot explain. Of course there are now scientific explanations for all or at least most of these things (unexplained things are considered physical phenomena of which the scientific law is still unknown), but there were not in the times when demonology became an essential part of the daily life of Christians. Besides, the idea of dogma continues being the basis for Christianity. There are also contradictions inside both studies and between them, but the dogma solves the problem again.

Christian demonology studies