What Are Demons Today, What were Ancient Demons


One of Bart Ehrman's graduate students wrote his thesis on the ancient notion of demons. Now that student is a professor who writes and teaches about them.

Clement of Alexandria, (about 150-215 CE) an early scholar who worked at combining Greek thinking into Christianity, ate very little meat. This was because he was convinced demons loved flesh and were contained in meat. People who ate meat were then filled with demons.

There was agreement back then that demons existed but disagreement about what they looked like. Some said they were invisible, others slightly visible. One popular view was that the demon form was disembodied. A demon had no body. The notion of the morphing demon was in Jewish religious thought and something similar was believed in early Christianity.

The various ideas about the demon body reflected a general preoccupation with bodies in general. When the practice of communion became common it was criticized by some as demonic because it was about Jesus' body. Preoccupation with bodies was supposed to remain in the realm of demons.

Exorcisms have always been about removing demons. When the demons leave the person's body what do they look like?

Writers and thinkers for a few thousand years have been busy talking about demons and the mischief they are always causing. If we ever find one it will be in big trouble.

Comments

  1. Ardy BApril 11, 2020 at 5:06 AM

    Jon,
    Couldn’t find much time to dig around in the topic. A pattern emerged in the little bit of reading I did manage — there was a whole lot of angels, mostly the “fallen” kind, and bizarre “big” creatures messing with our human women folk. I wondered if that theme was an expression of misogyny and male insecurity coursing its way through literary history. It wouldn’t surprise me. I guess none other than Aquinas claimed some were created by God. Small “h” holy ghosts dead set on defilement? At any rate it’s nice to have some mysterious mythical scapegoats to blame for our sinful ways. The devil made me do it honey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jon LindgrenApril 11, 2020 at 6:51 AM

    Ardy B "The devil made me do it honey."

    That reminded me of an experience of my life in politics. In 1984 I issued the first Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week Proclamation. There was a huge uproar about it. Phones were ringing, staff was telling me reactions they had heard and others on the street would pass along local talk. One of the things I heard more than once was some people had decided I was, in fact, THE DEVIL. No one ever referred to me as a god so I guess that was the highest rank I could obtain. :)

    ReplyDelete

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