12-18-2004, 06:27 PM
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#11
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,612
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No sense letting a good imprint go to waste, so here's a pair from the OUP:
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Ideas about demons in the Hebrew Bible are too diverse to be systematized. Animistic notions may be discerned in the recognition of spirits inhabiting trees, animals, mountains, rivers and storms. Allusions are found to belief in fertility deities, or in divine beings, who, through sinning, lost their heavenly home. More often the narratives focus upon the role of evil spirits in producing erratic and unexpected behavior; they arouse explosive jealousies, powerful desires for vengeance, or shocking mental confusions. The words of a prophet could be attributed to lying spirits sent by God. The worship of idols could be explained by the influence of such spirits on the gullible.
In the New Testament, though, the picture is different. References are much more numerous, reflecting development in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. . .Now demons are viewed as evil by nature, since they are obedient servants of Satan who is the ultimate adversary of God. . .-Oxford Guide to People and Places in the Bible, entry Demons
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The OGPPB goes on to suggest that the role of demons in the NT indicate the existence of "this evil age," which is triumphed over by Jesus the excorcist.
Quote:
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Non-material beings. In the ancient world there was a common belief in spiritual beings, either good or bad, inhabiting the world, independently of any deity, and capable of influencing human beings. In the philosophy of the Greek Plato the 'demons' are guardian spirits who determine the fate of individuals, and are thus the precursors of guardian angels. In late Judaism the demons are wholy bad; they exist as an army under a general (Satan) and they engage in battle with God and his angels. These demons were thought to invade human personalities and destroy the power of reason and health. . .-The Oxford Dictionary of the Bible, entry Demons
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Regards,
Rick Sumner
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