Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth.Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or occultism.In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons.
The Catholic Encyclopedia says that there is only one apparent case of demonic possession in the Old Testament, of King Saul being tormented by an "evil spirit" (1 Samuel 16:14), but this depends on interpreting the Hebrew word "rûah" as implying a personal influence which it may not; as a result, even this example is described as "not very ...
The exact definition of "demon" in Egyptology posed a major problem for modern scholarship, since the borders between a deity and a demon are sometimes blurred and the ancient Egyptian language lacks a term for the modern English "demon". [157] [158] Both deities and demons can act as intermediaries to deliver messages to humans. [159]
An astral spirit is a term used in spiritualism and holism and can be described as having a demonic influence and existing in space with no physical body. [1] The Astral Spirit exists in what is called the Astral Plane. Depending on the time period and culture, the term can have several meanings.
The Testament of Solomon is a pseudepigraphical work, purportedly written by King Solomon, in which the author mostly describes particular demons who he enslaved to help build the temple, the questions he put to them about their deeds and how they could be thwarted, and their answers, which provide a kind of self-help manual against demonic activity.
[citation needed] Therefore, the demonic number was 666. Gregory of Nyssa, in the 4th century, believed in the existence of male and female demons and supported the idea that demons procreated with other demons and with human women. Other scholars supported the idea that they could not procreate and that the number of demons was constant.
Thou inquirest concerning what reveals the presence of a god, an angel, an archangel, a demon, or some archon [planetary governor] or soul. In a word, I pronounce that manifestations accord with their essences, powers, and activities…
[citation needed] In the 19th century, one of the major evangelical authorities on demon possession was the missionary to China, John Livingstone Nevius. [ citation needed ] Spiritual warfare has become a prominent feature in Pentecostal traditions and the concept is well embedded in Pentecostal history.