Well, the answer to the titular question would be yes, for if you believe in angels then you must also believe in their counterparts, the demons. And of course if you don’t have a spiritual bent, then this whole article is moot and you can just skip it and go see the new movie. I suppose this is similar to watching the Star Wars movies: I don’t believe in The Force powering up the Jedi Knights, but it sure makes for an entertaining 2 hours at the cinema.
But if you do believe, as I do, then let me get back to the discussion we started in part 1. I am going to relate the first part of the argument that was started so long ago in the back of a church bulletin:
(Read 1 Timothy 4:1-5)1 This passage describes the great Apostasy that is to come. Do you think the Bible teaches that Demons are active? Why don’t we hear much about Demons here in the United States?
The scripture passage is copied here, for your convenience (verses 1-2):
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
Well, I think the Bible has tons of passages showing that Demons are active. Even without a Bible degree, I recall a couple of times in the old days when people would foam at the mouth and throw themselves into fires, while under the influence of demons. In today’s newspapers, there are plenty of stories of people doing similarly unexplainable things (like killing their entire families or trying to kill all of their co-workers). So if the equation is demons = crazy behavior then we can safely say that demons are still active. But why don’t we hear more about them in today’s world?? How come the angels grab all of the attention and show up in all the movies and books and holiday cards?2
As I said earlier, if you believe in Angels, then you must also believe in Demons. I believe that you don’t see much demon activity because we do live in a society ruled by science, which has disproven the existence of demons (if you could ever prove a negative, which a lot of experts believe is a lot harder than we think). If our society no longer believes in demons, then you can be sure that they have a lot more flexibility to act in our daily lives. If you have ever found yourself in a terribly emotional state (rage, depression, etc.) then who is pushing the chemicals and hormones around in our brain?? Could someone be pressing on your adrenal gland at just the right time?? If our bodies are masses of cells, what leads them to start behaving in some fashion that we have not initiated with our mind??
I’ll play the rational scientist and respond that our bodies have been conditioned to pump hormones into our bodies at times when our very existence is threatened. Quick, get that adrenalin shot in your system so that you can outrun a woolly mammoth and survive to procreate another day !! So when we are in a situation that demands action, our bodies sometimes respond inappropriately and send the chemicals flying into our bodies, possibly making us go cuckoo and go grabbing for the nearest blunt object, projectile weapon, etc. But as I recall, we also have been programmed for “fight or flight” so why is it that most of the time we take this 50-50 choice and go for “fight” against our very loved ones??
Who pushed the balance to the side that drives us to want to ram our truck into our neighbor’s house because his dog will never quit yapping?? That’s the “fighting” side that’s winning.
I’ll stop here, but if you want to read verses 3-5 of the Bible verse go ahead. It is even more apropos since it talks about men advancing the cause of Demons by spouting heresy3 or in the case of the movie “Angels and Demons” by spouting half-baked ideas about secret societies and giving it the veneer of truth. This is OK when a movie bills itself as escapist entertainment, but the film-makers have gone out of their way to give credence to the theories in the film; this helps the box-office but it does not advance the cause of truth. And you thought Chariots of the Gods in the 1970’s was a hoot; this new film goes one better.
Angels don’t have a prayer when you have CGI on your side.
Stay tuned for Part 3: Demons, a distressing spirit.
- This would be in the Bible, of course [↩]
- Beelzebub wishes you Happy Holidays — now there’s a card I’d like to send a friend [↩]
- In this case the issue was abolishing marriage and incorrectly having to abstain from sinful foods — more reason to skip the cheesecake tonight. But go ahead and propose to your girlfriend; it’s OK [↩]
As someone who watches a lot of news these days (I wake up to HLN and read the headlines every time I check my Yahoo mail), I indeed have seen a disturbing, marked increase in the number of murder-suicides and massacres. According to social psychology, the media is to blame. The more they are reported/publicized, the more people see it (perhaps subconsciously) as a valid action. If these events weren’t covered, or maybe were a page 10 story instead of a page 1, we’d see less of them. There are a few strong studies that would support this, so I think it’s a plausible scientific explanation for 99% of the cases.
However, I have read one report of a murder-suicide so horrific, if the church told me a demon was responsible I would believe them. It still gives me chills and I am uncomfortable relaying the facts, so I will spare you. There was another case in Germany that went beyond the pale. I would buy possession in that case, too.
I often think of the soul-body connection like software/OS and hardware. The software can be perfect, but the hardware is incredibly complex and can be damaged in ways we don’t fully understand, leading to radical changes in behavior. Perhaps in your demon scenario, this is like a virus or malware.
But overall, I think there is less belief in both angels and demons these days, because there is less belief in miracles. In stark contrast, I see miracles all the time. I’m with Jules Winfield on this:
Personally, I’ve experienced the “found my fucking car keys” miracle a few times.