Editing Demon (section)

=== New Testament ===
[[File:Ottheinrich Folio051r Mc5A.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Medieval illumination]] from the Ottheinrich Folio depicting the [[exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac]] by Jesus]]

Through the New Testament, demons appear 55 times, and 46 times in reference to [[demonic possession]] or [[exorcisms]].<ref name="Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum 2015. pp. 136-138">{{harvnb|Greenbaum|2015|pp=136–138}}.</ref> Some old English Bible translations such as [[King James Version]] do not have the word ''demon'' in their vocabulary and translate it as 'devil'. As adversaries of [[Jesus]], demons are not morally ambivalent spirits, but evil; causes of misery, suffering, and death.<ref name="Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum 2015. pp. 136-138"/> They are not tempters, but the cause of pain, suffering, and maladies, both physical and mental. Temptation is reserved for the devil only.<ref>H. A. Kelly (30 January 2004). ''The Devil, Demonology, and Witchcraft: Christian Beliefs in Evil Spirits''. Wipf and Stock Publishers. {{ISBN|9781592445318}}. p. 104</ref> Unlike spirits in pagan beliefs, demons are not intermediary spirits who must be sacrificed for the appeasement of a deity. Possession also shows no trace of positivity, contrary to some pagan depictions of [[spirit possession]]. They are explicitly said to be ruled by the Devil or [[Beelzebub]].<ref>''Demons and the Devil in Ancient and Medieval Christianity''. 2011. Netherlands: Brill. p. 104</ref> Their origin is unclear, the texts take the existence of demons for granted. Many early Christians, like [[Irenaeus]], [[Justin Martyr]], [[Clement of Alexandria]], and [[Lactantius]] assumed demons were ghosts of the Nephilim, known from Intertestamental writings.<ref>Annette Yoshiko Reed (2005). ''Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity: The Reception of Enochic Literature''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0521853781}}. p. 149</ref> Because of references to Satan as the lord of demons and evil angels of Satan throughout the New Testament, other scholars identified fallen angels with demons.{{sfn|Martin|2010|p=670}} Demons as entirely evil entities, who have been born evil, may not fit the proposed origin of evil in free will, taught in alternate or opposing theologies.<ref>James W. Boyd (1975). ''Satan and Māra: Christian and Buddhist Symbols of Evil''. Brill Archive. {{ISBN|9789004041738}}. p. 47</ref>