Editing Demonology (section)

====Christianity====
{{Main|Christian demonology}}[[File:Man_with_7_Devils_from_book_of_7_Deadly_Sins_(582x800).jpg|thumb|Man being attacked by the 7 deadly devils]]
Christian demonology is the study of [[demon]]s from a [[Christianity|Christian]] point of view. It is primarily based on the [[Bible]] ([[Old Testament]] and [[New Testament]]), the [[exegesis]] of scriptures, the writings of early Christian [[philosopher]]s and [[hermit]]s, [[tradition]], and [[legend]]s incorporated from other beliefs.

Some scholars{{who|date=March 2016}} suggest that the origins of early [[Greek Old Testament]] demonology can be traced to two distinctive and often competing mythologies of evil— Adamic and Enochic.

The first tradition — the Adamic tradition — ties demons to the [[fall of man]] caused by [[Snake|the serpent]] who beguiled [[Adam and Eve]] in the [[Garden of Eden]].  Thus, the Adamic story traces the source of evil to Satan's transgression and the fall of man, a trend reflected in the Books of Adam and Eve which explains the reason for Satan's demotion by his refusal to worship and submit to God.<ref name="Orlov11"/>

The other tradition — the early Enochic tradition — ties demons to the fall of angels in the [[antediluvian]] period.<ref name="Orlov11">A. Orlov, Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology (Albany, SUNY, 2011) 6.</ref> This tradition bases its understanding of the origin of demons on the story of the fallen [[Watcher (angel)|Watchers]] led by [[Azazel]].<ref name="Orlov11"/> Scholars{{who|date=March 2016}} believe these two enigmatic figures—Azazel and [[Satan]]—exercised formative influence on early Jewish demonology. While in the beginning of their conceptual journeys Azazel and Satan are posited as representatives of two distinctive and often rival trends tied to the distinctive etiologies of corruption, in later Jewish and Christian demonological lore both antagonists are able to enter each other's respective stories in new conceptual capacities. In these later traditions Satanael is often depicted as the leader of the fallen angels while his conceptual rival Azazel is portrayed as a seducer of Adam and Eve.<ref name="Orlov11"/> While historical [[Judaism]] never recognized any set of doctrines about demons,<ref name="MM_1998">Mack, Carol K., Mack, Dinah (1998), ''A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits'', p. XXXIII, New York: Henry Holt and Co., {{ISBN|0-8050-6270-X}}</ref> scholars{{who|date=March 2016}} believe its [[Babylonian captivity|post-exilic]] concepts of [[eschatology]], angelology, and demonology were influenced by [[Zoroastrianism]].<ref>[http://classic.net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=Zoroastrianism '''Zoroastrianism'''], NET Bible Study Dictionary</ref><ref>Jahanian, Daryoush, M.D., [http://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Zoroastrim/zoroastrian-biblical_connections.htm "The Zoroastrian-Biblical Connections"], at Meta Religion.</ref> Some, however, believe these concepts were received as part of the [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] tradition.<ref>Franck, Adolphe (1843), translated by Sossnitz, I. (1926), ''The Kabbalah'', or, ''The Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews'', Part Two, Chapter IV, "[http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/rph/rph16.htm Continuation of The Analysis of The Zohar: The Kabbalists' View of The World]", p. 184 at Internet Sacred Text Archive.</ref> While many people believe today [[Lucifer]] and Satan are different names for the same being, not all scholars subscribe to this view.<ref name="books.google.com">Davidson, Gustav (1967), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ed7yHWuTEewC A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels]'', Free Press, p. 176, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757, {{ISBN|9780029070505}}</ref>

A number of authors throughout Christian history have written about demons for a variety of purposes.  Theologians like [[Thomas Aquinas]] wrote concerning the behaviors of which Christians should be aware,<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1114.htm Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica], Question 114, hosted on [[New Advent]]</ref> while witch hunters like [[Heinrich Kramer]] wrote about how to find and what to do with [[Witch trials in Early Modern Europe|people they believed were involved with demons]].<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/mm/index.htm Malleus Maleficarum], hosted on the Internet Sacred Text Archive</ref>  Some texts such as the [[Lesser Key of Solomon]]<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/lks/lks17.htm Lesser Key of Solomon, The Conjuration To Call Forth Any of the Aforesaid Spirits], hosted on [[Internet Sacred Text Archive]]</ref> or [[The Grimoire of Pope Honorius]] (although these, the earliest manuscripts, were from well after these individuals had died) are written with [[grimoire|instructions on how to summon demons]] in the name of God and often were claimed to have been written by individuals respected within the Church.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/bcm/bcm14.htm Arthur Edward Waite, Book of Ceremonial Magic, page 64] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/bcm/bcm23.htm#page_106 and page 106]</ref>  These latter texts were usually more detailed, giving names, ranks, and descriptions of demons individually and categorically.<ref name=sacred>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/grim/bcm/bcm14.htm |title=Waite, page 64 |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=2010-05-13}}</ref>  Most Christians commonly reject these texts as either diabolical or fictitious.<ref name=sacred/> Catholics accused Lutherans of believing in diabolatry or that the devil had unlimited powers.<ref name="Davis 1983 p. 153">{{cite book | last=Davis | first=J.C. | title=Utopia and the Ideal Society: A Study of English Utopian Writing 1516-1700 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1983 | isbn=978-0-521-27551-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5T-LVB-6tIC&pg=PA153 | access-date=2023-02-17 | page=153}}</ref><ref name="Butler Butler 1993 p. 136">{{cite book | last=Butler | first=E.M. | title=The Myth of the Magus | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=Cambridge paperbacks | year=1993 | isbn=978-0-521-43777-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJSXnBd78FYC&pg=PA136 | access-date=2023-02-17 | page=136}}</ref><ref name="Eire 2016 p. 650">{{cite book | last=Eire | first=C.M.N. | title=Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650 | publisher=Yale University Press | year=2016 | isbn=978-0-300-11192-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3lJDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA650 | access-date=2023-02-17 | page=650}}</ref>

In modern times, some demonological texts have been written by Christians, usually in a similar vein of Thomas Aquinas, explaining their effects in the world and how faith may lessen or eliminate damage by them.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SFmrx7s7OtIC&q=Jessie+Penn-Lewis+war+on+the+saints Jessie Penn-Lewis, War on the Saints on Google Books], introductory chapter</ref>  A few Christian authors, such as [[Jack Chick]] and [[John Todd (occultist)|John Todd]], write with intentions similar to Kramer, proclaiming that demons and their human agents are active in the world.<ref name="broken">{{cite web|url=http://www.chick.com/catalog/comics/0102.asp |title=The Broken Cross - by Jack T. Chick |publisher=Chick.com |access-date=2009-10-08}}</ref>  These claims can stray from mainstream ideology, and may include such beliefs as that [[Christian rock]] is a means through which demons influence people.

Not all Christians believe that demons exist in the literal sense.  Some believe that the New Testament's exorcism language was originally part of curing ceremonies for what are now recognized as epilepsy, mental illness, etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.realdevil.info/4-1.htm |title=The Devil, Satan And Demons |publisher=Realdevil.info |access-date=2010-05-13}}</ref>