Do demons and evil spirits really exist?
Fifteen year old Megan was afraid of
the devil, ever since she watched a horror
movie about the possession by the evil spirits.
Her mom tried to put some ‘sense’ into her by
repeatedly saying, “Devil is simply the
imagination of your mind.” But Megan knew
better than her mom about evil spirits and the
devil. Is devil simply a phantasm or the
creation of a sick mind? It took Megan weeks
of research and discussion in the Religious
Education classes to get her hands on the
subject
In the Gospels we see Jesus casting out
demons and evil spirits (Mt 8:16; 28-34; 9:3233; 12:22; Lk 11:14; 13:16). These spirits
often called demons are in fact ‘fallen angels’
(Jude 6). They have many other names in the
scripture; the evil one (1Jn 5:18-19); the devil
from the Greek word diabulos meaning
“slanderer” (Mt 4:1); the ruler of the world (Jn
14:30); Satan from a Hebrew word meaning
“accuser” (Mt 16:23); and sometimes serpent
or dragon. According to the Bible Jesus
believed in demons and so did his early
followers who understood him well, namely the
Fathers of the Church. St. Iraneus at the end of
the second century wrote that the devil was “an
apostate angel.” Tertullian at about the same
time and Origen a century later wrote about the
Church’s teaching on the existence of the devil.
Whatever his name, Church continues to hold
that devil has a personal existence. The Second
Vatican Council document on the Church in the
Modern World uses the expression ‘the evil
one’ to designate the tempter at the dawn of
human history (#13). A 1975 document named
Christian Faith and Demonology issued by the
Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship in the
Vatican quotes Pope Paul VI who says: “It is a
departure from the picture provided by biblical
and Church teaching to refuse to acknowledge
the devil’s existence; to regard him as . . . a
conceptual and fanciful personification of the
unknown causes of our misfortunes.”
The popular imagery of the time is
behind some of the details regarding the demon
concept in the New Testament. For example,
Beelzebub the prince of demons, about whom
the Pharisees speak in Mt 12:22-32, was
originally the name of an Old Testament god of
the Philistines. The serpent was considered a
demonic figure in ancient mythologies of
Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt. Bible seems to
borrow that imagery. However, personified evil
does exist among us, whatever his image may
be, tempting us to apostasy and sin. The
Church has an official rite of exorcising the
devil. At baptism and Confirmation the
candidates are asked to renounce Satan and all
his empty promises. When we pray the ‘Our
Father,’ we say ‘deliver us from evil.’
Regarding this the Catechism of the Catholic
Church teaches: “In this petition, evil is not an
abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the
Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The
devil is the one who ‘throws himself across’
God’s plan and his work of salvation
accomplished in Christ” (#2851).
No Catholic is bound to believe the
current popular notion of the devil as a man in
red suit with horns, tail, cloven hooves and a
pitchfork. He may exist only in the imagination
of some individuals. Devil could assume any
form and take advantage of any situation for his
evil purposes. Should we fear the devil? Yes.
“Be afraid of the one who after killing has the
power to cast you into Gehenna” (Lk 12:5). But
we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ
and Satan has no more absolute power over us.
He cannot force himself on us against our will.
St. James says, “Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you.” (Jas 4:7).
“Remember to pray always, ‘Deliver us
from the evil one.’” That was the religion
teacher’s advice for Megan. She overcame her
fear by learning more and affirming to herself
that she was a child of God, redeemed by Jesus
Christ. She also knew demon possessions were
rare instances. In our world the numbers of
people who practice the occult and witchcraft,
and involve in satanic cults are steadily on the
increase. In that context Megan was glad to
know the teaching of the scriptures and the
position of the Church regarding demons and
evil spirits.
Fr Xavier Thelakkatt