XVII

DEMONS AND HEATHENISM

THE Apostle John, in his First Epistle, tells us that the purpose for which the son of God was manifested was "to destroy the works of the Devil." So saying, probably, he had chiefly in mind the false systems of religion which have been established in the world, and which have turned man's natural regard for divine things into a fruitful source of moral evil. Moreover, the inspired writers teach that the worship of heathens, tho addrest to imaginary deities, who are pure nonentities, is actually received by dæmons, that is, evil spirits subordinate to Satan, who cultivate sin-producing illusions among mankind. When the Apostle Paul assured the Corinthians that idols represented no reality, he added: "The things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to dæmons and not to God, and I would not that ye should have fellowship with dæmons."

This same doctrine had been taught by Moses in connection with his requirement that the children of Israel should bring their offerings of

slain oxen or lambs or goats to the tabernacle of the congregation and burn the fat there for a sweet savor unto the Lord. "And," said the lawgiver, they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto dæmons, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute forever unto them throughout their generations." In his parting testimony, also, Moses recalled how the Israelites had forsaken the Lord their God for the foul worship of these evil spirits. He said: "They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed to dæmons and not to God." At a later date the Psalmist David referred to subsequent delinquencies of the chosen people and said:

They did not destroy the nations concerning whom the Lord commanded them, but were mingled with them and learned their works. And they served idols which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto dæmons, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.

IDOLATERS WORSHIPED DEMONS

The pretensions of false deities were supported by lying wonders or apparent miracles, performed by the dæmons in answer to incantations, and by the utterances of priests and pries.

tesses like those at Dodona and Delphi. These speaking as trance mediums claimed to be inspired oracles. But the dreadful power of heathenism lay in its appeal to man's sinful inclinations and in the enticement of its debasing immoralities.

DEMONIACAL POSSESSION

While the leading faiths of idolatry and other comprehensive devices for human destruction were presided over by mighty dæmons-those whom St. Paul describes as principalities and powers in exalted places—a multitude of inferior spirits undertook to control injuriously individual members of the human race. Such, at least, was the conviction of the writers of the New Testament respecting the workings of Satan's kingdom in their day. And when the Apostle Peter told the devout centurion Cornelius of "Jesus of Nazareth, whom God had anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, and who went about doing good and healing all that were opprest by Diabolos," Peter, we' believe, referred immediately to the benevolent work of our Savior in compelling dæmons to depart from their suffering victims. Our Lord performed this sort of miracle very frequently; and he repeatedly empowered his disciples to perform it.

We read in Matthew that when Christ first appointed the Twelve Apostles, "he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal diseases, and said to them: As ye go preach, saying, the kingdom of God is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out dæmons; freely ye have received, freely give." Later Jesus sent out seventy to traverse the country and prepare the people for his coming. They performed this mission and "returned with joy, saying: Lord, even the dæmons are subject unto us through thy name." Then, in the last interview of our Savior with his disciples, just before his ascension to heaven, he said to them: "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out dæmons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

A DÆMON IS AN EVIL SPIRIT

In classical Greek the word dæmon did not necessarily have an evil significance. Socrates

believed that his thought and conduct were influenced by a good dæmon.

But in the New

Testament the term always indicates a wicked spirit, an intelligent, invisible agent devoted to sinful ways. Hence in the Christian Scriptures the designation "dæmon" is often replaced by the phrase "evil spirit" (pneuma poneron), or by the phrase "unclean spirit" (pneuma akatharton), this latter expression referring to the impure lives led under the dæmoniac influence.

In the Book of Acts we read: "God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them and the evil spirits went out of them." In Luke's Gospel we are informed that when two of John's disciples came to make inquiries of our Savior, "in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight." Other passages similar to these might be quoted to show that the Scriptures identify the casting out of dæmons with the casting out of evil spirits. To deny that they do so, is to make an unreasonable assertion. Yet this position is taken by some who hold that there is no such thing as dæmoniacal possession, and that the Gospel writers without sharing in a popular