Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Fallen Angels, Demons and the Boogeyman

When I was a kid and misbehaved, my father told me that the boogeyman was going to come up from under the ground somewhere and steal me away to wherever this mystical demon took bad kids who disobeyed their parents. I was a neurotic child, constantly paranoid that an arm would come up out of our lawn and pull me under. While I slept I kept the covers over my head in the dark, afraid that something would reach up from under or behind the bed to get me. I believed creatures like the boogeyman existed because I learned about demons and devils in Sunday school, and my Sunday school teachers and pastors said they were real – these creatures of the night that came to take bad people to hell, or to torment their souls while on earth. This was pure and simple CONTROL BY FEAR.

Many xians believe in the existence of demons and the devil as much as they believe in their god. Carl Sagan, in his book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark explains how superstitious humans believe in demons as much as they do their gods:

In Genesis we read of angels who couple with “the daughters of men.” The culture myths of ancient Greece and Rome told of gods appearing to women as bulls or swans or showers of gold and impregnating them. In one early Christian tradition, philosophy derived not of human ingenuity but our of demonic pillow talk – the fallen angels betraying secrets of Heaven to their human consorts. Accounts with similar elements appear in cultures around the world. Parallels to incubi include the Arabian djinn, Greek satyrs, Hindu bhuts, Samoan hotua poro, Celtic dusii, and many others. In an epoch of demon hysteria, it was easy enough to demonize those we feared or hated. So, Merlin was said to have been fathered by an incubus. So were Plato, Alexander the Great, Augustus, and Martin Luther. Occasionally, an entire people were accused by their enemies of having been sired by demons.

So, where did these demons come from? Xians believe their god made everything in the universe. Does this mean that this god made demons? Some people think so. Sagan points out that “in the Talmudic tradition the archetypical succubus was Lilith, whom God made from the dust along with Adam. She was expelled from Eden for insubordination – not to God, but to Adam. Ever since, she spends her nights seducing Adam’s descendents.”

If demons are fallen angels, then why did this god make faulty angels? If he had angels for company in heaven, then why did this god need to create faulty humans? Or is this god just incapable of perfection? Or does he create imperfectly on purpose? Of course, when thinking reasonably, demons are nothing more than figments of human imagination reflecting our own inner fears.

6 comments:

beepbeepitsme said...

I couldn't agree with you more.

CyberKitten said...

I think that the Gnostics where more 'on the money' when they said (IIRC) that God didn't create the world etc.. it was a sub-god or maybe even a demon who purposely made things baddly.

Sounds a lot like Scientology too....

The 'Problem of Evil' is a BIGGY isn't it..?

Stardust said...

In doing research to find out what xians believe about where and when angels/fallen angels/demons came from, I found THIS.

1. Are angels created? Or are angels departed spirits of deceased human beings? Examine Psalms 148:1-14 and Colossians 1:15-16 for these answers.

Psalm 148 is an invocation of all things created to praise the Lord, and angels were included in this list.

In Col 1:15-16, Jesus Christ created the visible and invisible world including angels and powerful establishments in both visible and invisible worlds as “thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities.”

Angels were created because He commanded.

(THERE WE GO WITH THE “IT IS SO BECAUSE GAWD COMMANDED” EXPLANATION AGAIN)

2. The time when angels were created is derived from three passages in the Bible: Exodus 20:11, Job 38:4-7, and Genesis 1:1-5. What do you see?

In Exodus 20, Moses confirms that all of Creation took place within 6 days; thus, angels were created within the first 6 days.

In Job 38, when God responds to Job’s challenge, He begins lay the evidence for Job’s inability to contend because of his ignorance. God’s proof begins with Creation, and in His questions, presented as Hebrew poetry, angels (”sons of God”) shouted for joy with the creation of earth. This means angels existed before the creation of earth and the material universe including man.

In Genesis 1, on the first day of Creation, God first created the heavens and then the earth. On the basis of Exodus 20 and Job 38, angels were created on the first day of Creation, and the angels observed and rejoiced as God brought earth into existence. And at their time of creation, the spiritual state of angels was good; they were all initially holy angels.

3. How many angels were created? Study Daniel 7:10, Psalm 68:17, Hebrews 12:22, and Revelation 5:11.

Millions and millions of angels were created.

again…why did this gawd then need to create humans…surely he had company in heaven and not as lonely as Genesis claims him to be.

The answers to these questions have several implications:

Every angel was individually created and simultaneously at one time; no further additions were made after earth was created. There were a finite number of angels.

Angels, created by Jesus Christ, are not departed spirits of deceased human beings.

In contrast to man, angels do not propagate and have families; there are no ancestors, no descendants, or baby angels.

This all gives me a BIG HEADACHE and still leaves me with tons of questions that can only be answered with more FICTION.

Why did Gawd create the human race? The answer often given by Xians is that Gawd “wanted friends.” But Gawd had millions and millions of “friends” when He created the angels. Why did He create an entirely different order of being: humanity?

And why did Gawd create humanity into a universe already heavily contaminated with sin?

Looking at the whole Genesis story, the human race is not responsible for sin. Sin was ALREADY present in the universe when Gawd created Adam and Eve. Satan and his evil angels had been sinning for some period of time, maybe a very long time, before Adam and Eve were created.

Why didn’t Gawd solve the SIN problem with the angels?

Stardust said...

More questions (this keeps snowballing in my mind)

If angels don’t die, as the babble claims Jesus himself has said, then how can the evil angels be “destroyed” from the earth and from the universe at the end?

“Neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels. . .” Luke 20:36.

And if they cannot be destroyed, then sin would remain in the universe for eternity!

Yet Jesus came to “do away with sin!” John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

This is probably why xians are ordered not to question what gawd has written. It’s so absurd.

CyberKitten said...

stardust1954 said: This is probably why xians are ordered not to question what gawd has written. It’s so absurd.

Questions lead to doubt and doubt leads to disbelief.. and we can't have *that* can we..... [grin].

Stardust said...

Lya...what a coincidence! I just put a post up at GifS about that with the video link...was that you who put the You Tube on there for me? If so, thanks!