Another Ramble About Demons

If someone insulted you, threatened you, hit you, and tried to hurt you more; would you be angry with them and hold it against them? What if someone was egging them on? What if they were being provoked by someone else, quietly, to do something they might like to do but otherwise restrain themselves from doing it? What if they were mentally imbalanced, and you had a decent relationship with them on their good days? Would you still hold it against them?

I can’t say I don’t believe in demons, both from a doctrinal perspective and from an experiential one. In theology, we talk about fallen spiritual beings who are themselves, for all intents and purposes, psychotic and otherwise insane by definition. They continue to make harmful choices for themselves, and pursue harmful courses of action towards others even after experiencing that such choices will only result in more harm which continues their downward spiral.

In my experiences, I see the fruit of the activity of demons all the time, and experience their attacks on my own heart and mind. I watch, feeling powerless whether I am or not, as people I care about relive past trauma, have their worst fears pounded through their minds, are physically assaulted, and more. I have, more often than I want to, seen this activity in the eyes of certain individuals. It is something about the way the eyes look.

One of the more revealing aspects of the writings of the Philokalia is that the authors constantly refer to these same demons. They make no pretenses as to what they believe to be the sources of the quietly provoking thoughts, images, and fantasies which run through their minds. Such provocations often begin with something relatively benign. A thought, a desire for something simple or even a desire to do something good, but then it turns very quickly into a downward spiral that one must fight to get out of.

There are also figurative demons. These are not literal fallen spirits, but often the effect is no different. These are past traumas, past memories, past beliefs, past hopes, and past fears. These are a product of the person’s own mind and they can do almost as much damage as the psychotic spirit. All too often, they probably work in conjunction, making the spirit’s machinations that much easier.

The person isn’t possessed, but they do assent to the behavior suggested to them quietly, believing that it is something they really want to do. This is heartbreaking to see when it happens. The person doesn’t even realize what’s going on. They are oblivious to it, and if you should address the evil behind it, they will believe you are attacking them and not trying to help them. This is all a part of the twisted game. Demons don’t have to take full possession of a person to bend them to do what they want, they can do it more easily by suggestion, and playing on their fears, their aspirations, and their appetites. The fathers of the Philokalia continuously address three “passions” to constantly guard against: the desire for sensual pleasure, the desire to possess things, and the desire for self-esteem. These three things are referred to as the three main gates which demons use to bend us to do what they want, and the fathers wrote extensively about guarding against them through poverty, humility, and self-control.

It is popular in charismatic and evangelical movements to “cast out demons”. I can’t really comment on the effectiveness of their techniques or tactics. Exorcism is a well established rite within the Church and every division of it, but it generally only focuses on full blown possession, and that state seems to be the only one which traditional exorcism is equipped to deal with. How do you exorcise a person who is not possessed, but who assents to demonic suggestion? What do you do when they still have full control over their free will and choices, and they choose the demonic action unknowing from where the suggestion came?

Can you really be angry with the person who is a victim of both their own choices as well as something else egging them on? What if it was you? As much as I might try to guard myself from such suggestions, I know for a fact that I get little whispers all the time. They play on my fears, they more often play on my ego introducing little fantasies about how great I am or how great I could be. One of the more effective inroads with me is through personal comforts, and wanting to watch certain programs, or read certain books that are benign enough in and of themselves, but distract me long enough for them to take it further. I get angry with myself for my own weakness, but it doesn’t generally change the fact that I’m weak.

Can you really be angry with the person who is weak, seeing that you share the same weakness which gets used against you? Can you be angry with the person who hits you when it could have just as well been you hitting someone else on a different day? Can you really pass judgment on someone who acts on their fears, when you do it just as well?

I see the activity of demons all the time. I see it in people’s eyes, in their actions, and in what they say. I also see these same people going about completely oblivious to that activity in their own lives, ignorant, and, even though complicit, nearly innocent. Can I really be angry at them?