14. Humans And Evil Demons – (Demons, illusion or reality)
Long time ago when I was in elementary school, my teacher asked me, “What is the easiest thing to draw?” One child drew a worm; another child said, “Teacher, a potato.” The teacher said, “Drawing a ghost is the easiest.”
Concrete things can be verified. It’s impossible to verify ghost stories.
So whether the invisible and formless devil is real or not, everyone is afraid of it, even to the extreme of hysteria like the sect that worships Satan, a symbol of the worst human instinct.
1. FORMS OF THE DEVIL
- Beyond scientific explanation:
For experimental science, demons are delusions, hallucinations, and imaginations of superstitious minds. People have come up with many hypotheses to try to explain strange phenomena that science has not yet adequately explained, but it seems that no experimental method has yet determined that ghosts are real.
- Philosophical concepts:
The devil always represents evils and death. Evils exist as a necessity.
In terms of philosophy, the evil is the antithesis and counterpart of the main thesis, which is the good.
In terms of dialectics and dynamic movements, no evil is impossible. Jesus said, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur” (Luke 17:1).
The evil is like the reverse side of a piece of paper. Thus, the existence of demons is not difficult to understand and not impossible.
- Entity in religions:
The devil is a living existence in ancient popular cultures and an entity in religions.
From primitive society, when humans were primitive and cognitively ignorant, they worshiped demons and believed in the existence of the spirits of the dead. The spirit world directly affects human life. Demons and gods can harass, harm or help people on earth.
In religions, the devil is not only real, but he is also an indispensable counterweight in religious activities.
- Buddhism and demons:
According to ancient Buddhist scriptures, hells and demons are real. Hungry ghosts and hells are reincarnations for evil people after death.
Buddhist scriptures classify and describe in great detail the types of demons, along with extremely terrifying punishments: burning fire, boiling cauldron, etc. Demons are the crystallization of all ugly, dirty and smelly sufferings that the human mind can imagine.
The Dharma Remembrance Sutra says there are 36 types of ghosts corresponding to 36 types of sins committed in previous lives.
The period of exile can last for thousands of years; Ten years in the human world is equal to one day of hungry ghosts. It is estimated that there are ghosts that live up to eighty thousand years old.
Buddhist scriptures were formed and taught about 2,500 years ago, were orally transmitted and changed a lot to suit the mentality of people at the time and often used ‘exaggerating’ language to express ideas. Hideous images of the devil and hells make people afraid of punishment, and so they stay away from evil. The deterrent effect is very strong and effective.
Many reputable Buddhist masters today do not believe in the existence of demons as objective reality. They consider the phenomenon of evil spirits, which we often hear about, to be just a complex psychological disorder.
The 14th Dalai Lama said, “If scientific analysis proves some claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon that claim” (Views on demons and hells through a Buddhist perspective, www.phatquang.org.vn).
In my opinion, to reduce fanaticism and avoid extremes, this master’s words are indeed worth thinking about.
The teachings are expressed in a historical context, in a specific cultural land, in accordance with the mentality and understanding of contemporary people. Surely they would have to be presented differently to people today.
2. THE DEVIL IN THE BIBLE
The Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, not only considers the devil as an objective reality, but more than that, it also considers the devil a dangerous counterweight to the ultimate happiness and salvation of humans. The devil is the enemy in the survival war of human souls.
- The Old Testament:
In the first chapter of Genesis, describing the creation of the universe and humans, the devil appeared, clever and cunning, tempting human ancestors to sin and they succeeded in bringing humanity into a life of suffering and damnation.
Demons have crept into human history, they are always jealous of the blessings that God gives to humans, and they always seek to harm and entice humans to fight against God, to suffer the same misfortune as them.
The story of Job is typical of the devil’s activities. The book of Job also tells us how the devil has the power and ability to influence human will and interfere in physical world and the human body.
- The New Testament:
The Gospels mention the presence of the devil and his activities many times.
Before publicly preaching, Jesus allowed himself to be tempted by the devil. Many times He cast out demons.
At the Last Supper, before His passion, we also saw the devil appear. “After he (Judas) took the morsel, Satan entered him” (John 13:27).
Jesus’ death and resurrection were the dramatic climax of the all-or-nothing battle between good and evil. The Lord has resurrected, conquered and freed us from the yoke of evil, sin and death.
Thus, for Christians, the existence of the devil is beyond doubt. Demons have accompanied human destiny since the beginning of the world. As long as there is evil, it will still exist and our task is to fight and defeat it, to win the blessing that God promises.
But how to beat the devil?
3. IDENTIFYING THE DEVIL:
You must first recognize the enemy, how strong he is, and what his strategy is, to fight him effectively. Only then will we consider how to defeat him.
So what does the devil look like?
- Devil’s appearance:
Everyone knows that demons are spiritual beings. They were originally intelligent and bright angels, that were punished by God (Book of Revelation, chapter 12) due to their rebellion. They are are invisible and formless. The hideous devil with horns and tail is just an ancient fantasy drawing, a folk creation.
We are truly inferior to the devil in willpower and intelligence. Humans and demons go into an unequal war and the past has proven it. Our ancestors listened to the enticement of the snake, the devil, and committed a crime, causing their descendants to suffer a life of exile, day and night in pain and with regret for a lost paradise.
The devil is insidisously cunning. “The snake was the most cunning of all the wild animals” (Gen 3:1), the father of deception. “From the beginning he does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
I find it funny when I watch ‘exorcism’ videos with interrogation scenes forcing the devil to say something, without realizing that he is the father of lies. They believe what it says as new revelation, more than the scriptures and what the church teaches. If it is a real devil, then we have fallen for its tricks.
Some people argue that if you force a demon to speak in the name of God, it must be telling the truth. They don’t know that the powerful demon is much wiser and smarter than us, so it’s not easy to be ‘bullied’.
Is it true that when someone speaks in God’s name to ‘command’ Him, He will have to follow through?
On the contrary, in the gospels, there were times when Jesus’ disciples were unable to cast out demons. “When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’” (Mark 9, 28). Speaking in the name of God doesn’t mean the devil has to listen.
Acts of the Apostles recounts a story. “Some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches” When the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, tried to do this, the evil spirit said to them in reply, “Jesus I recognize, Paul I know, but who are you?” The person with the evil spirit then sprang at them and subdued them all. He so overpowered them that they fled naked and wounded from that house” (Acts 19:13-16).
- The devil’s strategy:
When tempting us, the devil has a clear strategy. They lure us with good deeds, use deceitful tricks to hide their faces and deceive us into a trap, hiding under the guises of best things like human rights, liberation, freedom, democracy, progress …
– Suicide bombing is serving a noble God.
– Strict asceticism and self-torture are good things that please Him.
– Murder and abortion are only women’s choices.
– Sexual indulgence when living together is finding experiences and expressing sexual freedom. Addictions, especially to drugs, are the affirmation of personality.
– Oppression and exploitation show one’s mastery, etc.
When people realize they are lost, it is too late and they have lost the battle.
The devil goes to war with the goal of separating humans from God, and everyone is clear about its strategy.
The devil is the master of division, opposition, disunity, divorce, and broken families.
It blurs our mind, causes us to worry about trivial matters, like wasting time to catch bubbles, developing a short narrow vision, and mistaking secondary things for essential ones.
Jesus has warned us many times against the devil’s intention. He said, “Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test” (Mt 26:41) and “Seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness” (Mt 6:33).
He also taught his disciples the parable of the rich man who accumulated a lot of wealth, then thought about having fun without realizing the nearby death and final judgment (Luke 12:16-21).
The devil also makes us depressed, disappointed, and lose faith in God’s mercy, so that we do not know how to repent to be saved.
This is a sad thing, a victory for the devil, because in the end he achieves his goal of drawing people’s souls away from God and satisfying his true nature, which is rebellion against God’s great Love.
4. WHAT TO DO TO CONQUER THE DEVIL
We cannot compete with the powerful and cunning demon if we fight alone.
- Abiding in Christ and the Church:
Fortunately, we have Jesus, a powerful leader. The Lord told his disciples, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). “At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Pl 2:10).
Being a Christian means carrying Christ in yourself. We are not afraid of the devil. Saint Paul says, “Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). With God in us, however strong the devil is, he will be defeated.
In this fight, we are not alone because we are members of the Church, the visible body of Christ. The Church was given authority by Jesus to continue His mission on earth. “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
Only when we have Christ inside and adhere to His church do we have a chance to defeat the devil. The Church has all the effective means, the sacraments, to help us fight and defeat evil spirits.
- Fasting and prayer:
The devil was given immeasurable power by God, who shows us how to get rid of them: “This kind of devil can only come out through prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29).
However, the worst mistake we have made so far is that our fasting and praying are not genuine.
Our prayer is talkative and empty words. Jesus complained, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:6). We worship God only as a worldly idol.
Our fasting is false signs on the outside: “Rend your hearts, not your garments” (Ge 2:13). Eating meat is better than fasting but telling lies. Fasting of the heart is true fasting. Abstaining from food is to restrain desires, not to torture the body but to have a peaceful and gentle soul, which knows how to share, to be self-controlled, to be generous, and to forgive and love others.
- Come to Mary, mother of Jesus and mother of the Church.
God said to the serpent, after the first man sinned, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel” (Genesis 3:15). This quote expresses Mary’s authority over demons and hell. Our Lady will protect us against the devil’s tempting schemes.
Conclusion:
Atheists believe that evil spirits and gods are just illusions that come from people’s ignorant superstition when the scientific level is still poor. It’s true. Today many strange phenomena have been proven by science to be natural and not from gods as the ancients mistakenly believed.
But we never know when humans may discover all the mysteries and wonders of heaven and earth to escape ignorance no longer believe in gods. It’s hopeless! Many scientists joke that when reaching the top of knowledge, scientists will see theologians there.
So humans still have to live with evil spirits for a long time … Besides reason, which is a limited path, we must reach the spiritual world through experience, with our own soul and life. The world of metaphysics, of the absolute, cannot be understood by reason alone. Humans are “spiritual among all things” thanks to their ability to be attracted and directed towards the Absolute.