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When we think about demons, we think of malicious supernatural beings that act with free will to cause harm, suffering, disease and death to humans. They may do so by tempting the person through vice (drugs, sex, greed, envy) or by entering the person’s body and possessing them to cause physical or mental illness.

Often, we assume these evil spirits are associated with or under the command of the devil. In our modern world, many don’t believe in a literal concept of demons, but use the term as a useful metaphor to explain why we sometimes give into temptation or act in poor judgment or feel depressed.

In older cultures, people believed demons would possess people and cause disease, blindness, epilepsy, and mental illness. We have science and modern medicine to explain much of this. We don’t call an exorcist or recite a magical incantation to rid ourselves of fever or toothache like the ancients might have. Yet we still recognize that large parts of our life are outside our control.

Bad stuff happens. It might be a cancer diagnosis. A sudden death of a loved one. A lost job. A catastrophic natural disaster. Maybe we gave into vice. Or made a poor decision without thinking things through. Or maybe it was just bad luck. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person.

We want to believe the system is fair. The good are rewarded while the bad are punished. That if we play by the rules, we will be fine. Yet we can’t shake that nagging anxiety lurking in our unconsciousness that sometimes bad things happen to good people. And if things were to go wrong, we could be one step away from ruin.

How people think about evil changes as cultures change. Yet most cultures have some type of personification of evil: whether that is real or imagined. It might be the Devil and his demonic army. In our modern culture, for instance, it might be the supernatural evil terrorizing unsuspecting victims in horror genres or the serial killer stalking his next target in true crime genres or the arch villain trying to destroy the world in super hero genres.

The term “demonology” is a catchall term for the study of how cultures try to explain malicious forces that actively seem to try to do them harm – and try to protect themselves from those influences. Let’s look at some components of what demonology studies:

1. Personification of evil / Satanology – We think of the personification of evil as the Devil or Satan but it has numerous names. You might call this might call this Satanology. But the Devil or an opponent of God plays a big role in the type of Judaism – apocalyptic Judaism – that evolved around 200 BCE that influenced the early Christian movement, the development of art, culture and literature in the middle ages, the witch trials of the 14th through 17th centuries, and even modern times with satanic panic of the 80s and 90s where large numbers of Americans thought their children were being abused by day care centers.
2. Folklore and magic – Virtually every culture has stories of unexplained events, haunted houses, vengeful spirits, spooky places, ghosts and other legends about demons and monsters. Many have developed local beliefs on how to protect against or rid oneself of these entities. We call the incantations, amulets, and rituals used to protect against these nefarious entities magic.
3. Cultural studies – Without an adversary or opponent, a story lacks tension and drama. The Devil, demons and monsters have played that role in many of our modern stories. Dante described the nine circles of hell in his epic poem, the Inferno. Milton vividly re-imagined the fall of Lucifer and the rebel angels in his Paradise Lost epic poem. The popular myths of the Faust Legend including Goethe’s Faust describe how a man can make a pact with the Devil for worldly gains in exchange for his soul. All three are works of fiction, yet arguably have influenced modern ideas of hell and the Devil more than the Bible.
4. Theological rhetorical analysis – Satanic and demonic terminology is embedded within all Christian theologies. Rhetoric is the language someone uses to persuade people to believe them over others. When we analyze a theological argument, we look at what claims someone is making, what evidence they are using to back up their claims, and how effective their overall argument is.From the first century when Jesus and his earliest followers lived, we find stark rhetoric that casts different people as working for Satan. For some who wish to differentiate their teachings from others, you find Satanic language against those within the Christian community. For instance, you find this in 2 Corinthians where Paul calls other missionaries who teach messages he opposes “super-apostles”, “false apostles” and “Satan’s ministers”. You also find Satanic rhetoric used against other groups, hence Revelation 13 speaks of the Roman empire and its emperor Nero in terms of beasts who Satan has given power. This type of rhetoric is incredibly powerful and has been used to wage holy wars, condemn alleged witches to death, cast out scientific thinkers from the Church, and perpetuate fear of strangers or “others” who hold differing beliefs from Christian communities.
5. Medieval Demonology and Witchcraft – The birth of a formal study of demonology dates to the 13th and 14th centuries. During the witch persecutions, a number of books on witchcraft and demonology were published including Dominican inquisitor Henry Institoris’ Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches) in 1486, Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft in 1584, King James VI of Scotland’s Daemonologie in 1597.The theological Satanic rhetoric became heightened when Martin Luther published his Ninety-five Theses in 1517 and initiated the Protestant Reformation. So now, you had various Christian insider groups – Catholics against Protestants – referring to those whom they disagreed with as Satanic. And you had Christians persecuting those outsiders they believed practiced witchcraft, who were also labeled as Satanic.
6. Occultism & Western Esoteric Traditions – This is the academic term for the study of the differing groups of esoteric traditions that developed alongside the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. They involve a rediscovery of ancient and medieval sources, focus on natural magic and hermetic philosophy (generally from Greek, Egyptian and Oriental sources), and a sense of spiritualism. These views were at odds with the Western Christian mainstream and thus considered demonic, so they tended to flourish in underground movements.Here, you find the Occult Philosophies of Cornelius Agrippa, the angelic magic of John Dee and the Solomonic traditions of the Golden Dawn. The tradition was named Solomonic because it was believed that King Solomon was able to command demons to help him build the First Temple in Jerusalem – among many others.

So the term “demonology” means different things depending on time period and culture but the underlying issues tend to be the same: people want to protect themselves from evil or rid themselves from it, or in the case of magic, perhaps gain some control over it. As such, demonology is an interdisciplinary study of the history and culture of these various groups of people.1

Suffering exists in the world and if God is all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful, why doesn’t he attempt to lessen the suffering or get rid of it altogether?

As the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE) wrote:

“God… either wishes to take away evils, and is unable;
or He is able, and is unwilling;
or He is neither willing nor able,
or He is both willing and able.

If He is willing and is unable, He is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God; if He is able and unwilling, He is envious, which is equally at variance with God; if He is neither willing nor able, He is both envious and feeble, and therefore not God; if He is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what source then are evils? Or why does He not remove them?”

A theodicy is an attempt to defend God’s justice when suffering is present, usually without conceding that God is not either all-knowing, all-loving or all-powerful. The term was first coined by the late 17th / early 18th century philosopher Gottfried Leibniz. It comes from the Greek words for God (theo) and justice (dike).

How some other religions handle the problem of evil? Let's question some of the premises that make up the problem of evil.

God is morally good

One of the premises of the problem of evil is that God is morally good. Few religions deny this outright. However, they may frame the premise a bit differently. For instance, they may say that yes, God is morally good and just, but God’s understanding of what is “good” or “just” is different from our limited human perspective of “goodness” or “justice.” Hence what we perceive as “unjust” or “evil,” is really no such thing from God’s perspective.

God is all-powerful

A second premise is that God is all-powerful. Here, we find a few different religious takes on this. For instance, within Zoroastrianism, two gods, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu are engaged in a cosmic battle for the fate of the world. Ahura Mazda is considered the good, moral god, while Angra Mainyu is considered the evil god. So we have what we call “dualism” – one god is good and represented by light. The other is evil and represented by darkness.

Manichaeism, which is a type of Gnosticism, also sees suffering as a result of two gods locked in cosmic struggle. On one side, you have a “spiritual” god of goodness and light, and on the other side, you have an evil “creator” demon who is associated with darkness and matter.

A third example is how Buddhism understands the concept of karma. In this worldview, Karma is an action driven by intent. Because the world has a moral law of retribution, the consequences of that action happen automatically, without the deity’s involvement. Therefore, God sits outside the world where suffering occurs and has little control over when it does happen.

So these three examples are ways to explain that God isn’t all-powerful and thus can’t intervene to remove suffering, whether that is because another god or demon is responsible for it, or because it’s just a law that was built into the universe that is beyond God’s control.

Suffering Isn’t What It Seems

A final way some try to explain this tension between God and suffering is to say that suffering isn’t what it seems. For instance, the philosopher Spinoza argued that what humans see as “suffering” and “evil” may only appear as such because of their limited view. If they were to view the world as God sees it, it would seem perfect and whole.

Similarly, Vedic traditions have a concept called maya that means illusion, it’s like a magic show where things appear to be real but end up being not what they seem. Suffering may seem real, but when viewed from a divine perspective, it isn’t real.

These types of arguments tend to be less persuasive in Judeo-Christian worldviews where they don’t want to accept that God may not be all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful, nor are they willing to discount suffering so much. Here, we will talk a bit about a few of the popular Christian theodicies.

Free Will Theodicy

The free will theodicy posits that God created humans as beings who are capable of doing both good and evil actions. God would prefer humans aspire to do good, but because he gave them free will, he allows them to choose for themselves rather than decide for them whether they will do good or evil. Some do choose evil, and this is one source of suffering. Another source is when God justly punishes the wicked for misdeeds.

This has been challenged in a few ways. The first is whether free will has to be linked to wrong doing. Couldn’t God have created both human nature and our world in a way where free beings would never want to do evil? Proponents of the free will theodicy counter by saying that while it may be possible for God to have created free beings, none of whom do wrong, it is not possible that God could have created free beings and also made it so that they never did any kind of wrongdoing. In other words, yes, God could have created free beings who never did wrong. However, he can’t create free beings and then when given a choice between doing good and evil, he can’t make them do only good. So it comes down to the being’s choice. If they choose to do harm, it’s because they were free to make that choice. So, this is an explanation for moral evil.

The question becomes more nuanced when you ask about natural evil like earthquakes, floods and disease. Here, it seems God is responsible for suffering. Proponents of free will sometimes argue that these natural evils are not in fact caused by God, but Satan and his demons who also have free will. Others see natural evil as continued punishment for Adam and Eve’s Original Sin.

Soul-Making Theodicy

This theodicy explains that people must suffer to grow and develop as humans. Suffering is required for humans to build moral character or feel compassion. To explain natural evil, proponents say that God created natural laws that govern how events play out, and they can’t just be stopped once they are set in motion.

Opponents argue that many things don’t require suffering to be appreciated. You don’t need to survive a deadly illness or lose a limb to appreciate having good health. Also, many types of suffering are traumatizing, leaving people fearful and diminished. Some are killed. It seems that God’s attempts to educate his children through suffering are overly cruel when so many die before they learn whatever God wants them to learn.

Reward in Afterlife

A third theodicy explains that human life is sometimes too short to fully realize one’s just reward or punishment. Yes, this world may seem unjust, but because life transcends death, in the end, each will get what he or she deserves.

Opponents argue first, that it’s not proven that there is live after death, and if life does transcend death, it’s impossible to say with any conviction that in the afterlife, the righteous will be rewarded. They also argue that if they’ve lived such a terrible life of suffering, won’t some memories of the trauma linger? Can a future reward fully compensate for present horrors?

Suffering as a Mystery

Some people choose to sidestep the purpose of suffering altogether and chalk it up to being a “mystery.” Humans can’t know what it means. They can only have faith that it serves God’s purpose for this world.

Opponents might argue if there’s no logical purpose to suffering, are humans just pawns in God’s cosmic game? Is God so indifferent, he inflicts suffering on people and doesn’t bother to let them know why?

Suffering as Connection to God

Finally, some people see suffering as a way to understand Jesus’s suffering on the cross, and, perhaps, better understand the magnitude of suffering Jesus endured for humans. They argue that rather than God being distant, he is compassionate and stays with the sufferer in the midst of their anguish. He may also suffer with his creatures. Believers can see this as an opportunity to imitate their creator. 2

1. https://www.deliriumsrealm.com/courses/biblical-demonology/lessons/introduction-to-devil/topic/what-are-demons-what-is-demonology/

2. https://www.deliriumsrealm.com/courses/biblical-demonology/lessons/introduction-to-devil/topic/what-is-theodicy/

Reference:
Green, Ronald M. “Theodicy.” Pages 9111–21 in Encyclopedia of Religion. Edited by Lindsay Jones, Mircea Eliade, and Charles J. Adams. 2nd ed. Vol. 13 of 15. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.