angel and demon
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- Demon also spelled:
- daemon
angel anddemon, respectively, anybenevolent or malevolent spiritual being that mediates between thetranscendent and temporal realms.
Throughout the history ofreligions, varying kinds and degrees of beliefs have existed in various spiritual beings, powers, and principles that mediate between the realm of thesacred or holy—i.e., the transcendent realm—and the profane realm of time, space, andcause and effect. Such spiritual beings, when regarded as benevolent, are usually called angels inJudaism,Christianity, andIslam, and those viewed as malevolent are termed demons. In other traditions, such intermediate beings are less categorical, for they may be benevolent in some circumstances and malevolent in others.
Nature and significance
Angels
The termangel, which is derived from the Greek wordangelos, is the equivalent of the Hebrew wordmal’akh, meaning “messenger.” The literal meaning of the wordangel thus points more toward the function or status of such beings in a cosmichierarchy rather than towardconnotations of essence or nature, which have been prominent in popular piety, especially in Western religions. Thus, angels have their significance primarily in what they do rather than in what they are. Whatever essence orinherent nature they possess is in terms of their relationship to their source (God, or the ultimate being). Because of the Western iconography (the system of image symbols) of angels, however, they have been granted essential identities that often surpass their functional relationships to the sacred or holy and their performative relationships to the profane world. In other words, popular piety, feeding on graphic and symbolic representations of angels, has to some extent posited semidivine or even divine status to angelic figures. Though such occurrences are not usually sanctioned doctrinally or theologically, some angelic figures, such asMithra (a Persian god who inZoroastrianism became an angelic mediator betweenheaven and earth and judge and preserver of the created world), have achieved semidivine or divine status with their owncults.
InZoroastrianism there was a belief in theamesha spentas, the holy or bounteous immortals, who were functional aspects or entities ofAhura Mazdā, the Wise Lord. One of theamesha spentas,Vohu Manah (Good Mind), revealed to the Iranian prophetZarathustra (Zoroaster; diedc. 551bce) the true God, his nature, and a kind ofethicalcovenant, which humans may accept and obey or reject and disobey. In a similar manner, about 1,200 years later, thearchangelGabriel revealed to the ProphetMuhammad (5th–6th centuryce) theQurʾān (the holy book ofIslam) and the true God (Allah), his oneness, and the ethical and cultic requirements of Islam. The epithets used to describe Gabriel, the messenger of God—“the spirit of holiness” and “the faithful spirit”—are similar to those applied to theamesha spentas of Zoroastrianism and to theHoly Spirit, the third person of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), inChristianity. In these monotheistic religions (though Zoroastrianism later became dualistic) as also inJudaism, the functional characteristics of angels are more clearly enunciated than their ontological (or nature of being) characteristics—except in the many instances in which popular piety andlegend have glossed over the functional aspects.
Various religions, including those of nonliteratecultures, have beliefs in intermediary beings between the sacred and profane realms, but the belief is most fully elaborated in religions of the West.
Demons
The termdemon is derived from the Greek worddaimōn, which means a “supernatural being” or “spirit.” Though it has commonly been associated with anevil or malevolent spirit, the term originally meant a spiritual being that influenced a person’s character. Anagathos daimōn (“good spirit”), for example, was benevolent in its relationship to humans. The Greek philosopher Socrates, for example, spoke of hisdaimōn as a spirit that inspired him to seek and speak the truth. The term gradually was applied to the lesser spirits of the supernatural realm who exerted pressures on humans to perform actions that were notconducive to their well-being. The dominant interpretation has been weighted in favour of malevolence and that which forbodes evil, misfortune, and mischief.
In religions of nonliterate peoples, spiritual beings may be viewed as either malevolent or benevolent according to the circumstances facing the individual orcommunity. Thus, the usual classification that places demons among malevolent beings is not totally applicable in reference to these religions.
The positions of spiritual beings or entities viewed as benevolent or malevolent may in the course of time be reversed. Such has been the case in the ancient Indo-Iranianreligion, from which evolved early Zoroastrianism and the earlyHinduism reflected in the Vedas (ancient Aryan hymns). In Zoroastrianism thedaevas were viewed as malevolent beings, but their counterparts, thedevas in ancient Hinduism, were viewed as gods. Theahuras of Zoroastrianism were good “lords,” but in Hinduism their counterparts, theasuras, were transformed into evil lords. In a similar manner, Satan, the prosecutor of humans in the court of God’sjustice in the Book of Job, became the chiefantagonist of Christ in Christianity and of humanity in Islam. Many similar transformations indicate that the sharp distinctions made between angels as benevolent and demons as malevolent may be too simplistic, however helpful suchdesignations may be as indicators of the general functions of such spiritual beings.