With the start of Lent I have been resharing some of my past articles about demons and inner healing on Facebook. The question has come up a number of times whether my use of demons as metaphors for vices means that I do not believe in literal, external demons. This essay is a response to that question, though it doesn’t ever give a definitive answer.
While many people in the west today reject the existence of spiritual beings as superstitious nonsense, it is worth noting that the vast majority of people throughout history and around the world have and do believe in such spirits. It is an ancient and venerable tradition worthy of your respect, even if you believe differently.
I use angels as metaphors for virtues in the same way I speak of demons as vices, but I also believe the heavens constitute the essence of reality itself. There is and must be a spiritual component of creation which is both prior to and more expansive than the material realm. In keeping with tradition, I refer to these spiritual powers as the angelic hierarchy.
In a certain way, it would make perfect sense for me to believe in demons, since I accept that angels exist and have free will. If an angel who orchestrates the unfolding of the cosmos has the capacity to direct its own fate, why could it not turn towards evil and become a demon?
Either way, when it comes to the work of inner transformation, our mental assent to various doctrines isn’t actually that important. So believe demons are metaphors, that they are external forces of evil, or even both at the same time – what matters in the end is how you grow into wisdom.
Remaining agnostic to these questions, I will explore the way the ancient church, and in particular the desert monks, used the language of demons to understand their own personal struggles in the pursuit of humility, apatheia, and stillness. The insights they gleaned into human nature are of enduring value, whatever you choose to believe about the spirit world around you.
Evil is inherently parasitic, a privation of some original goodness. Every demon is really a fallen angel, one who is lost and confused. Because the demons have deserted their proper dwelling place, they are only shadows of what they once were. They no longer participate fully in the Good and the Beautiful, which is the source of all vitality and verdancy. Their evil is a privation of their true nature, an imperfection, a powerlessness. It is a weakness, a lapse in judgement, an abandonment of the capacity they have to be perfect. Therefore, demons are not evil in their nature, for everything God has created is good.
In the worldview of the desert monks, there were two kinds of demons – outer and inner. Their view of demons as real spiritual beings was similar to that of Dionysius and Eriugena, who form the basis of what I described above. However, the majority of their teachings on the demons were really about psychology – they wanted to address the inner demons who compel us towards sin and ignorance.
Inner demons were understood as disruptions in the natural flowing of our spirit. They are distractions from our true nature, unhelpful detours on the path to wisdom. As manifestations of our own wills, the inner demons are completely parasitic to our nature. They have no real existence or purpose in themselves. The difference between inner and outer demons is described quite succinctly in one of the sayings of Abba Poemen:
“Abraham, the disciple of Abba Agathon, questioned Abba Poemen saying, ‘How do the demons fight against me?’ Abba Poemen said to him, ‘The demons fight against you? They do not fight against us at all as long as we are doing our own will. For our own wills become the demons, and it is these which attack us in order that we may fulfil them. But if you want to see who the demons really fight against, it is against Moses and those who are like him.’ ” (Trans by Benedicta Ward)
For Poemen, the outer demons are concerned with events of cosmic importance. They will attack individual people, but only when it serves their greater purpose. There have been a handful of people throughout history who rose above their own lives to contend with the comic powers of this present darkness, but we should not assume we are counted among them. Unless you are on an equal footing with the Patriarchs and Prophets, the outer demons have bigger fish to fry.
The inner demons, according to Poemen, are those with whom we really do contend. They emerge out of our free will, working against us in order to fulfil their own desires. We should not imagine the armies of hell are conspiring against us, but rather that we are conspiring against ourselves. The average monk, who is striving towards purity of heart, is free to concentrate on their inner demons without needing to concern themselves with matters of cosmic importance.
The inner demons are patterns of thought, they are disturbances in our angelic nature. Because they are made of mind, they have a certain kind of free will, even though they are only phantoms. They are whispers of the wind, shadows in the night, but they also act as conscious agents, employing surprisingly cunning strategies.
When we try to change our habits, they fight back and resist us. Anyone who has committed to dieting or tried to quit smoking will immediately recognise this phenomenon. When we try to change a habit, it feels like we are fighting ourselves at every turn. Demons actively work to protect and maintain their continued ‘existence’. They adapt and change their strategies, countering our best efforts to overcome vice and establish virtue.
The demons are harbingers of foolishness, suggesting thoughts to our minds that disrupt the pursuit virtue. Maybe the demons will give you the thought “it’s not actually that bad of a habit anyway” so you decide its not important. Maybe they will tell you “you don’t have what it takes to change” so that you lose confidence in yourself and give up. Maybe they will tell you “today isn’t a good day, you should start tomorrow instead” spurring you towards procrastination.
Just because the demons thwart our plans, tripping us as we try to walk the good road, doesn’t mean that we should hate them. Rather, we are to imitate Jesus in the desert, who rejected the counsel of Satan without resisting the evil-doer or being violent towards him. Because we are instructed by Christ, we do no harm to the demons who persecute us. If they slap us in the face, we remain calm, turning the other cheek. Instead of retaliating, we show them love and pray for them, for we are children of our Mother in heaven.
Every demon is capable of salvation, their true nature remains within them, shining with the light of a thousand suns. They are only evil in as much as they have turned away from their habit of divine beauty. When that habit is restored within them, they are restored to their rightful place in heaven.
Because evil is a privation of good, it is impermanent. No demon can resist the gravitational force of love forever. They are unceasingly drawn to return to the beautiful gifts God has bestowed upon them. The promise of the good news is that all things can, and eventually will be, restored in Christ. Even the Devil will be saved at the restoration of all things.
If you enjoyed this, please share it on your favourite social media and tell your friends about it. If you would like to learn more about our online community, click HERE for information on what we do and when we do it. Click HERE to join our email list and receive new free content every Sunday morning.