"Drawing insights from gender studies and the environmental humanities, Demonic Bodies analyzes how ancient Christians constructed the Christian body through its relations to demonic adversaries. Case studies on New Testament texts, early Christian church fathers, and "Gnostic" writings trace how early followers of Jesus construed the demonic body in diverse and sometimes contradictory ways, as both embodied and bodiless, "fattened" and ethereal, heavenly and earthbound. Across this diversity of portrayals, however, demons consistently functiond as personfications of "deviant" bodily practices such as "magical" rituals, immoral sexual acts, gluttony, and "pagan" religious practices. This demonization served an exclusionary function whereby Christian writers marginalized fringe Christian groups by linking their ritual activities to demonic modes of (dis)embodiment. Demonic Bodies demonstrates, therefore, that the formation of early Christian cultures was part of the shaping of broader Christian "ecosystems," which in turn informed Christian experiences of their own embodiment and community"--

The idea of people possessed by evil spirits against their will is as old as the hills. Often there is thought to be a special way a person has become possessed. It might be the result of a curse cast on them by a sorcerer, or some unfortunate mishap such as stepping over a dead body. Or the demons can have been invited, in a Satanic ritual. More often, at least in recent Christian tradition, there is no initiating moment that can be identified - they just find their way in, like disease. From Pearl Curran, a housewife living in St Louis, Missouri, who soared to fame in the second decade of the 20th century as the amanuensis of 'Patience Worth', a writer who had died in the 17th century, to victims of Dissociative Personality Disorder (thought to have inspired Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde), this book examines demonic possession from every angle.

Demonic possession in the New Testament is still an unsolved problem. That statement is at variance with a considerable body of opinion recently expressed on two continents. Nevertheless, it is a correct representation of the present state of the case. Modern writers have attained a certain unanimity, only by approaching the subject from one point of view and confining attention to the more conspicuous phenomena. But any investigation which claims finality must explore the whole environment and scrutinise all residual facts. There is a comparative demonology to be studied; there are types of mental disease to be examined; there is a criterion of genuine possession to be discovered and applied. The inquiry thus broadens out and takes account of many points hitherto ignored or neglected. - Preface.

This book is a psychological exploration of unusual minds, a religious exploration of demonological myth, and a philosophical exploration of the reaches of pragmatism. It uses topics such as hypnotism, mediumship, and mass possession to argue for a comprehensive understanding of the demonic that acknowledges not only the creativity which it encourages, but also the danger it can bring. Professor Ruetenik uses James’ religious pragmatism to evaluate the relevance of psychical research, and to explain common beliefs regarding demons, spirits, and other controlling personalities. The conclusion of this interdisciplinary research is as alarming as it is fascinating: When exploring the demons of William James, we discover that ordinary personality cannot be clearly separated from what we consider the demonic.

Illuminating the Dark Side’s Spirits, Fiends, Devils, and Demons. Throughout human history, we have been obsessed with the dark opposites of God and angels, light, and mercy. Whether it is our religious and sacred texts, folklore and myths of old, legends, fairy tales, novels, or the movies and television shows of today, the dark entities enthrall us, terrify us, and remind us of the dualities of life. But where did they originate? Are they real? Does every religion or region of the world include them? Exploring over two dozen religious traditions, myths, folkloric and spiritual traditions, the world of the supernatural, and the demons, the Devil, and fallen angels in today’s pop culture, Demons, the Devil, and Fallen Angels is a comprehensive resource of the many faces of the devil, his minions, ominous deities, and the darker side of nature and ourselves. From ancient demon worship to modern Satanism, the bloody era of the Inquisitions and later witch burnings to the Satanic Panic of the late-twentieth century, and secret occult societies to Hitler's involvement with demonology, this book covers it all! You'll learn about the key figures in history associated with demons and the Devil, the worshiping of the dark forces, and the lives of Aleister Crowle, John Dee, and Anton LaVey, as well as well-known figures who were alleged Satanists, some of whom may surprise you! Also featured are dozens of examples of links between demons/fallen angels and aliens, cryptids, apparitions and poltergeists, and IDEs (interdimensional entities). Were the demons of the Bible possibly ancient alien visitors? Are alien abductions and poltergeists really demons in disguise? Is Slender Man a modern day demonic entity ... or totally fake? This fascinating look at Satan, evil spirits, and their 10,000-year history has 120 photographs, drawings, and illustrations to bring the portraits of over 200 demons and fallen angels to shivering life. Demons, the Devil, and Fallen Angels also includes a helpful bibliography and an extensive index, adding to its usefulness. It is a comprehensive, clear, and objective look at a subject that fills most people with fear and dread. Yet the presence of dark angels continues to remain a part of our human experience, our popular culture, and our spiritual understandings. Come and explore the shadowy side of existence and its integral part of our nature.

Witches, ghosts, fairies. Premodern Europe was filled with strange creatures, with the devil lurking behind them all. But were his powers real? Did his powers have limits? Or were tales of the demonic all one grand illusion? Physicians, lawyers, and theologians at different times and places answered these questions differently and disagreed bitterly. The demonic took many forms in medieval and early modern Europe. By examining individual authors from across the continent, this book reveals the many purposes to which the devil could be put, both during the late medieval fight against heresy and during the age of Reformations. It explores what it was like to live with demons, and how careers and identities were constructed out of battles against them – or against those who granted them too much power. Together, contributors chart the history of the devil from his emergence during the 1300s as a threatening figure – who made pacts with human allies and appeared bodily – through to the comprehensive but controversial demonologies of the turn of the seventeenth century, when European witch-hunting entered its deadliest phase. This book is essential reading for all students and researchers of the history of the supernatural in medieval and early modern Europe.

Although it would appear in studies of late antique ecclesiastical authority and power that scholars have covered everything, an important aspect of the urban bishop has long been neglected: his role as demonologist and exorcist. When the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the realm, bishops and priests everywhere struggledÊ to ÒChristianizeÓ the urban spaces still dominated by Greco-Roman monuments and festivals. During this period of upheaval, when congregants seemingly attended everything but their own ÒorthodoxÓ church, many ecclesiastical leaders began simultaneously to promote aggressive and insidious depictions of the demonic. In City of Demons, Dayna S. Kalleres investigates this developing discourse and the church-sponsored rituals that went along with it, showing how shifting ecclesiastical demonologies and evolving practices of exorcism profoundly shaped Christian life in the fourth century.